Buses

[billbiker]

Hi I loved looking through the site at the old buses. I served my apprentiship at the main works on Kirkstall Road about 1963 to 69 . I look at the photos & wonder how many of those old Leylands , AECs & Daimlers i actually worked on .Sid Richardson was the the Foreman on the docking section ,Charley Coates was the boss in the unit shop where engines gearboxes ect were overhauled. Next time I come to the uk I will deffinately want to go to the Keighly bus museum , grerat stuff love it regards Bill

[Phill_dvsn]

Hi Bill.Check out some of these Leeds tram and bus photos here. There is hundreds of them to bring back some more memories for you http://www.flickr.com/groups/leedscityt ... thumb=1P.S. wait till our very own Blakey comes along     

[cnosni]

Do you know something thats troubled me.I have a distant memory as a child (probably between 5 and 8 years old)of what i seem to (at the time) think was some sort of electric heater on the lower deck of one of the ols hop on hop off buses.It was (thats if it was) situated at the front of the passenger compartment,placed on the bulkhead behind the forward window and the back of the drivers cab.Come on in Blakey!!!

[BLAKEY]

cnosni wrote: Do you know something thats troubled me.I have a distant memory as a child (probably between 5 and 8 years old)of what i seem to (at the time) think was some sort of electric heater on the lower deck of one of the ols hop on hop off buses.It was (thats if it was) situated at the front of the passenger compartment,placed on the bulkhead behind the forward window and the back of the drivers cab.Come on in Blakey!!! Hi there cnosni - don't be troubled any longer as your memory is right !! - except that the heaters were not in "only one" of the front engined buses but in all of those new from late 1958 onwards, the large batch of 30 foot Leyland PD3s (5221 - 5271 NW) being the first to be so fitted if I remember correctly. They weren't electric heaters as such, but hot air heaters from the engine water supposedly propelled into both saloons by electric fans. At the risk of being accused of being unfair - I can take it - I have to say that practically the whole lot of every make/model were of very poor performance indeed. I'm not a technician but it was patently obvious that a) the air supply was anything from cold to luke warm and b) the motors only "ticked over" instead of powerfully forcing the "warm/hot" air into the saloons. An outlet grill was also fitted on the ledge behind the upper saloon front windscreens, and the warm air reaching those was even more pathetic.Hi billbiker - oh dear, I hope you're ready for a shock next time you visit the UK - the once mighty Kirkstall Works was vacated by "FirstBus" long ago, and was for rent for years but no takers of any value, and has in recent months been completely demolished in a breathtakingly short time. Just in case you weren't aware of its recent history you'll be interested to hear that it became, for many years, a bus operating garage again following the closure of Headingley depot. Since Local Government reorganisation in 1974 the number of bus premises in Leeds has shrunk dramatically - Seacroft, Torre Road, Sovereign Street, Middleton and Headingley have all gone as has Cherry Row (near Mabgate) which was opened on rental, then closed and used for storage of surplus vehicles for a short while. All that remain now are two places : Bramley with a colossal allocation which must be a nightmare to work and administer, and the entirely new "Hunslet PARK" (not a blade of grass within miles) which is equally colossal and quite awkward for driver reliefs either fairly nearby on Hunslet Road or at various points after a tiresome bus journey into the City Centre.    

[cnosni]

BLAKEY wrote: cnosni wrote: Do you know something thats troubled me.I have a distant memory as a child (probably between 5 and 8 years old)of what i seem to (at the time) think was some sort of electric heater on the lower deck of one of the ols hop on hop off buses.It was (thats if it was) situated at the front of the passenger compartment,placed on the bulkhead behind the forward window and the back of the drivers cab.Come on in Blakey!!! Hi there cnosni - don't be troubled any longer as your memory is right !! - except that the heaters were not in "only one" of the front engined buses but in all of those new from late 1958 onwards, the large batch of 30 foot Leyland PD3s (5221 - 5271 NW) being the first to be so fitted if I remember correctly. They weren't electric heaters as such, but hot air heaters from the engine water supposedly propelled into both saloons by electric fans. At the risk of being accused of being unfair - I can take it - I have to say that practically the whole lot of every make/model were of very poor performance indeed. I'm not a technician but it was patently obvious that a) the air supply was anything from cold to luke warm and b) the motors only "ticked over" instead of powerfully forcing the "warm/hot" air into the saloons. An outlet grill was also fitted on the ledge behind the upper saloon front windscreens, and the warm air reaching those was even more pathetic. Thank god for that,so i wasnt overdosing on Calpol at the time!!

[billbiker]

Hi ,i can't remember the buses having heaters ,but memory goes with age . But I can remember the AEC Regents ,& the 570s , Daimlers, Leylands ect. Especially the smell when draining the fluid flywheels . All except the Learner buses had fluid flywheels, they had a a clutch for obvious reasons.I was an apprentise at the time ,but Pete Marsh & I were the first ones to remove the engine & gearbox assembly from the newly aquired rear engine buses. I remember it so well when Pete wheeled the usual crane over the pit watching the wheels go either side of the pit rather than down the pit, but forgot it wasn't a half cab bus. thus the jib of the crane went straight through the rear window. Oh dear a brand new bus too never been in service.The reason out of interest was to replace the fluid flywheel centre bearing with a modified stronger bearing. Aparently some had colapsed in service .Thanks for the website I will be looking at some more trams & buses . Iam coming to the uk next year for a week or two so I am really looking forward to visiting the Keighly bus museum .Will take a ride on Kirkstall road too. thanks Bill

[BLAKEY]

billbiker wrote: Hi ,i can't remember the buses having heaters ,but memory goes with age . But I can remember the AEC Regents ,& the 570s , Daimlers, Leylands ect. Especially the smell when draining the fluid flywheels . All except the Learner buses had fluid flywheels, they had a a clutch for obvious reason With respect billbiker, and don't worry about it, but there is a slight memory "glitch" there. In the years that you were there, only one bus in the Learner fleet had a clutch and live gearbox - all the rest were Regent 3 preselector AECs of varying ages. The Leyland was used chiefly to assess "direct drivers" applying for a job - I was one of them in October 1969. I already had a PSV licence but lorry drivers and others didn't and had to show a fair standard or they would have been enrolled as conductors and then progressed in the normal way. I was satisfactory and so was engaged as a "direct driver" meaning that you had to do occasional conducting if necessary just for six months. The Leyland was one of the sixty PD2s which were new in 1950 - 340 to 399, NNW 340 - 399. The Learner number 12 had been 380 and was in fine fettle - a real treat to drive - I was enjoying it so much that when Senior Inspector Albert Bradley (i/c Driving School and a toff, a real gent) told me I was OK and turn left at Tommy Wass and return to Swinegate yard I said it was a grand motor. He said "OK then, go up the Ring Road to Middleton and then down Belle Isle Road and Hunslet Road - I was chuffed !!When you visit you will be simply astounded at the change in Kirkstall Road - nearly all fast bus lanes, widening, and revised junctions and other massive improvements.

[billbiker]

Hi Blakey thanks for the correction , you of course right ,i should have put ,all the service buses had fluid flywheels . The learners had obviously to learn with clutch & fluid flywheels . I will take your word that there was only 1 with a clutch, i can't remember lol. Just one thing I can't also remember, did the driver have a heater in the halfcab? must have been very cold in the winter if not ? I can remember as an apprentice sneakng out to the Tomato Dip cafe on the front of Kirkstall road for the tomato dips & other various sandwiches. Also Skitts outdoor shop on the opposite side of the road..Must also add that the stores for all the parts for the buses ,thinking back , was really excellent .It was very rare they didn't have the part you wanted big or small. It's a different story nowadays at main dealers , i wonder if the bus companies still keep good stocks of parts ? regards Bill

[BLAKEY]

Hello again Bill. Actually, certainly by 1969 when joined and I think for ages before, the live gearbox Leyland was used only for recruitment. All PSV tests were taken on the preselector Mark 3 AECs and the successful entrants received only "semi automatic" licences. Just a small number of very senior drivers possessed "all types" licences (except for new people like me who came already fully qualified from elsewhere). The senior men had driven long withdrawn types like the Crossleys and the prewar Leylands, and were able to drive the small number of underfloor engined Leyland Tiger Cubs (3) AEC Reliances (3) Guy Arabs (2) and the two forward engined Leyland PS1s which operated the few single deck services. You'll get a treat when you visit the Keighley Museum as one of the PS1s, 28 MNW86, beautifully preserved is there.What memories of Kirkstall Road you mention. In my dubious days I was a nightime visitor to the wonderful 24 hours open Tomato Dip but I never patronised Messrs. Skitt's camping equipment shop - I seem to remember though that it had the name in a black sign with silver lettering above the frontage.Its around forty years since I drove an LCT half cab bus, but I don't recall any cab heaters, and winter duties were indeed cold with no demisters and pitiful little windscreen wipers.    

[amber]

Morning Blakey.I passed my PSV in 1960 driving pd2 380 The test started at Donnisthorpe street and not long after I was sent to Seacroft from Swinegate for the day as the were short of drivers. The bus I was allocated was a Crossley Dibb Lane - bus station swingers The most uncomfortable bus I ever drove. It didn't have a cab heater thank god as I was sweating cobs not being used to it. I never came across a half cab with a a cab heater and as you know most of the buses at Sov St were parked outside by the river.So first out at 04-35 on a December morning scrape ice from windscreen big jumper under uniform big coat and scarf and still cold at 09-00. Didn't realize I was classed a senior driver lol     Happy Days