Manchester Corporation Transport Department - The Buses 1906-1969 CONTENTS Manchester Corporation - Bus Fleet History 1906-1969……………………….. Page 3 Manchester Corporation - Part 3: Bus Fleet List 1951-1969.………………… Page 11 No. 2150 (JND791) is a preserved all-Crossley DD42/8 built in 1949. (Paul Haywood). First Published 2016 by The Local Transport History Library. With thanks to Paul Haywood and John Kaye for illustrations. © The Local Transport History Library 2016. (www.lthlibrary.org.uk) For personal use only. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical or otherwise for commercial gain without the express written permission of the publisher. In all cases this notice must remain intact. All rights reserved. PDF-079-1 2 Manchester Corporation Transport Department - The Buses 1906-1969 Although Manchester experimented early with the motorbus, it was not until July 1906 that the first Manchester Corporation bus route, between the tram terminus at West Didsbury and the Church Inn at Northenden, began operating, replacing the horse buses that had previously plied the route. Three vehicles (Nos. 1-3) were ordered from the local firm of Crossley Brothers, although the chassis were obtained from the Lancashire Steam Motor Company of Leyland (the predecessor of Leyland Motors) and bodied by Dick Kerr of Preston. A further service to Cheadle from West Didsbury was introduced shortly afterwards, and another vehicle, this time a Ryknield (No.4), again with Dick Kerr bodywork, was purchased. However, not everyone appreciated the new bus services, especially the residents of West Didsbury who voiced their complaints over the noise and fumes of the buses. In September 1908 the Tramways Committee decided to dispense with them and return to the horse buses, but the plans were not carried out and buses continued to operate in West Didsbury until the advent of the First World War. In 1913 four new Daimlers were purchased as replacements for the existing fleet, taking the newly vacant numbers (Nos. 1-4), and a further four (Nos. 5-8) ordered for the commencement of the Chorlton to Barton Bridge route. Six of these vehicles had a very short life with Manchester Corporation, Nos. 2, 4, 5-8 being requisitioned by the War Department in 1914 on the outbreak of war. The bodies (whether they were built by Dodson or Brush has never satisfactorily been resolved) were removed and stored for use later. The motorbus routes were returned to horse bus operation for the duration of the War, much to the relief of the West Didsbury residents. 3 Manchester Corporation Transport Department - The Buses 1906-1969 In 1917 three Daimler's were delivered and each received one of the stored bodies. The new vehicles were un-numbered, and the use of fleet numbers for Corporation buses ceased until 1927. Between 1919 and 1921 a further 11 vehicles were purchased, making it possible to open more bus routes. In April 1922 West Didsbury was connected to Sale Moor, further extended to Brooklands in October, and in July 1922 the West Didsbury to Reddish route commenced. In 1923 more bus routes were introduced; Blackley to Crescent Road; Halliwell Lane to Rochdale Road; and Levenshulme to Droylsden. In 1921 the Corporation, jointly with Ashton Corporation and Stalybridge Joint Board, took over the working of the Oldham, Ashton and Hyde Tramway on the expiry of its lease, making it possible for Manchester trams to work the Ashton via Guide Bridge section. Two years later, in 1923, the Middleton Electric Traction Company was acquired jointly by Middleton, Chadderton and Rochdale. Middleton granted Manchester a 30-year lease on the ex-company tracks on condition they were connected to neighbouring lines, which they duly were, enabling Corporation trams to run through to Rochdale. Ten of the twelve ex-Middleton Electric Traction Company cars were retained by Manchester and were the only second-hand cars operated by the Corporation. Along with the ten tramcars the Corporation acquired three more buses, two AEC YC's and a Daimler Y, none of which were in particularly good condition, although the Daimler survived until 1927, by which time it was numbered 38. 4 Manchester Corporation Transport Department - The Buses 1906-1969 In order to develop connecting suburban services a number of one-man operated motorbus routes were proposed. In December 1922 a single Karrier CL4 arrived on trial, which was apparently a success, for the following year two more orders for a total of ten Karriers were placed. The influx of buses, which included Vulcan and Bristol vehicles allowed more developments to the bus network, including a route along Rochdale Road to Moston, and the extension of the Levenshulme service to West Didsbury, as well as allowing sufficient spare vehicles for the proper maintenance of the bus fleet. By 1924 some of the earlier double-deck vehicles were in need of replacement and the Corporation opted for ten AEC 'S'-type chassis, similar to those operating in London at the time. In 1925, along with the ten tramcars from the Middleton Electric Traction Company, the Corporation acquired three more buses, two AEC YC's and a Daimler Y, none of which were in particularly good condition, although the Daimler survived until 1927, by which time it was numbered 38. The first purpose-built bus garage was opened at Parrs Wood, East Didsbury on 23rd March 1926 and the bus fleet, which had previously operated from the various tram depots was moved there. The depot was extended in 1932. Towards the end of the 1920's, Manchester, in common with most other municipal authorities, was experiencing an increase in private competition to its tram services. Most of the private companies were operating inter-town services and Manchester Corporation, who was responsible for issuing the operating licences at the time, 5 Manchester Corporation Transport Department - The Buses 1906-1969 reasoned that if they too provided these services then this would be sufficient grounds for refusing new service applications from the private sector. The Tramways Department, with the co-operation of the surrounding local authorities, began to set up a network of local express bus services, the first of which ran from Cheadle a distance of some 15 miles through the city centre to Heywood and commenced operation on the 11th April 1927. It was an immediate success, prompting more services to be inaugurated. By the end of the decade there were 27 inter-town express services, which effectively stifled the private competition. In order to operate these services Manchester found it necessary to increase the size of its single-deck fleet, which meant that the use of registration numbers as a means of identification was becoming a little unwieldy and so fleet numbers were re-introduced early in 1927. Subsequently it became Manchester Corporation practice to allocate fleet numbers to batches of vehicles when they were ordered, not when they were delivered, which meant that some future deliveries bore fleet numbers out of sequence. To help implement the new express services Manchester was in urgent need of extra vehicles and, in April 1928, they acquired a fleet of fourteen, second-hand Bristol 4-ton chassis, which had been purchased new in 1924 by the Sunderland District Omnibus Company. In 1929 a new General Manager, Mr. Stuart Pilcher, was appointed following the unexpected death of the previous incumbent. The new Manager was very much a 'bus' man, as opposed to the previous manager, Mr. Mattinson, who was a 'tram' man. This meant a radical change in the Corporation's policies over the next few years, including 6 Manchester Corporation Transport Department - The Buses 1906-1969 the gradual abandonment of the tramway system in favour of buses. His first recommendation was the purchase of an additional 90 buses, which enabled the first tram route to be converted to buses. In the event the order was amended by the city council to include a larger order than originally planned from the local firm of Crossley Brothers, a gesture supporting local industry during the trade recession. This led to an involvement with Crossley's that was to last for almost two decades. This year also saw the change of name from Manchester Corporation Tramways to Manchester Corporation Transport. On 6th April 1930 the route from Cheetham Hill to Stretford Road was abandoned to the motorbus, of which Manchester now had a fleet of over 100. It was the first major conversion of an intensively used tram route to buses in the United Kingdom, and with revenue increasing after conversion, Pilcher had gone someway to convincing the doubters that tramway conversion was the way forward. Subsequently, the demand for capital expenditure on new infrastructure was the trigger for abandonment of the line. In June 1931 trams were withdrawn from the Altrincham service when it was proposed that large sums would have to be spent in upgrading the line due to a bridge-widening scheme; it was replaced by motorbuses. The Sale Moor service ceased in July of the same year and the abandonment of the Middleton section, in 1932, was precipitated by a road-widening scheme. Rochdale Corporation's abandonment of trams on the Rochdale to Manchester route led to the Corporation agreeing to replace their trams by motorbuses and the route closed on 12th November 1932, just one month after the last new tramcar (No. 676) entered service. 7 Manchester Corporation Transport Department - The Buses 1906-1969 In 1933 the 'Standard' Manchester Corporation bodywork was introduced, and became a feature of future deliveries. It was based on an all-metal body, which at the time was relatively untried, and replaced the outdated 'piano-front' design, last seen on the 1932 deliveries.