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Nottingham City Transport:

1. On what date did NCT first introduce the rear engined double decker bus and on what route did it operate?

2. Was it a Daimler or Leyland?

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I remember it happening.

Was it around 1965?

I remember this big motorbus turning up instead of the old 43 Trolley Bus, that I caught from Bentinck Rd

to Trent Bridge.

A real novelty it was, it might even have had doors on that you got on at the front.

I think the 58 from just down Hartley road might have been totally motorbus, due to the fact the

wires did not go down that way?

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Mick, your reactions must be slowing, or are you partaking of the grape/grain?.............................I certainly am, a very good Pinotage................... slywink

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I thought the Daimlers were earlier than the Leyland but that's only an impression. I used to catch the No.64 from Trinity Square and the first one's I saw were Daimlers on the No.49 and 64 routes. It was some time later that I saw my first Leyland Atlantean so I assumed that to be the order of introduction. A schoolmate's big brother worked in the NCT allocation office and he would sometimes let us know what buses had been allocated to our route in advance.

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As I remember the Motor Buses on the 58 route were distinctly different to those of the 43 and 44.

But not being a bus expert, I could not tell why?

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Forgot I had a book for anoraks on Nottingham buses.

It also states what Roger Peatman said above - the first Daimler Fleetlines (18 of them with Park Royal bodies) came to Nottingham in1962. And shows a photo of one at Broad Marsh on a 68 route to Clifton.

And....... the book also shows a Leyland Atlantean demonstrator on a Clifton route in June 1961. But apparently early Atlanteans were unreliable and badly built, so not many operators bought them.

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The two thing I remember most about the Daimlers is the smell of the interior and the muffled sound of the engine compared to front engined buses.

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  • 8 months later...

Here's a photo of one with some details:-

http://www.old-bus-photos.co.uk/?cat=160

I'm pretty sure they did first enter service on the 68, as I remember going on one to Clifton and back when they were new for the sake of it - a whole 4d each way! By the way, unlike front entrance buses today where you pay the driver as you get on they still had conductors on them in those days.

They then became regulars on the 49 and I would travel on them to school and back.

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good job they did when we all got on after night out at whitehart late sixties driver would not know what had hit him even conductor never managed to collect all the fair before we all rushed off at the square and it didnt mater witch end of the bus they started collecting.

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  • 3 years later...

46-63 (46-63NAU) were the Park Royal bodied Daimler Fleetlines, in 1962, which were followed by 64-94 in 1963, except for 73, which came in 1964. The 64-94 batch were bodied by Northern Counties. 73 arrived later as it was used to develop a modified ventilation system. The Park Royal bodied buses were initially allocated to Parliament Street depot, whilst 64-78 went to Bilborough and 79-94 to Bulwell.

 

The first Leyland Atlanteans 401-422 arrived in 1964 and were initially allocated to Parliament Street, but were re-allocated to Trent Bridge in early 1965 when the 43s were converted from trolley bus to motorbus operation. 402 had a reputation for high speed running and became known as the Trent Bridge flyer.

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Those 400s (401-422) were based at Bilborough Depot in '74 when I joined & imho were the best Atlanteans on the job ! Very basic with no power steering & iffy brakes as well !  Another downside were the very poor heaters on board, freezing in winter & don't forget Bilborough Depot did not have indoor parking for every bus, a lot were parked outdoors overnight. Imagine being allocated one of these at 4am on a winter's morning !!!

A short drive in to the depot where a space heater was positioned to blow hot air inside the bus after a small patch had been scraped off the windscreen to aid visibility beforehand  !

 

I well remember doing a shift on the service 36 & 41 routes (known as the Khyber Pass) very fast buses & was not unheard of the regular driver's nipping back to Bilb' Depot for a cup of tea after each arrival at Percy Street or Cinderhill Road, much to the section inspector's annoyance smile2

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Yep, they did run out of Bilb', my date could be wrong but was on the Bilb rota, I worked a few days off there when nothing was happening at Bulwell.

The "Lost" mileage accrued by the Bilb' lads was enormous due to unofficial trips back to the depot for a cup of tea !

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  • 4 months later...

The early Daimler Fleetlines were used on the routes that went up Hucknall Road - I remember catching them from the stop outside the City Hospital entrance back towards town. Was that the 49 and 64?

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  • 1 month later...

Until the late 60s the terminus for the 64 was the Nell Gwynne pub, at the junction of Gladehill Road & Oxclose Lane.

 

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