OLD LIVERPOOL BUS PICS

NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS FROM THE LIVERPOOL ECHO AND THE LIVERPOOL WEEKLY NEWS

Delving through my archives in the attic recently, I discovered a scrapbook of press cuttings that I had kept from 1970 (when I was 11 years old) until 1973. They were all from Liverpool's local papers of the time, and all contained pictures of Liverpool buses in the early days of the MPTE. Some of these articles are made more interesting when read with the benefit of hindsight! There is more from the scrapbook on the OLD LIVERPOOL BUS ADS and CITYRIDE pages of this website.

The Liverpool Weekly News was almost correct when this article appeared in 1973.

4001-4008 were already in service on the Wirral, 4009-4014 (including the one pictured above) were already in service at Green Lane, and 4015-4020 were about to arrive at Prince Alfred Road.

Ten years later (in 1983) I was to drive all the Green Lane examples in service. They were certainly quick off the mark, but their careers, and those of the sixty double-deck versions (4021-4080) were cut short when Merseyside Transport realised how much fuel they were swallowing and discovered the chassis framework was rapidly corroding away.

These interesting news items came from the Liverpool Echo around 1972.

On the left AEC Regent V A268 (WKF 226) was cut up to make a stage set at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre. The play was "Mind Your Head" by Adrian Mitchell, and the set was designed by Peter Ling. (I had a Spanish teacher of the same name - I wonder.......?) The actor in the picture is Richard Williams as the "Viking Guard".

On the right, a Leyland Atlantean on service 92B had clipped a parked lorry on Walton Vale and sent it through the railings. Nobody was hurt in the accident. The fleet number has been ripped off the bus, but as it has folding doors it must be one of the L500 - L699 (500 KD - 699 KD) series, dating from 1962-64.

For several years the Liverpool Echo regularly used these stock photos taken around 1967 to illustrate any article that was even remotely relevant to the Pier Head!

These pictures were used in the Liverpool Echo as adverts for the companies depicted. In 1973 the "all-over-vinyl" adverts had not been invented. These buses were handpainted!

1435 (EKD 435L) was delivered new to Prince Alfred Road advertising Hardman Radio, whilst 1321 (DKC 321L) was based at Walton advertising the Centre Hotel.

Bristol RE 2009 (SKB 679G) was photographed to illustrate an article proclaiming the end of a local strike by drivers on the 48 service.

Close examination reveals that, whilst he is loading up passengers and collecting fares, the driver is actually smoking a pipe! Those were the days!

Even in the early 1970s when smoking was socially acceptable everywhere, it was still forbidden for a PSV driver to smoke in the cab.

I wonder what his bosses did when the photo appeared?

My scrapbook contains several copies of this stock photo, frequently used by the Liverpool Echo to illustrate almost any article with the word "bus" in it!

Both buses were based at Green Lane depot. L624 (624 KD) was a Leyland Atlantean dating from 1962, whilst 2090 (YKB 365J) was a Bristol RE, new in June 1971.