Buses in Nottingham

[StephenFord 866]

They turned right into St Peters Gate, left into Bridlesmith Gate, left into The Poultry, and hey presto - South Parade. Mind you, I have seen a published map from before the war that seems to suggest that some of the WBUDC routes used to return to town via London Road and Lower Parliament Street. Is anybody on here ancient enough to remember that?

[Cliff Ton 10,475]

They turned right into St Peters Gate, left into Bridlesmith Gate, left into The Poultry, and hey presto - South Parade.

Not the best photo I've ever posted, but here's a West Bridgford bus making that move. You can see St Peter's church on the right.

And - in almost the same location - a reminder of the colours of WBUDC.

[BulwellBrian 107]

I always liked the WBUDC livery. The NCT bus behind looks like one of the low bridge ones for the Clifton route via Wiford Lane.

[Cliff Ton 10,475]

The NCT bus behind looks like one of the low bridge ones for the Clifton route via Wiford Lane.

True, but it couldn't have been on one of those routes on that occasion. They didn't go further into the city than Broad Marsh.

[StephenFord 866]

Although the second picture on #426 shows the West Bridgford colours, it actually has the NCT crest on the side, which must date it to shortly after the takeover in 1968. Buses of this age (built 1949), were not retained by NCT for long, and only the newer WB stock was repainted in green and cream. The lowbridge bus in the background appears to have a blank destination screen, and I wonder if it was on the way empty to become a works service - I think they were used on some of the Boots and Players specials for example.

[StephenFord 866]

On journeys from West Bridgford, that huge destination display used to say "Nottingham Old Market Square via Arkwright Street and LMS Station." It was always quaint that "LMS Station" featured right up to the mid 1960s - but it only just struck me that it was already wrong even when this series of 4 buses was first delivered in 1949.

[bamber 128]

"LMS Station"

I've always called it, and still do, The Midland Station.

[Cliff Ton 10,475]

You can tell the age of a person by how they refer to the railway station.

Anyone old enough to remember Victoria Station still talks about Midland Station.

[StephenFord 866]

...and the younger generation call it the train station, which makes some people's hackles rise. I also dislike this term, and have always used "railway station." However when you think about it, we talk about a bus station - a place where buses pick up and set down passengers, and the railway equivalent is logically a train station - a place where trains pick up and set down passengers. But I still don't like it! (And I suppose someone will remind me that they are customers these days, not passengers - the emphasis being on payment rather than travel.)

[Compo 10,328]

It is Midland Station to me. Recently, mind not fully operational, when someone said they were taking the train from Nottingham Station, I asked "Which one?" Oops! Showing the age there.

[Merthyr Imp 729]

Although the second picture on #426 shows the West Bridgford colours, it actually has the NCT crest on the side, which must date it to shortly after the takeover in 1968. Buses of this age (built 1949), were not retained by NCT for long, and only the newer WB stock was repainted in green and cream. The lowbridge bus in the background appears to have a blank destination screen, and I wonder if it was on the way empty to become a works service - I think they were used on some of the Boots and Players specials for example.

Below is a photo I took of a lineup in the yard at Lower Parliament Street depot at what must have been about the same time showing a similar vehicle (probably not the same one as the advert on the side is different) behind two ex West Bridgford vehicles and ahead of what I think is an NCT AEC Regent lll and definitely a Leyland Titan. At the rear it looks like another ex West Bridgford Regent V of the same type as the first two.

I've got a few more West Bridgford bus photos which I'll put on here when I get the chance.

[DAVIDW 1,687]

I doubt this is of much interest and haven't had chance to peruse all the 22 pages of this thread but it was on the back of something that my Mum cut out the paper . Unfortunately if there was any text , thats long gone .

[taxi ray 170]

In the picture #426 and #435, both buses have an advert for the co-op garage advertising Simca cars, they must have been one of the earliest importers of these cars. I dont think that Simca are still trading.

[notty ash 371]

Simca and the Rootes Group (Hillman, Humber etc) became the European division of Chrysler, which then became part of Peugeot

[Andrea 5]

I doubt this is of much interest and haven't had chance to peruse all the 22 pages of this thread but it was on the back of something that my Mum cut out the paper . Unfortunately if there was any text , thats long gone .

I well remember these on the Hucknall Road services, they had a centre exit fitted when they were still newish.

[Rob.L 1,090]

Simca and the Rootes Group (Hillman, Humber etc) became the European division of Chrysler, which then became part of Peugeot

With Talbot sandwiched in just before Peugeot took everything over.

[StephenFord 866]

And American Chrysler joined with Daimler-Benz, to become Daimler-Chrysler. This organisation were also the owners for a while of the former ABB and AEG railway engineering business (including the ex-British Rail Engineering workshops). This was known as Daimler-Chrysler Rail Systems, and was eventually sold to Bombardier. I retired from Bombardier in Derby 10 years ago, having worked for the organisation under its many and various guises for 35 years.

[Merthyr Imp 729]

Below is a photo of West Bridgford AEC Regent V no. 30 on South Parade.

Lowbridge AEC Regent no. 31 at Broad Marsh under a threatening sky. This would have been in 1968.

No. 32 at Broad Marsh.

Sorry for the poor quality of these.

[Merthyr Imp 729]

The last day of operation of West Bridgford's buses was Saturday 28th September 1968. On that day my friend and I went to the Commercial Motor Show at Earl's Court in London (travelling by United Counties MX1 of course), and on return we went to the Market Square to witness the last departures to West Bridgford prior to the takeover by NCT. I'm afraid these photos are not very good, mainly due to the limited range of the flash cubes on my Instamatic camera but I thought they might be of some interest.

Below is the last no. 15 departure from the Square.

The last no. 21 is seen below, with one of the handful of other bus enthusiasts who'd turned out to see the last West Bridgford-operated departures attaching a streamer to the handrail.

Now according to this website - http://www.petergould.co.uk/local_transport_history/fleetlists/westbridgford.htm - the 21 seen above was the last departure from the Square. But my memory is that the 12 seen below was the last of all. Anyway, here it is:

Rightly or wrongly, it was also said at the time that the last West Bridgford-operated departure of all would be on the Clifton route from Broad Marsh, but we didn't bother going to see that. For one thing we had to get the last Arnold route bus home from the other side of the Square (11.30pm if I remember right in those days).

One boring fact for 'anoraks' is that the name of the organisation - West Bridgford Urban District Council Passenger Transport Department - was the second longest name of any bus company in Britain. If you must know, the longer one was Stalybridge, Hyde Mossley and Dukinfield Joint Transport and Electricity Board.

[MELTONSTILTON 452]

In the late 1970's Bartons had a single decker bus with a strange seat configuration, instead of the normal 2 seats a central gangway and 2 seats, this one had 2 seats a very narrow gangway then 3 seats,

In the earl 70's they also had a dubble decker, with on the top floor a narrow gangway, down one side and 4 seats like a long sofa, if you were sitting in the window seat and the bus was full, you had to pass your money via another passanger to the conductor to pay for your ticket, and the ticket came back the same way, and when the inspector got on it was pandemonium..........

[DAVIDW 1,687]

Thats another memory brought back from old City Buses .

I remember the upstairs on some of the older no 25s in the 50s were just rows of long bench seats and unless I am imagining it the seat area was raised up so you had to step down to the single gangway running along one side .

[Rob.L 1,090]

Thats another memory brought back from old City Buses .

I remember the upstairs on some of the older no 25s in the 50s were just rows of long bench seats and unless I am imagining it the seat area was raised up so you had to step down to the single gangway running along one side .

The 25 is possibly one of the few routes that has never been renumbered, and still follows the same route as it did all those years ago.

As a lad, me and my mates got quite good at throwing snowballs onto the platform as the 25 laboured up Westdale Lane, much to the chagrin of the conductors.

[Cliff Ton 10,475]

I remember the upstairs on some of the older no 25s in the 50s were just rows of long bench seats and unless I am imagining it the seat area was raised up so you had to step down to the single gangway running along one side .

In the earl 70's they also had a dubble decker, with on the top floor a narrow gangway, down one side and 4 seats like a long sofa, if you were sitting in the window seat and the bus was full, you had to pass your money via another passanger to the conductor to pay for your ticket, and the ticket came back the same way, and when the inspector got on it was pandemonium..........

Low-bridge buses, deliberately designed to reduce the overall height of the vehicle. All South Notts double deckers were like that, as were some West Bridgford and Barton buses.

[MELTONSTILTON 452]

Thanks for the Info, it has allways puzzled me, why they were like that............

[Cliff Ton 10,475]

You may also remember (or you might have noticed) that on those buses in the downstairs seating area, they always had a sign which said something along the lines of "Warning, please lower your head when leaving your seat"

Because the dropped gangway upstairs had to come out somewhere below; and it was above the heads of the downstairs passengers on the gangway side.