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My very happy chosen career has encompassed conducting, driving, inspecting and office work with a number of operators. Each aspect of the industry has had it's own appeal, some more than others. In chronological order I have worked for the following :-
SAMUEL LEDGARD - Otley, Ilkley and Yeadon Depots
WEST YORKSHIRE RCC LTD - Ilkley and Keighley Depots
H.MURGATROYD - Summerbridge
WALLACE ARNOLD - Leeds, Bradford, Castleford and Kippax Depots
INDEPENDENT COACHWAYS/EDWARDS COACHWAYS - Horsforth
LEEDS CITY TRANSPORT/METRO(WYPTE) - Headingley, Torre Road, Swinegate, Bramley, Seacroft and Middleton Depots
SOUTH YORKSHIRE ROAD TRANSPORT - Pontefract
CALDAIRE/BRITISH BUS/COWIE GROUP/ARRIVA - Pontefract, Castleford,Wakefield and Selby Depots
It's said that "Variety is the spice of life" and so it has been for me.
The picture at the top was taken in December 1957 at the start of my career. The location is Castle Lane Ilkley where Ledgard buses used to reverse at the terminus. The vehicle is an ex London Transport Daimler CWA6 with Park Royal bodywork - HGF890 - D213.
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| 1 | 95 in trouble twixt South Milford and Monk Fryston while fleeing from Sherburn High School in a strong gale. This photo courtesy of John Newnham | SYRT DAIMLER/LEYLAND FLEETLINES | (850) |
| 2 | N:orthumbria 238 pauses briefly at Pontefract . Another wonderful memorable day's work for me. Firstly I had to go to Castleford and collect brand new Volvo Olympian 621 and deliver it to Selby Depot. I then had to bring the above back to Pontefract - it had been on loan to Selby for a while. We had a shortage of buses and so this fine machine was immediately earmarked for service 249 to Upton but as it is so huge me and another driver, Les Clarkson, had to do "clearance tests" under the overhanging trees on the Millfield Estate. The clearance was NOT adequate but the plan went ahead, and I think it is safe to say that the South Elmsall and Upton clients have NEVER travelled in such style before or since !! C 453 GKE has ECW coach bodywork and was new to Maidstone and District. More recently it was with Geldards of Leeds. | SURPRISES GALORE FROM CALDAIRE | (687) |
| 3 | 108 - 616. A rare picture indeed. The last four South Yorkshire Olympians were sent one at a time to Belle Isle Depot to have the destination displays rebuilt to "NBC" standard. When 616 was completed and awaiting to return home a sudden vehicle shortage at Wakefield resulted in it being "hi-jacked" and used for the afternoon peak on service 124 to Dewsbury. The bus is pictured here in Ossett Bus Station. The lady driver appeared worried that she may have been photographed for a court case - "taking a vehicle without the owner's consent" !! | SYRT OLYMPIANS AFTER SALE OF COMPANY | (622) |
| 4 | 106 and 108 newly arrived from Northern Counties and before entering service. The expensive blue destination blinds which were to be fitted were a different shade to the route numbers and caused some annoyance to the manager, as did I when I expressed my opinion that a batch of two new vehicles should have consecutive fleet numbers and NOT be separated by the specially numbered 107 of a couple of years earlier !! | SYRT LEYLAND OLYMPIANS BEFORE SALE OF THE FAMILY BUSINESS | (540) |
| 5 | A dismal January day in 1994 reflects the mood of the last three vehicles to be purchased by South Yorkshire. The three Dennis Darts 51/2/3 would be sold in August to Yorkshire Traction where, numbered 427/8/9 they were to serve at Shafton and Huddersfield depots, later returning to Shafton. A third new owner resulted from the sale of the Yorkshire Traction Group to Stagecoach who, in early 2006, introduced numbers from their own system whereupon the three Darts have become 32166/7/8 !! | SURPRISES GALORE FROM CALDAIRE | (511) |
| 6 | 107 - now 614 - smartly attired in Arriva colours negotiates the very tight turning circle at Swiss Cottage Hotel, Wentbridge. The white notice, to the end, informed motorists that the facility was needed for "West Riding" buses !! | SYRT OLYMPIANS AFTER SALE OF COMPANY | (487) |
| 7 | 91 - ready to leave Pontefract Depot on trade plates for the dealer's yard. Despite surviving well into the era of 100% One Person Operation 91 was never equipped for this purpose and so spent much of its closing service on "no fares" school specials or the very occasional service journey with a garage hand or an inspector acting as conductor | SOUTH YORKSHIRE ROAD TRANSPORT | (485) |
| 8 | SUNDAY 23rd OCTOBER 1995 - SOME OF THE FIRST DEPARTURES ON THE OPENING DAY OF THE NEW LEEDS BUS STATION. 108/616 REVERSES AWAY FROM STAND 6 | OPERATING ASPECTS | (459) |
| 9 | 95 returns home to Pontefract, albeit to a less established operator, and begins work for the "opposition" | SYRT DAIMLER/LEYLAND FLEETLINES | (451) |
| 10 | 325 CLIMBING NORTHBOUND OUT OF PEACEFUL WENTBRIDGE. DIFFICULT TO IMAGINE THAT THE THUNDERING A1 IS ONLY YARDS AWAY !! | THE LEYLAND LYNX AT PONTEFRACT DEPOT | (422) |
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 | 26th Oct 2005 | SOUTH YORKSHIRE ROAD TRANSPORT
LEYLAND ATLANTEANS
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 | 26th Oct 2005 | SYRT DAIMLER/LEYLAND FLEETLINES
Numbers 92/3/4 were DAIMLER Fleetlines while the remainder were LEYLAND
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 | 28th Oct 2005 | SYRT LEYLAND OLYMPIANS BEFORE SALE OF THE FAMILY BUSINESS
Numbers 101 - 105 had Leyland TL11 engines and Hydracyclic transmission while 106 - 108 were Cummins engined with ZF automatic gearboxes
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 | 28th Oct 2005 | SYRT OLYMPIANS AFTER SALE OF COMPANY
8th JULY 1994 HERALDED AN INTERESTING TIME FOR ENTHUSIASTS. THE COMPANY WAS SOLD TO CALDAIRE HOLDINGS WHO BEFORE LONG PASSED TO BRITISH BUS. THE LATTER WAS THEN BOUGHT BY THE COWIE GROUP WHO SUBSEQUENTLY ADOPTED THE NAME "ARRIVA" FOR ALL THEIR VARIED BUSINESSES
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 | 23rd Dec 2005 | SURPRISES GALORE FROM CALDAIRE
After SYRT was sold to Caldaire on 8th July 1994 many fascinating new makes and models were allocated to Pontefract - to the delight of enthusiast drivers, and to the total astonishment and confusion of the passengers !!
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 | 26th Dec 2005 | THE LEYLAND LYNX AT PONTEFRACT DEPOT
THE VEHICLE POLICY FOR PONTEFRACT CHANGED FREQUENTLY AND DRAMATICALLY UNDER CALDAIRE AND SUBSEQUENT OWNERS.
FIRST WE HAD A BATCH OF OLYMPIAN/ECW DOUBLE DECKERS, THEN SOME NATIONALS, AND FOR A WHILE NO LESS THAN 13 LYNXES.
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 | 4th Jan 2006 | SYRT SINGLE DECKERS
THE FOUR UTILITY WARTIME DAIMLERS INTRODUCED DOUBLE DECK OPERATION TO SOUTH YORKSHIRE. THEREAFTER SINGLE DECK SERVICE BUSES WERE PROGRESSIVELY ELIMINATED - COACHES DEPUTISING QUITE EXTENSIVELY - UNTIL LESS THAN A YEAR BEFORE THE COMPANY'S DEMISE.
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 | 17th Jan 2006 | LITTLE GIANTS AT PONTEFRACT DEPOT
FOLLOWING THE SALE OF SYRT TO CALDAIRE ON JULY 8TH 1994 MINI/MIDIBUSES OF MANY KINDS PERFORMED STIRLING WORK AT PONTEFRACT DEPOT AND BROUGHT ADDED INTEREST TO WE ENTHUSIAST DRIVERS AT LEAST !!
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 | 15th Feb 2006 | OPERATING ASPECTS
BESIDES PICTURES OF BUSES IN SERVICE THERE ARE MANY OTHER INTERESTING SIDES TO RUNNING A BUS COMPANY.
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 | 12th May 2006 | THE END OF A LOCAL LEGEND IN NORTHGATE
The final chapter in the story of a legendary Pontefract bus operator.
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22 comments in this gallery
Click here to read them |
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Hello and a very warm welcome to my collection of views in Yorkshire, pictures taken wherever possible at interesting locations away from the usual depots and bus stations. Passengers were often bemused, and sometimes gave a pitying look, when if the journey was quiet I would jump off the bus and take a photo which I considered interesting. I hope before long to share some of my better portrayals of buses and coaches on which I have worked personally and which I remember especially for various reasons. Please enjoy browsing, and feel free to contact me for any further information or discussion.
chrisbluebus@aol.com |
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