Category: GMPTE
Farewell, Faithful Footbridge…
Disused footbridge to be demolished over two Sundays
A view of Station House photographed with a Kodak Retinette camera, taken from the footbridge of Altrincham Interchange
One of Transport for Greater Manchester’s earliest links with the Greater Manchester Transport era will be severed this month.
The bus section of Altrincham Interchange will be remodelled this year, starting with the footbridge. Its link with the Stamford Quarter shopping centre will be dismantled over two Sundays (or three if the weather’s been dire), starting from the 13th May. Shortly after the remodelling of Stamford New Road, and the installation of a pelican crossing in recent years, the footbridge had fallen into disuse, though still accessible from the precinct. Continue reading
In Pictures: Non-Standard GMT and GM Buses Liveries Through the Ages
A photographic look back at some of the non-standard liveries used by Greater Manchester Transport and GM Buses up to 1996
For many persons, the standard Greater Manchester Transport livery is either the Mancunian White and Metropolitan Orange of 1974, or 1981′s mainly orange version with a brown skirt and white upper deck roof. Though most of them sported the standard liveries for their respective periods, there was a small number often due to more specific purpose (i.e. training vehicles or open-top buses), or route branding (as seen on the Express routes and 200 services).
Here’s a small number of them. Continue reading
Tameside Bus Service Changes, Spring 2012: A Very High Peak Practice
Changes to former SpeedwellBus services and electric hybrids the order of the day
Prior to the middle of this April, Stott's of Oldham's only presence in Mossley have been on school services and the 353/354 routes. From then on, their low floor buses (one third smaller and tidier than this double decker above), seen on the 41 route will be a regular feature of the 343 route on weekdays.
Spring 2012′s raft of changes [16 April 2012] will be the first ones to take effect after the Coalition Government’s cut in the Bus Service Operators’ Grant. At the moment, nothing too catastrophic (yet) in the way of service cuts have reached Tameside. Operator changes and the introduction of electric hybrid buses set the agenda. Continue reading
Infra_MANC
I came across this MEN article online, it’s one of those things not many people (my age!) would know about. It consists of several things actually, they were infrastructure plans for Manchester in the post-1950′s post-war era.
1. The Mancunian Way
2. The Picc-Vic Tunnel
3. The Guardian Underground Telephone Exchange
4. City heliport on top of Victoria Station
Only two of them were realised, the Mancunian ring road and the underground exchange!
Past of the M60 In Pictures: Celebrating the 400 Trans-Lancs Express
A special feature to commemorate the 400th post on East of the M60.
'Roll up for the mystery tour, step right this way...' Image © 1972 SELNEC PTE
East of the M60 is nearly 6 years old and now 400 posts old. To celebrate this milestone, I have before your eyes a special Past of the M60 feature on the dearly departed yet much loved 400 route from Bolton to Stockport and Manchester Airport.
Sit back, relax, and take your position in one of these comfy dual purpose seats on an imaginary Northern Counties bodied MCW Metrobus. Continue reading
East of the M60 Advent Calendar: 08 December 2011
8. One and two halves to the Octagon, please…
Displaying Bolton’s flagship bus route is Leyland Atlantean 232. This example is among the fruits of Ralph Bennett’s labours in overhauling the image of Bolton Corporation. It is hard to imagine the fact this bus was built in 1965, when thousands of Leyland Atlanteans for other operators entered service with the peaks and domes which Ralph Bennett despised. She still looks well today. Continue reading
East of the M60 Advent Calendar: 07 December 2011
7. Seven Bee Lines Buzzing
Under the metaphorical Christmas tree, these beauties were weeks away from entering service in the December of 1986. This recently restored minibus in Manchester Minibuses’ Bee Line Buzz Company livery was probably akin to being stung by wasps among GM Buses staff. (Till they fought back with MCW Metroriders, Dodges and Ivecos in March 1987 with the Little Gem branding) Continue reading
East of the M60 Advent Calendar: 06 December 2011
6. A creative use or abuse of a MCW Metrobus indicator? Judge for yourself.
Manchester United fans will be in no hurry to forget the scoreline of this particular match. For the 6th December we have Mark Amis’ lovingly preserved MCW Metrobus, seen at the Greater Manchester Museum of Transport’s Deregulation 25 event. His bus [5120], and fellow GM Buses stablemate 1466 (preserved by Dave Birchall, not seen in this picture) used the numerical indicator to display the scoreline of the Manchester Derby.
Greater Manchester Transport’s MCW Metrobuses compensated for the delivery delays which affected their order for another integral bus: the Leyland Titan. Instead, they turned to Washwood Heath, with 189 others and this fellow built between 1979 and 1983. This beauty was a regular on the 236 and 237 routes, working from Tameside and Glossop depots. It is Mark’s nostalgia for this vehicle and similar examples which led him to preserve a MCW Metrobus and opt for the 1991 version of the GM Buses livery. Most definitely a good choice.
Bus Route of Christmas Past: Manchester – Ashton-under-Lyne – Glossop. SHMD’s route offered a limited stop service between Lower Mosley Street Coach Station to Glossop, following much of the present day 236 service. Following the closure of that station, its terminus was shifted to Deansgate Station, entering Piccadilly Gardens via Albert Square. It was renumbered 236 in 1973 operating a half hourly service. In 1978, half of its journeys were rerouted via Hadfield and Tintwistle and renumbered 237 to reflect this.
Bus Route of Christmas Present: Once more, we turn to Birmingham for inspiration for our BRofCP. This time, Travel West Midlands’ 6 route from Birmingham to Solihull. It is one of three 6 services operated by National Express owned subsidiary. The service operates every 5 – 10 minutes throughout the daytime with a more modest 12 – 20 minute frequency service on Sundays, Bank Holidays and evenings.
S.V., 06 December 2011
Typography On The Buses: Greater Manchester’s Buses (1966 – 2011)
Typographic styles used by Greater Manchester bus operators since the 1960s.
Technological advances and the need to present a modern outward image saw greater use of typographic styles over the last 50 years or so of bus operation. For the most part of the 1970s and 1980s, Helvetica was the dominant style on Greater Manchester’s buses, from publicity to indicator blinds. It may be overly simplistic to name the typefaces used by SELNEC, Greater Manchester Transport and so on; for the purpose of this post, there is reference to the font itself and a bit of background history. Continue reading
My Life in the Company of Buses: Dukinfield and Bus Deregulation: Part 26, 2011
iGo with TfGM’s Subsidised Routes at Greater Expense to Glossop Than I Did Two Years Ago
For me and the bus network, 2011 is proving to be a difficult year, with Greater Manchester’s councils, the newly formed TfGM and myself strapped for cash. Myself through redundancy, the first two by savage cuts imposed on the North of England by the ConDems.
Other than that, I have tried to keep my bus miles to a maximum, partly to keep in touch with the vagaries of Greater Manchester’s bus network. This has had the dual effect of getting myself out of the house and enabling me to hone my photography skills. Continue reading
