My Grandfather and his brother drove firstCorporation trams then buses around Southport for the most part of 40 odd years ,from about 1910.....I was asked the other day about the old bus numbering system around 1950 and could only remember one or two routes around the town .I think it was 5or 6 Blowick....27 or 127. to Preston new Road.
Some of the bus conductors around that time were real characters .One I remember was the most polite bloke I ever came across,when you handed him your fare he would thank you at least twice and call out each stop as you came to it....Not much of that about today!

The 3 and 14 served Botanic Gardens in the north of the town, and Liverpool Road in Birkdale. But I cannot remember which was the northern direction bus route number, and viceversa to Liverpool Road.

I think the 27 or 127? served the entire length of the borough terminating at Ainsdale Beach in the Summer months and not quite that far in the Winter.The other end of the route terminated at 'The Plough' Crossens via Preston New road.I don't think this route is current but Doris might help on this .The route numbering system seems to have changed a lot .

Hi

No 9 went from the Plough through Crossens, Churchtown down Roe Lane into Town and then on up to Woodvale.

No 10 from the Plough down Preston New Road into Town.

No 2 (5 on return) from Fairhaven Road through Marshside into town and then via Sussex Road to The Blowick.

No 17 From Balmoral Drive, Cambridge Road to Town and to Clive Road (perhaps).

My Grandfather, Dick Wright, started driving on the trams and then the Southport Corporation Buses.... his conductor was called Jock.

A great bus service was provided to the town by the Corporation and these Drivers and Conductors of the past..with precise regard for the timetables.I remember my Grandad setting his massive pocket watch to the BBC time just prior to going on duty .
The presence of Conductors allowed the drivers to get on with what they were good at ..driving
Ped ...thanks for the photo's.... My Grandad had a female Conductor Irene lucky bloke!.....

Try this thread..... a lovely pic of the Southport Crest.

http://www.britishbus.co.uk/southporthf.htm

Yes ,I remember the crest on the side of the buses.....also the name of the bus manager was sign written along the side..trying to remember the name in my day ?Silcock.....It's just occurred to me that at school we were issued with round plastic red bus tokens ....I mostly rode my bike from Churchtown to KGV so what happened to the tokens then I can't think....

Number 3

More !

Last one.....sigh!

Great Pics Seivad. The Number 11 went to Woodvale. I remember the plastic Bus Tokens, seem to remember that they were different colours.

Thanks for the memory...Seivad.Took a trip on the open top bus on our last visit....Stopped off at some points of interest pointed out by the driver including some notable private gardens around the town....I wonder if Steve's is on the itinerary yet?..

Yes I am sure the tokens were red or green ... but I think they had the same value.

I lived in Crossens and went to the High School, firstly at Scarisbrick New Road, then Hillside.

I remember the red and the green tokens, I am sure that there was another colour.

The old Southport Corporation buses, the ones with an entrance at the back and the engine at the front - used to have 'honesty boxes' on the platform.

I never saw anyone put money in them, and secondly if they did, was the conductor honest enough to register the amount ?

The tourist bus does go past my house but I dont notice people looking in though.

I have two rather large conifers shaped like a double decker bus to stop people nosying. Actually true and inheritted from Mr and Mrs Hansen beforehand - could be to do with fact that there is a bus stop outside the house and the double deckers do come here for the private school run.

Actually Steve the tour bus didn't stop but rather slowed down at gardens selected by the driver..including Alan Hansen's and some other footballer I didn't recognise ......I think the main interest was the footballers themselves..He did however stop at a spectacular rear garden visible from about half way down Rotten Row....he said the lady had given him permission to stop ..But I must confess I don't think I would particularly appreciate it myself if I were the owner....Wouldn't be able to use my jacuzzi!...

I think we have that one on the site from Rotten Row - try the SEARCH button and ente ROTTEN

No footballers here but I have changed my front garden (grass) into a knot garden (sp?) which looks so much more interesting!

No 7 went from Russell Rd to Carr Lane I seem to remember - but the one in Seivads pic shows Halsall Rd as the destination!?

As a kid I used to live near the depot in Canning Rd. We used to scrounge old bus inner tubes from there, put a piece of hardboard across the middle and paddle them on the Three Pools or Fine Jane's Brook.

I had a great uncle who was a bus driver - Frank (Freddy) Fox from Shaw (?) Rd in Ainsdale - I think he retired in the 1970s.

Apparently (this was 3/4 years ago ,I don't know what the situation is today))the drivers of the open topped tour buses,as the driver explained, were'nt paid any extra for this job ,so some drivers provided a commentary and others didn't.....a matter of 'pot luck' really .We were lucky to get a good commentary.
We took an open top tour of Brighton last year and the tour was provided by a private company with pre-recorded taped commentary .This trip ,needless to say, was far more expensive than the excellent one provided in Southport..

.

Nice one Flyp.....presumably these trams were pulled along on tramlines to give quite a smooth ride into town...I think all streets were cobbled at this period ,those that were paved at all that is......It would be nice to know a bit more about this system.

G

My great grandfather - Jonas Bridge - was the blacksmith for the horse drawn trams. I beleive that they used the ols stables at the rear of the Bold Arms in Cambridge Road. His son - my grandfather - Henry Bridge - was a tram conductor then bus driver. My uncle - Tom Foster - was a bus conductor.

On my mothers side of the family a Tomlinson was Superintendent of trams and lived in a house in Manor Road between the Tramshed entrance and the Co-op dairy.

Hoggard was the last Transport Manager - upto 1974.

Sandyken

Hi all,
I was a conductor with S.C,T. in about 1965, I recall the "funny" conductor when I was a kid, on the Blowick service (no6) when we arrived at "the laundry" in Sussex Road he used to shout out "WASH_HOUSE", later when the bus got to the town end of Sussex Road, he would shout "Johnny Bells Poverty Corner (this you will recall being a reference to Johnny Bell the Pawnbroker.

The Transport Manager mentioned earlier was "Jackson Hoggard" all the buses were hand painted every 7 years and the date of the last paint job was written in white paint in very small numbers on the off side just behind the drivers door.

I recall the honesty box and also the sign on the front bulkhead under the window behind the drivers cab "please keep your feet off the panels. Does anyone recall the advert "televisions? They were on the front bulkhead above the drivers cab and consisted of a moving roll behind a t.v. type screen which lit up for each advert. This was a concession, I think we were the only buses which did not have messy adverts on the sides!
Agh what memories

A story I was told in the 1960's was that the PD2/3's were nearing the end of their lives, and adverts had been placed in the trade press for the sale of same.

The final two or three were due to be collected, and the company buying them turned up at the depot; to be informed that all two or three were out in service! This story confirms the high standards Southport Corporation put on their operatuional fleet.

Yes, the tv's had about five or six adverts and they ran top to bottom, then back to top.

My dad worked on the buses nearly all of his working life (Peter Clifford) and his conducteress for many years was Doris Dutton. My uncle too (Harry Wallworth) worked until he retired, first as a driver and later as an inspector. Names I remember as being my dad's contemporaries are Reg Hedger, Ted Montgomery and Derek Sawyer. My first husband (Billy Sharkey) also worked very briefly for possibly a year in the late sixties and I recall that he worked at the same time as Kevin McBride and Davy Glover. In those days it wasn't much of a job and I recall that my dad was a good union man who fought with his colleagues for better pay and conditions.

I remember Harry Walworth Mrs B. Some of the other names are familier but if was a long time ago. I recall going to union meetings at the Bus Club in Russell Road at the gas works end

I used to go dancing there with my mum.

Syd Floodgate used to play the piano. ( a long time ago).

T.

Mrs. b. I've sent you a PM

Talking of the Transport Club, does anyone recall the Christmas parties for the kids? The snooker tables seemed massive and I recall we used to pile our coats on them before going into the party. There used to be a cartoon show on very antiquated equipment and then Father Christmas would put in an appearance at the end of the proceedings, with a prezzie for all. Great fun.

Most of the time I lived in Southport. 1970/1975, I worked in Preston, and travelled there and back each day on the old X27 express, which I think originated in Liverpool. Being young and enjoying burning the candle at both ends in those days, I often wonder, looking back, how I managed to get myself onto that bus of a morning (early!) and do a day's work - there was more than one occasion when I fell asleep and woke up in Skipton, - the eventual destination of the X27!! Coming back was often the same story - other regulars would often wake me up as we approached the bus stop which I think was near the monument.