Let the good pies roll - a photo on Flickriver

In 1969, a new Passenger Transport Executive - set up by the Transport Act 1968 - absorbed the 11 municipal operators in and around Manchester. A new Sunglow Orange livery was chosen, but it took years - almost six, as it turned out - to eliminate the old town colour schemes.

In many ways, the municipal towns - and the people who composed their transport workers - mourned the passing of the old traditions and liveries. But in some unexpected ways, employees found some new-found benefits. One benefit was the homogenisation of staff terms and conditions, which in many cases led to an improvement on what had gone before. But an unexpected 'perk' was that training buses started to pop up in the most unexpected places, as driving instructors no longer felt constrained to stay within their own town boundary. It may not come as a shock to find that savvy driving instructors gravitated their learners towards the bus canteens with the best reputations, with some surprising odysseys being noted in search of the perfect pie and chips.

That's probably not the case here, as Rochdale became the new home of ex-Bolton training bus 6577. Rochdale's own fleet was made up mainly of buses with semi-automatic transmissions or - like bus 6208 - pre-selectors, which took a fair bit of getting used to but weren't regarded by the Ministry driving testers as a manual gearbox. So, 6577 was sent to Rochdale to put drivers through their tests to get the coveted 'full' PSV licence including manual gearbox.

In this form the bus lasted until 1978, when it was finally withdrawn. But its story didn't end there: it was taken into the Bolton works at Carlton Street and fully restored to its 1956 original condition, then transferred to the Museum of Transport where it lives to this day.

Former Rochdale bus 6209 wasn't so lucky, but one of its stablemates - number 6180, new as Rochdale 280 - is also restored to original condition and in our museum.

If you'd like to know more about the Museum of Transport Greater Manchester and its collection of vintage buses, go to motgm.uk.

© Greater Manchester Transport Society. All rights reserved. Unauthorised reproduction is strictly prohibited and may result in action being taken to protect the intellectual property interests of the Society.

Taken in: UK / England / Rochdale (show map)

Taken on: January 1, 1972

Tags:

Museum

Transport

Manchester

www.gmts.co.uk

GMTS

bus

buses

Museum of Transport

GMTS collection

Greater Manchester Transport Society

Boyle Street

Cheetham Hill

M8 8UW

Greater Manchester

heritage

history

MoTGM

Leyland

Titan

PD2

MCW

Metro Cammell

JBN153

6577

AEC

Regent

Regent V

Bolton

Rochdale

6209

RDK409

309

Corporation

Weymann

driver

trainer

training « less

Sets appears in: • Bolton • Selnec/GMT/GM Buses more » • Rochdale « less

Groups appears in: • public transport • Old Photos more » • Buses • Period Photographs of Transportation (pre-1980) • Public Transit • the bus club • Public Transportation • British Buses • Leyland Buses • Bus Pictures • Transport In The Frame • Greater Manchester's buses • Corporation Buses • Trams & Buses • Bus Explorer • Bus UK: British Passenger Transport Executives • Rochdale • AEC • Bus Group • North of England's Public Transport • Greater Manchester's Buses and Coaches • Buses for everyone • transport of the world • The buses group • vintage buses • Beauty of the buses and coaches • Bus UK: Buses, Coaches and Trams of North West England • Road Transport Through the Years • Classic Half Cab Buses • Bus Operators - Bankrupt, Extinct, Orphan, Former • Bus UK: Metro-Cammell of Birmingham and Weymann of Addlestone • British Municipal and Corporation Bus and Tram Group • Bus Shots • Buses UK • UK Bus and Coach • MCW BUS AND COACH • The Bus Spotters • Rochdale borough images • Transport Photography in the UK • Step Entrance Buses • REAL Buses and Trains in the UK • BUS UK, Lancashire and Cheshire's Municipal Operators • Bus UK: Leyland Titan TDs PDs and TNs • Classic Transport • North West Bus Scene • Transport World Wide • International BUS Enthusiast™ • Rear entrance buses • Transport 1940s to 1980s • Greater Manchester City Region • UK Bus Pics • Seventies Transport Time Machine • Non PSV UK Buses & Coaches • Classic postwar town and city Transport • * C L A S S I C - T R A N S P O R T * • Machines that Moved us • JUST BUSES [NO COACHES] • Buses in the north west • Quality Bus Photos • Buses & Coaches in the North West • Rochdale Images • uk buses • UK Bus Photos • TRASPORTO PUBBLICO/PUBLIC TRANSPORT • [UK] British Public Transportation • Buses From Vanished Vantage Points • Transport on the Map « less

Stats: 354 views