Bus, Trolleybus and Tram Routes of Kingston upon Hull Corporation, Predecessors and Successors. 1899 to 1986 - Chapter Four

Bus, Trolleybus and Tram Routes of Kingston upon Hull Corporation
Predecessors and Successors. 1899 to 1986

 

Chapter Four

 

Hedon Road

Trams: M, MA
Road Service Licence No’s: BH101/16, /19, /65, /71, /72, /73, /89, /91, /97, /98, /99, /100, /106/, 107, /119, /122, /123, /120.

From a public transport point of view, Hedon Road has always been an industrial area, rather than a residential one. The first trams operated by the Corporation crossed the North Bridge serving the warehouses along the eastern bank of the river Hull along Great Union Street and then the docks along the river Humber, as well as other industries in the area, as well as the railways yards at Drypool. The first electric trams operated along Hedon Road in March 1903, and terminated at the entrance to Alexandra Dock. It carried the route letter ‘M’ for Marfleet, although it did not travel that far. By April 1912, the tracks had been extended to the Marfleet Avenue junction along Hedon Road. Initially this was operated as a separate service with route letters ‘MA’ but both services were later amalgamated and ran under the letter ‘M’.

The first motorbus service along Hedon Road commenced in February 1923 and ran from the tram terminus at Marfleet Avenue to the entrance of King George Dock. This service was experimental and apparently did not come up to expectations as it was only run for a short time. That October saw a night service over the ‘M’ tram route operated by Motorbus. Under the provisions of the 1930 Road Traffic Act this service was subsequently granted on Road Service Licence number BH101/16 and carried route number 47. There was a licence granted in 1932 for a daytime bus service along the tram route and this too, was numbered 47, the licence number being BH101/19. Upon co-ordination in July, 1934, a Sunday morning service was granted on licence BH101/65(?). Despite the Motorbus licence being granted in 1932, the tram service continued until 31st December, 1937. It was replaced the following day by the bus service.

The lack of any other Corporation bus service along Hedon Road at this time can be explained by the fact that East Yorkshire Motor Services Ltd operated a number of services along the thoroughfare to Hedon and Withernsea. Some of these ran directly along Hedon Road and some ran via Southcoates Lane. According to the coordination agreement all the area east of Marfleet, and including Hedon lay in the ‘B’ zone which was to be operated jointly by East Yorkshire and the Corporation. It was for this reason that when Sharpe’s Motors of Hedon was purchased it was by both partners. The company was purchased in November, 1935 and all three services were held on joint licences by both partners. Licences issued to Hull Corporation for the routes were BH101/71, service 49 City to Hedon Road via Drypool, BH101/72; service 36 Hedon to Paull, and BH101/73, service 43 City to Saltend via Drypool. In all cases route numbers quoted are those used by Hull Corporation.

At the declaration of war in September, 1939, there were six services operated by the Corporation, or jointly with East Yorkshire, which ran along Hedon Road, these being:

36 (BH101/72) Hedon to Paull (joint with EYMS)
43 (BH101/73) Saltend via Drypool (joint with EYMS)
47 (BH101/19) Marfleet Avenue via North Bridge (night service BH101/16,
Sunday morning BH101/65)
49 (BH101/71) Hedon via Drypool (joint with EYMS)

As stated elsewhere, all night and Sunday morning services were discontinued at an early stage of the war, leaving the other four services operating, albeit it a reduced frequency.

Unlike all services operated along Hedon Road up to the war, the first post war service to be introduced was neither a residential or a war service, but a leisure one. The Hull Speedway motor cycle racing team had commenced using the disused airfield at Hedon for its home race meetings and the Corporation had applied for, and was granted, a Road Service Licence for a service to and from the race track to the city centre. Licence BH101/89 was granted and services commenced in April 1949. The service ceased operation in 1951.

Another joint licence, BH101/91, was granted in 1949 for a service between the City Centre and Paull village, but this did not call at Hedon. Like the Hedon to Paull service, it too was given the route number 36 and this allowed a through route to Hedon via Paull. In November, 1949, three works services to Saltend Works and the BCLO factory on Hedon Road were introduced; two of them numbered 54 and 55 travelled via Holderness Road and Newbridge Road and are described in the Holderness Road chapter, while the third, numbered 53 travelled via Drypool and Hedon Road to the BCLO plant. This was added to licence BH101/73 which already had the 43 to Saltend on it. Another joint service within the ‘B’ zone commenced in October 1951, on licence BH101/100, and was given the route number 52. The service ran from Hedon to Saltend via Preston and Stakes Lane.

In 1954 the works services were renumbered into a special series for such services in the 90’s thus 43, 52 and 53 became 91 to 93 respectively. Further changes to the Hedon area services occurred in 1956. The 36 on BH101/72 was transferred to BH101/71 with route number 86, it was also extended to commence in the city centre of Hull, and now worked Hull to Paull via Hedon, while the direct Hull to Paull service remained on BH101/91 but that was renumbered 84. The Hedon services were completely revised in October 1960, the 86 was renumbered 149 and extended back to Hull to form a circular via Hedon and Paull, whilst the 84 was transferred to BH101/71 and also extended back to Hull, with route number 249. This was effectively the reverse of route 149. Two other circulars were also introduced at this time, numbered 349 and 449; the former ran from Hull as a circular via Hedon, Preston and Stakes Lane, whilst the 449 ran the reverse. It has been stated by some that the 92 on BH101/100 was the basis of the 349, but there is no definite confirmation of this, but whatever the truth of the matter, the 92 was discontinued at this point. Joint services to Hedon were now 49 to Hedon, 149 via Hedon and Paull, 249 via Paull and Hedon, 349 via Hedon and Preston and 449 via Preston and Hedon. Numbers quoted are those of the Corporation.

From East Yorkshire’s point of view only the 49 was actually shown in their timetable until 1960 and it was allocated their route number 19 on BE3/154. The 84 and 86 circulars were EYMS 69 and 69A respectively also on BE3/154, whilst the services 349 and 449 were 79 and 79A were also on BE3/154. It is interesting that although introduced in October 1960 and shown in East Yorkshire’s timetable the Corporation did not list them until 1963, at which time East Yorkshire changed route numbers to the Corporation these being 19 to 49, 69 and 69a to 149 and 249 and 79 and 79a to 349 and 449.

In the timetable dated for April 1966 the BCLO works on Hedon Road was no longer used but all services were extended eastwards to the junction of Hedon Road and Somerden Road where an industrial estate was being built. On Hedon Road services this affected service 93.

Because East Yorkshire’s buses were now able to display service numbers several Corporation bus services were renumbered to avoid confusion, this affected mainly services along Anlaby Road, Hessle Road and Spring Bank, but the Hedon circulars were also affected as East Yorkshire now numbered the routes 79, 179, 279, 379 and 479, therefore the Corporation did likewise, these changes occurred in September 1963. This was not to be the end of the changes as will be seen later.

An express service between the Coach Station and the ferry terminal at King George V dock commenced in April 1967 and was on licence BH101/120. It did not pick up or set down other than at either terminus. It ran directly via Alfred Gelder Street, Drypool Bridge and Hedon Road and it connected with the sailings of the Rotterdam and Zeebrugge ferries.

Further developments along the Hedon Road corridor were shown in the next timetable, which was dated for October 1967. Licence BH101/73 was surrendered, the journey to Saltend was discontinued, this was the 91, but the Somerden Road service, the 93, was transferred on to the licence BH101/19, becoming route number 47D in the process and it was relegated to a peak hour “extra journey”. This ran via Drypool Bridge and Hedon Road, whilst all other services on BH101/19 ran via North Bridge, Great Union Street and Hedon Road. Also at this point the licence gained two variants, both travelling via the North Bridge route these being 47A which directly replaced the 93 and the 47B, which travelled via Marfleet Lane, Preston Road, Annandale Road and Grange Road, where it terminated at the 48 terminus in Bilton Grange.

Another express ferry service was shown in the June 1968 timetable. It was also on the BH101/120 but ran this time to the Gothenburg Ferry Terminal situated on the Alexandra Dock. It was at this point that the 47B referred to above was discontinued, and on BH101/71 the renumberings referred to earlier took place. As East Yorkshire was now the main operator of the circulars the 179 to 479 became 79A, B, C, D respectively, the services themselves remained unchanged and the 79 was still operated by either partner.

The Somerden Road peak “extra journey” 47D became a timed service in the timetable dated September 1968, but reverted back to its peak extra status in the timetable dated July 1970. In between this the timetable for March 1970 showed a bus service for which there was no Road Service Licence. This was due to two factors, one in that it was operated entirely off the public highway and the other that it was mainly for the use of dock workers on the King George Dock. It was a shuttle service which ran between number 8 Quay and the Grain Silo. No times were ever published for this service in any timetable but the fare was quoted.

It was not until October 1971 that any further alterations occurred on services along Hedon Road, when further developments occurred on licences BH101/19 and /71. On the former, the Marfleet service was renumbered 47B while an extension of the service to Greatfield estate became route number 47 and was identical to the earlier 47B, but it terminated in Annandale Road rather than Bilton Grange. The 47D “extra journey” also ceased to be listed in the timetable. Changes to BH101/71 were more dramatic, but it must be borne in mind that only the 79 to Hedon was operated by the Corporation, all of the services on the joint licence were now operated solely by East Yorkshire. To enable a larger circular to be operated the 79C via Hedon and Preston was renumbered 79E, the reverse retained 79D, however, there were five new services which extended the route to Preston and returned to the city via Holderness Road. Two major routes were numbered 59C and 79C. The former ran via Holderness Road, Bilton, Wyton, Preston, Hedon and Hedon Road back to the Coach Station. The 79C ran the same route in reverse order. There was also the 59 which ran to Hedon via the 59C route and two new circulars 59B and 79E which ran the 59C/79C route but ran along Stakes Lane between Preston and the Saltend Roundabout.

The Gothenburg ferry service to Alexandra Dock was not shown in the March 1972 timetable. the following May the 47 on BH101/19 was extended, yet again, from Greatfield to Hopewell Road, but the 47B to Marfleet now became an “extra journey”.

There were no further changes to services along the Hedon Road corridor until May 1976, when both BH101/19 and /71 saw again the main alterations. On the latter licence the 59B/79E services which by-passed Hedon were discontinued, whilst on BH101/19 the 47B “extra journey” to Marfleet was discontinued and the Hopewell Road service was renumbered 47B from 47. The main route was extended from Hopewell Road via Barham Road, Diadem Grove and Shannon Road to the Wansbeck Road north junction where the 56 terminus was situated. The 47B had a school service which operated to St Bede’s School on Hopewell Road with the route number 47S. In addition, the Marfleet service, the original 47 recommenced with route number 47F.

After seven years of operation the King George Dock shuttle service was no longer shown on the timetable dated May 1977, but it is not known for certain if the service actually ceased or ceased to be open to the public. There were no further changes to Hedon Road services until the major service revisions of June 1980. Licence BH101/19 was surrendered at this time and services 47F, 47B and 47S were all withdrawn, and the remaining two, 47 and 47A were transferred to the outer circle licence, BH101/105 as number 10B and 10X. This renumbering also affected the cross-city services to Somerden Road from Anlaby Road, Hessle Road and Spring Bank. With the ending of the coordination agreement in June 1981 the joint licence BH101/71 was surrendered and services 59, 59C, 79, 79A, 79B, 79C, 79D and 79F were now operated by East Yorkshire. This now left only one service, the “Ferrybus” on licence BH101/120 operating along Hedon Road, and this continued up to the de-regulation network of 1986 when it took service number 20.

Although the foregoing covers all the major services which operated along Hedon Road there were a number of short term services to be considered also. These all operated to King George Dock to cater for the public to visit ships in the dock which were open to the public. The first two licences for ships visits were on licences BH101/97 and /98, they operated between the 20th and 30th June 1951. The first was for a service from the Coach Station, whilst the second ran from Maybury Road, the route of this is not known, and both services were in connection with the visit of the liner RMS Campania, which visited Hull as part of the Festival of Britain, which took place in 1951. The next licence BH101/99 operated from the Coach Station from the 3rd to the 10th of July 1951 and covered the visit of the Royal Navy Ship, HMS Sheffield. There were no more licences of this type until 1958 when BH101/106 and /107 were granted for operation on the 20th of July 1958 for the visit of HMS Kenya to the city. The first licence was for a service from the Coach Station, and the second commenced from Diadem Grove in Bilton Grange. There was, again, a long period before the next short term licence was granted. Licence BH101/119 was granted for operation on the 17th and 18th of July 1965 to provide transport to the Royal Navy Squadron visit on these dates.

The following year the training ship Winston Churchill visited Hull on the 14th of March and BH101/122 was granted for visitors to the ship. HMS Agincourt visited Hull on the 14th and 18th of June of the same year and BH101/123 was granted for this. The last three services were all operated from the Coach Station. There were no further licences granted for this purpose, but all subsequent timetables gave fares for these services, which may now have been included BH101/120. This situation continued up to the pre-deregulation network of July 1986.

 

Keith Easton
12/2011

 

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