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In this instalemant of memories I will relate some of the differences that I recall in the fleet at the time it was Barrow Corporation. By the time I was born (1953), Barrow had a large fleet of Leyland and Crossley buses with a few examples of Guy Arabs -nine in total and two Daimlers purchased in the war years when fleets had to get what they could. The Crossleys did not last long in service, originally intended for Manchester Corporation they had red seating as opposed to the standard blue that became the norm right through until the 1980's.
On reaching an age to be interested , indeed fasinated by these large machines that roamed the streets of Barrow I began to learn more about them and what types they were and their fleet numbers. For quite a few years some of us may recall the mobile clinic that was around in the 1960's. This was former Barrow single decker bus number 2 a Leyland Tiger of 1933 which served the town right through the war years along with seven sisters. Number 10 resided at Bigger Bank caravan park for many years , and eventually ended up in Devon.
Hindpool Road bus garage opened just before World war 2 , my reserach does not give any indication where the buses were stored prior but it was known when trams ran in the town their was depot at Salthouse which went up in flames around 1902. Photos in more recent times (40's, 50's and 60's )show buses parked on land that became the Civic Hall , and the canteen was near to Paxton Terrace,but facilities eventually moved to the bottom of Greengate Street /Church Street corner , then to the back of the Town Hall in the 70's. Many a time I can recall the smell of veges and chips cooking as I walked back to the ALFS at lunchtime , one still can see the kitchen steam coming from vents and hear the laughing and conversations of staff at their canteen on a cold wet miserble day.
The corporation revamped the fleet in the sixties with a new colour scheme , part of a national change away from the traditional looks that had not altered for many decades. New Buses entering service were given the new livery . The last to be painted in the old style colours of royal blue with cream relief was number 54, a single deck Leyland leopard which came into service in 1966.The following year more Leylands arrived, and single deck number 55 was the first . By this time most of the older fleet had been repainted, 141 being the first with the remaining double deckers as they went through the workshops. I always thought it suited the single decks but was not so sure about the double deckers.
As mentioned in previous blogs , things were changing fast , the loss of many of the double deckers as patronage dropped and the private motor car began its invasion of streets and parking spaces made public transport less attractive and by 1978 Barrow had just one rear open platform bus left in service , number 165. Fortunatly their were people aiming to save some of Barrows transport for future generations to enjoy. The Furness Transport Group (FTG)was a group of dedicated enthusiasts who out of their own pockets bought several of the retired vehicles to preserve and run as private enterprises.
Most notable was Leylands 169 and 170 , and some 30 years on it is to their credit that these buses and others they have saved are here today and some in perfect working order. Anyone who dabbles with old cars or motorbikes can apprecaite the logistics of trying to find safe storage for such large vehicles and maintain them without revenue is enormous. Today the whole preservation movement is under threat , and even harder to find new members who like getting their hands dirty. Leyland Number 147 was saved , having been discovered on a farm in Scotland in the early 1980,s. This bus and sister 148 had electric doors fitted for the Coast Road service after being rebodied in 1960 .
Also numbers 159 and 160 were fitted in a similar fashion. Royal Tiger number 51 became the towns library bus in 1959. In the mid seventies it was retired , firstly to Kirkby Lonsdale 's Queen Elizabeth Grammer School then ended up at the Dalston disposal yard. Rescued by FTG , using borowed batteries from BCT number 101 -recently decommissioned at Hindpool, the members travelled by car with batteries in the boot. Such weight saw the Austin Princess 's suspension collapse three days later. 51 made it back to Barrow and was stored at the John Whinnerah. During the 1970's Buses magazine reported via a contributor the dwindling double decker fleet of Barrow in their fleet list.
Leyland open platform buses 161-170 featured regulary, 161 survived deposal and became a Cumbria Roadshow exhibition vehicle with the Council, 163 went to Wales , 162 , 164 and 168 to dealers, 166 to a Scottish brewery company, 167 scrapped after an accident, with 165 remaining as driver training vehicle and 169 and 170 preserved. Not so fortunate were the last group of double deckers of the BCT era , 101 to 110 , originally numbers 1 to 10 introduced in 1961. Whilst all ten ran without serious incident through their working lives , none were saved for preservation. First to go was 107 to Listers at Bolton - in October 1978, surprising since it was one of the last to enter service .
By the time I left for New Zealand a year later, only five remained , 103, 105, 106, 109, 110 108, 102 and 104 were stored at the back of the depot awaiting their fate. 106 had a different exhaust sytem fitted giving it a much throatier sound that its sisters. 104 in its last weeks was giving out a perculier ominous knocking sound , as number 4 it was the first to go into revenue service of the ten back in May 1961. 108 was spotted some years later in the south sporting a red livery .I understood 109 and 110 survived until 1981 , and a small parade was held for them as they were the last of the double deckers of that era.
Ironically not long after, more double deckers were indeed purchased by the Council, some ex London Transport Leyland Titans, others new. Of these number 104 has been preserved (pictured above) and was on some of John Earnshaws photos at transport meetings in Lancashire on the old LRU site.. The single decker fleet soldiered on during the 70's, with at least one example of the first batch of Leyland Leopards (68-72)been preserved . Since then preservationists have managed to save several others including National number 9 which entered into service in 1974. None of the Daimler fleet (1-5) were saved but several of the Leopards (50-64)went onto varied careers with other operators as the fleet were sold . For most of us wherever we were born , the buses we travelled on, whether to work , the shops, beach or cinema, were a strong part of our lives back then.
They had character, were fun to ride on and always someone to say hello to. People were happy and glad to have a transport system that was dedicated to being apart of their lives. Sadly, we may never get that back, having worked in the industry for many years I know its flaws and strengths of today , Drivers, mechanics and management are under much pressure , traffic is alot heavier , timetables tight and the general public demand high quality service and reliability.
It was a real pleasure to recall Barrows buses as I remember, and I hope that which ever town or city you grew up in, you have similar happy memories. Have a safe and happy week. Next time-the music memories of childhood and beyond.
On reaching an age to be interested , indeed fasinated by these large machines that roamed the streets of Barrow I began to learn more about them and what types they were and their fleet numbers. For quite a few years some of us may recall the mobile clinic that was around in the 1960's. This was former Barrow single decker bus number 2 a Leyland Tiger of 1933 which served the town right through the war years along with seven sisters. Number 10 resided at Bigger Bank caravan park for many years , and eventually ended up in Devon.
Hindpool Road bus garage opened just before World war 2 , my reserach does not give any indication where the buses were stored prior but it was known when trams ran in the town their was depot at Salthouse which went up in flames around 1902. Photos in more recent times (40's, 50's and 60's )show buses parked on land that became the Civic Hall , and the canteen was near to Paxton Terrace,but facilities eventually moved to the bottom of Greengate Street /Church Street corner , then to the back of the Town Hall in the 70's. Many a time I can recall the smell of veges and chips cooking as I walked back to the ALFS at lunchtime , one still can see the kitchen steam coming from vents and hear the laughing and conversations of staff at their canteen on a cold wet miserble day.
The corporation revamped the fleet in the sixties with a new colour scheme , part of a national change away from the traditional looks that had not altered for many decades. New Buses entering service were given the new livery . The last to be painted in the old style colours of royal blue with cream relief was number 54, a single deck Leyland leopard which came into service in 1966.The following year more Leylands arrived, and single deck number 55 was the first . By this time most of the older fleet had been repainted, 141 being the first with the remaining double deckers as they went through the workshops. I always thought it suited the single decks but was not so sure about the double deckers.
As mentioned in previous blogs , things were changing fast , the loss of many of the double deckers as patronage dropped and the private motor car began its invasion of streets and parking spaces made public transport less attractive and by 1978 Barrow had just one rear open platform bus left in service , number 165. Fortunatly their were people aiming to save some of Barrows transport for future generations to enjoy. The Furness Transport Group (FTG)was a group of dedicated enthusiasts who out of their own pockets bought several of the retired vehicles to preserve and run as private enterprises.
Most notable was Leylands 169 and 170 , and some 30 years on it is to their credit that these buses and others they have saved are here today and some in perfect working order. Anyone who dabbles with old cars or motorbikes can apprecaite the logistics of trying to find safe storage for such large vehicles and maintain them without revenue is enormous. Today the whole preservation movement is under threat , and even harder to find new members who like getting their hands dirty. Leyland Number 147 was saved , having been discovered on a farm in Scotland in the early 1980,s. This bus and sister 148 had electric doors fitted for the Coast Road service after being rebodied in 1960 .
Also numbers 159 and 160 were fitted in a similar fashion. Royal Tiger number 51 became the towns library bus in 1959. In the mid seventies it was retired , firstly to Kirkby Lonsdale 's Queen Elizabeth Grammer School then ended up at the Dalston disposal yard. Rescued by FTG , using borowed batteries from BCT number 101 -recently decommissioned at Hindpool, the members travelled by car with batteries in the boot. Such weight saw the Austin Princess 's suspension collapse three days later. 51 made it back to Barrow and was stored at the John Whinnerah. During the 1970's Buses magazine reported via a contributor the dwindling double decker fleet of Barrow in their fleet list.
Leyland open platform buses 161-170 featured regulary, 161 survived deposal and became a Cumbria Roadshow exhibition vehicle with the Council, 163 went to Wales , 162 , 164 and 168 to dealers, 166 to a Scottish brewery company, 167 scrapped after an accident, with 165 remaining as driver training vehicle and 169 and 170 preserved. Not so fortunate were the last group of double deckers of the BCT era , 101 to 110 , originally numbers 1 to 10 introduced in 1961. Whilst all ten ran without serious incident through their working lives , none were saved for preservation. First to go was 107 to Listers at Bolton - in October 1978, surprising since it was one of the last to enter service .
By the time I left for New Zealand a year later, only five remained , 103, 105, 106, 109, 110 108, 102 and 104 were stored at the back of the depot awaiting their fate. 106 had a different exhaust sytem fitted giving it a much throatier sound that its sisters. 104 in its last weeks was giving out a perculier ominous knocking sound , as number 4 it was the first to go into revenue service of the ten back in May 1961. 108 was spotted some years later in the south sporting a red livery .I understood 109 and 110 survived until 1981 , and a small parade was held for them as they were the last of the double deckers of that era.
Ironically not long after, more double deckers were indeed purchased by the Council, some ex London Transport Leyland Titans, others new. Of these number 104 has been preserved (pictured above) and was on some of John Earnshaws photos at transport meetings in Lancashire on the old LRU site.. The single decker fleet soldiered on during the 70's, with at least one example of the first batch of Leyland Leopards (68-72)been preserved . Since then preservationists have managed to save several others including National number 9 which entered into service in 1974. None of the Daimler fleet (1-5) were saved but several of the Leopards (50-64)went onto varied careers with other operators as the fleet were sold . For most of us wherever we were born , the buses we travelled on, whether to work , the shops, beach or cinema, were a strong part of our lives back then.
They had character, were fun to ride on and always someone to say hello to. People were happy and glad to have a transport system that was dedicated to being apart of their lives. Sadly, we may never get that back, having worked in the industry for many years I know its flaws and strengths of today , Drivers, mechanics and management are under much pressure , traffic is alot heavier , timetables tight and the general public demand high quality service and reliability.
It was a real pleasure to recall Barrows buses as I remember, and I hope that which ever town or city you grew up in, you have similar happy memories. Have a safe and happy week. Next time-the music memories of childhood and beyond.
regards Wallace
The picture of BCT104 is taken from Bill Clarks SOUTHLAKES SITE with thanks
