Mill Transport Bus ANW 679

Just sorting through some of my old reject photos when I came across this one of ANW 679. It’s one of a batch which for some reason all ended up with the top deck cut short on the photo. Hence the reject. However, the passage of time makes it interesting. Written on the back in pencil is “Keighley 5.3.62. Mill Transport Bus from Sutton (Bairstow’s Mill). It used to quietly drift into Keighley North Street each evening to unload its human cargo and always stopped just past the West Yorkshire Stockbridge route shelters by the Town Hall Square. Does anyone know if this bus got scrapped, or has it survived?

David Rhodes

02/11/13 - 08:09

Can't make any comment about the bus, I'm afraid, but I do remember Bairstow's running their own staff buses. I think the mill closed c1970, (the premises later being used by Silentnight, from Barnoldswick) - the last two buses they used were KCH-batch PD2s ex-Trent.
One thing I found remarkable about Bairstow's was the fact that they had a purpose-built depot to house their two buses! The last time I was in the area (quite a few years ago now) the building which had been the depot still existed, but no longer used in connection with vehicles. I suspect the building was still quite new when Bairstow's ceased to trade.
From the pic it's clear that at least one of their buses carried staff to & from Keighley, naturally - given the geography of the area I would imagine the second headed off towards Skipton, though I'm obviously guessing there.
Bairstow's weren't the only operator of double-deck staff buses in the area - Silentnight, Armoride, Hayfield Mills, and Lontex (Barnoldswick) all spring immediately to mind. Hayfield Mills actually purchased two Leyland-bodied PD2s new c1949/50, one of which was still operational in 1969. Foster's Mill (of Denholme) also had a PD2/Leyland bought new, but theirs was slightly earlier (c1948).
There was a shot of one of the Hayfield PD2s on the net up to a year or two ago, but I don't think it's there now.

David Call

02/11/13 - 09:36

This link shows some wonderful views of WYRCC buses in Sutton, including this Bairstow Mill Regent at Steeton Top en-route from Keighley to the mill (empty, so presumably returning light after the last journey). www.sutton-in-craven.org.uk/

Paul Haywood

02/11/13 - 12:31

Looks very much like a pre-war ex-Leeds City Transport vehicle. I'm sure there are some regular contributors who will be able to identify its earlier identity. Barton's bought 20 such Regents from Leeds about 1951-52. Most of them had the later style of Roe high-bridge body, but there was at least one of the earlier design. This was CNW 910 said to be a 1936 example, so I guess ANW was a bit earlier. Wonder what happened to the offside headlight. I guess law-enforcement authorities took a "dim view" (sorry!) of it.

Stephen Ford

02/11/13 - 17:44

Detective surfing suggests that this is a 1934 Leeds (as you would expect) Diesel/preselector Regent that was loaned to London for nine months in 1949. Other nearby numbers appear here and there but not this one. Interesting features are the blanked off radiator grille (so cold up there?) and the missing hi-beam headlamp (and mudguard below?) which may have been useful in the country! On the other hand, the near mudguard gleams with paint and the tyres are well grooved.

Joe

02/11/13 - 17:44

Some glorious Keighley-West Yorkshire pictures there Paul. A real gem is the "KDG" - one of the very first post WW2 deliveries. Especially noticeable are the "separate" sliding windows, soon in later deliveries to be superseded by the "all in one type." This batch of buses of course were propelled by the lusty Gardner 5LW, and I believe had those giant destination displays over the platform and half the first bay also - they always marred the superb lines of the ECW bodies and were removed fairly quickly.
I well remember the two Hayfields PD2s and my admiration of the firm for buying new - most unusual - and I seem to recall that they were a very pleasing light blue in colour. We used to encounter them at Steeton Top as we prepared to go into battle on the way to Haworth !!

Chris Youhill

03/11/13 - 08:47

Regarding the 'missing' headlight, I do remember a time when it was permissible to have just one dipped headlight, and one main-beam - the main-beam one being simply switched off when not required, rather than being dipped. I am sure that the Morecambe & Heysham AEC Regent IIIs were so equipped, but it is my recollection that this arrangement was legal for vehicles built up to c1965. Some provisions like this applied only to psv's, but in this case I am sure the application was to 'passenger vehicles', so it may be that the arrangement shown was legal, given what appears to be an additional headlight at a lower level. (The headlights did not need to be 'matched'). Of course, not everyone was aware of this provision, so there was always the possibility of being challenged.

To the question of whether the above vehicle has survived the answer is probably not, but similar ANW 682 is preserved at the Keighley Bus Museum. www.sct61.org.uk/

David Call

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