Anybody out there have any memories of the Leyland Nationals that used to trundle around Southport?

I distinctly remember the MkIs with their distinctive noise, and was fortunate enough to drive some of MTL/Arriva's MkIIs when I worked for them. I seem to recall that 6138 went like whatsit of a shovel!

If anybody's any piccies or memories of driving them, then I'd love to hear from you on here, or pm me!!

Cheers!!

Here is one of the old Southport Corporation buses.

The nice open-top bus in the picture could be the once-closed-top bus that was "forcibly converted"...

I lived in Cobden Rd. between 1969 & 1973. I was in the front room of our house when there was a huge bang, coming from down the road.

I went outside to see where the noise came from & saw that a double-deck bus had come from the bus depot at Canning Rd, down Cobden Rd., where it had a short but messy argument with the railway bridge.

The top of the bus had been sheared clean off, and the area was littered with lots of fractured tempered glass and bits of bus seats, fittings, & bodywork.

I don't think anyone was hurt; the bus had no passengers, & I later heard it was being driven by an engineer.

The corporation sent its cute little bus-towtruck down from the depot. The severed roof of the bus was then dragged all the way back up Cobden Rd. to the bus depot. The racket it made was incredible with all that metal grinding on road surface.

Someone probably got the sack that day.

Here's a couple of old Leylands for you IP

...... and the Number 3 at the monument.

Brampton (where I live now) Transit has one Leyland Olympian circa 1984. It's the only Leyland bus in N.America that is used in a regular bus service. Apparently it's very popular with kids, being as it's the only double decker bus. The bus is not on the roads in the Winter - for obvious reasons!

Incidentally, its British registration number has been kept.

Originally posted by seivad
...... and the Number 3 at the monument.

Hooray, my bus home to Poulton Road.

Some years ago I was in Reno, took a trip to Virginia City on a double decker Leyland bus. Very strange feeling rolling through Nevada and wondering if the vehicle had ever run on the streets of Southport.

Here is a pic of the last Southport Crest used on one of our buses.

Cheers Ped

I used to drive buses with that on the side a few years back!

Regards

IPF

Well, I P Freely is now LordMuck and I'd completely forgotten that I'd started this thread.

I thought that it was worth resurrecting as someone may have dug some more photos of Southport's Nationals out in the intervening six years, and may feel like posting them on here.

Well, a chap can hope.....

Cheers!

On this link there is a book for sale about Southport's Leyland buses & some other town's as well........
http://www.leylandsociety.co.uk/wigan.htm

Couple of mine I posted on another thread a few weeks back.
And the front of one of the original Southport corp nationals when new.

Lovely pics, Beldray. Many thanks for posting them. Number 1 looks very smart there. When were these withdrawn? I can remember catching one of the YFYs back from town when I was probably 12 or 13 so that'll be 1986/7 ish. What replaced them? National 2s I guess.

The middle picture is very evocative. I seem to recall that the National 1s were always on the 5 to Clive Road. My grandparents lived on Grinstead Close so we always used to catch that one when I stayed with them. I used to love standing at Clive Road, straining my ears to hear the bus turning into Kirkstall Road from Blundell Drive! It's a shame at that most of the remaining National 1s, even the ones in preservation, have lost their original O580 engines in favour of Volvo units - they just don't sound the same. I'd have loved to have driven a National 1 in service but by the time I joined Southport garage they only had National 2s. Not that there was a problem with that! Best bus I've ever had the pleasure of driving. Well, that and the Atlantean...

How are your babies at the moment? 1835 sounded wonderful at the MTT Running Day!

As an aside, do you know who owns 7000 (OHF 858S) these days? I last saw it a few years back in the ACL fleet and it'd be a shame if it had gone to Barnsley as I remember it in Southport with the headrests on the seats - very exotic!

Not sure when the YFY nationals were withdrawn but they lasted into Miserybus days.Some were sold to North Western and reappeared in Southport working from Ormskirk in the early nineties. I will ask round and try to find out what happened to 7000.
Couple of pics Nat 2s again taken by me.
Lord st one dated march 82 and Church st heading away from town dated June82. Not scanned to well due to them being a bit faded.

This may be the old rose tinted glasses at work, but I seem to remember the first obvious change when Southport became no more, was the disappearance of Southports clean and apparently well maintained buses, to be replaced by a decrepit bunch of clapped out boneshakers.

The story at the time was that the buses had only gone for respray, but I don`t remember a nice newly sprayed fleet returning.

Sorry Silver fox I will have to disagree a bit with you.
The buses that the m.p.t.e. inherited from Southport stayed here till they were withdrawn.Obviously the older half cab ones only lasted a couple of years.Three were converted to open top as in the first picture posted by Ped.
The Panthers that had been bought between 68 and 72 were gradually withdrawn through the early eighties.
The Atlanteans and Nationals that had been bought in 73/74 lasted here until the mid eighties.
Some did see a few months service in Liverpool before being withdrawn however.
At the time repaints were done at Canning rd and for a few years had the wheels painted red as a nod to the corpy days.
You are right that we did get some rough ex Liverpool/Wirral vehicles here for a number of years though.
Not having a go at you btw.

Beldray,

No problem, I did feel a possible case of the rose tinted glasses, thanks for the correct info.

I didn`t live in Southport at the time, usually a Saturday night visitor, it was just the impression I had.

Originally Posted by silver fox

The story at the time was that the buses had only gone for respray, but I don`t remember a nice newly sprayed fleet returning.

When did Southport Corporation start paint spraying their vehicles ? They were certainly hand painted into the sixties.

Originally Posted by Jason II

When did Southport Corporation start paint spraying their vehicles ? They were certainly hand painted into the sixties.

You didn't read silver fox's entire post!...

Originally Posted by silver fox

I seem to remember the first obvious change when Southport became no more, was the disappearance of Southports clean and apparently well maintained buses, to be replaced by a decrepit bunch of clapped out boneshakers.

The story at the time was that the buses had only gone for respray, but I don`t remember a nice newly sprayed fleet returning.

Beldray, thanks for posting more pics - lovely! Any more knocking about please?

With regard to Southport inheriting dodgy vehicles from Liverpool/Wirral I can remember as a kid some of the 13-- series Atlanteans as well as soem of the RBG ---T (I think) with the whacking great front bumpers on. Then, when I was driving for MTL/Arriva we got some lovely (!) Atlanteans from Laird Street, IIRC. A309/10/11/12 GLV. One of them (I can't recall which) was quite nice to drive but the rest were dogs.

Cheers!

[QUOTE=I P Freely;76779]Anybody out there have any memories of the Leyland Nationals that used to trundle around Southport?

I distinctly remember the MkIs with their distinctive noise, and was fortunate enough to drive some of MTL/Arriva's MkIIs when I worked for them. I seem to recall that 6138 went like whatsit of a shovel!

If anybody's any piccies or memories of driving them, then I'd love to hear from you on here, or pm me!!
Hi there well I certainly remember Leyland Nationals! both Mk1's and 2's as I worked in the stores at Cannining Rd depot from 1982 to 1995 when I retired!! so I certainly issued many parts for them to the fitters bodymen electricians etc! and for the old Panthers of which there were a few left when I started work there! and Atlanteans!!
regards Mike

Originally Posted by beldray

Not sure when the YFY nationals were withdrawn but they lasted into Miserybus days.Some were sold to North Western and reappeared in Southport working from Ormskirk in the early nineties. I will ask round and try to find out what happened to 7000.
Couple of pics Nat 2s again taken by me.
Lord st one dated march 82 and Church st heading away from town dated June82. Not scanned too well due to them being a bit faded.

It's nice to see these old threads recycled especially when you can (hopefully) improve things a bit.

Liking your work there, Mr G! :-)

Originally Posted by seivad

Brampton (where I live now) Transit has one Leyland Olympian circa 1984. It's the only Leyland bus in N.America that is used in a regular bus service. Apparently it's very popular with kids, being as it's the only double decker bus. The bus is not on the roads in the Winter - for obvious reasons!

Incidentally, its British registration number has been kept.

Great picture - but why would a left-hand drive bus have a British reg?

Originally Posted by rawjohnelk

Great picture - but why would a left-hand drive bus have a British reg?

It was originally a UK Leyland vehicles demonstrator and was converted to Left hand Drive.