Another "old" bus !

[poohbear 1,360]

All us oldies know about the Black Boy on Long Row..It stands out as one of the major criminal acts of the Council in the sixties and seventies to 'modernise' the City.It's a wonder to me that Tescos don't have a superstore in the Market Place.

[StephenFord 866]

The bus picture is almost certainly not in Nottingham. The double decker in the background of the picture is definitely from Birmingham City Transport (they had their late 40s/early 50s standard bodies built by a number of different manufacturers) and I suspect it is the Leyland PD2 HOV685 preserved at the transport museum at Wythall. There were quite a lot of "Black Boy" pubs around, and for my money I think it is probably somewhere in the West Midlands.

[Cliff Ton 10,470]

Re: the location of the bus and the Black Boy. From another source, it turns out to be ...Stockwell Gate, Mansfield, 12th July 1970. 44 mile road run in connection with the Nottingham Festival. Photo is from the local newspaper, Mansfield Chronicle Advertiser, 16th July 1970.

[StephenFord 866]

Ah well, you win some and you lose some!

[bamber 128]

Looking at present day Stockwell Gate the word unrecognizable seems most appropriate.

[Carltonlad 65]

This page brings back memories. From early 1968 to march 69 (When I left England with my family) I worked for Nottingham City transport on the 39 run and occasionally on the 24 route. On the 39 route we had if I remember rightly fleetliners and on the 24 route the AEC regents.

Long time ago so my memory is a little faded. The buses we had on the 39 route, we named the mobile coffins because there was no protection for the driver if the bus was involved in an accident. I worked with a great driver who was a real pleasure to work with. But sadly I cannot remember his name. I had a little portable radio that I used to sit on the dash of the window. I think our bus was the only one in the whole fleet that worked with music. The radio would be blearing out the latest songs while I walked up and down the isles collecting the money and giving out the tickets singing along to the latest songs. ( If an inspector jumped on, my driver or myself would grab the radio and hide it. Brings back memories of the TV show "On the Buses", none of my passengers complained about the music). I really enjoyed the job. I think if I had not left England I would have stayed with that job for a while longer (my wage was 11 pound 15 shillings per week more if I did overtime). It was good for meeting girls, and my driver and I only had to worry about the occasional visit from an Inspector. I can remember one inspector who used to stand back from the bus stop up against a wall or near a tree or bush and you would not see him until the last minute then I would have to run around making sure I had collected all the fares. Later we got newer buses and some of them were fitted with a microphone, I still had my radio, but now the music could reach the whole bus through the microphone. When I went upstairs to collect the fares I could still hear the it clearly. Most of the music was from radio luxemburger or the pirate stations.

Lots of fond memories are returning of the 39 route. I do not remember much about route 24, I just remember it was very cold standing on the back platform on the first bus out of the depot in the middle of winter. I just remembered something else about the winter.. If I had the first bus out, I had to walk all the way to the depot over Carlton Hill from Conway Road. Usually this was done before the salt trucks got out to salt the road, so I sometimes had to walk in thick snow, I can remember wearing my green uniform with long underpants, two jumpers and a thick overcoat and I was still cold. I can remember one winter, we came down a part of Carlton Hill nearly sideways. In those days I was young and fearless so to me it was fun.

If anyone travelled on a number 39 bus and music was playing then you were on my bus. I hope you enjoyed it.

[Michael Booth 7,364]

Nice post, Carltonlad. My dad, who everyone called 'Mighty Fine', was an Inspector on Nottingham City Transport.

[Carltonlad 65]

Thanks Michael. I can still visualize two inspectors that were regulars on my routes but I am afraid their names escape me. I have a real problem remembering names.

If he had a name like Mighty Fine, he must have been one of the better inspectors. One of them, the one I described before. You had to be very careful when he was around.

Even if he caught you eating sweets while working, it was enough to get a citation. His little book would come out and he would write in it.

This same guy would also come down on the #25 (I think it was the number 25 (an AEC regent) It stopped right outside the police station at the Carlton terminus before it continued up Cavendish road). He would jump off that bus, run across the road and jump straight onto ours just as we were pulling away. But the other inspector I can remember was the opposite. If we met in the canteen he would often sit down and have a cuppa with us. If he got on our bus there was always friendly conversation before he got off again.

The newer buses I mentioned in the last post were the Atlantians they are the ones that had the microphones. I saw a pic of one last night another topic on this website.

[plantfit 7,602]

Nice post Carltonlad, It bought back memories of the 70's when I used to catch the bus from Edwards lane to the city and music was piped all around the bus, don't know if this was an experiment but it was nice to listen to on the way to work, mainly music but with the odd advert for local businesses, anyone else remember the bus music?

Rog

[Rob.L 1,090]

Interesting posts, carltonlad.

The route that went up Cavendish was the 72, which terminated at the top of Coningswath Road. It's now the 27 route, confusingly.

The 25 carried-on along Burton road, turned up Main Road, Gedling, then up Westdale Lane, along Mapperley Top, then down Breck Hill to Arnold. It still follows virtually the same route.

And for those poor conductors on the 25 in the 1960s, who used to get snowballs thrown onto their platforms as their bus went up Westdale, I can but apologise now.

[bamber 128]

I can remember the music on the buses experiment. I think the technology was a bit flakey so it didn't last very long.

[plantfit 7,602]

Might be of interest to some of you bus fans

Outside the Leicester pumping station last year

Rog

[Bubblewrap 3,815]

Interesting posts, carltonlad.

And for those poor conductors on the 25 in the 1960s, who used to get snowballs thrown onto their platforms as their bus went up Westdale, I can but apologise now.

Me too

[catfan 14,793]

I can remember the music on the buses experiment. I think the technology was a bit flakey so it didn't last very long.

If I remember rightly it was a 8 track player hidden in the void above the driver's head. Too many complaints from the public killed it off.

[mercurydancer 1,104]

Nice post, Carltonlad. My dad, who everyone called 'Mighty Fine', was an Inspector on Nottingham City Transport.

I have some vague memories of "mighty fine". That phrase comes back to me over the years.

[Michael Booth 7,364]

Whenever I look at the bus photos on Nottstalgia, I always look to see if I can see my dad. Unfortunately, I never have.

I've just looked for the photo of my dad that I put on Nottstalgia but it's gone. The one where he is stood at the back of a bus wearing a cowboy hat during Goose Fair. In my photo library I had private photos mixed up with those I had put onto Nottstalgia. So that I didn't delete the Nottstalgia ones, I made a 'Nottstalgia' album and moved the relevant photos into it. Unfortunately, unbeknown to me, I was taking them off my posts in all the different Nottstalgia topics.

[piggy and babs 544]

was in ilkeston on saturday saw one of the old nottinghan city busses that you got on at the front and got of via a door in the middle was only saying to someone the day befor they would be a lot easier to get on and of with a mobility schooter than the new ones not much room to turn round for getting of specialy ifa lot of people on the bus

[Fynger 841]

theys a bit backward in Ilkeston.......lol

[radfordred 6,284]

Smoking upstairs only please.

[radfordred 6,284]

[catfan 14,793]

Ayup Red, That could be me !

[firbeck 859]

Ayup Red, That could be me !

What, in the dark red coat and high heels just about to walk past the map of Britain's shrinking railway system.

[catfan 14,793]

No Pete, in the cab of "365" !

[Bilbraborn 1,594]

Just love those pics. I drove those type of buses in Glasgow. Would love to have done the same in Nottingham but failed my medical.

[catfan 14,793]

NCT wanted to use those AEC Renowns for one man operation ! They had one converted as a prototype, a complete waste of time & money.