Recommended Posts

  • Replies 166
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Posts

I used to court a lass from Nottingham (now my wife) when I lived in Eastwood and I used to catch the A4 "Flyer", so called because the first stop after Nottingham was Hill Top, Eastwood. It used to

Re #71 - the F3 went directly up the A614 Ollerton Road, turning left at Darcliff Cross Roads towards Blidworth Bottoms, right along Field Lane to Blidworth, and then right into Main Street, Mansfield

Trying to repair some of the gaps left by Photobucket, I came across this, which includes two Trents, a Barton, and a Midland General.

Bristol Bus Company was owned by Tilling Group. Bristol buses were only supplied to Tilling group operators. Midland General was just one such company, Corpo, South Nottts, Bartons etc were not Tilling Group companies so never had them. MGO Bristols went to Trent (and got painted red) when the unfortunate de-regulation happened in 1974 (ish)

Link to post
Share on other sites

The Tilling Group companies were nationalised in 1949 as part of the British Transport Commission. Part of the nationalisation arrangement was that, with very few exceptions, they were only able to obtain buses with Bristol chassis and bodywork by Eastern Coach Works of Lowestoft. In turn, Bristol and ECW products were not available to other bus companies. That restriction ended in 1965 following a change in government policy, so from then on Trent and other companies were able to get Bristol buses again.

As well as Midland General, the other local Tilling (or BTC) companies were Notts & Derby and Mansfield District, with Lincolnshire Road Car the next most local.

1969 saw the formation of the National Bus Company as part of another round of nationalisation, which took in all the Tilling Group companies and the other main group of companies, including the likes of Trent. That's when you started to get everything painted either red or green - and also saw the formation of National Express with all the coaches painted white. Truly independent companies like Barton and others, and corporation transports like NCT weren't involved in this.

Some years later, of course we had the afore-mentioned deregulation and things really fell apart.

Link to post
Share on other sites

The Tilling Group companies were nationalised in 1949 as part of the British Transport Commission. Part of the nationalisation arrangement was that, with very few exceptions, they were only able to obtain buses with Bristol chassis and bodywork by Eastern Coach Works of Lowestoft. In turn, Bristol and ECW products were not available to other bus companies. That restriction ended in 1965 following a change in government policy, so from then on Trent and other companies were able to get Bristol buses again.

As well as Midland General, the other local Tilling (or BTC) companies were Notts & Derby and Mansfield District, with Lincolnshire Road Car the next most local.

1969 saw the formation of the National Bus Company as part of another round of nationalisation, which took in all the Tilling Group companies and the other main group of companies, including the likes of Trent. That's when you started to get everything painted either red or green - and also saw the formation of National Express with all the coaches painted white. Truly independent companies like Barton and others, and corporation transports like NCT weren't involved in this.

Some years later, of course we had the afore-mentioned deregulation and things really fell apart.

Thanks. National Bus Co. I was thinking of not deregulation. I knew I had ridden on red buses in the early 70's

Link to post
Share on other sites

I thought MGO/Notts & Derby were owned by an electricity company, rather than Tillings. As such, they were nationalised (along with Mansfield District) with the electricity industry.

Yes, you're right - they were owned by Balfour Beatty, and passed to the BTC separately from the Tilling Group.

There's some good photos on this site:

http://midlandgeneralomnibus.weebly.com/history.html

  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

This is all very interesting stuff, bottom line is what you're saying is that the bus companies bought their new buses from whichever manufacturer the company directors had shares in, ie Midland Red tended to equip with Daimler's, etc, etc. Capitalist Tory scum lining their pockets in other words, just like Ernie Marples and the Dr Beeching fiasco over the railway closures.

Link to post
Share on other sites

This is all very interesting stuff, bottom line is what you're saying is that the bus companies bought their new buses from whichever manufacturer the company directors had shares in, ie Midland Red tended to equip with Daimler's, etc, etc. Capitalist Tory scum lining their pockets in other words, just like Ernie Marples and the Dr Beeching fiasco over the railway closures.

Midland Red were famous for building their own buses, called SOS before WW2.

Link to post
Share on other sites

This is all very interesting stuff, bottom line is what you're saying is that the bus companies bought their new buses from whichever manufacturer the company directors had shares in, ie Midland Red tended to equip with Daimler's, etc, etc.

I don't think I said that.

Actually, Midland Red, with a few exceptions, used to manufacture their own buses until the end of the 1960s when the dreaded National Bus Company came into being. Initially at least they then bought mainly Leyland and Daimler chassis, and some Ford I think. I don't know their situation after about the mid-1970s as I'd lost interest in the bus scene by then.

Link to post
Share on other sites

IIRC Trent had some Daimler Fleetlines bodied by ECW around 1972 - a half and half combination. The ones I remember used a highbridge version of the standard ECW body used on Bristol VRs

You're right - there's a photo of one here:

http://www.showbus.com/gallery/wm/trent5.htm

To clarify, all Fleetlines and Bristol VRs had bodywork of a 'highbridge' layout - i.e. they didn't have a sunken gangway at the side of the upper deck. The early lowbridge-layout Leyland Atlanteans had the sunken gangway towards the rear of the upper deck, but later ones didn't after the design was altered to include a Fleetline-style drop-centre rear axle.

Link to post
Share on other sites

You're right - there's a photo of one here:

http://www.showbus.com/gallery/wm/trent5.htm

To clarify, all Fleetlines and Bristol VRs had bodywork of a 'highbridge' layout - i.e. they didn't have a sunken gangway at the side of the upper deck. The early lowbridge-layout Leyland Atlanteans had the sunken gangway towards the rear of the upper deck, but later ones didn't after the design was altered to include a Fleetline-style drop-centre rear axle.

All of the Bristol VR's I ever drove had ECW low bridge 13' 8" bodies. I have never seen one that was any different

Link to post
Share on other sites

Lowbridge tends to be shorthand for sunken gangway upstairs, with foursome bench seats. (Apparently giving a rather unbalanced vehicle that could be awkward to drive). Highbridge, on the other hand tends to be used for "conventional" upstairs layout (i.e. central aisle with double seats either side) - irrespective of what the actual overall height of the bus is. VRs (and Lodekkas before them) were low height buses with conventional seating upstairs.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Re #46. Come on Pete. I used to catch the MGOs when I went with you guys from Wollaton to watch Forest or just to clutter up record shops in town.

Link to post
Share on other sites

By the way, those low deckers with side aisles upstairs, especially on the Clifton run were ok until the clippies ticket machine clouted you on the head when she leaned over to get the fares from the chap near the window. Other things used to hit you on the head when conductresses leaned over. Terrible!!

My biggest regret not photographing the old buses I used to drive in Scotland.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 1 year later...

The more I wander around this site the more amazed I am about what is on here.

I certainly remember the proper blue buses (MGO) particularly the B8 which we used to catch to go to Papplewick Lido. It used to turn off before the lido go right round the houses and then back out just beyond the lido, I think. Wandering along through Bestwood, Hucknall, alongside a golf course? and eventually to Huntingdon Street. One thing I do remember is which were the best seats upstairs when going home from watching the Forest on a cold winters day. The seat second from the front on the drivers side got the heat from the vent on the nearside first and sticking your feet against the rear vent when sitting on the back seat.

Perhaps The Pianoman or someone else could be more specific about the B8 route and settle a discussion between my brother and I about the route of the F3 which I think was mostly a single decker.

Having left the UK in the mid seventies I can't recall the MGO blue and MDT green both of which always looked so stylish changing to the red of Trent Motor Traction

  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

B8 was a 141 when I used to drive them. But however from memory (which is fading) Out of Mansfield bus station, up Southwell Road(?) to Rainworth, Turn right into Blidworth and on to Ravenshead. Left at Larch Farm onto A60. Turn right down into Papplewick (Griffins Head). Turn right onto Linby. Turn left at Annesley Road and on into Hucknall. Now this is a bit vague and I can't remember if I am exactly right but in Hucknall it must have turned left at Lord Byron and proceeded down Papplewick Lane, turning right at the bottom end and proceeding through Bestwood Village, turning left at Moor Bridge and proceeding into Victoria Bus station up Hucknall Road. Stephen Ford will appear soon and correct all the wrong bits and give you a full rundown on the timetable. 141 unlike B8 also went from Mansfield Bus Station the other way to Clay Cross which I believe in MGO days was a C3, but I may be wrong on that one. Clay Cross end of it used to bore me to tears!

  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Re #71 - the F3 went directly up the A614 Ollerton Road, turning left at Darcliff Cross Roads towards Blidworth Bottoms, right along Field Lane to Blidworth, and then right into Main Street, Mansfield Road and Warsop Lane to Rainworth (the Robin Hood). According to my trusty 1962 timetable (!) it was strictly limited stop - leaving Nottingham you could not get off until a quarter of a mile after turning off the Ollerton Road at Darcliff Cross Roads. This would be a traffic commissioners' condition, in the days before bus de-regulation, to protect revenue on the Trent/East Midlands services to Doncaster and Retford. Similarly in the other direction, you couldn't get on an F3 on the main road. It ran every hour and a half on Saturdays (seems to have been the same bus shuttling to and fro all day). Monday to Friday there were two runs only from Nottingham (but none in the other direction). Thursday and Sunday there was one trip in each direction extended to and from Ransom Hospital. (Sorry, I don't know the driver's name !...)

  • Upvote 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...