Leigh Corporation
1953
AEC Regent III
East Lancs L27/26R

As this bus has a lowbridge body the upper deck would have a side isle and 6 rows of 4 seats and a 3 seat row at the rear with lots of ‘mind your head’ signs. It looks older than 1952 I think that may have something to do with the painted radiator. In 1969 this bus was transferred to SELNEC with a fleet no of 6941.

I used to go to school on these Leigh Corporation buses – no picture I have seen does justice to the immaculate paint job, nice site for memories.

Robert Hatton

My thanks for the following information to anonymous, I’m not surprised when you read what he used to get up to.

I also remember going to school on these lovely old buses. I have tried describing this type of bus with the long bench seats upstairs to my friends in the south of England where I now live, but nobody recognised the design. I never realised it was because the bus had a "low bridge body" you learn something every day.

Finally I must recall a somewhat disgusting trick we youngsters had of wetting (licking!) our paper bus ticket and sticking it on the roof of the bus when you peeled it off at the end of your journey you left a lovely transfer print of your ticket, which remained till the bus was re-painted!

Anonymous

That is an interesting shot in Leigh bus station,the bus is passing the number 1 bus route stand (Plank Lane) but the destination blind reads Astley which was the number two route immediately behind so the bus would be pulling away in the picture, both stands being at the rear of the Woolpack pub (Run by my Aunty Annie) and across from Kingstreet Methodist church visible in the background.
I was one of those kids who used to undo every screw I sat next to by half a turn with my penknife and wind the destination blind to a new destination, as I remember the front one was changed via a drop down flap from the upstairs saloon.

Seemed great fun back then.

Berni Baxter

09/03/11 – 18:06

As a Leigh lad, born in 1953, I have ridden on many of the corporation’s buses and pulled many of the ‘stunts’ referred to by others. A favourite trick with the open rear entrances was to alight from the moving vehicle as it turned from King Street into the bus station.
My most regular ride in the mid/late sixties was the number 6 service to Higher Folds, alighting at Green Lane to walk the last few hundred yards to school. This was a regular turn for the Renowns which gave a very comfortable ride on their ‘air suspension’. Occasionally a Dennis Loline would deputise and while the ride was a little more firm, they still surpassed the older buses.
One of my lifelong friends has driven the preserved Renown on a number of occasions about 25 years ago. He said it was good, alas, it is now necessary to have a PCV licence!

Phil Meadows

10/03/11 – 07:38

I spent a year at Padgate College doing my PGCE teacher training. I was a regular user of the Renowns on the Warrington – Leigh services.

David Oldfield

10/03/11 – 07:39

Further to my last post, there is another ‘Corporation’ bus which has been privately preserved. It is a Lydney bodied Leyland PD2/1., fleet number 16, registration number KTD 768. I think it is currently housed in the St. Helens Transport Museum.
Also, in 2006, The Leyland Society Ltd. has published ‘The Leyland Buses Of Leigh Corporation’ in its ‘Leyland Fleet Series’. It also covers the non-Leylands. I think they still have copies available.

Phil Meadows

07/02/12 – 06:57

Its great to see these pictures of Leigh buses. My father who sadly died when I was young was a conductor for Leigh in the late 60s early 70s, and I remember going to see him on the Hindley Green bus where it turned round at Thomas st / Leigh Rd.
I can just remember him hanging his ticket machine up at home and being given some nearly used up rolls to play with.
I started Looking for a machine some years ago as a reminder and now buy & sell and have a collection of over 120 machines and punches including 9 Leigh. Also Leigh destination blind, badge, rule book, and route/fare book. I would like to here from anyone who had connections with Leigh corporation.

Anon

16/09/12 – 06:56

The bus shown was one of a batch of six with East Lancs Bodies new in 1952 so was 17 years old in 1969 at the time of the SELNEC North takeover. I too went to school on LCT buses but left for Manchester uni. with 10 others in 1953.
Though now long gone LCT is remembered as a go ahead operator. Many post war buses only ran in Leigh for around 10 years but these AEC’s and the Lydney bodied Leylands notably fleet number 16 now preserved did far better.

Frank Taylor

29/04/13 – 08:05

Re lowbridge buses and tickets ; as schoolboys on RLH’s in London a damp ceiling and a ticket that was clearly marked NOT TRANSFERABLE was too much to resist.
It was surprisingly transferable, though of course , back to front.

Roger Ingle

East Yorkshire Motor Services
1961
AEC Bridgemaster
Park Royal H45/28RD

I don’t think there were many rear entrance Bridgemasters built you did not see many 30ft rear entrance buses they were usually 27ft 6in. Note the luggage rack just inside the door there would also be space under the stairs this was probably for tourists suit cases in the Bridlington area. The Bridgemaster had a low floor on the lower deck so it could have a normal seating arrangement upstairs but still be able to negotiate the Beverly Bar. The registration number is something like 1703 AT but the angle is not good to see clearly worked it out from now found fleet list reg 4703. If you look at the bus behind it is a full fronted Leyland Titan with the Beverly Bar roof.

A full list of Bridgemaster codes can be seen here.

25/11/11 – 17:03

Does anyone have photos or a list of those Bridgemasters and Renowns that carried the illuminated "It’s Best By Bus" slogans on the offside? I grew up on Longhill Estate, firmly in EYMS territory, and I can remember those signs looming out of a foggy winter evening whilst heading home after spending the afternoon being dragged around Hammonds or the Co-op.

Andrew Ottaway

26/03/12 – 14:28

Despite the design, these (nos 700 to 715) had tapered upper deck profiles for the Bar operations as did subsequent Bridgemasters, Renowns and Fleetlines 825-36/52-7/66-72.
The first four Bridgemasters 696-699 did not have this.

Malcolm Wells

26/03/12 – 17:03

I lived on the West Hill Estate in Bridlington until December ’63 (aged 5-7). Buses from this batch (700-715) worked the Estate route from new – The domed roof buses (as I saw them) hardly ever appeared thereafter.
When I moved to Leeds I drew pictures of green Leeds buses with a luggage rack inside the rear entrance – I just assumed all rear-entrance buses had luggage racks there, having experienced nothing else!
703 seems to be very photogenic – there’s a photo of the same vehicle in the specialist AEC Bridgemaster book! I’d love to know how many of the 16 in the batch worked out of Quay Road 61-63.

Barry Parker

27/03/12 – 15:56

Andrew, here’s a link to an EYMS Bridgemaster with a raised advertisement panel. I don’t know if it’s an illuminated one though. //www.eyms.co.uk/

John Darwent

28/03/12 – 08:29

I’m not sure about this, but I believe all the buses with raised advertisement panels were illuminated, but I think that this would have fallen into disuse at some period.

Keith Easton

28/03/12 – 11:27

Andrew – Here’s a link to the ‘It’s Best by Bus’ advert on EYMS Bridgemaster 725 //www.eyms.co.uk/

John Darwent

06/06/12 – 17:40

I found these posts very interesting as I was employed as a bus driver at Anlaby Road depot from 1963 till 1970 upon which I left for Australia. Yes I well remember driving a Bridgemaster the first time through the Beverley Bar and ducking my head !!!! another time which makes me smile, we were coming along Hessle Road into town in a saloon and when I pulled up at the bus stop my mate opened the door and said to this guy who was full as a boot " we are full upstairs " and he said " ok mate I will wait for the next one so I can have a smoke" happy days.

Tony Frost

07/06/12 – 07:03

Nice anecdotes, Tony!

Chris Hebbron

06/09/12 – 07:34

Photograph of 3747 RH with the illuminated "It’s Best By Bus" slogan on the offside for Andrew 1st comment above.

John Thompson

24/02/13 – 08:14

Thanks for the replies, and particularly John’s links.

Andrew Ottaway

United Automobile Services
1957
Bristol LL5G
ECW B39C

These nice looking centre entrance buses did the Scarborough Sea Front Service from The Corner Cafe in the North Bay to The Spa in the South Bay. I think hey were actually rebodied half cab single deckers as NHN 128. I think the bodies were mid 50s and the chassis were from the 30s but they had an easy life on the Sea Front Service. If you know different please put me right any info appreciated.

Update
I have found out that the body was built in 1957 and was a B39C and it was a rebuild on an old 1946/7 chassis. there is a photo here of a very sad view of 992 CHN.

A full list of Bristol codes can be seen here.

A full list of United codes can be seen here.

These fine buses were originally built in 1946/7 as Bristol L5Gs. They were lengthened to 30ft (thus becoming LL5G) and rebodied by ECW in 1957, with a centre entrance version of the old ‘Queen Mary’ style of coach body last produced in 1952. They were fitted with 39 bus seats, and I believe replaced pre-war Leyland Tigers on the Scarborough sea front service.
They were as you say, nice looking vehicles and they must have come as a pleasant surprise to locals and tourists alike, as the buses simply exuded charm and more than a hint of class. It is amazing to think that those curvaceous bodies were all hand built by craftsmen. Their elegance leaves  many modern vehicle designs in the shade. How did they manage without computer-aided design and mass-production techniques? Very well indeed by the looks of it!

Brendan Smith

26/08/11 – 07:27

During the 1950’s and early 1960’s our family summer holidays were mostly in Scarborough, staying in the North Bay. Never mind roundabouts, donkey rides and amusement arcades, the highlight of my holiday would be being taken for a ride from Corner Cafe to Aquarium Top and back on one of these special Bristols. As a child, for a few years my ultimate ambition in life was to move to Scarborough and drive these buses on the 109 Seafront Service.
The reality would probably have been very different, and I suspect that though a steady job, it could have been rather tedious. But I was a child.
It was very sad when one day a few years later whilst out cycling, I called at Jackson’s scrapyard in Bradford and viewed with dismay the dismembered remains of one of these splendid machines in the blue livery of Clugston’s, the contractor. I was surprised to see that behind the ‘frowning’ front grille panel there was still the complete original Bristol L radiator shell and grille and bonnet.
It’s an old cliché I know, but if only one had survived into preservation……..

John Stringer

21/03/13 – 06:36

Talking of sad pictures of United’s special sea front Bristol L Types, here is 996 CHN, obviously at the end of its days in the junk yard in Northumberland. I think this one ended its days with Bedlington and District. Evidently the only thing wanted from this was its engine.

David Rhodes

22/03/13 – 17:00

After a period of no open toppers in Scarborough they were reintroduced by United using Bristol VRS. In the years following de-regulation several companies have run on the route East Yorkshire have used Routemasters Shorelin Suncruisers currently use Metrobuses in the eighties Applebys used a motley collection of older types including an ex Bristol Lodekka and ex Chester Fleetlines a pair of Southend Fleetlines a Park Royal bodied Fleetline from Sheffield and an ex Plymouth Atlantean Scarboro & District (East Yorks) use Alexander bodies Scanias currently

Chris Hough