Why I Became a Bus Enthusiast Part 3

Why I Became a Bus Enthusiast or "Buses Galore on Route 54" Part 3

To read Part 2 Click here or Part 1 Click here

Until recently, the Corn Exchange was the terminal point for West Riding's unusual centre-entrance AEC Regent IIIs running over what was once their tram route all the way from there to Rothwell, Wakefield and Sandal until 1932. Buses serving these former tram routes had a special red and cream livery to distinguish them from the otherwise green and cream, but now they had a new and separate terminus on nearby New York Street which we soon passed on the right.

LCT Crossley
On the left, we now came to the misleadingly-titled Central Bus Station which was (and still is) a good walk from the commercial and shopping districts, but it was the only place within the city where such a large facility could be placed without demolishing many fine Victorian buildings. We would stop alongside the bus station, to see countless LCT services departing every few minutes, including the Crossleys on routes 67 and 68.

This was also the main terminus for West Riding Autos, operating a rich mix of Leylands, AECs, Daimlers and Guys, some of wartime or pre-war origin. The smart two-tone blue and cream South Yorkshire buses would also be present, with more Leyland PD2s plus a handful of Albions heading for Pontefract and Doncaster.

Kippax and District could be seen running their PD2s and rebuilt Daimlers of the same lineage as fellow Wallace Arnold subsidiary, Farsley Omnibus.

Out-of-towners like Yorkshire Traction and Sheffield Joint Omnibus would make their long journeys south from here with a variety of Roe and Weymann-bodied Leyland PD2s and early PD3s. Bristols were rarely seen in this bus station, but Thomas Burrows would often oblige with examples of their rebuilt wartime Ks, together with ex-London wartime Daimler rebuilds on their long run to West Melton.

Frustratingly, our bus must continue on its journey, heading in an easterly direction, but still paralleled by the trams heading for Crossgates, Halton and Templenewsam.

West Riding and Kippax & District buses would join us at the Woodpecker Junction on their run to Garforth, Castleford, Selby and Goole. Here we turned right and headed up York Road, also accompanied by an array of West Yorkshire, and occasional United Autos, Bristols heading for Aberford, Wetherby, York, Scarborough and Whitby, plus the East Yorkshire Leylands destined for Hull and Bridlington.

As the road levelled out, the trams left the highway to take to their own reserved tracks in the middle of the dual-carriageway. This wonderful route was tragically abandoned the following year, when miles of modern tramway alignment were wasted.

Immediately to the left was the main LCT bus garage (Torre Road) and, apart from the usual array of service buses already seen en-route, we might also see a line-up of pre-war and early post-war AECs on the outside parking area.

Being a summer Saturday, we would certainly be accompanied by coaches heading for the east coast on day and half-day excursions. Among these would certainly be the familiar cream Wallace Arnold Plaxton and Burlingham-bodied Leyland Tiger Cubs or AEC Reliances but might also be one of Ledgard's Plaxton-bodied Fodens or Burlingham Reliances, plus a selection of lightweight Bedfords and Fords operated by the countless small firms specialising in private hire work.

Ledgard Foden

At the Shaftesbury Hotel, a large 1930s "drinking house", route 44 rejoined us from the left, having come from Stanningley via an orbital route through Bramley, Kirkstall and Headingley. It stayed with us as we crossed over the tram tracks to leave York Road and enter the Halton Moor estate.

After five minutes, we eventually arrived at the terminus, shared with route 44, having witnessed an array of buses and coaches the like of which we would never ever see again.....no wonder I became a bus enthusiast!

To view a map for 'Route 54' Click here

Paul Haywood
02/2010

Photograph captions

13 West Riding Autos - BHL 900 - 112
1948 AEC Regent III Roe H50C
Hunslet Road Leeds, 1964

14 Leeds City Transport - MNW 705 - 705
1949 Crossley DD42/7 Crossley H56R
Central Bus Station Leeds 1962

15 West Riding Autos - AHL 51 - 594
1945 Guy Arab II Roe utility L53R
Central Bus Station Leeds, 1965

16 South Yorkshire Motors - TWY 8 - 81
    Albion Valiant CX39B, originally a coach of 1949
    rebodied by Roe L55RD 1958
    Central Bus Station Leeds 1965

17 Kippax & District Motors - GWX 823
1948 Leyland PD2/1 Leyland H56R
Wallace Arnold garage Leeds, 1967

18 Thomas Burrows - GYE 76 - 82
    Daimler CWA6 ex-London Transport utility of 1945
    rebodied by Burlingham H61RD 1957
    Central Bus Station, Leeds, 1963

19 Leeds City Transport
    GUA 791 - 266 1938 AEC Regent Roe H56R
    JUG 640 - 407 1947 AEC Regent III Roe H56R
    Torre Road garage 1963

20 Wallace Arnold Tours - 8339 U
1958 Leyland Tiger Cub, Burlingham "Seagull" C41F
Donisthorpe Street Leeds 1965

21 Samuel Ledgard - MUA 866
1949 Foden PVSC6 Plaxton FC33F
Intake Leeds 1962

22 Leeds City Transport
    NNW 392 - 392 1950 Leyland PD2/1 Leyland H56R
    NNW 500 - 500 1950 AEC Regent III Roe H56R
    Halton Moor 1965

Ahhh - the memories - I may even have been conductor on this trip if it was summer months as my university beer money was earned that way in the late 1950s/early 1960s working out of Bramley Garage.
My question relates to a service I saw occasionally between Leeds and Harrogate run by Eastern Counties. I seem to recall it was Lowestoft to Newcastle and must have come through Wellington Street. I can find no reference on-line to this route, but seem to recall reference to it in West Yorkshire timetables of the 1950s, but no longer in the 1964 one which I have. Have anyone any recollection of this or am I going doolally with rose tinted glasses.

John

07/05/13 - 07:33

The Lowestoft to Newcastle service (as mentioned in a question to the 'why I became...' article is referred to in the Prestige series book on Tyne-Tees-Mersey.
It appears that a through fare to Lowestoft was offered on the TTM 'Limited Stop' with a change at Leeds, and presumably Eastern Counties would operate the Leeds - Lowestoft part. On summer Saturdays, however, there was a through service operated jointly by United and Eastern Counties, which still fell partly within the TTM pool, and although there was a crew change half way this meant that, as it only ran once a week, in alternate weeks each operator's coach would be stranded at the wrong end. The book mentions that EC would sometimes use the United coach on London services, and United may have used the EC one on local services. A photo in the books shows an EC 1949 Dennis lancet, destination 'RELIEF' at Middlesbrough bus station which must have confused the locals no end!

David Todd

07/05/13 - 14:09

A wonderful memory jerker for someone like me born and bred in Leeds. Just one minor qubble Tong Road actually ends at the junction with Old Field Lane the road from there to Wellington Bridge is actually Wellington Road home of the gas works who ran industrial locos between the two sites across the carriage way one of the few places I know of where the rail and tram track were interlaced.
Not only did United use a Dennis Lancet on a relief but there is a shot of a United LS working a mystrey tour from Lowestoft at www.sct61.org.uk!

Chris Hough

08/05/13 - 08:23

Thanks, Chris for reminding me that Tong Road is in fact Wellington Road at the junction with Armley Road. Another of my senior moments, only discovered after going to print! I also remember the gas works railway tracks but can't remember seeing anything on them. I do, however, have a lingering memory of sitting on the front seat of a Feltham going under the Wellington Road railway bridge en-route to Whingate. Happy days (but probably dirty, smelly and smokey!)

Paul Haywood

08/05/13 - 08:24

Thank you Paul for a quite superb tripartite feature on what were undoubtedly for us "the good old days." I blush at having to ask this question - I really ought to know - but what is the Kippax PD2 doing displaying "Castleford." I can only think that it may have been for a works special from Montague Burton's enormous factory in Hudson Road, Leeds ??

Chris Youhill

08/05/13 - 10:16

Good question, Chris. K&D; served Castleford until 1950, so these PD2's had it on their blind from day one. I can't remember them doing any contract work to Castleford at that time, but maybe another memory lapse. In many instances, the display of a long-abandoned destination was a deliberate "twiddle", often by me, (I used to love finding Guiseley on LCT rear blinds) but in this instance I'm at a loss to know why Castleford was displayed here. Maybe a fellow twiddler in the Maintenance Dept?

Paul Haywood

09/05/13 - 07:51

Paul The only loco I can recall at the gas works was a small diesel painted in North Eastern Gas Board brown I too can remember going under the rail bridge on a Feltham. These were popular with the ladies as you could get a pushchair under the stairs in the days when these did not collapse! The Leyland PD2/1s were popular for the same reason. Oh to ride up Tong Road on a Feltham once more!

Chris Hough

09/05/13 - 08:56

Hello Paul and Chris H. The mention of Tong Road and the glorious Felthams takes me back to very happy dsys indeed. My joy at the arrival in Leeds of these legendary beauties was undoubtedly more intense than that of most folks. You see I had been visiting relations in South London since my infancy in WW2 and had ridden many times on the Felthams from Streatham on services 16/18/20 etc between there and the City. The main route system in that area was a "frying pan" affair between Croydon and Purley to the Embankment. The routes diverged north of Brixton, so that one service travelled the Embankment clockwise and the other obviously in the reverse direction. The destination displays for the northbound journies were fascinating :-
EMBANKMENT via Elephant and Blackfriars or
EMBANKMENT via Kennington and Westr.
Lack of space on the latter meant that the parliamentary edifice was reduced to a somewhat undignified "Westr."
Ah well, back to Leeds now, and 16 New Inn Wortley, 18 Crossgates and 20 Halton !!

Chris Youhill

03/03/14 - 08:25

Have read your page with great interest and fond memories. But I have one question - are you sure the no. 44 bus crossed your route where you say (i.e. top of Whitecote Hill)? As I recall, the no. 44 "terminus" was at Bramley Town End, top of Henconner Lane, and its route took us along Hill-Top Road into Armley and on to Armley Town Street (no idea where it went after that). I used to take the 44 to West Leeds High School every day from Bramley.......
But thanks for the great read!

Julie Gelder

03/03/14 - 09:46

Hello, Julie.
Many thanks for reading this article and I'm pleased it reopened some happy memories for you. I suspect you are (understandably after all these years) remembering the 46 which terminated at Bramley Town End (Clifton cinema). It took the Hill Top, West Leeds school and Armley Town Street route on its way to Armley Jail, Holbeck, Middleton and Belle Isle.
In the years following the period of my piece, routes and numbers altered regularly and there may well have been school specials which took this route to West Leeds Girl's Grammar school (my sister was a pupil in the mid-1950s but I can't remember how she got there from Bramley). Hope this helps.

Paul Haywood

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