County Motors
1963
Leyland Leopard PSU3/1R
Willowbrook B53F

Photo taken at the usual Huddersfield bus stop and this buses destination is Dewsbury. The Willowbrook body is very similar to the previous Marshall bodied buses that have been seen on this site or should I say it the other way round as this bus is older than the Marshall ones here and here.
From 1927 County motors were jointly owned by Yorkshire Woollen District, Yorkshire Traction and West Riding Automobile but in October 1968 they were absorbed into Yorkshire Traction and this bus was re-numbered 392 in there fleet.

County Motors
1964
Leyland Titan PD3A/1
Roe H42/31F

Another County Motors of Huddersfield vehicle this time a Leyland Titan PD3A/1. The PD3 indicated that the bus was 30 foot long rather than 27 foot of which all the PD2s were. The A after the 3 indicates an enclosed radiator made mainly of fibre glass and this style was introduced after consultation with St Helens Corporation. The 1 after the 3A indicates that the gear box was of the normal synchromesh type rather than the Pneumo-Cyclic direct selection type. 
County Motors were taken over by Yorkshire Traction in 1968 and this bus became fleet number 745 with them. There is a photo of this bus in the Yorkshire Traction livery here unfortunately it seems to have lost the bottom half of its radiator.

A full list of Titan codes can be seen here.

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Re the comment about the radiator grill. These were only a fibreglass moulding and were prone to being broken – for example by conductors standing on them to change the destination. Yorkshire Traction simply modified them when necessary by substituting a mesh panel instead.

Andrew

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This was one of a pair of PD3As which replaced a pair of ill fated Guy Wulfrunians which went to West Riding. Yorkshire Traction bought PD3s with Northern Counties or Willowbrook bodies. However a 1965 batch carried Roe bodywork to a Park Royal design similar to those supplied on AEC chassis to East Kent. The Yorkshire Traction livery suited the lines of the Roe body and these were a pair of handsome machines

Chris Hough

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Handsome indeed – but they were traditional Roe bodies!
Yorkshire Traction only ever had three batches of PD3s from new. The first two Northern Counties, the last the Roes (on Park Royal frames) – which still managed to look better proportioned than the almost identical contemporary Sheffield Regent Vs with "real" Park Royal bodies.
The only Willowbrook deckers in the fleet were the RHE…G registered Atlanteans which were a diverted order from Devon General, delivered initially in Devon General livery.

David Oldfield

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David, I seem to remember that there were four of the diverted Devon General Atlanteans. They appeared very frequently in Leeds on the Yorkshire Traction services and I found them fascinating. The colours were most pleasing and, although I never rode on one, I have an impression that the interiors and the seats were in blue – can anyone please confirm this ??

Chris Youhill

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I think you’re right about the numbers, Chris, and almost certainly about the interiors. Blue was the then standard for Devon General. Prior to nationalisation, Devon General was a superbly presented fleet and the difference in shades of red and cream between Devon General and Yorkshire Traction made an interesting comparison.

David Oldfield

 
Photo by ‘unknown’ if you took this photo please go to the copyright page.

County Motors
1945
Guy Arab II
Roe L27/26R

This photo was taken at the Huddersfield terminus and the bus behind is a Guy Wulfrunian probable owned by West Riding. The Wulfrunian was said to be very advanced for the time, but I have read somewhere that the only advanced thing about it was the all round air suspension, lets face it the rather strange layout of the engine and stairs didn’t exactly catch on did it, if you disagree leave a comment.
But back to the County Motors Arab II this bus apparently has been preserved but at the moment I have not been able to come up with a link to a dedicated website, if you know, let me know.
It started life with a wartime utility body but was re-bodied in 1953 by C. H. Roe Leeds and ended up two seats less at the end of it.
Hard to tell which engine this bus had as all Arab IIs had the extended radiator to accept either the six cylinder Gardner (6LW) engine of 8.4 litre or the shorter five cylinder 7.0 litre Gardner (5LW) engine. Although knowing Huddersfield as I do then I think this bus would of handled the surrounding hills much better with the larger 6LW engine, either that or  the driver would have to be very good at changing gear, especially down.

“Anything—pictures or info—on Guy Arabs is fascinating. Greatly enjoyed pictures and comments.
In Reading we had utility Arab 5LWs and 6LWs until 1949-50, when they were sold on. No 27 seemed to be everyone’s favourite. How I wish one had been preserved…!”

Ian Thompson 

“I can confirm that County 70 has a 6LW engine. At the time of re-bodying in 1953 it was fitted with a transmission of contemporary (i.e. Arab IV) design, which makes it much easier to drive than the original twin-plate clutch and sliding-mesh gearbox of the Arab II. This bus is currently in the Dewsbury Bus Museum.”

Peter Williamson

10/02/21 – 07:13

County 70 is preserved and is now semi-restored at the Dewsbury Bus Museum awaiting a full repaint.
Can confirm it is a West Riding Guy Wulfrunian behind. The other advanced engineering on it was that Wulfrunians had disc brakes.

Graham Crawshaw

11/02/21 – 07:17

Graham’s post has drawn my attention to my earlier statement about 70’s transmission. Since writing that, I have discovered that the last Arab IIs to be built had the constant mesh gearbox from new, and so it may be that 70’s transmission is original. Sorry about that.

Peter Williamson

12/02/21 – 06:10

The transmission of the wartime Guy Arab consisted of a twin plate clutch and a four speed sliding mesh (crash) gearbox that dated from the 1920s, in which the gear selector operated from right to left for upward changes. During the summer of 1945 Guy began fitting the Arab with a single plate clutch coupled with its new all constant mesh gearbox, in which, unusually for the time, even first gear had constant mesh engagement. This gearbox, which selected gears in the by then conventional left to right sequence, was designed and developed during the conflict, but pressures of wartime delayed its appearance in service. This transmission proved to be immensely robust and reliable and remained an option right to the end of Arab production.

Roger Cox

12/02/21 – 12:12

I was for a time part-owner of Provincial 55 which has the reverse gearbox. The gear lever was fitted with a red knob rather than a black one to indicate this; I am not sure whether this was an original Guy feature, or fitted by Provincial, but I believe the former. I don’t recall the box as being tricky to master, other that having to remember where to put the stick!

Alan Murray-Rust

13/02/21 – 07:07

My Arab which also has a reverse gearbox has a black knob. Issue with the gearbox is that unlike Leylands or Bristols you have to place the gear lever the others allowing you to use the selector box sides for guidance.

Roger Burdett

13/02/21 – 07:08

The red gear lever knob was originally fitted to the later constant mesh box to indicate the correct left to right sequence. The old Guy gearbox had a black knob. No doubt things got swapped about in the course of time.

Roger Cox

13/02/21 – 07:09

I’ve not met any Guys with the reverse gearbox, but those with the constant-mesh box usually had maroon gear lever knobs. Even the Daimler CCG models, which had the same Guy gearbox, had maroon knobs.

Peter Williamson

14/02/21 – 07:00

London Transport lopped a couple of inches off their reverse gearbox Arabs., compared with the later ones.

Chris Hebbron