cav551:
The accompanying table shows the problem that London Country Bus Services division of the National Bus Company had with vehicle availability for service. This was a time when not only were a whole generation of the latest buses taking over the majority of stock but they were failing at a rate that was unprecedented. The situation was made far worse by the difficulty experienced in obtaining spare parts to repair the vehicles.
Noticeable is the 20% shortfall, the surplus of RTs and that although the Merlin and Swifts feature prominently and significanly for such new vehicles, it is the RM series which by far tops the list. This is probably attributable to London Buses managing to snaffle up the available parts for itself for the Central Area. The net result of this was that the company was unable to withdraw the RTs and RFs from service as planned and had to recertify significant numbers of these very elderly vehicles which were being held in store in order to at least put out some sort of service.
To be fair total U/S 20 of 69 RMC,8 of 43 RM,45 of 97 RML,especially assuming as stated much of that was spares issues regarding already hard worked vehicles with a lot of service behind them?,is no discredit to that type.With the RML’s figures seeming to be an uncharacteristic blip ?.
But yes from memory the RT was still being used on our Kingston to Epsom services at least,after the change from RT to RM on 65 route and RM to DMS on 281.Seemingly confirmed here.
St Helens Corporation had many AEC Swift buses over several years.
Pictutres 1 and 3 are at Victoria Square in St Helens town centre,
A couple of Ribble Leyland buses have sneaked into pictures 2 and 3.
Ray Smyth.
les-p:
Bradford and Britain’s last trolleybus 26th March 1972. Les.
0
I think there’s a video on you tube of the last day Les i think it was from the city centre up to Duckworth Lane and into the garage up there via the BRI Terminus
I remember that Matador wasn’t it based at Ludlham St?
les-p:
Bradford and Britain’s last trolleybus 26th March 1972. Les.
0
I think there’s a video on you tube of the last day Les i think it was from the city centre up to Duckworth Lane and into the garage up there via the BRI Terminus
I remember that Matador wasn’t it based at Ludlham St?
There is a video on you tube, think your right with the wrecker, good photo of them both together, are you old enough to remember when Leeds got a lot of new A E C buses I’m thinking around 1969 ish, I worked at Tillotsons, Preston St, at the time and two of us got the job of doing PDI’s etc. on them never been so board we were at Kirkstall Road for weeks, not long after the driving bug took over, , does anybody know, i don’t think Ramone’s old enough, Les’
Just found this on a French forum. What does "One Leg Bus “mean”? I gather this is a chassis designed to be bodied as a bus, but could it have only one driving wheel? forum-auto.caradisiac.com/automo … 1-7490.htm
Greetings All.
Saw this,it’s worth a smile.
A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everybody on trucknetuk.
Hope it’s the best one all round.Regards,900x20.
Froggy55:
0Just found this on a French forum. What does "One Leg Bus “mean”? I gather this is a chassis designed to be bodied as a bus, but could it have only one driving wheel? forum-auto.caradisiac.com/automo … 1-7490.htm
It was the first Atkinson ‘Alpha’ chassis fitted with a Self Changing Gears, semi-automatic box, and fitted with a coachbuilt cab for testing
A model of Ribble fleet number 1968, The Albion Lowlander demonstrator which Ribble acquired in 1968.
showing route number 352, Wigan to St Helens and return, a 90 minute round trip.
A model of Ribble fleet number 611, a Leyland Leopard with bodywork by Metro-Cammell,
showing route number 113, Wigan to Preston via Eccleston and Leyland,
Merseyway Leyland National bus arriving in Wigan town centre on route 540. This bus would have
been new to Liverpool Corporation prior to deregulation. I don’t recall where route 540 went to,
but I am fairly certain that this Leyland was based at Merseyway St Helens depot, which used to
be St Helens Corporation. Picture by Tom Sutch.
to remember when Leeds got a lot of new A E C buses I’m thinking around 1969 ish, I worked at Tillotsons, Preston St, at the time and two of us got the job of doing PDI’s etc. on them never been so board we were at Kirkstall Road for weeks, not long after the driving bug took over, 
, does anybody know, i don’t think Ramone’s old enough, 
Les’
