Merthyr Imp

And for years it had graffiti on it saying; 'Vote Peck X'.

I can't picture it exactly now myself after more than 50 years, and what order they were in, but going down Blue Bell Hill Road from the school, on the same side there was some sort of commercial premises that - as I remember - usually seemed to have several Guy lorries or vans (painted dark blue?) parked in their entrance. There was the Hop Pole pub, and a few houses. Like I say, I can't remember what order these came in. Then was our shop - the usual corner shop type of place (except it wasn't on a corner!), but we weren't a greengrocers - then next door WAS a corner shop - a beer-off - on

I went to Blue Bell Hill school from autumn 1959 until leaving at age 11 in summer 1961. I've got a class photo from 1960 somewhere - I'll see if I can dig it out and put it on here. We lived a short way down Blue Bell Hill Road from the school where my mother had a shop.

Re the earlier queries about MacFisheries shop on South Parade, you can see part of it behind this West Bridgford bus. Halfords was to the left. Photo taken in the late 1960s.

Here's another photo from the same period - Midland General no. 89, an AEC Regent lll dating from 1948. I was puzzled by its showing route A1 as I can only really remember B8s at Huntingdon Street, but I've done a search and according to the website below, the Ripley service that replaced the A1 trolleybuses was numbered B1 and ran to Mouint Street. It then says: 'A new peak hour bus service was introduced on weekdays and Saturdays. It was numbered A1 and followed the trolleybus route through the city but was extended to Huntingdon Street bus station.' It goes on to say that in 1971 the A1 p

Here's one of NCT AEC Regent V no. 268 on route 25. This must have been in 1962 or 1963.

By the way, that photo of Barton's AEC Reliance no. 768 shows it on route 12 - the Leicester service. Looking at it, it reminds me of a time in my bus spotting days, when someone, knowing I collected bus numbers said they'd not really noticed such things before, but that a Barton bus they'd seen that day had rather a long number on it: "What was it?", I asked. "254881" "Er - no. That was their phone number."

According to the book 'Barton - Part 2' by Alan Oxly, published by Robin Hood Publishing in 1986, control of Robin Hood (Coaches) Ltd passed to Barton in October 1961, with the business being absorbed from 1st January 1962. It says that Robin Hood had moved their base from West Bridgford in 1939 'when the bus side of the business transferred to a new garage adjacent to Barton on Huntingdon Street.' That implies that the Barton garage was already there. The book says the Robin Hood premises closed at the end of 1961. There's more information in 'Barton - Part 1' published in 1983. No actual

That's good - we might sample that next time we're in Nottingham (maybe next year), although my son likes having rides on the trams..

Remember this? I'm quoting here largely from the book 'Nottingham City Transport' by F. P. Groves (published 1978): 'In 1972 the City Council adopted a new Transportation Policy...including the introduction of free central-area services.' The central-area services, nos 77 & 88 were due to the establishment of the two shopping complexes at the Victoria and Broad Marsh Centres and the introduction in April 1973 of pedestrianisation of some of the central area streets. 'Once a suitable route had been agreed, the City Council decided to introduce an experimental free bus service on a nort

Below is a photo of the back of a bus which shows a little of the buildings on the other side of Huntingdon Street, including Barton's depot. Just visible furthest right on this side of the road is part of Hughie's cafe. The bus itself is Barton's no. 1182, a Bedford YRQ with bodywork by Willowbrook of Loughborough. It was new in 1971, so the photo was almost certainly taken in that year. If I'm a bit vague about some of the details of the photos I put on here I'm afraid it's because I was rather dilatory about recording details of what I photographed at the time.

I may have seen you at Plumtree, Firbeck, but that Huddersfield trip was the only one I went on myself - quite a long journey in a 30-year-old vehicle, but I don't remember any mechanical difficulty. I do remember the seats were past their best - i.e. the padding had gone a bit thin! You're right about Halifax Corporation - below is a photo I have to hand (i.e. already on the computer). It's their no. 8, a Leyland Royal Tiger Worldmaster, which was a type mainly produced for export - and I don't think even Barton had any of those! (they had just about everything else). Perhaps the bus depot

I've dug out this photo which shows the cafe on Huntingdon Street I mentioned was in fact called 'The Journeys End', not Capocci's after all. The coach is Makemson's of Bulwell AEC Reliance, registration XNL107. The sticker in the windscreen says 'On Hire to Lincolnshire' so it's probably just arrived from Mablethorpe or somewhere. The photo must have been taken in 1970 or 1971.

I must say I was pleasantly surprised on seeing this thread to find the Savoy was still open. I used to go there occasionally in the 1970s/1980s, when there was nothing worth seeing in the town centre cinemas, although it was a bit of a bind walking out that way. I saw 'Gone With the Wind' there! (on a re-release in the period I mentioned, not when it first came out!).

Related to this subject, with regard to the end of trolleybus services in turn, I always understood it was said to be due to the number of road improvement and alteration schemes that were planned for the 1960s and which would have meant costly work on altering the trolleybus routes to fit the new road layouts. I have a book, 'Nottingham City Transport' by F. P. Groves, published by Transport Publishing Company in 1978, and all it says on the subject is: 'During the financial year 1961/62 the gradual abandonment of the trolleybus system was approved by the City Council'. This book does suppo

Here's a photo from me - this is no. 88a Commercial Road on the corner of Latham Street. It was originally a shop, but at some time in, I think, the 1950s, it became an office of the Ministry of Pensions & National Insurance (later Social Security). When they moved out to David Lane at Basford in 1971 it was used by the Probation Service, but I believe they had also moved out by the time of this photo in 1996. It did seem to be occupied then, but I don't know who by.

This has got me puzzled. It's not all new building in half-timbered style is it? I worked in Bulwell from 1966 to 1971 and lived there from 1980 to 1997 and I don't remember that area at all. Admittedly in the latter period I never went round there at all, but going back to the late 1960s/early 1970s I thought it was Duke Street just there - and although I may be wrong, I don't remember any buildings like that. In the days before the new road was built across there (Bulwell High Road is it?), as I remember it, going down Commercial Road towards the Market you went past the post office on th

Just come across this thread. The Barton double decker referred to was their no. 816, a Leyland Titan TD4 dating from 1936 with 1949 ECW bodywork, acquired by Barton in 1959 from Cumberland Motor Services. There's a picture of it here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23207961@N07/3652055102/ According to my diary it was Sunday 17th April 1966 when it was used on a trip to Huddersfield for the members of the Nottingham Trolleybus Group to go on an organised tour of the Huddersfield Trolleybus system. I went on it because I knew the driver who lived nearby (can’t remember his name). I’ve wri

Here's a few random memories from me about Mablethorpe. Must have visited there several times on day trips over the years, but only ever stayed there once - for a week or so with my mother in either 1958 or 1959. I can’t be sure, but I don’t think it was a bed & breakfast place we stayed in, but took rooms or a flat. What I do remember is that it had gas lighting. We spent nearly every day on the beach, and always seemed to have sardine sandwiches for a picnic lunch. A highlight of the beach for me was the ‘sand train’, which was either this one or one very like it:- http://www.nfa.de

Further to my earlier posting, here's a photo of a Trent Daimler Fleetline on route 62 on Mansfield Road, Sherwood in the late 1960s. Note the lamp post in the centre of the photo supporting the street light over the centre of the road - what we used to call a 'traction pole', left over from the tramway days. They were all the way along there at that time (I don't suppose they still are) used for street lights instead of trolley wires as originally.

Please do.

As you say, it's not completel;y conclusive because it's a year after the time I was remembering - but I notice there was the southbound York - Bournemouth due at Victoria at 1242. It's just possible that it was this train frequently running quite a bit late that we used to see, and that my memory is playing false in thinking it was seen northbound. Then again it could have been some other service that had stopped running by September 1962. You mention 1962/63 as the last year in which the South Yorkshireman and the Master Cutler ran, but I think they finished in 1960. That 1962/63 timetable

I'm sure I remember it heading north - and it would definitely have been between 1.30 and 2pm. Maybe a bit of research is called for - I believe there were still one or two other cross-country services at that time, so maybe it could have been one those rather than the 'Yorkie' as we thought.

I recently acquired a copy of this book on Ebay: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Buses-Sixties-Colour-Prestige-Banks/dp/1898432813/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1362005084&sr=1-4 I can recommend it for photos of Huntingdon Street and elsewhere in the Nottingham area, which form the majority of the photos in it as the photographer G H F Atkins was a local man.

One of these? This particular one was actually part of the Standerwick fleet which was a subsidiary of Ribble. They were a common sight belting up and down the M1 on Lancashire to Londons services. This photo was taken at Victoria Coach Station in London. They were Leyland Atlanteans with coach seats, and as you say a stewardess would come round with refreshments. There was also a toilet on board at the back of the lower deck. They were branded as the 'Gay Hostess' services - they wouldn't be today!