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The next batch of vehicles certainly kept up the level of interest in the goings on at Charles St. The Bristol single deck fleet was all but retired. Advantages of the design were a low height compared to the underfloor engined single deckers which had, for the previous ten years, been inexorably replacing them and a 7 foot 6 inch width. There was one particular bridge under the Bridgewater Canal at Dunham Woodhouses that most of the Bristols could manage. It had a very curved stone bore and no underfloor engined single could negotiate it. As the last Bristols were coming to the end of their useful lives something had to be done.
The solution came from an unexpected and unorthodox source. The Bedford division of General Motors had long produced truck derived coach and light bus chassis. In 1962 it launched its first ever specifically designed chassis for coach operation. Light in weight, 36 foot in length and at a price far cheaper than the competing Leyland and AEC products, the VAL chassis had a feature that made it unique - 3 axles. The one at the rear was powered, the other two at the front steered the vehicle. They could also be fitted with small diameter wheels.
Ten (130-139) were ordered with Leyland engines and a Strachens body with a curved roof contoured to fit the Dunham Woodhouses bridge. These vehicles were unique but were not of the best construction and only lasted seven years - though they saw duty on a wide variety of routes, including as duplicates on express routes and gave a totally different ride experience to thousands of passengers.
Also in 1964 two Leopards with the short version of the Harrington Cavalier body were added to the coach touring fleet, with a further two in 1965.
1965 also saw ten more Leopard/Alexander express coaches and twenty three more Fleetline/Alexander double deckers to what had now become the standard. Two more (188-189) arrived slightly later but looked different with their fourth lower deck bay on each side being a half bay, with the rear part a blank. This was to facilitate trunking for the complex Compas heating system. 189 was different again in having a Cummins engine making it a Daimler CRC6 - though the engine was eventually replace by a standard Gardner 6LX.
Twenty five more standard Fleetlines and ten more express Leopards arrived in 1966 along with five more short length Leopards for the touring fleet, fitted with Duple 41 seat bodies, though these were often used on the express network and had yet another variant on the touring coach livery.
In terms of vehicles, it was a case of more of the same for North Western in 1967. The second batch of Leopards with Duple 41 seat coach bodies arrived (230-234) followed by 235-244, ten more Leopards with 49 seat Y bodies. 245-254 were Fleetlines with the now standard Alexander bodies and these were to be the last Fleetlines delivered. One diversion from the norm was the inclusion of five Bedford SB3s with Duple C41 bodies into the main touring coach fleet. Dating from 1963, they had been both with Altrincham Coachways and Melba Motors and carried 1963 fleet numbers 991-992 and 994-996.
The major event of the year was that BET sold its shares in North Western - and all its other UK bus holdings - to the Transport Holding Company, the nationalised group, formed from the Tilling group. North Western was now back in what it saw as its natural "home" from which it had been excluded in 1948. The rejoicing was to be short lived, however.
The first Bristols since 1950 (270-290) arrived in 1968. These were short length rear underfloor engined single deck buses (RESL) with Marshall bodies to the BET 1960s standard. Fitted with 45 seats they were followed by a second batch later in the year (291-309), A further five Leopards with Duple coach bodies arrived (255-259), the first four with 41 seats, the last with 37.
Another ten Leopards with Alexander Y type bodies replaced the first ten 36 foot long Alexander express coaches delivered in 1962. The latter were demoted to dual purpose vehicles, The new vehicles were the last with illuminated fleetname panels. These panels were smaller versions of a very 1960s phenomenon, the illuminated between decks advertising panel on double deckers. Many fleets had these as the initial cost of the equipment was soon recouped in revenue from the higher fees charged for ads that could easily be seen day and night. The revenue was such that London Transport were prepared to pay more than other operators to have such panels fitted to new and in service Routemasters, the cost being higher due to strengthening needed to accommodate these as part of the Routemaster's integrally constructed body.
North Western had fitted illuminated panels to Lolines of both body types, Renowns and Fleetlines, Born out of the optimism and modern outlook of the early 1960s, by 1968 the economic situation caused even big users such as Littlewoods and Vernons football pools and the breweries to withdraw their patronage. Many vehicles ran for months, some even years, with blank panels until a major overhaul gave the opportunity for the equipment to be removed and normal panels to replace the additional framework.
Five more Y bodies on Leopard chassis were delivered in 1969 (310-314) and the bus version of the body (with long windows and sloped pillars, as opposed to short windows as specified by many companies) appeared on no less than thirty Bristol RELL chassis (315-344), Almost identical to the express coaches in outline, they differed in having a different panel below the front windscreen to allow for the RE's front radiator. This changed the position of the lights. The buses also had two piece windscreens, the glass being divided by a very thin metal strip.
Introduced on these vehicles was the final single deck colour scheme - overall red with a cream stripe below the windows. This stripe varied in depth depending on the body style. It was applied to older vehicles at repaint - including appearing on some Tiger Cubs from 1956/57.
January 1st 1969 had seen the setting up of the National Bus Company and November 1st saw the formation of SELNEC. Both developments would have far reaching effects on the company.
No new vehicles arrived in 1970 but 1971 brought more Bristol single deckers. 345-362 arrived in two batches and were RELLs with 49 seat bodies by Marshall, being the long length version of the REs delivered in 1968. The next batch brought into the fleet the chassis/body combination that had once been the hallmark of North Western - Bristol/ECW.
373-381 were Bristol RELLs with ECW 49 seat bodies similar to the standard ECW product but these had their tops cut off above the windows and replaced by very shallow, curved roofs to allow passage through Dunham Woodhouses bridge. They replaced the short lived Strachens bodied VALs which were well past their best. A further seven REs (382-388) arrived with standard ECW bodies.
Leyland deliveries comprised of more Leopards with Y type bodies. These came in two batches (363-67 and 403-407). These had split windscreens in a similar manner to the Y bus bodied Bristols of 1969 and also had a new style of front panel and lights. There were also two batches of Leopards with the latest version of the Plaxton Panorama body. 368-372 had 45 coach seats, 408-412 had 49.
These were the last deliveries to the Charles St company. Over half the stage carriage services operated by the company were in the SELNEC PTE area. For most of its life the company had fought the various municipalities for running rights and had come to arrangements with most, though as late as 1966 it was still fighting Stockport regarding access to Brinnington. In 1971 it was agreed that SELNEC would absorb all the routes within its area and the oddly named SELNEC Cheshire Bus Company was formed - in effect the South East Lancashire and North East Cheshire, Cheshire Bus Company! This took over operations on January 1st 1972.
The National Bus Company took over the rest by means of its constituent companies, Crosville and Trent. Crosville took over operations of routes in Cheshire outside of the SELNEC area bringing its green vehicles (mainly repainted ex North Western Renowns and Lolines - though some Lodekkas also appeared) onto routes #29 and #30. Trent took over the Derbyshire operations and the vehicles were divided between SELNEC and the two operators.
The NBC operators swiftly painted the vehicles in their respective liveries so we were at least spared the horrors of North Western titled vehicles in NBC's awful poppy red colours - though the NBC green Crosville used suited many of the buses, especially the Renowns and Alexander bodied Lolines. Again the SELNEC colours seemed to sit well on the low height Lolines, Renowns and Fleetlines.
Many of the vehicles had much shorter lives with their new owners than they would have had had Charles St still been in charge. SELNEC had instituted a 15 year life, reducing to 12, and many of the modern chassis, Fleetline apart, were "cuckoos" in what was to rapidly become a standardised nest. Apart from the Bristol/ECWs, the vehicles that went to a predominantly Bristol/ECW Crosville were hopelessly out of place - only Trent took vehicles similar to those already in their employ.
What was left was the coaching operation. In 1972 this took delivery of 413-417, Bristol RE coaches with ECW 49 seat coach bodies which were very similar to the Plaxton Panorama body at first sight. These were the first new vehicles since 1926 not registered in Stockport, having Cheshire marks. The final deliveries arrived in 1973 (270-274) were Duple bodied 49 seat Leopards which were numbered in a National Travel sequence and were registered in Lancashire.
February 1974 saw the rump of the company fully absorbed into National Travel Northwest, the coaches taking up the overall white livery. So ended 51 years of a company that somehow never realised its potential. Like many BET operators it had a mixed operating area and found itself at odds with its municipal neighbours. Unlike Midland Red which dominated vast swathes of the Midlands, its arrangements with the municipalities always seemed to place it in a junior position.
Its presence on joint routes into Manchester was often spasmodic, enough only to justify its share of the revenue - for instance on the #64 which in the 1950s and early 1960s used to alternate from Piccadilly to the Airport and to Styal, North Western would normally only operate to Styal - then only for so many weeks per year and then throw in a few days where the Airport would be served - much to the confusion of patrons along Wilmslow and Palatine Roads as well as in Northenden and Gatley.
With a large fleet of single deckers and many thin rural routes ideally suited to one man operation, the company was an early experimenter (buses equipped for one man operation had the letter A added to the fleet number) but both a lack of enthusiasm and union opposition meant that most buses were still dual manned well into the late 1960s and no advantage was taken of the relaxation of the rules on one man double deckers for which the Fleetline was adapted by many fleets by 1969.
The company had some even odder quirks. The company was officially the North Western Road Car Company Ltd. All the staff referred to the vehicles - be they buses or coaches - as "cars". The wholly owned subsidiaries, Altrincham Coachways and Melba Motors both taken over in 1958 were operated as independent units until 1967 though touring coaches “migrated“ from time to time between the fleets.
When I used to obtain quotations for coach hire for hiking parties or Blackpool illuminations trips I found that each company was happy to quote and would happily undercut its sister company if asked.
Until the purchase of Setright ticket machines in the late 1950s, the company's used the Willibrew system where the tickets were around four or so inches long, came in a variety of colours for different purchases and were punched to the cost of the fare (all fares being pre-printed on the ticket) taking away a portion of the ticket, kept by the conductor, leaving the passenger with a ticket with a profile not unlike the Manchester’s Beetham Tower.
Finally the company did place a last order for double deckers. Taking a leaf from Stockport's book, it ordered 25 Bristol VRTs with ECW double deck bodies. SELNEC could not afford to cancel these but specified SELNEC standard destination and route indicators, SELNEC standard seats, SELNEC colours and SELNEC Cheshire fleet names. Delivered in late 1972 they were the only VRTs in the fleet and the only new buses delivered to SELNEC Cheshire but gave 13 years excellent service. With Charles St closed, Daw Bank eventually received VRTs!
Phil Blinkhorn
05/2013
10/02/14 - 07:34
According to a booklet produced to commemorate the end of NWRCC, fleet numbers 22 to 99 were not used because when the registration letter suffixes came in in 1963/64, Stockport licensing office reserved 1-99 for motorcycles, I assume because of their smaller number plate area. By this time NW seemed to require an exact fleet no/reg number match, hence the move to 100. However the Corporation (which until YDB 1-10 arrived hadn't bothered with anything approaching matching fleet/reg nos since the huge JA block finished seemed happy with the last couple of digits corresponding.
Michael Keeley
10/02/14 - 14:07
The question of the missing NWRCC fleet numbers isn't really explained by the reservation of one and two digit numbers for motorcycles as Stockport's YDB 1 - 10 and NWRCC's first Fleetlines contradict that position. The more likely reason is that the next batches of vehicles the company received were delivered in 1964, the year of the B suffix and, like many councils, Stockport started its sequence with three digit numbers so instead of Having AJA 122 as fleet # 22 NWRCC opted for AJA 100 as fleet # 100 as its next vehicle.
Phil Blinkhorn
11/02/14 - 07:08
I remember buying a new car in 1966- petrol might have been more than 4/6d gallon by then- and the dealer phoned the relevant office and said "Can I have a couple of motorbike numbers please"? Done- two numbers and a D suffix on my car. Presumably NWRCC could have had the same?
Joe
11/02/14 - 13:58
Joe, that would very much have depended on the council concerned. If I recall the official line in England, Wales and Scotland was that, once the year suffix came in, all vehicles with four wheels and more would have a three digit number. One and two digit numbers were for special use though many councils allocated them to motorcycles. Special dispensations were granted to individual motorists but Stockport were not very tolerant of exceptions and were none too pleased over the length of time it had taken NWRCC to use its allocations in the LDB and RDB series under the pre 1963 scheme.
Phil Blinkhorn
12/02/14 - 06:53
Not all registration districts around Manchester applied the 3 numeric rule to suffixed plates. Somehow, a lot of Volvo cars in the 140 and 160 series were given 2 numerics. I think the dealership was Wallworks and the registrations may have been mainly Cheshire. Standing on Kingsway waiting for my bus everyday I puzzled why this was so.
Orla Nutting
11/08/14 - 11:17
Interested in comment on post 1958 livery. Do you have evidence of change of red and cream? North Western used Hadfields pre 1958 then Dulux then Masons late 1960s.
The cream window surrounds at the rear commenced later in 1958 or early 1959. Early spray painted cars were all red to the rear. This returned on double deckers in 1970 when single decks went to one cream band below the windows.
The Burlingham bodied L5Gs showed the most variation. Early post 1958 repaints were red rear windows but retained all the beading black lined as it was in the old livery. This continued with the first cream rear window style for a short while but soon the lower black line was left red. Under the canopy was always red instead of cream in spray paint days as was the interior of the entrance stairs enclosure.
North Western specified rear entrance for a long time on the supposed idea that anyone falling off would've run over by the following vehicle! One manning was far into the future. Driver of course resigned when the Leyland was imposed on all BET companies. He wanted more Atkinson LSs (for that is what they were).
I would be especially interested in the possible shade change in 1958. I always thought it looked different but thought it might be an optical illusion and unfaded paint.
Bob Bracegirdle
11/08/14 - 17:35
Whilst I don't have the actual colour numbers, the scheme prior to 1957/8 was described as off white and red. Thereafter it was described as red and cream. Allowing for the wide variation in both colour film and print representation of the colours it is reasonable to say that large number of photos available in print and on the net show a more yellow shade to the cream and a slightly deeper red. The cream seemed to get lighter with age. Page 83 of A E Jones' Glory days North Western shows Renown 964 next to a new Fleetline 183. The cream is different, the Fleetline having a slight but distinctly more yellow shade, the Renown being less yellow and nearer the old colour scheme's off white! Stockport's off white went through a similar shading change with age.
Phil Blinkhorn
06/06/15 - 08:22
Returning to your comments last year about the paint colour change in 1958. The red change might be a product of spray painting as opposed to brush. This is possible according to my pigment scientist contacts. The late Mike Goodwyn said the colours did not officially change. I think his contact at Charles Street, John Evans, concurred.
Of course there were three vehicles painted in cherry red in 1957. I think this was the Dulux shade used in the cab interiors. In addition some Willowbrook K5Gs were painted in what I would call Cheltenham style - mostly red with cream only round the window frames. They looked most ugly.
The Loline 3s were the last dd to receive the old style fleet numbers, despite getting the new fleet name when new.
Bob Bracegirdle
07/06/15 - 06:41
Bob, you may well be correct especially if the hot spray method was used. Taking Manchester's fleet as an example, after their hot spray system was installed, the vehicles resprayed emerged glossy and shiny but soon dulled whereas new deliveries in the same colour kept their gloss and looked a different shade and more like the red used prior to the spray booth.
Phil Blinkhorn
29/11/15 - 05:57
Reading the posts about this article, I would like to throw a few comments in, if anyone is interested.
Reg numbers: my brother had AJA 4B on his moped, so NW would have been too late anyway! Paint: at last, someone has explained why Stockport Corp's livery is always described as red & white, whereas my memory says red & cream. Also, in a book about tram liveries, I read that the guy who was responsible for buying paint for Blackpool trams was asked what shade of green he used, to which he replied, "the cheapest."
Malcolm Denny
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