Huddersfield Corporation
1966
Daimler CVG6LX.30DD
East Lancs H41/29F

This is the last Huddersfield Corporation vehicle delivered (numerically) with a front engine and is currently preserved. It was new in 1966 to the Corporation, being withdrawn in 1980, having served 6 years with the WYPTE.
The photo was taken in 2005 at a local bus rally and shows the vehicle turned out in superb condition and displaying the old Corporation livery with the front end swoops.
It is still active and I photographed it at another local rally earlier this year.

Photograph and Copy contributed by Tim Jackson

27/06/15 – 06:40

I rode on this bus this year at Llandudno, and was surprised to be given an ultimate ticket. Perhaps the owners have a big supply of ticket rolls.
A lovely bus, Daimlers don’t get the attention they deserve. Pity about the forward entrance!

Don McKeown

28/06/15 – 05:52

Well Don, Huddersfield used Ultimate ticket machines so that added to the authenticity of riding on it. Despite having served over six years with WYPTE it somehow managed to retain its Huddersfield livery to the end.

Eric Bawden

02/07/15 – 05:45

What’s that white(ish) circle on the offside tyre? It looks like a light to me, but can’t be original . . . and surely can’t be legal now.
I’m assuming that these had Daimatic transmission. Did that completely supersede pre-select, or was pre-select available until the end of production? if it was, then I’m assuming it would have been air-actuated . . . surely that "lethal" spring(?) system had been confined to the bin by then.

Philip Rushworth

02/07/15 – 08:34

It is a light and there should be a corresponding one on the other side. If you look for photos of the bus on Flickr you can find a selection with two, one or zero lights. I believe it is currently displaying the correct two lights.

David Beilby

03/07/15 – 06:38

Philip, Northampton’s last Daimler CVG6s delivered in 1968 had pre-selector gearboxes. For some reason it seems to run in my mind that they may have been of the thigh and knee bruising spring-operated type, as I seem to recall Northampton also specified vacuum brakes on the vehicles. Air-operated systems require the use of an air compressor, whereas vacuum brakes require the use of an exhauster, which would not be compatible with an air-operated gearbox. Ideally we need a Northampton expert to confirm this.
The Huddersfield Daimler CVG6LXs were handsome vehicles, whether bodied by Roe, or East Lancashire. I have fond memories of riding on one or two of the latter between Huddersfield and Halifax, and being impressed by their turn of speed. They sounded wonderful and were also comfortable buses to ride on. That ‘Corporation’ livery was special as well, with the extra cream and streamlining at the front, and it’s distinctiveness is sadly missed.

Brendan Smith

03/07/15 – 06:39

Philip, these did indeed have Daimatic semi-auto transmission, but as far as I know the pre-select spring operated transmission was still available. I think all the Northampton CVG’s had them right up to the last "G" reg.examples, though I doubt any other operator would have bought any for years.

Eric Bawden

05/07/15 – 07:30

I believe that Northampton specified vacuum brakes right up to their last deliveries hence with no air pressure system on the buses the pre selector spring operated transmission was the only option. Generally Operators who specified air brakes took the 2 pedal Daimatic transmission.

Ian Wild

08/07/15 – 05:42

Thanks for the various replies. Did any operator purchase air-actuated pre-selector buses in preference to the Daimatic transmission? Am I correct in assuming that the Daimatic transmission was just a CAV-actuated SCG box built/purchased(?) under license?

Philip Rushworth

Jones, Aberbeeg
1961
Leyland Tiger Cub
Weymann B44F

889AAX is a Leyland Tiger Cub from the fleet of Jones, Aberbeeg. According to the Keith Jenkinson book of 1978, she is an OPSUC1/3 from 1959 with conversion to OPSUC1/3T at a later date. The PSVC listing for 2013 shows her without the ‘T’ suffix and says she was first registered in 1961, so she must have been stored for a while. The body is by Weymann, to B44F configuration. We see her in Netley, on her way to the rally on 9 July 1995.

Photograph and Copy contributed by Pete Davies

18/06/15 – 10:50

It’s quite unusual for there to be a significant delay between construction and entry into service. The chassis numbers of these vehicles indicate that construction of their chassis was commenced in late 1958, and most vehicles with similar-age numbers entered service in 1959. The Weymann body numbers similarly indicate 1959 vehicles, but chassis/body numbers were often issued when the relevant bit was ordered, rather than when it was actually constructed, so it’s not possible to draw any firm conclusions there. (Leyland were an exception to this).
The registration AAX reversed dates from 11/60 to 2/61, so it would appear that these vehicles were indeed registered (or possibly re-registered) in early 1961.
BLOTW gives the chassis designation as home-market PSUC1/3 rather than OPSUC1/3, but, either way, it would seem that these vehicles were among the minority of Tiger Cubs to feature epicyclic gearboxes.

David Call

18/06/15 – 16:48

I believe this bus was part of a cancelled export order for Trinidad, which would explain the delay between construction and registration.

Roy Nicholson

20/06/15 – 15:11

Do you mean that it would have taken a while to get the vehicles back from Trinidad? I’m not sure I follow the logic.
I see that I omitted to mention the fact that the batch was of three vehicles, Jones 98-100 (889-91 AAX).

David Call

21/06/15 – 05:56

David, I may be wrong – I usually am! – but I suspect what Roy means is that the vehicles were constructed but never exported, being stored until a buyer was found.

Pete Davies

21/06/15 – 05:57

As originally built the windscreens included push-out ventilators at the bottom, as might be required for hotter climes. These were removed by Jones because, as far as I recall, they were not water-tight.
I presume the order must have been cancelled at a very late stage during bodying (why? – penalties would have to be paid), and that the bodied vehicles then sat around until an operator was prepared to pay for some semi-auto Tiger Cubs . . . and that operator must have been Jones.

Philip Rushworth

21/06/15 – 05:58

Doug Jack refers to these in ‘The Leyland Bus’ – "Three overseas OPSUC1/3’s with Weymann bodywork (B44F) were diverted in 1960 from Trinidad Agencies to Jones of Aberbeeg."

David Williamson

22/10/15 – 07:26

The picture of the Jones tiger cub on the way to Netley rally has me driving it as I was the owner at the time. Regarding the difference in build and going into service was as was mentioned, a cancelled order. Three were left at Southampton docks so I was told. They originally had full length sliding side windows as well as the push out vents in the windscreens.
While at Netley rally, I discovered I had a slow puncture in the front offside tyre, so had to put the spare on. This was of dubious condition as it was on the bus when I bought it. I took it easy on the return journey to South Gloustershire, but as I exited the roundabout at Salisbury collage there was a bang , it had blown. So there we were with no back-up Luckily I had a good few passengers, so we jacked it up intending to put the original tyre on. As luck would have it, another old bus from the rally appeared and the owner offered to take it to a garage and inflate it, so although it was slowly leaking, we got back home safely, albeit with a rather deflated tyre.

Alan Roberts

08/10/18 – 08:52

Alan R, being the owner of 889 AAX in 1995, I wonder if you could confirm that the vehicle had:
1) semi-automatic transmission, with a direct air selector pedestal;
2) a two-speed axle.
Assuming it was indeed two-pedal, this doesn’t appear to have impressed Jones, who continued to specify manual transmissions for vehicles purchased new, even though their operating territory would perhaps have favoured semi-automatic. As for the two-speed axle, these were never as common on semi-auto vehicles as manual, although certainly not unknown.

David Call

Stocker’s of St Margarets
1945
Morris Commercial CV11/40
Stocker C16F

AJD 959 is a Morris Commercial CV11/40 new in 1945. She started life with a van body, which was replaced by Mr Harry Stocker in 1959. The capacity is given as C16F, but should it be FC16F? She’s on Southampton Common, arriving to take part in the Southampton City Transport Centenary Rally on 7 May 1979.

Photograph and Copy contributed by Pete Davies

15/06/15 – 06:12

This is an interesting vehicle, not the only conversion done by this operator who was also a coal merchant. One other similar vehicle also survives, if memory serves. It was quite a challenge for him to build the coach body, I’d hazard, but the result is quite attractive, with, as ever, rear wheel spats improving the look immensely. The lower body front bears some resemblance to some Provincial bus/coach bodies built by Reading & Co.
I view the narrow width of the front axle with some trepidation, recalling the rare times I had to drive one of BT’s Commer/Dodge PB Spacewagons, which dug into the road at every conceivable opportunity, when deviating from the straight and narrow! Dreadful, underpowered vans, which had to be driven, foot to the floor, to even reach 50…… eventually! Driving a desk was more fun!

Chris Hebbron

15/06/15 – 06:12

The F for full front is only used for chassis which were usually bodied as halfcabs. Those which were always full-fronted. e.g. Bedford SB, Albion Victor, are simply C.

Peter Williamson

16/06/15 – 06:54

A handsome vehicle, in sharp contrast to some of the dreadful van-derived minibuses. It seems very long for the seating capacity, was it 2+1 seating?

David Wragg

16/06/15 – 08:19

Thank you, Chris and Peter, for your thoughts. I have found a shot of AJD 959 in later life she’s seen at Duxford for Showbus in the markings of Felix, Long Melford. The date is 28 September 2003.

Pete Davies

16/06/15 – 16:33

I can’t answer your question, David. The figure is as given in the PSVC listing for 2012. There could be a typing error in there (26?) because the back row looks to have 5 seats.

Pete Davies

17/06/15 – 06:53

I am a bit puzzled by the chassis designation of this vehicle. The CV11/40 was a goods model generally of normal control layout, though a similar design, classified CVF, had semi forward control. A few CV11/40 chassis were bodied as small buses/coaches like the example seen in this link:- www.sct61.org.uk/zzlyh285 Was AJD 959 rebuilt to forward control? The normal control machine shown in the SCT link had a 17 seater body, so 26 seats in the Stocker coach would seem to be unlikely.

Roger Cox

18/06/15 – 16:47

This lovely little vehicle visited the Manchester MoT at Boyle St last year (and was at St Helens before that) so I had a chance to inspect its interior. It definitely has 16 seats – I counted them! Does anybody know its current whereabouts? Given its bijoux dimensions it could well be kept at its new owner’s home.

Neville Mercer

20/06/15 – 05:55

Zooming in on //tinyurl.com/pfknpa8 reveals that there are just four headrests showing at the rear, but they are so wide that it must be 2+1 seating. So I suggest (2+1)x4 + 4 = 16.

Peter Williamson

26/11/21 – 06:26

Just come upon this thread. Harry Stocker built 4 coaches on Morris Commercial van/lorry chassis. AJD 959, KAR 20C also a survivor unrestored with Richard Bennett of Dodinghurst, Essex, LNK 304 and DRO 542. all except DRO were forward control. AJD 959 was restored by Stephen Golynia of Felix Taxis, Long Melford and sold to John Crankshaw of Holmfirth in 2010. To my knowledge he is still the owner

John Wakefield