People are forever commenting upon how strange I am to get excited by things like Pillar Boxes, Hoverflies and Fruit Labels. So it is always nice to come across other folk with unusual enthusiasms. My friend Lainee the Painter, for example, is a bus fanatic. Her Dad used to be a bus driver and she can recognise a Leyland Atlantean at 400 metres. (Me, I can’t even see any bus at 4 metres without my glasses, but that’s neither here nor there.)
For all Lainee’s fellow fanatics, here is her Dad’s bus – it was a Leyland Atlantean run by Wallasey Corporation. The picture was taken by John Bennett at the Kidderminster Road/Rail Rally on 12 October 1997 and shows Fleet number 1 (FHF 451) with slight damage to the engine cover. This is the actual vehicle represented by Corgi Classics 1/50th scale model 97232.
FHF451 is regarded by many as the first Leyland Atlantean to be purchased and placed into service by any bus company, entering service with Wallasey Corporation Motors in December 1958 as their fleet number 1. This bus carried 77 seat full height bodywork constructed by Metro-Cammell in Birmingham and was in fact one of three pre-production Atlanteans to enter service in that month. It was not until 1966 that one-man double deck operation became legal although, on occasion, Wallasey operated them as one-man single-deckers by taping off the staircase. Thankfully, as befits a vehicle of its significance, No.1 has been preserved.
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"FHF451 is regarded by many as the first Leyland Atlantean to be purchased and placed into service by any bus company, entering service with Wallasey Corporation Motors in December 1958 as their fleet number 1. This bus carried 77 seat full height bodywork constructed by Metro-Cammell in Birmingham and was in fact one of three pre-production Atlanteans to enter service in that month. It was not until 1966 that one-man double deck operation became legal although, on occasion, Wallasey operated them as one-man single-deckers by taping off the staircase. Thankfully, as befits a vehicle of its significance, No.1 has been preserved." This text has been lifted practically word for word from my Flickr site. Some credit wouldn't go amiss.
ReplyDeleteWould have been happy to acknowledge the source but didn't know it as it came in an e-mail. As your comment still doesn't mention your site I regret I still cannot acknowledge it!!
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