Portsmouth Corporation Leyland PD2, picture is from 1970. Ray Smyth.
I picked up this leaflet earlier today at the Main Library in The Life Centre in Wigan town centre. Ray Smyth.
tyneside:
Would this happen these days ? Tyneside
Those 4-leaf platform doors werenât terribly well sealed either, were they?
tyneside:
Would this happen these days ? Tyneside
No because (insert blue chip bridge bashing haulier here ) would be stuck under it so the bus couldnât pass 
240 Gardner:
tyneside:
Would this happen these days ? TynesideThose 4-leaf platform doors werenât terribly well sealed either, were they?
That is what I was thinking TYneside
Ribble Leyland Tiger, fleet No. 753, Reg No. FV 5737.
Ribble Leyland PD3, fleet number 1797 passing along Wallgate (A49), having just left
the Wigan depot of Ribble. It is on its way to the bus station at Hope Street in the
town centre to start its journey on route 304 to Lower Adlington, a small town between
Bolton and Chorley. The Wigan depot of Ribble is about 100 yards beyond the Commer
van at the rear of the picture. Ray Smyth.
Albion Lowlander 1855 and Leyland Leopard 215 in the back yard at Ribble Wigan depot.
Those Ribble full fronted Alexander bodied Lowlanders were ugly looking buses compared to the Burlingham and MCW bodied PD3/4s or the half cab versions with Northern Counties bodies that the Scottish Bus Group operated. Penrith depot had 2 Lowlanders in 1964.
Cheers, Leyland 600.
Perhaps the nearest comparison were those 50 full-fronted AEC Regent 5s supplied to East Kent in 1959 with Park Royal FH72F bodies. I had a soft spot for those in my youth! Robert
This AEC was one of 3 buses that Liverpool Corporation acquired in the late 1950s,
with the intention of deciding what would be the choice of vehicles, now that rear
engined larger capacity buses were becoming available, Leyland Atlantean and
Daimler Fleetline. The Atlantean was the preferred choice, and many hundreds of
them were introduced over the next 15 years, despite Liverpool being a major user
of AEC Buses for many years. Ray.
In addition to AEC E1 above, E2 and E3 were the other 2 experimental buses with Liverpool Corporation.
E2 was a Leyland Atlantean, and E3 was a lowheight AEC. This rear entrance AEC was initially an AEC Ltd
demonstrator which Liverpool Corporation eventually bought. All 3 buses are preserved.
Ray.
Fabulous pictures of old buses, they had so much character and the bodies seemed to so much better built than todayâs stuff or is that pure nostalgiaâŚhowever, I always found that truck drivers who also had a pcv were in general terms better, smoother drivers particularly with regards to gear changes/ braking etcâŚ
I have lit the touch paper now, so Iâd better run âŚ
Yes rgc you are absolutely correct that HGV men drove much more smoothly than a small a proportion of PSV drivers especially if the HGV driver had worked on transporting live stock the showing same care to their human cargos. A lot of genuine enthusiastic PSV drivers were excellent men too but there was always a small minority in a bus depot who started their shift with the sole intention of wrecking a semi auto box before their shift was over with very little or no consideration for the passengers especially if their allocated bus was a bit of a dog and they could break it hoping to get a better vehicle to finish their shift. This minority also abused or could not handle manual syncromesh or crash boxes or clutches just bang it through if possible and to hell with the consequences and the same methods appied to braking just full pressure stops no gradual applications. Some fairly recent bus journeys have shown excellent examples of good driving and some the entire opposite.
Cheers, Leyland 600.
Leyland600:
Yes rgc you are absolutely correct that HGV men drove much more smoothly than a small a proportion of PSV drivers especially if the HGV driver had worked on transporting live stock the showing same care to their human cargos. A lot of genuine enthusiastic PSV drivers were excellent men too but there was always a small minority in a bus depot who started their shift with the sole intention of wrecking a semi auto box before their shift was over with very little or no consideration for the passengers especially if their allocated bus was a bit of a dog and they could break it hoping to get a better vehicle to finish their shift. This minority also abused or could not handle manual syncromesh or crash boxes or clutches just bang it through if possible and to hell with the consequences and the same methods appied to braking just full pressure stops no gradual applications. Some fairly recent bus journeys have shown excellent examples of good driving and some the entire opposite.
Cheers, Leyland 600.
Spot on Gerald with regard to the vast difference between service bus drivers. We lived in Bare for 9 years which is a suburb on the edge of Morecambe and Anne and I often used the Stagecoach local Buses to go into either Morecambe or Lancaster and the wide variance of Driver quality was enormous. You can just imagine the comments I used to make to Anne. Sometimes along the lines of " This Driver couldnât drive sheep with a good dog" etc. etc. but some were as smooth as silk and I never failed to pass these Drivers a compliment on our way off the bus much to Anneâs embarrassment at times ! But I must say one of the best drivers I came across during this time was a Female driver she was excellent !
I will probably get some stick off certain individuals on the TN site for owning up to using the bus but parking problems and not being able to have a âscoopâ or two over lunch or dinner was the main reason we took advantage and used our Bus Passes ! Regards Dennis.
rsg1234567:
Fabulous pictures of old buses, they had so much character and the bodies seemed to so much better built than todayâs stuff or is that pure nostalgiaâŚhowever, I always found that truck drivers who also had a pcv were in general terms better, smoother drivers particularly with regards to gear changes/ braking etcâŚI have lit the touch paper now, so Iâd better run âŚ
Taking my PSV test in Feb.1956, Guy Arab dd and the inspector by my shoulder through a sliding glass partition, âNow driver, smooth ride is the name of the game, your passengers must not feel your gear changes, nor you pulling up or taking offâ it has stayed with me to this day. Couple of weeks ago I did another IAM Mature Driver Assessment. Nae too bad for an auld yin.
Oily
rsg1234567:
Fabulous pictures of old buses, they had so much character and the bodies seemed to so much better built than todayâs stuff or is that pure nostalgiaâŚhowever, I always found that truck drivers who also had a pcv were in general terms better, smoother drivers particularly with regards to gear changes/ braking etcâŚI have lit the touch paper now, so Iâd better run âŚ
When I got my PSV licence an old driver said to meâŚâa good driver is one that the passengers never notice, donât throw 'em about on corners and learn how to âfeatherâ the brakes, (thatâs what he said), no harsh braking.â
Todays bus drivers b loody terrify me, most of em canât spell âbrake fadeâ
How the hell can a sane driver actually accelerate a double deck bus, full of passengers, down a steep hill and expect it to stop at the bottom â â Arriva drivers around these parts can. 
Hi GOM a certain female Stagecoach driver in these parts certainly expects her crappy brand new Optare Solo to stop after a full flight downhill to a mini roundabout and then foot to the boards once more. New set od brake pads every week I guess !!!
With reference to your Guy Arab training Oily I wonder how some of these young uns would cope â â ?
Cheers Leyland 600.