Leeds City Transport Bus Routes

BLAKEY · Post by **BLAKEY** » Tue 09 Feb, 2010 12:30 am

Trojan wrote: BLAKEY wrote: [I I bet you remember the driver with that most famous badge number - Arthur Buckle BB 44444. That's something that always puzzled me. I can understand why drivers had an idenficiation badge - because they held the PSV licence, but why did conductors have one? Did the driver's badge have a green border and the conductor's a red one - or vice versa? Drivers' badges red, conductors' badges green Trojan. The conductors also had PSV licences in those days - all bus crews had to be licensed by the Traffic Commissioners.

Trojan · Post by **Trojan** » Tue 09 Feb, 2010 9:57 am

BLAKEY wrote: Trojan wrote: BLAKEY wrote: [I I bet you remember the driver with that most famous badge number - Arthur Buckle BB 44444. That's something that always puzzled me. I can understand why drivers had an idenficiation badge - because they held the PSV licence, but why did conductors have one? Did the driver's badge have a green border and the conductor's a red one - or vice versa? Drivers' badges red, conductors' badges green Trojan. The conductors also had PSV licences in those days - all bus crews had to be licensed by the Traffic Commissioners. Ta Blakey. My uncle started as a conductor on the West Riding in the fifties and became a driver, I should have asked him at the time I suppose As regards your nickname - I was thinking that now you're retired you should be re-Christened "Smiler"

trophy · Post by **trophy** » Tue 09 Feb, 2010 11:03 am

I have always wondered why the leyland pd2 with manual gearbox was most used on the 54 to rodley. i would have thought the rarer semi auto AEC would have been more suitable for bramley hill .on the subject of gearboxes the west yorks five speed bristols could really motor downhill .pity the brakes were not as good theywould often overshoot my stop on rodley lane.

BLAKEY · Post by **BLAKEY** » Tue 09 Feb, 2010 11:37 am

trophy wrote: I have always wondered why the leyland pd2 with manual gearbox was most used on the 54 to rodley. i would have thought the rarer semi auto AEC would have been more suitable for bramley hill .on the subject of gearboxes the west yorks five speed bristols could really motor downhill .pity the brakes were not as good theywould often overshoot my stop on rodley lane. Its quite a complicated situation trophy actually. The manual PD2s were bought only because of delivery time difficulties with vehicles of choice as the tram network was reducing. Almost the entire large batch of sixty (NNW 340 -399) joined the earlier PD1s at Bramley. Only a reasonably small proportion of the LCT driving staff possessed "all types" licences, the remainder being confined to semi automatic vehicles. I know what you mean about the hilly Bramley terrain, but the PD2s were actually very widely used on most of the Bramley Depot services - in particular 23 Intake, 65 Pudsey, 72 Bradford, 77 Gipton.The "overshooting" in Rodley Lane will, I'm sure, have been caused by bad driving as Bristols always had extremely good brakes as far as I know.

BLAKEY · Post by **BLAKEY** » Tue 09 Feb, 2010 11:45 am

Trojan wrote: [As regards your nickname - I was thinking that now you're retired you should be re-Christened "Smiler" I can't remember now how the name "Blakey" came about. It was bestowed on me by a driver at Selby Depot when I was helping out there on loan from Pontefract, and he suggested it for when I got a computer which I was about to do. I doubt if it had anything to do with me having been a (reluctant) inspector at Leeds nearly fifteen years earlier. I can't believe that in May I shall have been retired for nine years - wherever does the time go, because I've scarcely sat down yet

trophy · Post by **trophy** » Wed 10 Feb, 2010 10:14 am

thanks for that blakey.ihave to say i prefered the west yorkshires especialy in winter with their platform doors and heaters,and their lowbridge layout was a novelty.

BLAKEY · Post by **BLAKEY** » Wed 10 Feb, 2010 11:18 am

trophy wrote: thanks for that blakey.ihave to say i prefered the west yorkshires especialy in winter with their platform doors and heaters,and their lowbridge layout was a novelty. A novelty it may well have been trophy, but they were brutes for conductors - once you were "trapped" in the upstairs gangway you couldn't see the staircase mirror for folks coming up and going down. Also, leaning across the first three passengers to serve ther ones against the nearside windows was difficult. For obvious reasons of balance, with too much weight on the nearside, they leaned horribly towards the gutter especially on pronounced cambers. Then of course we musn't forget the lower saloon offside casualties. The little notices saying "please lower your head when leaving your seat" were of little avail and many an unsuspecting head received a cruel blow from the sunken gangway - a feature which also made for conducting and passenger movement difficulties downstairs. All this horror just to save a few inches in height eh ??, but the wonderful invention of the Bristol Lodekka and other manufacrurers' similar designs was soon to change that.

Trojan · Post by **Trojan** » Wed 10 Feb, 2010 11:59 am

BLAKEY wrote: trophy wrote: thanks for that blakey.ihave to say i prefered the west yorkshires especialy in winter with their platform doors and heaters,and their lowbridge layout was a novelty. A novelty it may well have been trophy, but they were brutes for conductors - once you were "trapped" in the upstairs gangway you couldn't see the staircase mirror for folks coming up and going down. Also, leaning across the first three passengers to serve ther ones against the nearside windows was difficult. For obvious reasons of balance, with too much weight on the nearside, they leaned horribly towards the gutter especially on pronounced cambers. Then of course we musn't forget the lower saloon offside casualties. The little notices saying "please lower your head when leaving your seat" were of little avail and many an unsuspecting head received a cruel blow from the sunken gangway - a feature which also made for conducting and passenger movement difficulties downstairs. All this horror just to save a few inches in height eh ??, but the wonderful invention of the Bristol Lodekka and other manufacrurers' similar designs was soon to change that. I used to drive our converted PD3 (picture on here somewhere) it was full height 14'-8" - but the seats had been removed and replaced with longtitudinal bench seats. Upstairs under these seats were a series of water tanks - the type used in caravans - in series. The vehicle was equipped for catering with fridges, bars, cookers and a sink. The weight of water in the tanks upstairs used to make it lean if they'd been filled prior to going on site. Every two years there is a quarry equipment exhibition in a disused quarry at Hillhead near Buxton. There was no water filling facility on site so the tanks were filled in advance. I drove the bus (registered as a motor caravan) into this quarry down the steep quarry roads, and it seemed ( to me anyway) to be leaning alarmingly. Suddenly there was a loud buzzing noise in the cab, which nearly caused me to lose my lunch. However I got to the site without mishap - the buzzing was the upstairs emergency door which was loose. As for perfomance - it would do a top speed of 45mph up hill and down hill.

amber · Post by **amber** » Wed 10 Feb, 2010 1:52 pm

Trojan wrote: Speaking of shoppers' services. Does anyone remember when the centre of Leeds was first pedestrianised in about 1973, LCT experimented with a battery powered bus that came from SELNEC (forerunners of GM Metro) and Chloride? Just caught up with this thread after 2 weeks in Cyprus. I was one of the two drivers who drove the LCT electric bus on the Woodhouse Lane Multi car park -Headrow- Park Row- City Sq- Boar Lane- Briiggate- Headrow- Albion St -Woodhouse Lane- Blackman lane - Car park. It had a bad habit of running out of power without warning Between 12-30 130, then have to to be towed back to Sov St. There was only the one bus and I Think it went to Bournemouth for further trials after a few months with us. I have a photo of the bus, when I can find it Iwill attempt to post it.

BLAKEY · Post by **BLAKEY** » Wed 10 Feb, 2010 10:04 pm

[quotenick="TrojanI used to drive our converted PD3 (picture on here somewhere) it was full height 14'-8" - but the seats had been removed and replaced with longtitudinal bench seats. Upstairs under these seats were a series of water tanks - the type used in caravans - in series. The vehicle was equipped for catering with fridges, bars, cookers and a sink. The weight of water in the tanks upstairs used to make it lean if they'd been filled prior to going on site. Every two years there is a quarry equipment exhibition in a disused quarry at Hillhead near Buxton. There was no water filling facility on site so the tanks were filled in advance. I drove the bus (registered as a motor caravan) into this quarry down the steep quarry roads, and it seemed ( to me anyway) to be leaning alarmingly. Suddenly there was a loud buzzing noise in the cab, which nearly caused me to lose my lunch. However I got to the site without mishap - the buzzing was the upstairs emergency door which was loose. As for perfomance - it would do a top speed of 45mph up hill and down hill. Crikey Trojan - this gives a whole new "up market" aspect to the concept of the "Tomato Dip."