Halifax Passenger Transport in the Mid-1960's - Part Two

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One-man-operation was brought in on a more serious scale in 1958 when the Siddal, Norton Tower and Washer Lane routes were converted. To provide for this nine new single deckers were required. Manager Le Fevre was very much a Leyland man, but their current standard underfloor-engined offering - the Tiger Cub - was far too underpowered to be considered any good for local use. Once the Tiger Cub had become Leyland's standard home market model the previous heavyweight Royal Tiger had then been substantially revised and upgraded specifically for overseas markets - the result was the Royal Tiger Worldmaster. Now fitted as standard with Pneumocyclic semi-automatic transmission and air brakes and generally to a longer length than current UK regulations would allow, Leyland did list - but didn't seem to promote - a shorter version to UK specification suitable for bodies of 30 feet. Halifax purchased nine (1-9, KCP 1-9) and had them fitted with these basic but workmanlike Weymann B42F bodies. The model remained uncommon in Britain, Glasgow taking the largest number - similar, but dual-doored - and there were coaches for Ellen Smith of Rochdale and Gliderways of Smethwick. They were mechanically indestructible and just ran and ran without hassle for many years - in the end it was probably only corrosion from heavily salted roads that secured their fate. They all passed to WYPTE in 1971 and withdrawals began in 1975, two passing to an operator in the Irish Republic. The very last one (2, by then 3372) hung on until 1979. An attempt was made to repatriate one on those from Ireland, but sadly it was to no avail.
4 is pictured on a gloomy day returning from Norton Tower, and in the process of turning from Victoria Street into St. James Road, which ran across the the top of the original Crossfield Bus Station.

Le Fevre's first order for double deckers materialised in early 1959 when eight Leyland Titan PD3/4's with Metro-Cammell 'Aurora' bodies arrived for the JOC (201-208, KCP 10-17). They were the first double deckers in the fleet to the recently permitted length of 30 feet, and the first with forward entrances - though local BET operator Hebble had beaten them to it the previous year with a pair of AEC Regent V's with similar bodies. They also marked a reversion to manual gearboxes - much to the dismay of many of the drivers. Like the Worldmasters they featured a revised destination layout with destination, via and number blinds all contained within a single aperture. They largely took over the role of the 1948 Regent III eight-footers and were concentrated on the Brighouse-Hebden Bridge and Huddersfield routes. Also like the Worldmasters their interiors were of a more basic nature then hitherto with much painted metal and leatherette seats, but they were pleasant buses to ride on. All survived into WYPTE ownership, but by then body corrosion was advancing rapidly, withdrawal commencing in 1975, the last survivor - by then 3203 - succumbing in 1976.
207 is seen here passing over the brow of Godley Lane within Godley Cutting which cuts through the north-western end of Beacon Hill. It is about to pass under Godley Bridge, a steel structure which replaced the previous arched stone bridge in 1900 in order to allow the passage of trams, which had also required the widening of the cutting. After this the road swings to the right and descends New Bank before turning across North Bridge into the town. It is on the JOC's then longest route, from Brighouse to Hebden Bridge via Halifax.

More thirty-footers entered the fleet in 1960, but this time there was a reversion to the products of Southall. The 16 AEC Regent V 2D3RA's had AV590 engines and all-synchromesh gearboxes with hydraulic clutches, and virtually identical bodies to the previous year's PD3's. There were eight each for the Corporation (11-18, LJX 11-18) and the JOC (211-218, LJX 211-218). The Corporation ones gravitated mostly to the Mixenden/Highroad Well routes for many years, whilst the JOC ones operated the same routes as the PD3's. Opinions differ widely as to the relative merits of this model compared to the PD3, but they were generally considered to be less durable and were certainly much noisier. Injector pipes would often blow off, clutches would frequently lose their hydraulic pressure and fail to operate, and the bonnet lids were prone to blowing open in high cross winds ! Halifax's final GM Geoff Hilditch certainly was not at all keen, and at the first opportunity they were sent packing - though several passed into the hands of independents - most of them being beautifully repainted into their new owners' liveries by the Skircoat Road paintshop as part of the deal. The last ones were withdrawn by WYPTE in 1976, 215 passing eventually to Tony Blackman - owner of Regent III 277 - for preservation, though it has been in storage for many a year now.
Like 207 in the previous photo it is seen here in Godley Cutting heading for town on the Brighouse-Hebden Bridge through service.

Later in 1960 a further 16 double deckers entered service. Owing to the 30-footers being considered unsuitable for many of the off-the-main-road routes, these reverted to the shorter 27-foot length, being Leyland Titan PD2/37's again with Metro-Cammell bodies. Once more they were split equally between the Corporation (21-28, MJX 21-28) and the JOC (221-228, MCP 221-228). 27 was exhibited at the Commercial Motor Show that year and carried a plaque to that effect in the lower saloon. These, weighing nearly half a ton less than the equivalent PD3 yet having the same engine, were livelier performers on the local hilly routes, though the ride was distinctly choppier. They, and other similar later examples, did a lot of hard work around Halifax and the Calder Valley and could be considered the workhorses of the fleet throughout the 1960's and 1970's. First to go was 225 which didn't quite make it into WYPTE ownership, but the rest did - most going in 1976 by which time they were pretty worn out.
221 is pictured in Stainland Road heading towards West Vale, and passing under the strongly arched railway bridge beside the former Greetland Station (closed 1962) on the 1841 Manchester & Leeds/L&YR Calder Valley line. As illustrated here double deckers have to pass through the arch in the centre of the road to avoid colliding with it. Leyland-bodied PD2/1 107 unfortunately did just that in 1963 and due to the damage caused was subsequently cut down for use as a tree-lopper and driver trainer.

As more operators decided that Leyland's Tiger Cub was too underpowered but that the Worldmaster was rather too substantial, the company compromised and fitted an O600 engine to what was essentially a Tiger Cub chassis and from this evolved the first Leopards. In 1961 the JOC took a solitary example (231, OCP 231) based on the L2 coach variant, and with a Weymann body similar to those on the Worldmasters. This one however was delivered as a dual-door standee bus, but trade union opposition quickly put paid to any such idea. It lived a brief and shadowy existence in this form mostly banished to the Brighouse to Field Lane local service, until being returned to Weymann in 1963 to be rebuilt as a standard single door 42-seater. It originally had a notoriously difficult gearbox which was eventually replaced by an improved unit.
Further extensions of OMO were to take place in 1962, and so a further 16 Leopards came along - this time the L1 bus version - with single door bodies otherwise similar to 231. There were nine for the Corporation (31-39, PJX 31-39) and seven for the JOC (232-238, PJX 232-238). These allowed conversion of the Northowram, Shibden, Southowram and Brighouse via Southowram routes and replacement of the Regal III's on the Elland-Sowerby Bridge and Elland-Ripponden routes. Quite basic and noisy inside, and with heavy, clunky driving controls they could be hard work to drive for a full shift on tightly timed, hilly, stop-start local routes, but once 'got going' they could 'motor on a bit' with a distinctive exhaust crackle.
Withdrawn by WYPTE between 1976 and 1981, two (35 & 232) have passed into the hands of local preservationists and are regular rally participants.

Leopard 33 - appropriately on route 33 - is seen leaving the former Shibden terminus and carefully negotiating the single track Paddock Road on the short-lived extension to Queensbury, introduced in 1967 and withdrawn in 1971. For the next mile or so the route would be mostly like this with just the occasional passing place, before joining the main A644 for the last section - with a deviation through Hunger HIll Estate - into its hilltop village destination.

A further sixteen PD2/37's similar to the previous ones came along in 1962 - once again eight each for the Corporation (41-48, PJX 41-48) and the JOC (241-248, PJX 241-248). The main differences from the previous ones was the neater interior window frames and the fitting of fluorescent lighting . Passing to WYPTE they were withdrawn between 1974 and 1976 - with one exception. 43 (then as 3043) survived into the late 1970's when it was taken out of service and parked up in the Skircoat Road bodyshop, where spasmodically over a lengthy period it was extensively rebuilt, emerging fully repainted in the latest PTE livery and re-entering service. By this time the ranks of halfcabs were rapidly diminishing, and 43 soon became the last one in service in Halifax, being finally withdrawn in 1980. Because of its condition it was a choice candidate for preservation, and at the present time it is once again being restored by its owner - former Halifax enthusiast but now Devon-based Richard McAllister.

Many of Halifax JOC's routes ran out of town along busy main road corridors for a few miles, then climbed out of the valleys to to serve hilltop villages before meandering along narrow, tortuous country lanes to their eventual destination in the back of beyond, usually on the edge of bleak moors. Because of the nature of the outer ends of these routes, single deckers often had to be used, but with no limited stop conditions these could easily become overloaded on the busier sections. Manager Le Fevre sought to operate the main corridors with double deckers which would then connect with feeder services to the outer districts provided by a small fleet of nimble, small capacity single deckers. Accordingly after trying out a demonstrator, ten Albion Nimbuses (250-259, RJX 251-259) were purchased, entering service in the summer of 1963. They featured an Albion-built engine which was effectively a four-cylinder version of the Leyland 0375 used in the Tiger Cub, an Albion-designed gearbox and BMC axles. Neat looking bodywork was provided by Weymann, similar in style to recent ones by Harrington for Western Welsh, but having the large, protruding Halifax type destination box, and curved windscreens - the first in the fleet. The windows were quite large and the interior was finished in a cream formica with green vynide-covered seats, giving a very light and airy feel inside.

252 is pictured descending Upper Bolton Brow towards Sowerby Bridge on its way to Mill Bank. The cottages to the right have long since been pulled down, and in the upper left background the Willow Hall Mills complex later followed suit being replaced by a new housing development.

Geoff Hilditch had already suffered unpleasant experiences with Nimbuses whilst GM at Great Yarmouth, and was glad to leave them behind when he took up the equivalent post at Halifax in 1963. One can imagine his horror on arriving here to find that his predecessor had bequeathed him a fleet of ten new ones ! The feeder service idea never materialised and the unfortunate little buses were simply put out onto the existing routes, often having to carry heavy loads on the busy sections. As often happens when major operators take on lightweight buses, they were not treated sympathetically. The engineers maintained them like heavyweights, the frustrated drivers drove (and abused) them like heavyweights and the depot staff and traffic department frequently allowed them to be allocated to inappropriate routes where they got a 'hammering'. Mechanical problems and deficiencies quickly arose and they were almost totally unloved. Two (250/251) had their seats recovered in moquette and fitted with headrests, and were repainted into the recently introduced DP livery with the green and cream areas reversed. Eventually the Nimbuses often found a niche operating schools' swimming baths contracts where their 31-seat capacity was just right for the typical class size, and driven sympathetically by the more senior drivers they didn't venture far from home.

Hilditch quickly opted to rid himself of the Nimbuses whilst they were still fairly new and saleable, and they were all withdrawn and sold between 1965 and 1967. All found ready buyers, and as happened later with some of the Regent V's, most of the Nimbuses were repainted for their new owners by the department's paintshop. 250 passed to the small independent E. & T. Harvey of Mousehole in Cornwall, where it was found to be ideal for negotiating the village's narrow streets. It ran successfully there for many more years before being purchased by a Lincolnshire-based preservationist and restored to its dual-purpose livery once more. 255 remained in the town for a few more years having passed to the Corporation's Welfare Department, replacing an ex-Bristol Omnibus Bristol K-type that had been cut down into a single decker. With a large section of its nearside cut away, a nearside wheelchair lift was installed and the previous orange lower panels were repainted in a perculiar salmon pink shade.
Here 251, minus its seat headrests, stands in Elmwood Garage awaiting collection by its new owner Booth & Fisher of Halfway, near Sheffield. Booth & Fisher ran a number of Nimbuses, this one later having to have its tall destination box cut down due to clearance problems under a very low bridge. It even lasted long enough to pass with the company to the South Yorkshire PTE, not being withdrawn until 1978.

In 1963 it was the turn of the Corporation fleet to receive some PD3's and these eight (51-58, TCP 51-58) had bodywork by Weymann which was like a lengthened version of the previous year's PD2s, but with lower panels that were slightly deeper and a windscreen that was recessed towards the top edge. The interiors still featured brown vynide seating but for some obscure reason the window surrounds on 54 were finished in a vivid green colour. All passed to WYPTE and all were withdrawn and scrapped in 1976.
53 is pictured in Northowram Village, having passed the earlier terminus at the end of Towngate (in the background, where the cars are parked) and heading down The Hough a further further few hundred yards to the later terminus at Stephen Close.

All photographs by Roger Cox unless otherwise stated.

Text by John Stringer.

 

Part Three, click here

 

 

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