In April 2011, I elected to take Early Retirement from my post with Durham County Council having completed over 43 years in the Passenger Transport Industry, and thought it was about time to put down in writing, my experiences, before I forget them.                                                                                                                        
I am sure those of you who stumble across this site will quickly go back one page and find something more interesting to look at.
In 1968 I was finishing my studies at College in Manchester, Brooks Bar to be precise, (an area of Manchester which I will make acquaintance with later on in my career), when an Aunt of mine showed me an advert in the Oldham Evening Chronicle for the position of a Junior Works Clerk with Oldham Corporation Passenger Transport Department.
Having always had a passing interest in Transport of all kinds I thought that it would be a good steady job, with good prospects. 
(Well it was until a certain Nicholls Ridley came along).
So I wrote an Application Letter, (no such things as a C.V., in those days), and waited for a reply.
This arrived a few days later when a car pulled up at our house and a gentleman got out and handed me a letter. 

I later learned that he was the Insurance and Licensing Officer who lived in the same village as me.

The letter inviting me for interview. 

Click here to see a larger size.

For those of you who have stayed with this until now, you would probably like to know the name of the village. It was (and still is for that matter) called DELPH.
                                                                                 

Postcard view of King Street Delph

Delph is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, roughly half way between Manchester and Huddersfield on the A62, and was in The Urban District of Saddleworth, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, until moved into Greater Manchester in the 1974 Local Government re-organization.
There was much protesting, petition writing and public meetings to stay in the West Riding but all to no avail, it was moved.
Saddleworth is of course unfortunately more well known for the Moors murders, committed by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, but I will not go there.
Delph is also famous for being the home - for a number of years - of another famous transport figure, that of Geoffrey Hilditch. 

For those of you who have not read his books 'Steel Wheels and Rubber Tyres' (Volumes 1 & 2) I can thoroughly recommend them. 

In recent years King Street, as shown in the postcard above, was used as the setting for the film 'Brassed Off', 
where the band marched down the street to play at the Annual Whit Friday Band Contest. A clip of the film is shown below

Now back to the story. The letter invited me for interview at the Wallshaw Street Offices on the following Saturday morning - these were the days of 5 1/2 and 6 day weeks - with the Chief Clerk Mr. E. J. Healey.
So, the next Saturday, with shoes polished and trousers pressed I caught the bus from Delph Station to Oldham Mumps Bridge, (a journey I was going to make many times over the next few years), and made the short walk to Wallshaw Street Depot, and, as requested in the letter reported to the Garage Warden (what a grand title) who escorted me to the offices.
Here I was greeted by Mr Healey, and the interview commenced. Well 42 years is a long time, and I do not remember anything of the interview, except that at the end of it I was offered the post, and could start a week the following Monday on 27th May 1968.
The job which I had been lucky enough to get was as Junior Works Clerk in the Works Office, which was situated in the old Tram Depot.
So started 5 very happy years at Oldham Corporation Passenger Transport Department (later to become SELNEC PTE - Oldham District).

 

Above is an extract from the Annual Report of the General Manager for the Year ending 31st March 1969, which confirms my Appointment.

Aerial view of Wallshaw Street #        

Aerial View of Wallshaw Street Depot.

The Oldham Corporation Depot was split into 2 sections separated by Car Street.
The 1st section that you came to was the old Tram shed. This Depot was originally opened in 1902, and offices were included in the original building, but were rebuilt in 1934 to the layout that I was to work in.
 
 Here is a plan of the Offices as I remember them in 1968

Diagram of Oldham Offices

 
Trams were to operate out of this building until final abandonment of the system, on Saturday 3rd August 1946, and in 1952 modifications were carried out to make the workshops suitable to maintain the modern buses of the day.

(See Last Days of Oldhams Trams Page). 

The 2nd section was the Garage, (which is still in use by First Group), was opened on 23rd May 1938, by Alderman J. Crabtree the chairman of the Transport Committee (formally the Tramways Committee). The new Garage and the old Tram Depot, were at the centre of the Undertaking's operating area at the junction of Wallshaw Street, and the afore mentioned Car Street, and was built with a view to minimising dead mileage and reducing working expenses, and, at that time was the most modern motorbus garage in the country, and was a show piece, and was visited by officials from other Municipal Undertakings.
It was , and still is a remarkably fine building with a floor of 390ft by 350ft, giving a floor area of 136,500ft, and a main entrance, 54ft wide. The Garage roof has only 3 stanchions, supporting girders with spans of over 200ft.
It was built to accommodate 300 buses, (when I started it had approx 250), but as buses have got bigger, both longer and wider, plus bendibuses, this figure will now be much reduced.

The offices were entered up three steps at the top of which were a pair of double doors, in which were embossed glass panels on which were the Corporation Coat of Arms, and to the right of which was a brass plaque which proclaimed:-

                        'OLDHAM CORPORATION PASSENGER TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT' - HEAD OFFICES.

The doors opened up into the Enquiry and Lost Property Office which was all wood panelled, with a small enquiry window to the left, (I was to find out more of what went on in this office as time went on). This was the first time I had entered this imposing building by the main entrance, on the day of my interview I had gone in by a side door, because the Enquiry Office was shut on Saturdays. I reported for work by ringing the bell.
The window was opened by a very pleasant lady who I later found out was called Rene Trigg, (her husband was an Inspector, keeping up a tradition of families working on the buses).I was taken up to the first floor offices in an antiquated lift which had mesh doors on both sides. You entered in to the lift and then got out on the opposite side. I was shown where the Time clock was, because even office staff had to clock on and off, and taken to Mr Healeys' office, where, the official form filling took place, National Insurance Cards handed over, and more importantly I was given my FREE Bus Pass.
The world was now my oyster, or at least that part of it which Oldham Corporation ran in. The pass only allowed free travel on Oldham Corporation buses, if you caught a Manchester Corporation, or a North Western Road Car Company vehicle you had to pay.
This was a bit of a bind because living where I did (Delph if you had forgotten), was also served by both those two concerns, so I had to make sure that I caught an Oldham bus to get the benefit.
After all the formalities were completed, I was taken down to the Works Office. This was another trip in the lift, back down to the enquiry area.
The offices attached to the works were accessed through the Enquiry Office.
 
The Works Offices with the Electrical Shop below. The Works Office is above far left, ringed in red.

Works Office - Copy

These had been built as a mezzanine floor above the workshops, with the Foremans Office, Electricians shop, and Fuel injection/Fuel pump test area below.  A veranda walkway looked out over the works, with the offices situated to the left with the windows looking out on to Car Street.
The first office you came to was the Bonus Clerks office, staffed by Jack Bolton, and Jean Probert, and - from Nov 1968 - Mo Baynham.
There were then, on the left a set of stairs leading down in to the works. The next office was the Work Study Engineers Office (with David Ward, Derek Wigett, Ivan Adams, and others whose names I can no longer remember). This was an expanding function, with all jobs in the works shops and Garage being studied, and given a time to complete the task, so that a Bonus could be paid.
The next office was the Works Office where I was to work. Next door was the drawing office, then the Assistant Engineers Office (Mr Eric Watts), later to work at Portsmouth Passenger Transport Department, then the Holy of Holies ‘The Chief Engineers’ office (Mr Eric Jenkins), later to become Chief Engineer for West Midlands PTE.
Mr Healey took me to see Mr Jenkins to be introduced, and then to the Works Office where I was introduced to the people I would be working with.
These were John Jenkins, Senior Works Clerk, Jeff Yates, Works Clerk, and Stella (her last name escapes me) who was the Shorthand Typist. These were the people I was to work with for the next 2 years or so, before I moved in to the Traffic Office.
So the first thing was to be given my desk, not difficult as it was the only one vacant.
I had my back to the workshops, but had a good view in to Car Street, and the imposing entrance to the Pennine Suite, which was the magnificent Ball Room, and recreation club of the  “Oldham Corporation Passenger Transport Department Social Club”.

                                                       The Entrance to the Pennine Lounge mentioned in the text.

​to be continued

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With the introduction of the 1930 Road Traffic Act the Country was split into 13 Traffic Areas.

Each was given a distinguishing letter, as shown in the list below.

The location of the issuing office is also shown.

A - NORTHERN - NEWCASTLE

B - YORKSHIRE - LEEDS
C - NORTH WESTERN - MANCHESTER
D - WEST MIDLANDS - BIRMINGHAM
E - EAST MIDLANDS - NOTTINGHAM
F - EASTERN - CAMBRIDGE
G - SOUTH WALES - CARDIFF
H - WESTERN - BRISTOL
J - SOUTHERN - READING
K - SOUTH EASTERN - EASTBOURNE
L - SCOTTISH (SUB AREA) - ABERDEEN
M - SCOTTISH - EDINBURGH
N - METROPOLITAN - LONDON

PSV Badges when originally issued, were of an oval enamel design, on a leather hanging strap, and had the same distinguishing letter with the number underneath.

An example of an early Drivers Badge from the Northern Traffic Area is shown below.

These hanging badges were replaced on 1st January 1935 by the more familiar round badge.

The reason for this change was believed to be because when Drivers were swinging the starting handle on the old type buses, the badge flew up in to their face and caused injury. How true this is I do not know, but it sounds reasonable.

They were originally made of a material called 'Traffolyte', and then later in Formica, and much later in Plastic.

The font style differed over the years as did the shade/colour of the edge, as different manufacturers were used.

The badge numbering started at 1001

An early badge, again from the Northern Traffic Area, is shown below. This would be the 2088th badge issued in c1935/6.

Traffic Area Map 1933

Below are the addresses and Counties covered by the 12 different Traffic Area Offices.

The 2 digit badge code is shown after the name of the office.

Further down it shows 'xx Drivers Badge' or 'xx Conductors Badge', if you click on that, it will take you to the badge page for that area, and Driver or Conductor.

Please report any broken links through the Contact Me page.

NORTHERN TRAFFIC AREA (AA)
Low Friar House
36-42, Low Friar Street
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 5XR

'AA' DRIVER BADGES

'AA' CONDUCTORS BADGES

COUNTIES COVERED
Cumberland, Durham, Northumberland, Westmorland, part of North West Lancashire and part of the North and West Riding of Yorkshire.

YORKSHIRE TRAFFIC AREA (BB)
Hillcrest House
386 Harehills Lane
Leeds
LS9 6NF

'BB' DRIVER BADGES
'BB' CONDUCTORS BADGES

COUNTIES COVERED
Yorkshire (except the parts included in Northern Traffic Area), part of north east Derbyshire, and part of north west Nottinghamshire.


NORTH WESTERN TRAFFIC AREA (CC)
Arkwright House
Parsonage Gardens
Deansgate
Manchester
M60 9AN

'CC' DRIVERS BADGES
'CC' CONDUCTORS BADGES

COUNTIES COVERED
Anglesey, Caernarvonshire, Cheshire, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Merionethshire, Montgomeryshire, part of north west Derbyshire, and Lancashire (except the part included in Northern Traffic Area).


WEST MIDLANDS TRAFFIC AREA (DD)
Cumberland House
200 Broad Street
Birmingham
B15 1TD

'DD' DRIVERS BADGES
'DD' CONDUCTORS BADGES

COUNTIES COVERED 
Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, and Worcestershire.


EAST MIDLANDS TRAFFIC AREA (EE)
Birkbeck House
14-16 Trinity Square
Nottingham
NG1 4BA
 
'EE' DRIVERS BADGES
'EE' CONDUCTORS BADGES

COUNTIES COVERED 
Nottinghamshire (except the part included in Yorkshire Traffic Area), Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, a small part of north-west Huntingdon and Peterborough, Oxfordshire, Rutland, part of south-west Bedfordshire, part of north-west Berkshire, Buckinghamshire (except the part included in Metropolitan Traffic Area), Derbyshire, (except the parts included in Yorkshire and North-Western Traffic Areas), and Lincolnshire (except the south part of Holland which is included in Eastern Traffic Area).


EASTERN TRAFFIC AREA (FF)
Sussex House
Hobson Street
Cambridge
CB1 1NR

'FF' DRIVERS BADGES  
'FF' CONDUCTORS BADGES

COUNTIES COVERED
Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely, Norfolk, Suffolk, Bedfordshire (except the parts included in East Midland and Metropolitan Traffic Areas), Essex (except the part included in the Metropolitan Traffic Area), Huntingdon and Peterborough (except the part in the East Midland Traffic Area) and the south part of Holland (Lincs).


SOUTH WALES TRAFFIC AREA (GG)
Dominions House
Dominions Arcade
Queen street
Cardiff
CF1 4XW

'GG' DRIVERS BADGES
'GG' CONDUCTORS BADGES

COUNTIES COVERED
Brecknockshire, Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, Glamorgan, Monmouthshire, Pembrokeshire, and Radnorshire.


WESTERN TRAFFIC AREA (HH)
The Gaunts' House
Denmark Street
Bristol
BS1 5DR

'HH' DRIVERS BADGES
'HH' CONDUCTORS BADGES

COUNTIES COVERED 
Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire and Dorsetshire (except the part included in the South-Eastern Traffic Area), and a small part of West Hampshire.


SOUTHERN TRAFFIC AREA (J)
Somerset House
Blagrave Street
Reading
Berkshire

THIS TRAFFIC AREA WAS SHORT LIVED AND WAS CLOSED ON 31st DECEMBER 1933.

'J' DRIVERS BADGES
'J' CONDUCTORS BADGES - THERE ARE NO PICTURES OF 'J' BADGES AS YET.

COUNTIES COVERED
The administration Counties of Oxford, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Southampton, and the Isle of Wight.
So much of the administrative county of Bucks as comprises the borough of Chepping Wycombe, and the urban districts of Beaconsfield, Marlow, and Slough, and the rural districts of Eton, Wycombe and Hambledon.
The County boroughs of Oxford, Reading, Bournemouth, Portsmouth, and Southampton.
THE AREA BEING MERGED INTO THE SURROUNDING AREAS. 


SOUTH EASTERN TRAFFIC AREA (KK)
Ivy House
1-5 Ivy Terrace
Eastbourne

'KK' DRIVERS BADGES
'KK' CONDUCTORS BADGES

COUNTIES COVERED
Hampshire (except the small western part included in the Western Traffic Area), the Isle of Wight, Kent and Sussex (except the parts included in Metropolitan Traffic Area), Berkshire (except the part included in the East Midland Traffic Area), part of south-east Dorsetshire, and south-west Surrey.



SCOTTISH TRAFFIC AREA (SUB OFFICE) (LL)
Northern Division
Greyfriars House
Gallowgate
Aberdeen AB9 2ZS

THIS OFFICE WAS CLOSED AT THE END OF MARCH 1984 AND THE WORK TRANSFERRED TO THE EDINBURGH OFFICE.

UNUSED 'LL' DRIVERS BADGES WERE SUPPLIED TO OTHER OFFICES TO BE ISSUED WHEN BADGES BECAME SHORT TOWARDS THE END OF BADGE ISSUE IN 1991.

KNOWN OFFICES TO ISSUE 'LL' BADGES WERE BIRMINGHAM, AND LONDON.

'LL' DRIVERS BADGES
'LL' CONDUCTORS BADGES

COUNTIES COVERED 
Aberdeenshire, Angus, Banffshire, Caithness, Clackmannan, Fife, Inverness-shire, Kincardine, Kinross, Moray, Nairn, Orkney, Perth, Ross and Croarty, Suthland, and Zetland.


SCOTTISH TRAFFIC AREA (MM)
24 Tophichen Street
Edinburgh
EH3 8HD

'MM' DRIVERS BADGES
'MM' CONDUCTORS BADGES

COUNTIES COVERED 
Argyll, Ayrshire, Berwickshire, Bute, Dumfriesshire, Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, Kirkcudbright, Lanarkshire, Midlothian, Peeblesshire, Renfrewshire, Roxburgshire, Selkirkshire, Stirlingshire, West Lothian, and Wigtownshire.


METROPOLITAN TRAFFIC AREA (N) PSV BADGES & (T) TROLLEYBUS AND TRAM STAFF.
P.O. Box 643
Government Buildings
Bromyard avenue
Acton
London W3

'N' DRIVERS BADGES
'N' CONDUCTORS BADGES

'T' DRIVERS BADGES

'T' CONDUCTORS BADGES

COUNTIES COVERED 
Hertfordshire, Greater London, Surrey (except the part included in South Eastern Traffic Area), part of south Bedfordshire, part of south-east Buckinghamshire, part of south-west Essex, part of West Kent, and the northern part of Sussex.

Metropolitan Area Map

PCV Drivers Badges

DoT letter re PSV Badge records.

The issuing of PSV Badges was discontinued on the following dates:-

CONDUCTORS BADGES on the 31st July 1980.

DRIVERS BADGES on the 31st March 1991.

DARLINGTON TRAM NETWORK

Trams ran from 1st June 1904 and finished on 11th April 1926.

DARLINGTON TROLLEYBUS NETWORK

FIRST ROUTE OPENED 17TH
JANUARY 1926

​LAST ROUTE CLOSED 31ST JULY 1957

DARLINGTON HISTORY AND FLEETLIST
CLICK THE ABOVE TO OPEN A NEW PAGE.

DARLINGTON CORPORATION GUY ARABS

39 &40 THN 351 & 352 - Copy (640x415) 41 THN 363 - Copy (640x415)

43 THN 355 - Copy (640x415) 44 THN 356 - Copy (640x415)

45 THN 357 #2 - Copy (640x415) 45 THN 357 - Copy (640x415)

43 THN 355 #2 - Copy (415x640)

For those of you who may be interested, it is now more than 44 years since I passed my PSV (Public Service  Vehicle) Driving Test.
(We will not bother with the new PCV title. This web site is stuck firmly in the past.)
I passed on Thursday 23rd January 1972 in Nottingham with the well know PSV Driving School, Wallace School of Transport. they are still in existance today, although now based at Wembley.        Please click here to view their website.
The vehicle used was an ex Western Welsh AEC Bridgemaster, with Park Royal H41/27RD body. It was new in December 1958, registered PBO 685, and given Fleet Number 685.

What led me to take my PSV Driving Test, and gain the coveted PSV Licence and Badge - well

I had begun my working career in 1968 with Oldham Corporation Passenger Transport Department, in the Works Office, but I had always wanted to be in the Traffic section.                            

(see my Oldham Corporation Transport Page),  

After a mamber of staff left, I was offered a job in the Traffic Office, and got involved in all aspects of Bus Operation. I felt that to know the job properly, I should obtain a PSV Driving Licence, so that I could know what life was like at the sharp end.

Of course this was an ambition which I had secretly had, since I was in short trousers, so was not a hard decision to make.

The first step on the ladder was to seek out the Chief Training Inspector - an ex Army Sargeant Major called Alec McAllistar, (Inspector Mac to everybody), he was not as frightening as his ex position may suggest.
I told him what my plans were, and why I was wanting to take the test.
He said that as far as he was concerned there was no problem, there was space in the Training School, and I could undertake training in the evenings and at weekends, so that it did not interfere with the day job.

Those were the days when Conductors who wished to become Drivers had to do the training in their own time, and unpaid, so the school operated at unsocial hours, which also allowed the Training vehicles to be used for peak hour service requirements.

The next step was to get permission off the Manager, so an official application form was completed and submitted the next morning, and I sat back and waited, for permission to start in the school.

The reply came 2 days later, but it was not the answer I was expecting.
As you have probably guessed it was NO. There were no vacancies in the school because it was so busy, and the Instructors could not be spared to teach me.

The memo showing the refusal can be seen here.

An appeal was made but to no avail, the answer was still NO.

So alternative plans had to be put in to motion.
I phoned around a number of HGV Driving Schools in the Oldham area, but they could not help, BSM even said there was no call for PSV tuition............ Strange as I was asking, and so must other prospective Bus and Coach Drivers.

It was about this time that I saw an article in Commercial Motor on PSV Driver Training Schools, one, Basford School of Transport Driving, was based in Nottingham, which was the nearest I had come to one in the whole of the North of England, never mind in Lancashire.
So a phone call was made and my intentions made known.
Once again I was out of luck, they were full to capacity, well in to the new Year (1972), their only bus, an AEC Regent lll being fully committed.
But they did give me the name and phone number of 'The Wallace School of Transport' also based in Nottingham.

So once again a phone call was made (this was beginning to get expensive on phone calls alone).
This time lady luck was on my side, - Yes, they had vacancies, and if I was available I could go to Nottingham on the following Sunday and undertake a 3 hour assessment drive (which cost £6 - more expense) to see how long it would take them to teach me, although it sounded like a 1 week course, of 40 hours' was the norm, to progress from car driver to Bus Driver.

Sunday dawned, and there was a covering of snow, this was to be present throughout just about all my training, but this was something I wanted to do more than anything else in the world (sad or what), so off I set.

Fortunately I had given myself plenty of time, to allow for getting lost trying to find the former railway goods yard in Nottingham (no Sat Nav then), and arrived shortly before my allotted time.
There standing in the middle of the yard was my bus, PBO 685, an AEC Bridgemaster, new in December 1958 to Western Welsh, (see picture at the top of this page).
Standing beside it was Bill Shepperson my Instructor for the assessment, and, already seated in the bus another victim - sorry - trainee.
If I thought I was going to jump into the driving seat straightaway I was much mistaken.
The assessment period comprised of three parts, firstly there was a brief talk about the responsibilty(s) of driving a PSV, secondly the test drive itself, and lastly a questionnaire on the Highway Code.
The brief talk completed I could now jump into the cab and away we would go, WRONG.
Bill climbed up into the cab and started to drive the bus out of the yard.
I suppose this was only sensible, the yard contained a number of HGVs, and the other PSV based at Nottingham, a Leyland Tiger single decker semi coach, the last thing that the Wallace School wanted was their business and lively hood wiped out in one fell swoop, by a novice trainee.
Bill drove to a quiet stretch of a dual carriageway, and pulled in to a layby, stopped the engine, climbed down and came round the back. He asked which one of use wanted to go first, so I said the other guy could go first. There was method in this, because I thought that I could possibly pick up a few tips, from his mistakes, and also as I said earlier it had been snowing, and the lower saloon had a nice big Calor Gas heater burning away.
This heater was fed from a gas bottle secured on the platform, a rubber hose running along the roof grab rail, down to the heater which was mounted on the front bulk head, (this heater would be in constant use during my period of training).
So, after an explaination of the controls from Bill, off we went.
I must say that the other guy hardly failed to put a foot wrong, so my thoughts of learning anything from him were quickly dashed, but I did stay warm. It turned out the other trainee was employed by Nottingham City Transport as a Conductor, had twice failed his test with them, and was now having to pay for his own lessons if he wanted to progress to be a Driver. After about half an hour Bill told him to pull over.

SO NOW IT WAS MY TURN.

I walked round to the front and climbed up into the cab, I was just about to slide the door shut when Bill climbed up.
This, he explained, was because I was a novice, and if need be, he could take action by either grabbing the steering wheel, or pulling on the hand brake, this instilled an aweful lot of confidence in me. 
During the normal course of instruction there was an emergancy air hand brake installed, for emergency situations, in the lower saloon just behind the drivers cab window, which of course, was missing, so that instructions and communications could be made between instructor and pupil.

So I started up the engine, selected first gear, gently squeezed the accelerator, let up the clutch until I could feel it bite, let off the hand brake, and moved slowly forward.
Sounds easy doesn't it, well it wasn't. The clutch was solid, and required a huge amount of effort to push down, and, more importantly let up again smoothly, the gear lever moved with all the ease of a spoon mixing concrete, and the hand brake needed all my strength to release. The steering was fairly heavy - even by 1972 standards - and the air brakes were super sensitive. Was I ever going to master it.

The modern day Bus Driver does not know he is born, what with - automatic gears, power steering, and spring parking brakes, (Oh, and don't forget cab heaters - I think you must realise by now that I don't like being cold), all he has to do is point the bus in the right direction, and use the soft and loud pedals (brake and accelerator) for stop and go. 
After about 5 minutes of driving Bill slid through the window back into the lower saloon, muttering something about not crashing it whilst he was doing it, and told me to carry on.

After the 30 minutes driving time was up (what happened to the 3 hours?), Bill directed me back to the yard, and must have thought I would not write off the 'fleet', let me drive back into the yard.
Hand brake on, out of gear, turn the engine off, but how did I do that.
This bit of the exercise was Bills' party trick. 
Now, I had seen in to the cabs of Leylands, and seen Drivers pull the engine stop situated to their left coming out of the engine compartment bulkhead, so I reached down, but no knob. So I searched and searched, but to no avail, of course I had to give in and ask, and Bill with a twinkle in his eye let me into the secret. On AECs the engine stop was situated on the accelerator, and by pulling it back the engine would stop. This valuable lesson learnt, the training finished.

Now came the moment of truth, how many hours/days/weeks, or even months would I need to become a Bus Driver.

Well Bill told me that I would need a week's joint tuition, which would consist of 5 full days training, with another trainee, followed by the PSV Driving Test, which would take place possibly on the last day depending on test availablity.
Before that I would have to fill in all the PSV Licence Application forms, and send them off to the Traffic Area office (along with the relevant fees) and have a medical.

I can not remember what the test fee was , but I do remember that the Licence fee was 3/- (15p in new money) for a 3 year licence, AND 2/6 (12½p in new money) PSV Badge Deposit. This was returnable when your licence expired and you sent your badge back to the Traffic Area office.
For those of you who are interested, I will cover the intricacies of the PSV licensing, and the Traffic Area system at a later time.
So the day was over and I drove home, knowing that (hopefully) it would not be long before I was back in Nottingham, and the Wallace School of Transport would be teaching me to Drive a Bus.

On getting into work on the Monday morning I checked up to see how many days holiday I had left, and found that I only had 4 days left. This was a problem because I wanted to start my training as soon as possible, and to have 5 days holiday I would have to wait until April and the start of the new leave year.
It was now getting into December and it would be a whole 3 months before April arrived. So I phoned the Wallace School and asked if it would be possible to have a course of individual training, rather than the joint course as suggested.

For once I was lucky, they said they had a slot starting on 20th January, which would be 3 days tuition, followed by the test on the morning of Thursday 23rd January 1972 - a day to remembered. So I booked it.
In the mean time I had to complete all the paperwork for the Traffic Area office, and have a medical.

TO BE CONTINUED

​

My earliest recollections of buses - unlike some people, who could tell the difference between a PD2 and an AEC Regent at 2 miles, (and from their pram) - was from about the age of 6, which would make it the mid 1950s.

We lived in an area of the West Riding of Yorkshire called Saddleworth, in the Village of Greenfield.
Whilst Saddleworth was in Yorkshire,  our nearest Town was Oldham, and the nearest City was Manchester, both of which were firmly in Lancashire.

The area was served by 4 main operators, these being:-
Oldham Corporation Passenger Transport Department (OCPTD),
Manchester Corporation Transport Department (MCTD),
North Western Road Car Co Ltd (NWRCC), and
Stalybridge, Hyde, Mossley and Dukinfield Joint Transport and Electricity Board (SHMD).
There were also Express Services operated by the Tyne Tees/Mersey Pool, which produced a variety of operators, the others being operated by NWRCC.

Another interesting service was that operated by Hanson Buses, from Huddersfield to Oldham. I seem to remember that they had rather an interesting fleet of AECs, some of which were re-builds.

We lived in an area of Greenfield called Dacres, and the bus route which went past, was the 154, a joint operation between SHMD and NWRCC. The route ran between Ashton-under-Lyne (St Michael’s Square) and Uppermill (Commercial Hotel) via Mossley Station and Greenfield.

If journeys further afield were required a change had to be made at Greenfield (Clarence Hotel) on to the Service 10 for Oldham and Manchester. Or at Uppermill for services for other Saddleworth villages, such as Denshaw, Diggle, Dobcross, and (the village where I would later live) Delph.

Uppermill Square in the mid 1960s. Note the old Cinema in the right distance - which at that time was Central Garage, owned by Miles Bottomley who lived at 7 Dacres Avenue, we lived at No2. 

I bought many a car from here, the last being a Ford Escort - UVH 19R.

Buses on the 154 service used to pull on to the car park of the Commercial Hotel on the right and then reverse in to the side street to wait departure time.

Only single deckers could be used on the 154 service because of a Low Bridge at Black Rock between Stalybridge and Mossley, which carried the Stalybridge to Huddersfield railway line.

This line ran through the Standedge Tunnel from Diggle to Marsden.
For those of you interested in railways Standedge Tunnel was opened in 1894 by the London and North Western Railway with a double track and a length of 3 miles 60 yards (4806m). The tunnel is the 3rd longest in Britain, after the Severn Tunnel, and the Sheffield to Manchester route’s Totley Tunnel.

The SHMD operated a combination of Daimler and Atkinson single deckers on the 154.

I remember the rear entrance Daimler CVD6s (MMA56-60 Fleet Nos.56-60) new in 1950, with Northern Counties bodies, (the SHMD standard bodybuilder from 1950 until their last new deliveries in 1967, before SELNEC took over), because they had leather bell pulls in the overhead grab rails – like London Transport. 

It was always the highlight of any journey if I could ring the bell by this method.
Another memory of these buses was the lovely engine sound they gave. It still lingers in my memory today.

As an aside, (of which there will be many as we go through this journey) I remember the crews of SHMD, always seemed to wear the full uniform of Blue serge with green piping around the tunic collar, and down the trouser leg. Uniform caps, with the SHMD logo badge, were always worn, with white cap covers in the summer.     

VERY SMART.

Not like today’s Corporate designs, AND always worn with a yellow fluorescent HiViz waistcoat, (why do they bother with the uniform - just give them the yellow jacket instead).

1953 saw the arrival of a Daimler G6H with B34C bodywork (Reg No. PLG 967, Fleet No 67), and in 1954, 2 similar bodied Atkinson PL746Hs arrived (SMA 868-869, Fleet Nos. 68/69), with 2 more in 1956 (XLG 477-478 Fleet Nos. 77/78).
All these vehicles regularly appeared on the 154, the centre entrance with large standee areas being of particular interest, because there was a front nearside seat beside the Driver, which allowed great views of what this illustrious gentleman was doing, the views of the road being of little interest.
67 was particularly interesting, because it had a pre-selector gearbox. I could never work out how the driver changed gear long after he had moved the gear lever. Something I was to find out about 17 years later.
More Atkinson’s arrived in 1959, (993-995 GMA Fleet Nos. 93-95), but this time with B34F bodies, with single seats at the front of the saloon to get the high standing capacity achieved on the centre entrance type.

NORTH WESTERN ROAD CAR COMPANY LIMITED 

North Western Road Car Companies earliest contribution, which I remember were, the Bristol L5Gs with Weymann bodies, from the 1950 delivery.  They had rear entrance bodies, with a Conductor operated door, and a big chrome heater on the front bulkhead.

I seem to remember that they were rather finely upholstered, with deep seat cushions (or was this because I was young and small). Of course my favourite seat was the one right at the front behind the Driver.
Later additions to the fleet in 1954/55 saw Leyland Cubs, again with Weymann bodies, allocated to the service, along with AEC Reliance’s with both Willowbrook and Alexander (my personal favourite) dual purpose bodies. 
Little did I then realize that I would drive some of these very vehicles, when they were transferred to SELNEC.
Oldham Depot was later allocated the whole delivery of a batch of Albion Aberdonians (714-719), in 1957, which only lasted 10 years before withdrawal.
These were used mainly as OMO buses, and so did not stray onto the 154 often, as Crew operation still existed.
Of course with NWRCC being such a big organization, vehicles moved around the Depots, so it was not unusual for any single deck vehicle type to be used, on the 154.
In 1962 my Father died, and it was decided that we would move from Dacres, back to the village of Delph where my Mothers family lived, and where she had been born.
Delph was mainly served by buses from NWRCC, but OCPTD, and MCTD operated from Delph Station to Oldham and Manchester on the 13/14 services, and the 153/155 Uppermill Circular.

Oldham's first tramway, authorised by the Oldham Borough Tramways Order of 1878, was officially opened on the 16^th September 1880. Although the Corporation had laid the infrastructure, the initial lease of the system was to the Manchester Carriage and Tramways company, whose horse trams ran from Waterhead along Huddersfield Road to the Manchester boundary at Hollinwood.
In 1885 the Manchester, Bury, Rochdale and Oldham Steam Tramway Company (MBRO), opened a line into the town via Royton, with a branch line to Werneth station opening in 1889. Another private company with an interest in Oldham was the Oldham, Ashton and Hyde Electric Tramways Company Ltd., a subsidiary of the British Electric Traction Company, whose line to the Oldham boundary at Hathershaw, from the Market Place at Ashton-under-Lyne, opened in 1899. Trams did not however run through until the lease expired and was purchased by the local authorities in 1921.

The first line to be operated by the Corporation, under the Oldham Corporation Act of 1899, opened on the 15^th December 1900, and was from the boundary at Chadderton along Middleton Road to Rochdale Road where it connected with the MBRO line. At this time, Oldham was still being served by the horse trams of the Manchester Carriage and Tramways Company and the steam trams of the MBRO and the addition of the Corporation's own electric trams added to the patchwork of services. In 1901, however, the lease on the horse tram system expired and Oldham Corporation took over the working of the lines. At the same time the Corporation came to an agreement with the MBRO for the purchase of their lines and set to work unifying and electrifying the whole system.

The Middleton Electric Traction Company, another BET subsidiary, commenced operations on a small section of line between Chadderton, at the Oldham boundary, and Rhodes, via Mills Hill and Middleton town centre, in 1902. The system was sold in 1925 to the participating local authorities and integrated with the Manchester Corporation system in Middleton, allowing through running from Oldham.

In the meantime Oldham Corporation had set about upgrading and expanding the lines within the borough and by 1903 operated a network of services, summarised below;

Further developments took place until 1925 when the line from the Chadderton boundary was extended through to Middleton, following the purchase of that portion of the line from Middleton Corporation (who had themselves acquired the section from the Middleton Electric Traction Co Ltd). This proved to be the last extension of the tramway system.

Motorbuses had made an appearance in Oldham during May 1913, when two Tilling-Stevens TTA2 petrol-electric vehicles (BU401-2) were purchased for two routes. The first commenced at the Town Hall and ran to the Coppice, a distance of just under a mile. The second was from the Moorside tram terminus to Grains Bar and was intended as a stop-gap measure until the opening of the new tram terminus there. It ran until June 1914. A third Tilling-Stevens was acquired to provide cover and was registered BU11, following the then common practice of re-issuing void registration marks for new vehicles.

A further service was introduced on the 31^st August 1914 to Denshaw from the new tram terminus at Grains Bar. However, the cost of operating the buses was becoming too expensive and the services were withdrawn in 1919. No attempt was made to re-introduce buses until 1924, when several private companies began services which competed against the Corporation's tramway network. Initially, it was intended to operate buses as feeder's to the tram service and five new all-Leyland C9 single-deckers with forward entrance, which made them capable of one-man operation, were purchased. The new service started on the 15^th December 1924, connecting Mumps and Hollinwood railway stations. On the 28^th February 1925 a second service commenced from Chadderton Road to the Broadway, New Moston, extended on 25^th July 1925 to serve Royton station and terminating at the New Moston boundary with Manchester. To cope with the extensions four all-Leyland C7's were purchased. It was at this time that Oldham Corporation commenced lettering their bus routes to avoid confusion with the regularly numbered tram routes, a practice that was to continue, except on jointly operated routes, which were numbered.

When, in 1925, Ashton Corporation decided to replace the trams on its share of the Oldham to Ashton service with trolleybuses, it requested that Oldham Corporation do the same. As a result two Short-bodied Railless trolleybuses were acquired, Oldham's share of a combined order for ten, and the joint service began on 26^th August 1925. In the event the trolleybuses were to last just over a year before being replaced by motorbuses, although Ashton continued to run them on its section of the route.

On the 10^th October 1926 a new depot was opened in Henshaw Street to accommodate the growing fleet of buses.

In the latter part of the decade it became increasingly expensive to run the tram system, mainly due to the increasing costs of track maintenance and replacement and some of the tram routes were superseded by buses. On 1^st May 1928 the last tram ran to Lees, and on 24^th December 1928 the Market Place to Grains Bar section was abandoned. Wholesale abandonment of the tramway system, however, was not begun until 1934 and subsequently delayed by the Second World War, so that the last tram did not run until the 3^rd August 1946.

In preparation for the tramway replacement, however, the Corporation had been evaluating chassis types and come down in favour of Leyland. As a result over 160 Leyland TD4 and TD5 chassis were purchased in the next decade or so, carrying a variety of body styles. By 1931 the livery was crimson and lake, replacing the earlier dark blue and white introduced on the first motorbuses in 1924, and remained so until 1966 when it was altered to pommard and cream. Buses replaced the trams on the Market Place to Hollinwood section in 1935 and in 1937 the Circular route was turned over to motorbuses. At the same time there had been a rise in the volume of passenger traffic and as a result more buses were required. This resulted in an order for 30 new buses in 1937, which included six Daimler COG6 chassis with Gardner 6LW engines, the only such engines to grace the Oldham Corporation fleet. The pre-war delivery of so many new buses meant that Oldham, unlike most other operators, did not have to resort to an intake of utility buses during hostilities and when peace broke out, Oldham Corporation's fleet was still relatively young. Buses replaced the final remaining tram route, to Manchester from Waterhead, on the 3^rd August 1946, and an effort to restore services to pre-war levels began.

A change in ordering policy in the early pre-war years saw a number of Crossley and Daimler vehicles, as well as Leyland, purchased, and, with the fleet renewed, there followed a period of stabilisation. By 1952 the fleet strength stood at 240 vehicles, of which only 14 were single-deck. 
Housing developments necessitated the introduction of new services to Fitton Hill and Holts estates in the mid-fifties and, with running costs rising, Oldham Corporation decided to accept bus advertising; the first such advert appeared in November 1953. As was the case with many operators at this time, Oldham Corporation found themselves with a serious staff shortage and this did little to improve the running of the services.

In 1956 the maximum length for double-deckers was increased to 30ft, but, although an AEC Bridgemaster demonstrator (116TMD) was on hire during 1959, it was not until 1964 that Oldham Corporation purchased 30ft long vehicles. Several other vehicles were hired from neighbouring authorities for assessment before ten Leyland PD3/5's with Roe H41/32F bodywork were finally purchased in 1964.

Spare parts for some of the postwar buses were becoming difficult to obtain and supplies of Crossley components had been discontinued, so Oldham acquired several withdrawn vehicles (including 2 ex-Liverpool Crossley DD42/7's, 6 ex-Birmingham Daimler CVD6's and 2 ex-Bury Leyland PD1's) for cannibalisation.
In 1965 the first rear-engined buses, ten Leyland PDR1/1 Atlanteans were put into service. Later that year Oldham Corporation suffered a major setback when an inspection by the Ministry of Transport examiners found faults on 97 buses, resulting in the Corporation urgently hiring 45 buses from neighbouring authorities. Subsequently it was decided to purchase several second-hand vehicles to bolster the fleet.

On the 1^st April 1968 the practice of allocating letters as route identification was replaced by route numbering.

The 1968 Road Transport Act provided for the creation of the South East Lancashire and North East Cheshire (SELNEC) Passenger Transport Executive, of which Oldham became a part on the 1^st November 1969, officially ceasing to exist as a separate municipal undertaking at midnight on the 31^st October.

OLDHAM CORPORATION PASSENGER TRANSPORT IMAGES

CLICK THE LINK

IMAGES OF OLDHAM CORPORATION BUSES
 

Tram Fleet List
1900-1946

1900

Nos. 1-4 purchased for evaluation in November 1900.
No. 1 also quoted as seating 30.
No. 2 fitted with balcony top-cover by 1920.
No. 4 also quoted as seating 38.
Withdrawn by 1915 (3), 1916 (4), 1928 (1), 1936 (2).

1902

No. 13 converted to top-covered double-deck (40/32) in 1903.
Nos. 27-80 delivered between 5^th December 1901 and June 1903; most were fitted with top-covers by 1922 (except Nos. 43, 47, 50, 52, 55-57, 68, 70, 74, 80, which remained open-top); seating increased to 30/20 (Nos. 13, 27-36, 58, 70, 76), or 36/20 (63, 77-78), the seating of other cars is uncertain except those mentioned below.
Nos. 43, 47, 56-57, 74 had top-decks extended increasing seating capacity to 40/20 by 1926; Nos. 43, 47 converted to single-deck in 1933 (43) or 1935 (47) with seating capacity of 26 and 25 respectively.
No. 34 rebuilt to open balcony and re-seated to 32/20 in 1922.
No. 38 rebuilt and re-numbered 93 in 1912 after accident.
Nos. 40, 54 rebuilt totally enclosed and re-seated to 36/20 in 1921
No. 45 rebuilt to open balcony and re-seated to 32/20 in 1921.
No. 49 rebuilt totally enclosed and re-seated to 36/20 in 1922.
Withdrawn by 1916 (5-12, 15-16), 1918 (17-18, 20, 24), 1923 (27), by 1924 (13, 19, 22), 1926 (23, 26, 32), 1927 (21, 28, 52), 1929 (25), by 1930 (35, 37, 38[93], 39, 42, 50-51, 55, 58-59, 61-62, 64, 67-68, 70-71, 76-77, 80), 1937 (44, 46, 48, 60, 63, 65-66, 69, 72-73, 79), 1939 (29-31, 34, 40-41, 45, 49, 53-54, 75, 78).

1911

Withdrawn 1937 (81-92).

1913

Withdrawn 1936 (99), 1937 (94-98).

1914

Withdrawn 1937 (100-111).

1920

No. 112 was constructed using the body from No. 3 of 1900, which had been out of service (although used as a platelayers hut) since 1915.
Withdrawn 1939 (7, 112), 1946 (4-6, 8-12, 14-16).

1924

Withdrawn 1939 (19-20), 1946 (17-18, 22, 24).

1925

Nos. 113-120 ex-Middleton Electric Traction Co. (Nos. 27-34); re-trucked with Brill 21E by Oldham Corporation at a later date.
Withdrawn 1933 (119), 1934 (117), 1935 (113-116, 118, 120).

1926

Withdrawn 1946 (121-132).

Bus Fleet List
1968 - 1986

1968

Withdrawn 1981 (205, 208-209, 213, 215-216, 218), 1982 (206-207, 210-212, 214, 217, 219).

1969

Withdrawn 1981 (220, 222-224, 229, 232, 235), 1982 (221, 226, 231, 234, 236-239), 1983 (228), 1984 (225, 227, 230, 233).

1970

Withdrawn 1978 (250, 253-254), 1984 (240-249, 252-252).

1972

Withdrawn 1979 (255-259).

1973

Nos. 17-18, 23, 24-28, 30-44 ex-Blue Bus Service, Willington (new 1973 (17), 1973 (18), 1960 (23), 1962 (24), 1962 (25), 1964 (26), 1966 (27), 1971 (28), 1953 (30) 1955 (31), 1957 (32), 1958 (33), 1960 (34), 1968 (35), 1969 (36), 1964 (37), 1966 (38), 1966 (39), 1967 (40), 1970 (41), 1971 (42), 1971 (43), 1971 (44).
Nos. 260-261, 270-271 to Derby City Transport Ltd.10/86 retaining same fleet numbers.
Withdrawn 1974 (30), 1975 (33, 35-37, 43), 1976 (17-20, 23-28, 34, 38-42, 44), 1977 (31-32), 1985 (262-269).

1975

Withdrawn 1976 (15-16).

1976

Nos. 21-22 ex-Yelloway MS, Rochdale (new 1966).
No. 58 ex-Greater Manchester PTE (No. 20, new 1963).
Nos. 61-63 ex-City of Oxford MS (Nos. 204, 206, 212 respectively, new 1959 or 1960 (WTH113)).
Nos. 9-12, 51-53, 272-288 to Derby City Transport Ltd. 10/86 retaining same fleet numbers.
Withdrawn 1978 (21-22, 61), 1979 (62), 1982 (58, 63), 1984 (13).

1977

No. 71 to Derby City Transport Ltd. 10/86 retaining same fleet number.

1978

Nos. 27-28 ex-Warrington CT (Nos. 3-4 respectively, new 1973).
Nos. 50, 289-298 to Derby City Transport Ltd. 10/86 retaining same fleet numbers.
Withdrawn 1982 (27-28), 1985 (101).

1979

No. 1 re-seated to C49F in 1979; re-seated back to C53F in 1983.
No. 23 ex-Yelloway MS, Rochdale (new 1970).
Nos. 253-255 ex-London Transport (Nos. DMS440-442 respectively, new 1972 as H44/24D; converted to H44/27F before purchase).
Nos. 1, 253-254 to Derby City Transport Ltd. 10/86 retaining same fleet numbers.
Withdrawn 1982 (23), 1984 (255).

1980

Nos. 250, 256, 257-259 ex-London Transport (Nos. DMS1283, 463, 465-467 respectively, new 1972 as H44/24D; converted to H44/27F before purchase).
Nos. 2, 45-48, 250, 256-259, 299-311 to Derby City Transport Ltd. 10/86 retaining same fleet numbers.
Withdrawn 1982 (102), 1986 (103-105).

1981

Nos. 100, 312-315 to Derby City Transport Ltd. 10/86 retaining same numbers.
Withdrawn 1986 (106-108).

1982

Nos. 3, 109-123 to Derby City Transport Ltd. 10/86 retaining same fleet numbers.
Nos. 124-125 re-numbered 204-205 in 1984.
Withdrawn 1986 (124-125[204-205]).

1983

Nos. 126-128 to Derby City Transport Ltd. 10/86 retaining same fleet numbers.

1984

Nos. 4, 129-133 to Derby City Transport Ltd. 10/86 retaining same fleet numbers.
Nos. 27-29 ex-Courtlands, Horley (Nos. 4, ?, 8 respectively, all new 1982).
Withdrawn 1986 (27-29, 206-210).

1985

Nos. 5-6, 134-143 to Derby City Transport Ltd. 10/86 retaining same fleet numbers.

1986

Nos. 7, 144-148 to Derby City Transport Ltd. 10/86 retaining same fleet numbers.
Nos. 247-249 ex-Thamesdown (new to London Transport as DMS2182, 2188, 2195 respectively in 1976); to Derby City Transport Ltd. 10/86 retaining same fleet numbers.

Bus Fleet List
1899-1967

Horse Buses

1899

Nos. 1-5 ex-Derby Tramways Company (new 1886 (1), 1887 (2), 1888 (3-5)).
Withdrawn 1905 (5), by 1909 (1-4).

1901

These two vehicles were classified as 'omnibuses' by 1905 and used in service; one was converted to an omnibus proper in 1909.
Withdrawn 1917 (two vehicles).

1903

Nos. 6-14 (of which only the fleet number for No.7 is known for certain) ex-Manchester Carriage & Tramways Company (new 1890).
Withdrawn by 1907 (three buses), by 1909 (remaining six buses).

1909

Withdrawn by 1917 (one bus).

Battery-powered Buses

1917

Withdrawn 1923 (1).

1920

Withdrawn 1924 (2).

Motorbuses

1924

No. 2 (CH4381) was fitted with the body from the former No.2 (CH1812).
Withdrawn 1929 (1-2).

1925

Withdrawn 1933 (3).

1926

Withdrawn 1930 (4).

1927

Withdrawn 1936 (5-6).

1928

Nos. 13-14 re-seated to B27R at a later date.
Withdrawn 1934 (13-14), 1936 (7-12, 15-16), 1939 (17-18).

1929

Withdrawn 1938 (23-26), 1939 (19-22, 27), 1942 (29), 1945 (28).

1930

Withdrawn 1944 (33-35), 1945 (31-32, 36-38), 1947 (30).

1931

Withdrawn 1939 (39, 41), 1942 (40).

1932

Withdrawn 1945 (42-43).

1933

No. 44 ex-Sunbeam demonstrator (new 1929).
Withdrawn 1939 (44).

1934

Withdrawn 1939 (47), 1940 (46), 1941 (45).

1936

Withdrawn 1949 (48, 50), 1950 (52), 1951 (49, 51), 1952 (53).

1938

Withdrawn 1952 (55, 61), 1953 (56-59, 63), 1957 (54, 62), 1958 (60).

1939

Withdrawn 1957 (65-67, 69-72), 1958 (68), 1960 (64, 73).

1942

Withdrawn 1961 (1-2, 74).

1943

Withdrawn 1961 (3-5).

1944

Nos. 6-7 fitted with 1938 Brush H28/26R bodies from Nos. 63, 57 respectively in 1953.
Withdrawn 1961 (6-7, 12-13), 1962 (8-11, 14-15).

1945

Withdrawn 1962 (17-18, 20-21), 1963 (16, 19).

1947

Withdrawn 1963 (24), 1968 (23, 25-26), 1969 (22, 27).

1948

Withdrawn 1968 (28-30), 1969 (31).

1949

*No. 47 ex-Coventry Corporation (No. 244, new 1940). This vehicle was used for driver training and never used in public service, although it was given a fleet number.
Withdrawn 1963 (34, 37), 1968 (38-39, 41, 75-77, 79), 1969 (32-33, 35-36), 1970 (40, 78), 1973 (47).

1950

Withdrawn 1967 (84-85, 88-89), 1969 (81-82, 86, 90-93), 1970 (80, 83, 87, 94).

1952

Withdrawn 1968 (108-109), 1969 (105-107, 112, 114), 1970 (95-104, 110-111, 113).

1957

Nos. 115-124 re-seated to H33/28R in 1959.
Withdrawn 1973 (115, 118-123), 1974 (116-117, 124).

1961

Withdrawn 1972 (125), 1976 (126, 129-132, 134), 1977 (133), 1978 (127-128).

1962

Withdrawn 1974 (139-141, 144), 1976 (136), 1978 (137), 1979 (135, 142), 1980 (138, 143).

1963

Withdrawn 1976 (148), 1978 (145-147, 149-154).

1964

Withdrawn 1976 (155, 157, 161-164), 1978 (156, 158), 1979 (159-160).

1966

Nos. 165-174 delivered with registration numbers FRC165-174C, but re-registered as shown before entry into service.
No. 174 re-seated to H44/31F in 1973.
Withdrawn 1977 (165, 167-169), 1978 (166, 170-171, 185, 189), 1979 (175, 178, 187), 1980 (179, 181-184, 186, 188), 1981 (177, 180), 1982 (174), 1983 (173), 1984 (172, 176).

1967

Nos. 49-52 ex-Halifax JOC (Nos. 296-299, new 1954)
Withdrawn 1969 (49-52), 1980 (191-192, 198), 1981 (193-194, 200, 202-203), 1982 (190, 196, 199, 201, 204), 1984 (195, 197).

Trolleybus Fleet List
1932-1967

1932

Withdrawn 1946 (79-80, 84-85), 1948 (81-82, 86-87, 89-91, 93-95, 97), 1949 (83, 88, 92, 96, 98), 1950 (99-101).

1933

Withdrawn 1946 (108), 1947 (102-107), 1948 (128), 1949 (109-110, 127), 1950 (111-114, 122, 126, 134), 1951 (115-121, 123, 129-131, 133), 1952 (124-125, 132).

1934

Withdrawn 1948 (136), 1949 (135, 143), 1951 (137-139), 1952 (140-142, 144).

1935

Withdrawn 1952 (145-148).

1936

Withdrawn 1949 (154), 1950 (150, 155), 1951 (149), 1952 (152, 156), 1953 (151, 153, 157-158).

1938

Withdrawn 1959 (161), 1960 (159-160, 162-164).

1942

Nos. 165-170 ex-Hastings Tramways Company (Nos. 11, 13, 21, 35, 38, 57, new 1928 or 1929 (DY5584)); it is thought that Nos. 167 and 170 never ran in service with Derby Corporation before they were cannibalised for spares.
Withdrawn 1942 (167, 170), 1944 (166, 168), 1945 (165, 169).

1944

Withdrawn 1964 (171-172).

1945

Withdrawn 1963 (173), 1964 (174-175).

1946

Withdrawn 1964 (176-178, 180, 182), 1965 (179, 183, 185), 1966 (181, 184).

1948

Withdrawn 1963 (186), 1964 (188), 1965 (187), 1966 (189-196).

1949

Withdrawn 1963 (213), 1964 (214), 1965 (197-198, 200, 202, 212), 1966 (199, 201, 203-206, 208-211), 1967 (207, 215).

1952

Withdrawn 1967 (216-224).

1953

Withdrawn 1967 (225-235).

1960

Withdrawn 1967 (236-243).

Tram Fleet List
1899-1934

Horse Trams

1899

Nos. 1-20 ex-Derby Tramways Company (new 1880-1881 (1-16), 1887 (17-18), 1894 (19-20)); Nos. 1-16 later converted to two-horse cars.
No. 13 was converted to open-top in 1900.
Withdrawn by 1903 (2, 3 + one other ), by 1905 (1, 4-12, 14-16), by 1907 (13, 17-20).

1902

Nos. 21-23 ex-Glasgow Corporation (new 1894).
Withdrawn by 1907 (21-23).

1903

Nos. 2, 3 (+ unknown car) ex-Glasgow Corporation (new 1894).
Withdrawn by 1907 (2, 3 + unknown car).

Electric Trams

1904

Nos. 1-12, 14, 17-25 re-trucked with Brill 21E trucks between 1913 and 1915.
Nos. 1, 3-4, 8-9, 22-23 fitted with Brush top-covers in 1924 or 1927 (22-23) and rebuilt to fully enclosed by Derby Corporation; probably all re-seated to 30/22.
Withdrawn 1928 (17), 1929 (12, 15), 1930 (24), 1932 (2, 5-7, 10-11, 13-14, 16, 18-21, 25), 1933 (1, 3-4, 8-9, 22-23).

1905

Nos. 26-29 re-trucked with Peckham P21B trucks in 1915.
Withdrawn 1932 (26-29).

1906

Nos. 30-35 re-trucked with Peckham P22 trucks in 1920-1921.
Withdrawn 1932 (36-39), 1933 (30-35).

1907

Nos. 40-41 fitted with Brush top-covers in 1913.
Nos. 42-44 fitted with Brush top-covers in 1913; re-trucked with Peckham P22 trucks in 1922.
Withdrawn 1930 (40), 1932 (41), 1933 (42-44).

1908

Nos. 45-47 re-trucked with Peckham P22 trucks in 1921; fitted with Brush top-covers in 1924.
Withdrawn 1931 (47), 1933 (45-46).

1911

Withdrawn 1933 (48-50).

1920

Withdrawn 1934 (51-56).

1921

Withdrawn 1932 (57), 1934 (58-60).

1925

Withdrawn 1934 (61-66).

1926

Withdrawn 1934 (67-72).

1927

Withdrawn 1934 (73-78).

1899-1986

Horse omnibuses had made an appearance in Derby by the early 1840's and by the 1850's omnibuses were operating a number of local services. Amongst those documented are William Wallis and John Miers, both of whom operated from the newly opened railway station into the town itself; whilst Edward Fisher provided a service to Castle Donington; Joseph Pickard to Wirksworth, and George Horsley to Melbourne, the latter service starting on 9^th October 1857. In 1877, the Derby Omnibus Company introduced a network of horse-bus services from Uttoxeter Road to the station; from Osmaston Road to the station and from Corden Street, New Normanton via the town centre to the Bridge Inn on City Road. Hardly had these services started when, in October 1877, the Derby Tramways Company was registered, however it was to be another few years before the Company was able to begin construction of the new tramway. On the 6^th March 1880, the first route opened, running from the Market Place along St. Peter's Street to the Midland Railway's station. On 1^st October 1880 a second line from Victoria Street to Windmill Hill opened, and on the 8^th October a line from The Spot to Cotton Lane was added to the system. The final extensions were opened in 1881 when lines to the Normanton Hotel from The Spot, and to Deadman's Lane from London Road were inaugurated. The initial rolling stock consisted of 16 (Nos. 1-16) single-deck cars by Starbuck, followed by four double-deck cars (Nos. 17-20), two in 1887 (by the Shrewsbury Waggon Company) and two in 1894 (manufacturer unknown). The depot was in Friar Gate. The Company also operated a number of horse-bus services inherited from the previous operators who were acquired as a condition of the construction of the tramway.

The Derby Corporation Act of 1899 empowered the Corporation to purchase the existing horse tramway. On the 1^st November 1899, Derby Corporation took control of the Company and rolling stock. New powers, obtained under the 1901 Derby Corporation Act, authorised the construction of new lines and the electrification of existing lines, although it was not until November 1903 that work commenced on converting the system. Meanwhile the horse services continued as normal and Derby Corporation overhauled the fleet and withdrew some of the older single-deck vehicles. One car (No. 13) was converted to an open-top car, and, in 1902 and 1903, six redundant double-deck cars were purchased from Glasgow Corporation.

In July 1904 a new tramcar depot was opened on Osmaston Road, and on the 27^th July the first electric routes commenced. The first sections opened were from The Spot to the Harrington Arms at Alvaston; a branch line to the Midland Railway's station, and from The Spot to Abingdon Street (to serve the new depot). The first electric trams were double-deck open-top Brush-built cars (Nos. 1-25), followed in 1905 by four (Nos. 26-29) top-covered cars. On 4^th September 1904 an extension from The Spot to Victoria Street was opened, followed shortly afterwards (on 18^th September) by a short line between London Road and Osmaston Road, via Bateman Street.

The last horse tram ran on 1^st June 1907, by which time the system was almost complete, the final section (the line along Nottingham Road to the Cemetery) opening on the 8^th February 1908. The last horse bus route, however, to Mansfield Road, continued to operate until 19^th May 1917, when an Edison battery-powered bus took over, although two of the horses and two horse buses were retained until 1919.

The advent of the Great War of 1914-1918 brought about a general decline in the track and rolling stock and by 1920 the Tramways Department were considering renewing and repairing the existing track and acquiring new tramcars. The first new tramcars for almost ten years were Nos. 51-56, Brush-built, top-covered, double-deckers, which entered service in 1920, followed shortly afterwards by Nos. 57-60, which entered service in 1921.

Meanwhile, a second battery-powered bus had been purchased in 1920, but neither of the vehicles proved particularly reliable. No.1 was withdrawn in December 1923 and when problems arose with No.2, it led to a complete breakdown in the Mansfield Road service. As a result, the Tramways Committee turned to the petrol-electric bus, which, without gears, was an easy transition for motormen to make. An order was placed with Tilling-Stevens for the supply of two chassis. One received a 20-seat body by the Blackburn Aeroplane & Motor Company, of Leeds, whilst the other received the Marston body from battery-bus No. 2, which was only four years old.

On the 30^th June 1924, the last battery-bus ran along Mansfield Road, and the following day, the first Derby Corporation motorbus (No. 1: CH4289) took over. The second vehicle (No. 2: CH4381) entered service in August 1924.

During the 1920's, with the development of the Osmaston Park Road area, which, at the time, had little public transport, Derby Corporation decided to inaugurate another motorbus service. A petrol-electric Tilling-Stevens was purchased (No. 3: CH5181), and the route, from The Spot, Osmaston Road, Charnwood Street, Normanton Road, Pear Tree Road, Portland Street and Victory Road, was opened on 27^th July 1925. By April 1927, more housing development had seen the route extended to the tram terminus on Osmaston Road. The extended route proved profitable and heralded a new era of expansion, which balanced the decline of the tramway. In 1928, routes to Stackbrook Road via Abbey Street, to Mackenzie Street via Slack Lane, and to Overdale Road via Mill Hill Lane opened. Six more petrol-electric Tilling-Stevens joined the fleet, along with four single-deck ADC's later in the year.

The following year, on 21^st August 1929, the Town Council decided to abandon the tramway system, surprisingly, in favour of trolleybuses. The Derby Corporation Act of 1930 granted the necessary powers, although it would be 1932 before the first services were inaugurated. On 9^th January 1932, the first trolleybus ceremoniously departed on the Nottingham Road route, driven by the Mayor. The first trolleybuses delivered were six-wheeled Guy BTX (Nos. 79-84) with Brush bodywork. Eight similar vehicles (Nos. 85-92) arrived in July 1932, this time with Dodson bodywork, enabling the trams on the Alvaston route (and the buses on the Harvey Road route, extended on 13^th November to the Mitre) to be replaced. Later in the year, more Dodson-bodied Guys arrived (Nos. 93-98), enabling the conversion of the Osmaston Road route.

In 1933, the tramway abandonment continued apace. On 13^th August 1933, motorbuses (freed by the extension of the trolleybus route to Chain Lane and Corden Avenue, which ran along part of the Uttoxeter Road bus route) replaced the trams on the Kedleston Road route (subsequently extended to Allestree Lane End in 1935), and on 31^st December 1933, trolleybuses replaced the trams on the Ashbourne Road route.

During this period there was little development of the bus network, and expansion was almost at a standstill, most of the effort being put into tramway conversion. In August 1933, the first part of the Normanton Road Circular tram route between Midland Road and Bateman Street was converted to trolleybus operation, although it was to be March 1934 before the remaining section along Normanton Road was opened. This effectively brought tramcar operations to an end in Derby, although some works journeys along Osmaston Road lasted until 30^th June 1934. On the 2^nd July 1934, car 78, was taken to Victoria Street for the last time, and ceremoniously driven along the tracks with its destination blind set to 'Osmaston Road Depot', and the tramway era in Derby was over.

With the continuing expansion of Derby's suburbs, new trolleybus routes were introduced. In June 1935 a new service to Browning Circle on the Austin Lane estate was introduced, and in November 1936 a new route to Allenton (extended to Shelton Lock in 1938), via the Chaddesdon Park Road area, commenced. At the same time the motorbus service along Osmaston Park Road was converted to trolleybus operation and in 1937 a route to Darley Park Drive from the Cornmarket opened.

In certain areas, however, the motorbus was favoured. The development of the Sussex Circus estate, with its twists and turns was unsuitable for trolleybus operation and so motorbuses were extended from nearby termini to serve the estate. To help implement the new services and to replace older vehicles, 20 (Nos. 54-73) Daimler COG5's with Brush H28/26R bodywork were purchased in 1938 and 1939.

With the onset of World War II, Derby Corporation, along with many other operators at the time, suffered severe difficulties in maintaining the fleet, even though many services were reduced or curtailed altogether. Utility vehicles delivered in wartime included a lone Bristol K5G chassis (No. 74), and, to ease the situation further, a number of second-hand single-deck trolleybuses were purchased from the Hastings Tramway Company (Nos. 165-170).

After the cessation of hostilities, the fleet was in need of replacement and between November 1948 and March 1949, 30 new Sunbeam F4 trolleybuses (186-215) with Brush 56-seat bodywork entered service. At the same time the bus fleet was augmented by the arrival of new Daimler CVD6's (Nos. 22-41 and 75-79) with similar Brush bodywork, which enabled some of the prewar vehicles to be relegated to peak hour duties. A joint service to Littleover, with local bus company Trent Motor Traction, the first such co-operation between the two operators, commenced early in 1950, and, in October, a second joint service, to Trenton Green, was introduced.

In 1952, along with another batch of Daimler CVD6's (Nos. 95-104) came five Foden PVD6's (105-109) and five Crossley DD42's (110-114), the delivery of which enabled most of the prewar Daimlers to be withdrawn.

In 1955, plans were drawn up for an extension of the trolleybus system along Ashbourne, Uttoxeter and Mansfield Roads, but a public outcry about the despoiling of the Derbyshire countryside by traction poles, and the fact that bus services were already running, forced a public enquiry. Opponents of the proposals won the day and the planned service extensions were dropped. This effectively sounded the death knell for the trolleybus, since it was unlikely that any future extensions would be sanctioned, even though the profitability of the trolleybus (costing less than 1p per mile to run) was far in excess of that of the motorbus (which cost around 3.5p per mile to run). Subsequently route extensions used motorbuses; in January 1955 a service to Boulton Lane Estate via Radford Street commenced, followed in July by another motorbus service to St. Andrew's View via Perth Street. An extension of the Morley Street route to Lyttelton Street in June 1958, and to Scarborough Rise in August of the same year (jointly with Trent) were more routes worked by motorbuses.

The first cutbacks in the trolleybus network occurred in the early 1960's, although in 1960 eight new trolleybuses were purchased. The system at that time was over 26 miles in length, and some of the older vehicles had given nearly 20 years service. By 1964, however, the Kingscroft and Burton Road routes had been abandoned and in 1966, the Sinfin Lane and Wyndham Street trolleybus services ceased. Scheduled services on Uttoxeter Road, Victoria Street, Cavendish, and Midland Station sections were withdrawn in November 1966, although, with the wires remaining in place the occasional full service and works services continued to operate infrequently due to staffing difficulties until 9^th September 1967, the final day of trolleybus operations in Derby. The official last trolleybus was No. 224, specially decorated for the occasion; it actually arrived in the depot before several others. The last trolleybus to operate in service was No. 236, which finally arrived back in the depot at 15 minutes past midnight on Sunday morning the 10^th September 1967, closing another chapter in the history of transport in Derby.

Continuing staffing difficulties led to the introduction of one-man operation, which until 1966, was confined to single-deck vehicles, although Derby's first rear-engined front-entrance vehicles (Nos. 172-174) arrived in 1965. The introduction of the Government's Bus Grant in 1968, also favoured the front-entrance rear-engined layout, offering grants of up to 50% on the cost of a new bus of this sort of design. Derby bought their last rear-entrance open-platform vehicle in 1967, all subsequent purchases being of the Government favoured type, spelling an end for the traditional conductor and driver crew-operated vehicles in the borough. In May 1969, a new livery of blue and grey replaced the traditional olive green and cream, used by the Corporation since 1904, although the last vehicle to bear the livery (No. 156) did so until withdrawal in 1978.

Co-ordinated bus services in the area between the Corporation and Trent Motor Traction were once again introduced to supplement the original three over twenty years earlier. This resulted in some long-established Trent routes being turned over to the Corporation, including the Allestree and Darley Abbey Circulars. Eventually an agreement was reached (signed on 1^st April 1979) whereby all services were co-ordinated throughout the city, with 83% of them being run by the Corporation and 17% by Trent.

On the 1^st December 1973, Derby Corporation took over the long established business of Blue Bus Services of Willington, including the depot and two stage carriage services. The company continued in existence as the private hire section of the Transport Department.

In 1974 the title of the undertaking became Derby Borough Transport, and was changed again in 1977 (when Derby was granted city status) to Derby City Transport.

Deliveries of front entrance vehicles continued throughout the 1970's, with the Corporation opting for the Leyland Fleetline until it was withdrawn in the early 1980's. As a result a number of different makes appeared in Derby including a single Volvo Ailsa (No. 71), Foden (No. 101), an MCW Metrobus (No. 102), and three Dennis Dominators (Nos. 103-105). In the event, problems with all except the Volvo resulted in the Corporation ordering Volvo buses for delivery throughout the 1980's. The Leyland successor to the Fleetline was the Olympian, a poor substitute for a fine vehicle, which did not find favour with Derby Corporation and, although 7 in total were purchased, they were to last only a few years in service.

On the 26^th October 1986, Derby City Transport became an 'arm's-length' limited company, Derby City Transport Limited, under the terms of the new Transport Act. This effectively took the Transport Department out of the municipal sector, although the company's major shareholder continued to be the local Council until 1994 when the undertaking passed to the British Bus organisation, finally ending municipal involvement in Derby's transport system over 80 years after the first Corporation tram had run.

The abandonment of its last tramcar service on Saturday 3rd August 1946, by Oldham Corporation Tramways, was made an occasion of some ceremony. It was estimated that 40,000 people lined the route that summer evening. 

A contemporary report of the time commented on the event as follows:-
"A party of some 100 people made up of Town Councillors, Officials of the Transport Department, their wives and friends, assembled in the Wallshaw Street Tram Depot just after 10 p.m. to attend the closing ceremony of the Tramway system, (to be carried out by the Mayor Alderman Stirling T. Marron J.P.) after 46 years service to the Town and population.

Car No. 4 had been repainted and decorated specially for the occasion, carrying around the top deck flags of different colours on which were printed the names of the principle points formerly served by Oldham's trams.

A large number of coloured electric light bulbs replaced the indicator boxes and on one dash was painted the phrase 
1900 "Honourably Retiring" 1946     with     1900 "Progressive Efficiency" 1946  -  on the other.
After being in service during the afternoon she finally ran behind the last service car from the Town Hall to Waterhead, back to Hollinwood, and thence to Wallshaw Street Depot. 

On the last trip she was driven by the Mayor, dressed in tall hat, frock coat, and striped trousers and carried officials of the Department, members of the Council, and their wives and friends. 
For all the Mayor drove the tram most of the way, it was actually in the charge of the oldest Driver, Mr. James Jackson, who had 37 years' service, and the oldest Conductor (or should that be Guard), Mr. Ralph Partington, who had been punching tickets for over 40 years.
At the end of the run a supper was served at the Depot, the Mayor being presented with the tramcar gong as a momento of the occasion."

So passed Oldham's Tramway service in to the history books.

During its 46 years of life the cars had run some 81 million miles, carried 982,941,978 fare paying passengers through all weathers (and we all know what Oldham weather is like) without serious mishap. The trams were a success on all the routes, and were a paying proposition, and for several years the Tramways Committee would make a generous contribution to the rates of the town.

Six cars Nos. 17, 18, 24, 122, 125, and 128, survived the closure of the system and were sold to the Gateshead and District Tramways Company becoming Nos. 72, 71, 35, 68, 69, and 70 respectively in that Company's fleet.
The remainder were broken up in the depot, the majority of the bodies being sold to a Morecambe Holiday Camp, and the trucks and motors going to Calcutta, where no doubt they gave a good many years further service.

A Fleet list of Oldham Corporation Tramways can be seen here

OLDHAM CORPORATION TRAM FLEET LIST 1900 - 1946

Tram No.4 on the last day of operation on Saturday 3rd August 1946

Last Day of Oldham trams. Number 4 waiting to depart from the Depot with the dignitaries on board.

Last Day of Oldham trams. Number 4 waiting to depart from the Depot with the dignitaries on board.