2013 – Issue 3 of 4

Heritage Buses in South East Wales
Cardiff Transport Preservation Group
Journal 42 July 2013 Price £2.50
THE RED and WHITE LEYLAND PS1 COACH.
THE CARDIFF SCENE IN THE 1930s by Arthur Hughes.
CARDIFF TO LONDON IN 1953. RALLY REPORTS Etc.
This 63 year old coach, formerly Red &
White C350, has been based at Barry
Bus Depot for the last four years.
Seen here reversing into the depot in
May 2013. Photo. Paul Hamley
THE BUS DEPOT, BARRY
Registered Charity No. 1063157
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www.ctpg.co.uk

Buses of all shapes, sizes and colours at our May 2013 Municipal Running Day. (P.H./M.E.)
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CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE
This year’s events so far have been blessed with good weather, the three so far have
remained dry. On May bank holiday we had our first Municipal Running Day based
purely at the Depot. Several visiting buses attended and ran alongside our collection.
The day was very successful with each bus going out full the open topper with fresh paint
on the new rear panels was very popular. We ran routes to Barry Island, Rhoose and
Dinas/Sully and inside the Depot several stalls were housed and reported good takings.
In June the Barry Festival of Transport moved to Barry Island, this was more challenging
in terms of the site and distance but again proved to be a huge draw for the public and
enthusiasts alike, obviously assisted by the good weather. The site on the Island was a
bit rough and we filled it quickly but cars were parked on the gardens overlooking the
beach and buses in the lay-bys outside to ensure no one was turned away. The free
buses also ran from the lay-bys and this seemed to work successfully. The VOGC
reported very positive feedback and they are keen to do it again next year with a fully
resurfaced and larger area for the vehicle parking. The rally had its largest attendance of
visiting stalls which seemed to be doing good trade in fact the CTPG had its best day
financially with the stall and kitchen doing very good trade all day. Well done all those
that helped out although we could have done with a bit more help from some other
members!
Prior to Barry Rally all the CTPG buses requiring an MOT passed, all having been
serviced and checked over including for the first time Western Welsh 177 following its
extensive rebuild at Barry and professional repaint at TDC in Lydney. It made its debut
at the Habourside Rally in Bristol late in April. Special praise must go to Martyn Evans
(body) and Paul Burgess (electrics) for getting the coach ready in time, plus the many
hours of sanding especially the roof that were undertaken by the rest of the Depot
helpers. Attention has now turned to Cardiff 497 with the eventual completion of the
repaint long overdue.
So far we have been out on two road runs, Western Welsh 177 performed faultlessly on
a run to Porthcawl and Newport 68 took us on a quick run in June due to a slipping gear
during change into third and fourth, we have two more runs before returning to the
Penarth Conservative club in September. Unfortunately Mike Walker has told me he
cannot perform the August road run this year, so we are looking for another volunteer
vehicle.
Bus & Coach Wales at Merthyr Tydfil Leisure Centre on Sunday 8th September
VOLUNTEERS URGENTLY NEEDED TO HELP AT MERTHYR RALLY
Mike
Tel: 07733 302242
Email : mikeystrad73@btinternet.com
Also keep up to date on our Facebook page
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A LOOK AT THE TIGER HWO 323;
In the summer of 2009 the CTPG became custodian on extended loan of the preserved
former Red & White Leyland Tiger PS1 coach. As this bus moves to Gloucestershire for
a few months, this article tells a little of its sixty three year history.
The coach was new as No. 23 in the fleet of Red & White Services Ltd. of Chepstow
and was initially allocated to Brynmawr depot in June 1950. It carried 33 seat coachwork
by Lydney Coachworks, a company associated with Red & White, and was one of only
15 of this body type built. It was said that the design was an infringement of a Duple
pattern. In 1951 the well-known Red & White fleet numbering scheme was introduced
and HWO 323 became C350 (coach No.3 of 1950). It was still being used for frontline
express duties even after the introduction of the larger capacity under-floor engine
coaches. When in 1959 it was downgraded to bus duties, it became S2050 at
Abergavenny. Withdrawn from service in March 1964 the coach was sold to Western
Welsh, acting as a dealer.
A dream came true for the residents and management of the newly opened Danybryn
Cheshire Home at Radyr in November 1964 when they were presented by the Western
Welsh company with the coach specially adapted to carry the disabled on outings etc.
The staff at the Ely Works of Western Welsh had agreed to carry out, in their own
time, the complete overhaul and modifications including a hydraulic lift. A Western
Welsh bulletin of the time stated that 2150 man/hours were worked by 59 of the Ely
employees. The trade too, responded well as all materials were provided free of charge.
The coach was painted in a light blue livery similar to the old Lewis & James fleet, a fact
that Mr W.T James (the former M.D.) commented upon.
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Western Welsh drivers also undertook to man the vehicle, again without payment, as
and when required. Employees were also encouraged to make contributions to the
home from their wages.
On the face of it, it may seem that the project cost WWOC little, but at the
presentation Mr W.T. James handed over a cheque for £500 to the home, in those days
quite a considerable sum.
After 8 years at Radyr a replacement was required. WWOC provided another
vehicle by again obtaining a bus from Red & White. This was SAX 986, a Bristol
MW/ECW 45 seat saloon, fleet No.U1057. The hydraulic lift was transferred from
HWO to the Bristol. Voluntary work was again provided by WWOC staff at Ely Works
and the vehicle presented to the home in January 1973.
The former Red & White U1057 presented to Danybryn Home in January 1973
After eight years with Danybryn Home, the Bristol MW was sold in January 1981 to the
Radyr Rugby Club. The replacement vehicle at Danybryn Home was KTX 516W, a new
Dodge 50 chassis that carried purpose built bodywork by Thomas Hosking & Sons Ltd.
at Dumballs Road, Cardiff.
Back to HWO 323 which was sold in February 1973 to Red & White enthusiast, Roger
Annetts of Parkend. Brian Cox of Coleford took it over in the 1980s and it was rallied
for some years with the double doors still attached. Later it appears that a rear section
from a derelict Duple bodied Bedford OB was mated to the rear of the Leyland. This
proved successful and looked well.
It was purchased in 1997 by the present owners Martin Bowring and his wife Barbara,
of Lydney. Since then a full restoration has been carried out including new upholstery
and trim.
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Vera Edworthy and the then owner Brian Cox, crewed up for a wedding hire in 1989.
Rear view during preservation in 1989.
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After 36 years of preservation in the
Forest of Dean the bus passed into the
care of the CTPG in 2009.
Following a MOT test, its first outing
under the CTPG banner was to the
Bristol Vintage Group Running Day at
Brislington in August 2009.
Over the following years the Leyland
was rallied regularly by CTPG with little
trouble apart from a cracked brake
drum.
During the early summer of 2013
Martin will be displaying the coach at the
old Red & White bus station at Lydney
and is due to return to Barry later in the
year.
Thanks to Robert Edworthy for
certain information and for the
photographs on this page. Other views
are from the Editor’s collection.

Rear view in its current condition (V.C)
Tours list from Cardiff 1955.
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MUNICIPAL RUNNING DAY;
On Sunday 5 th May the CTPG offered free heritage bus rides from their Barry Bus
Depot. The gloom of the past months suddenly lifted with the arrival of warm sunshine
and the crowds came out to see what was going on.
Buses departed every half hour between 10.30 and 16.30 and were restored buses of
between 30 and 60 years old and were once used by the former south Wales local
councils. These were known as “Municipal Buses” as they were owned by the local
ratepayers. Municipal buses ended in 1986 when councils had to make “arms-length”
companies, such as those today at Cardiff and Newport. The buses operated on this day
represented some of these councils including Pontypridd, Caerphilly, Bedwas & Machen,
Islwyn and Rhymney Valley.
The first route was a local journey around the town of Barry, visiting the popular
beach area. An hourly circular route was also made either westwards via the Airport
and Aberthaw or eastwards through Dinas Powis and Penarth.
Six of the buses used belonged to the CTPG i.e. Ponty 8 (UTG 313G), Newport 68
(EDW 68D), Caerphilly 32 (GNY 432C), Bedwas & Machen 6 (PAX 466F), Cardiff 407
(NDW 407X) and the Cardiff open-topper 434 (ABO 434B).
These were supplemented by Mark Barnett’s IBT 34 (DNY 534V), and Martyn Evans’s
RVDC 16 (YBO 16T). An afternoon duplicate was completed by a 61 year old Leyland
PS1 saloon, Caerphilly 2 (LTX 311) driven by John Wiltshire. Also on display was Wigan
140, the Leyland PD2 of Glyn Millington.
The depot was bustling with visitors all day inspecting buses in the process of being
restored (or waiting to be) with our volunteers on hand to answer questions.
We heard many appreciative comments on the presentation of the vehicles and of the
cleanliness of the whole depot. This shows that good housekeeping is as important in a
work environment as it is in the home. Mark Hodge, an enthusiast from Merseyside, said
that he wished he had a facility like this nearer his home.
Many visitors made the day of it, travelling on the various buses, interspersed with visits
to our canteen. The CTPG stall did particularly well with sales of photographs and
books. There were two other stalls also selling transport related items. Even our
neighbour, the “One Stop Shop” benefited from the extra trade.
That the day was such a success was a tribute to all our hardy volunteers who braved
the worst winter for years to bring our fleet up to the standard it is today.
A Good Day!
people smiled!
The sun shone -- the buses ran well -- we made a bob or two -- and
What more could we ask?
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APRIL MEETING. CHELTENHAM REVISITED; by Peter Heath.
On April 17 th we welcomed back Peter Heath, the Commercial Director of Cardiff Bus
to give another illustrated talk..
Peter told of his early years in Worcestershire and of his visits as a young man to
Cheltenham Coach Station. This iconic location was one of the busiest interchange for
coaches in the country and was in use from 1932 to 1984.
Firstly, we were shown photos taken on the August Bank Holiday weekend of 1972,
many of which were of vehicles belonging to the constituent companies of Associated
Motorways Ltd. that had been formed in1934. These companies also formed the basis of
National Express in 1974.
A few hundred yards away from the coach station is Royal Crescent where the local
bus services congregated. Many a Bedford SB were to be seen lined up there in the
1970s and several of these belonged to the same independent companies that still
provide bus services to the east and north of the town.
A surprise was in store when Peter showed photos of a recent trip to Uzbekistan
where gas is much cheaper than oil and all shapes and size of bus carried gas cylinders on
their roof. A far cry from genteel Cheltenham!
MAY ROAD RUN;
----------------------------------------
The transport for the
May Road run was
our recently restored
1969 Leyland
Leopard coach OUH
177G, formerly in
the fleet of Western
Welsh and the
destination was the
seaside town of
Porthcawl some 25
miles west of Barry.
The coach ran very
smoothly, driven
sensitively by Bob
Sparks. At the depot Bob is usually seen wielding a spanner so it was good to see he had
not lost his talent as a first class driver.
On arrival at our destination many of the 25 or so passengers scampered off to visit a
popular watering hole situated alongside the celebrated Porthcawl Pavilion. Others
watched the sun go down over the Bristol Channel or enjoyed the (very) fresh air.
We returned along the A48 and arrived back at the depot at 10pm. It was agreed
that our first road run of the year had been most enjoyable. (Photo; Paul Hamley)
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BOOK REVIEW;
Crosville in Colour 1965-1986, Martin Jenkins and Charles Roberts, 96 pages, Ian
Allan £22.50
What makes for a good day out? What about getting up early, heading down the M4,
passing an ex-Western Welsh Renown on the way and getting to Bristol Harbourside in
time to video the arrival of buses and coaches for today's rally? Then having an early ride
on Carl Berry's ex-Crosville RE coach to the Muller Road depot and seeing and filming
the arrival of Plaxton-bodied Leopard OUH177G, CTPG's latest addition to its growing
fleet of preserved vehicles (congratulations, Martyn!) with quite a number of CPTG
members on board?
AFM 103F Carl Berry’s restored RE coach at Muller Road, Bristol 28.4.13
One thing's certain: the day's certainly got off to an excellent start and it gets even better
with a trip on an ex-Bristol Bristol Loddekka out to the Sea Mills turning circle and, later,
a trip on a dual-purpose liveried Bristol L out to Clifton to see the Bridge and the Clifton
Rocks Railway.
And before leaving, what better way to end the day than to pop into the Presbus
stand and pick up the latest in what's become rather a long line of books on one of the
biggest of all the Tilling companies, Crosville?
As some readers may know, the strange fleet numbering system Crosville employed
on its buses was one of the main things that aroused my interest in buses in the first
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place, and the company also has a certain peripheral interest for bus enthusiasts in South
Wales as it once ran service buses in Cardiganshire and a joint express service, with
Western Welsh, to Cardiff. Articles on the joint services to Cardiff, incidentally, appeared
in a couple of recent editions of the Crosville Enthusiasts' Club monthly Review.
So what of the book? It's rather unusual in size and unlikely to sit comfortably in any
row of other bus books you may have. The Introduction then appears in print so faint that
you wonder whether your eyesight is going, and some of the photographs are rather
mushy, though only the printers and publishers know whether the original photos or the
printing (in Estonia) is to blame.
That said, the photographs are very varied, accurately reflecting the territory in which
Crosville operated. From the seaside at Rhyl to the narrow lanes around Aberystwyth
and on to the mountains around Stwlan Dam, from the suburbia on the Wirral to the
King Street bus station in Wrexham and inside an industrial site in Runcorn, there's
plenty to keep even those not particularly interested in the company entertained.
There's even a snowy scene of an RE coach making its way up a hill in Liverpool on hire
to the Merseyside Bus Club shortly before, as the caption sadly records, 'it expired with
transmission failure and is believed never to have run again'. And I can't remember
seeing a photo of the back end of a row of eight FLFs anywhere else.
As with Andrew Wiltshire's books on buses in South Wales, the captions are both
fascinating and plentiful and taught me far more than I'd expected. I hadn't known, for
example, that Crosville's stunning FLF coaches were known to the staff as 'White Ladies'
or that coaches demoted to buses were known as Crabs ('coaches reduced to buses').
As so often happens, the pictures are just as interesting for their non-bus elements –
the other traffic, the fashions of the day, the long-gone buildings and the street furniture
of a long-gone age. The book certainly isn't short of those.
Is there anything to interest those with no knowledge of bus operations in North
Wales and Merseyside? Yes, there's a photo of ex-Red & White flat-fronted Bristol LS
MAX 108, part of a saga whereby Croville hired10 Bristol MWs from Red & White for a
year and then replaced them by buying ten Bristol LSs from the same source.
Crosville, as you probably know, swallowed up parts of Western Welsh territory, a
process reflected in three photos of ex-Western Welsh vehicles that joined the fleet.
Two of the photos are particularly interesting in that they show the 'before and after'
effect. In one, there's a sparkling Park Royal-bodied Tiger Cub in Western Welsh's blue
and cream (ivory?) livery while opposite there's a similar vehicle painted in drab and
almost unrelieved (except for the window rubbers) Tilling green. This contrasts with an
earlier photo of two of the AEC Renowns Crosville took over from the North Western
Road Car Company. In the latter, the drab Tilling Green looks rather better, surprisingly,
than the usually more interesting red and cream livery of the NWRCC.
All in all, then, an interesting and enjoyable book but, for those who had no experience of
Crosville and its operations, rather pricey. Thank goodness the Presbus people did me a
favour by selling it at a discount!
Berwyn Prys Jones
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THE BARRY FESTIVAL OF TRANSPORT 2013;
The rally site at Hood Road which we have used for the last nine years is now no longer
available to us and this year the Vale Council offered the CTPG use of part of the
redevelopment site that was formerly Butlin’s Holiday Camp (later Majestic) at Barry
Island. Work continued by contractors’ right up to the weekend but as the vehicles
arrived on Sunday it was soon clear that the site available would not be big enough.
The Council agreed that some of the 200 plus cars could be sited on the Esplanade
Gardens facing the promenade. This was appreciated by the car owners who soon put
out their picnic chairs facing the sea in the sunshine. The main site soon filled up and
some of the 50 plus buses were relocated to laybys on the nearby highway.
By 10.30 am vehicle movements on the main site were becoming tricky, especially as
there were private cars using the entrance road to gain access to the council car park.
We really needed all the marshals available to us. The site was a little difficult underfoot
as it was rubble but we are assured that these problems will be resolved in the near
future as the site continues to be developed.
The vintage buses in operation on trips to the depot and also to Rhoose and Penarth
were from the CTPG collection, the Swansea Group and some belonging to private
owners. This year saw three open-toppers in operation, running at full capacity due to
the good weather. The programme sellers had sold out by 11.30am and the stallholders
were doing a steady trade. The weather was probably a little hot to encourage the
public to hang around the rally site especially as there was no ice cream seller.
However, there was an ice cream van at the bus depot that did a good trade, a classic
Mk 1 Transit in fact!
The Barry Tourist Railway was in operation as was the exhibition at the station by the
Barry at War Group which provided some extra interest to visitors. Up at the depot
were more stalls than we have ever had and visitors faced an excellent choice. The sales
of refreshments at our depot canteen were also better than expected.
Once again this year we were visited by Jane Hutt AM who is always supportive of
our events and we welcomed the newly elected Vale Mayor Cllr. Margaret Wilkinson,
her Consort, Cllr. Jayne Norman and Cabinet Member Cllr. Gwyn John.
One could say that the success of the event this year was due to the glorious weather,
but really it is thanks to all who came along, the marshals and helpers and the dedication
of the restorers of the vehicles that appeared on the day. For the CTPG, raising funds
to help with the restoration of buses is important and we are pleased with the success of
this event.
The Vale Council were very pleased with the day and with their support we hope to
repeat the Festival of Transport next year maybe with a larger site.
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THE BARRY FESTIVAL
A view of part of the Festival site at Barry Island. Buses parked closely due to limited room.
Below: Mike controls the crowds clamouring for the open tops. (Paul Hamley / Viv Corbin)
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OF TRANSPORT 2013;
The crowds pile onto RVT 16 and also inspect the numerous stalls at the depot. (Glyn Bowen)
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JUNE EVENING RUN;
The evening run on June 19 th was a planned visit to the Newport Bus facility at
Corporation Road, Newport. Our transport was the Leyland Mk 11 Atlantean EDW
68D formerly Newport 68. This had been the 2 nd of a batch of 5 delivered to Newport
after they had tested the Leyland demonstrator KTD 551C in Nov. 1965.
We set off at 7pm but when we reached Cardiff our driver realised the gears were
slipping and as this was happening in 3 rd and 4 th gear it was decided to abort the journey
and return to base. Paul Burgess then coaxed the bus back to Barry via Wenvoe to
avoid most of the hills.
We must all remember that we run old buses and that this particular one is 47 years
old. So far we have been very lucky in that there have been very few occasions of
mechanical malfunctions on our road runs.
We are also fortunate that we have a retired fitter on our Friday team who worked
on these particular transmissions while employed at Western Welsh Ely Works so
hopefully the gearbox bands or valves can be adjusted.
According to a Leyland expert, on the Mk11 Atlantean the original centrifugal clutch
was replaced by a SCG fluid friction clutch. This has a fluid flywheel for starting from
rest and a centrifugal clutch that engages at higher speeds. This was generally more
reliable than the earlier versions, but obviously they were not guaranteed for 47 years!
After alighting at the depot several of our members retired to a local hostelry.
As for Newport Bus Depot, we will try again and hope for better luck next time.
Our Newport Atlantean prepares to leave the depot on the June evening run. (Paul Hamley)
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TO LONDON IN 1953 by V.C.
Yes -- Sixty years ago! As it was Coronation Year I decided to have a week of my
holidays in London just a few days after the big event. Having been to the big city several
times before with my parents, this was the first time for me to travel solo.
On a Monday morning, with my father’s warning “Don’t go near Soho” ringing in my
ear, I made my way to Cardiff to catch the 09.30 Red & White coach service to London.
In those days the coaches left
from open ground on the South
side of Wood Street.
I was hoping that my coach
would be one of the new
under-floor engine models, for
as a youngster I was into
modern vehicles. The 1950s
half cab coaches looked the
same as the pre-war ones to
me then. My luck was in as it
was a new KWO registered
Duple bodied Guy Arab UF.
Off we went and luckily, I sat
next to a girl who I knew from schooldays and when we had a 10 minute break at the
Austral Café at Caerwent, I bought her a coffee, but it turned out she was on her way to
meet her boyfriend at Cheltenham. So no luck there then!
After a 30 minute break at
Cheltenham we changed
coaches to a Black & White
Motorways KDF registered
Willowbrook bodied Royal
Tiger. Along the A40 via
Northleach and Oxford we
went until a 15 minute stop at
the King’s Arms at
Stokenchurch, reaching Victoria
Coach Station at 17.15, some
8¼ hours after leaving Cardiff.
Little did I think then, that 30 years later I would be doing the journey nearly 5 hours
quicker as a driver for National Express.
I stayed with friends of my parents at Wembley (so they could keep an eye on me)
and during the next few days I went into the city either on the trolleybus to Edgware
Road or the overground/underground tube train from Stonebridge Park. There were
many distractions for a young lad in London, but I came to see the Queen, and I did see
her -- the real one, not those in Soho!
On the Friday the return journey to Wales was, for some reason I forget, made by
train and hauled by one of those “Hall Class” thingies. Not as good as a Royal Tiger!
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MEMORIES OF THE 1930s PART FOUR by Arthur Hughes;
Readers who have followed Arthur’s recollections will recall that during the 1930s, he travelled
daily from his home in Merthyr Tydfil to his place of work in Cardiff. In this article he recalls
some of the buses he encountered in the City. Ed. (Photos from the Chris Taylor Collection)
From Whitchurch into the City, more and more Corporation services joined our road,
such as the 24 from Llandaff, 26 Rhiwbina, 28 Llanishen and the 40 from Heathwood
Road and so on. Along what had now become North Road at Gabalfa where to our
left, was the terminus of the No.1 tram route. Alongside the tram terminus and
continuing beyond them across North Road, ran bus service 39.
In 1933, the 39 route was exclusively the domain of Cardiff’s batch of Dennis HS buses
with 48 seat rear entrance, lowbridge bodies by Brush, having the unusual herring bone
seating on the upper deck. Two rows of half bucket type seats set back to back, but
with each seat set at an angle of 45 degrees so that the passenger was neither fully
looking out of the side of the bus, nor completely to the front. Two passageways in
front of the seats served as access to them, a process which was something of an
obstacle race as passengers stumbled over protruding feet giving many a corn a wincing
kick in the process.
In the lower saloon the roof was swept downwards on both sides of the central area
considerably more than usually found on lowbridge type bodies. The stairs were a
contortionist’s dream as they incorporated a sharp turn in the middle which combined
with the narrowness of the stairs frustrated many a large person to negotiate them.
Though, the Leeds cast offs had even narrower and more awkward stairs in which
people actually got stuck on occasions and had to be helped by the conductor.
(The Leeds cast offs mentioned above were five 1930 Crossley Condors bought for a reported
£50 each by CCT when six years old. Ed.)
In 1929, the new Dennis HS batch took over the original No 1 tram service which
served the same Whitchurch Road terminus, but by a different route and was operated
with single deck cars due to a low bridge at Salisbury Road. These lowbridge buses were
the answer to that problem. Even so, before they were able to operate, the road had to
be lowered some 9 inches which led to flooding in later years.
A further anecdote to this early tram conversion was that CCT had, in 1926/7,
bought 30 new single deck trams, 13 of which were required for this service. These
were now redundant and mostly lay dormant in Roath Depot until the early days of the
war when they were sold to Brazil.
The cause, if not the logic, of this was the appointment in 1929 of William Forbes as
Manager of Cardiff City Tramways and Motors. He was imported from Aberdeen where
he had introduced minimum fares of as low as one old half-penny (where else could this
happen than the Granite City itself ?). There were high hopes of something similar
happening for Cardiff’s travelling public. Alas they were not so lucky, and he arrived with
a “scrap the trams in favour of buses” policy, which he waited little time in putting into
practice.
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On the Dennis HS buses, engine power was almost non-existent and the old phrase
about “rice pudding” comes to mind. (They used the same 4 cylinder 50/70hp engine as in
the E type saloons. Ed.)
No. 224, UH 6994, one of the Dennis HS buses bought by CCT in 1929.
Luckily, Cardiff had mostly flat terrain, there being only one or two hills worthy of the
name within the city limits. One of these, named Pen-y-lan, on the 22 City Centre to
Cyncoed service, was a serious inconvenience to the lumbering forward progress of
these Dennises. This hill was by no means all that stiff, most cars even in those days
were able to get most of the way up in top gear, but no matter how heavy the bus
driver’s boot was, after about 250 yards the speed of the bus would be about 5 to 6 mph
and would remain at this speed to the top.
Naturally enough, passengers living on the hill, other than the aged, would not stay on
board to the official stop at the top but would step off the platform in turn as they
approached their homes. This was the scene of an incident involving a cousin of mine
who lived halfway up the hill …….
Cousin Jane was coming home late one dark and dirty night and being a poet of some
standing was, as most other persons of this calling usually are, filled with thoughts of all
things other than the type of bus she was travelling on. So it was that when she became
vaguely aware that she was approaching the hopping off point for her house, she made
her way the rear platform and at the appropriate point stuck her left leg out and let go
of the handrail.
Now I suppose that anyone other than her, whose mind drifted around in a dream,
would have noticed that they were not riding in in a familiar Dennis HS but in a brand
new Leyland Titan TD2 which was lolloping up the hill at a steady 25 mph.
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However, being the person she was, she saw nothing amiss and instead of landing neatly
on her two feet as usual, she ended up on her back in the road.
She was lucky. No great damage was done, except to her dignity, when the conductor
and the driver carried her into her house while the passengers still in the bus looked on.
The Leyland Titans, of which a batch of ten began to arrive for CCT in the summer of
1932, were quite a surprise to see as the General Manager, William Forbes, was known
to have a predilection for 4 cylinder engines. These had 48 seat lowbridge rear entrance
bodies by Northern Counties of Wigan. These were finished to same high standard as
their Tigers, which I commented upon in an earlier article. The upper saloon seating was
arranged for three and four seats in alternate rows off the customary side gangway.
They were powerful jobs that took hills in their stride and were a great asset to CCT to
use on the 12 mile service to neighbouring Newport.
No. 113, KG 1146, the first of ten Titans delivered to CCT in 1932. (Note the lack of pole)
A curious feature of many of the Titan bodies at this period was the absence of a centre
pole on the edge of the rear platform. Whatever the reason for this omission was I do
know not, but it was a fault in design which led to quite a few accidents to passengers,
particularly those descending the stairs that had little to grab hold of. On a straight road
this was bad enough, but if the bus was making a right turn then there could be trouble.
Often was the time when the conductor grasped hold of someone just before they fell
off. As for trying to jump on to a moving bus, which many of us have tried at some time
or other, this was surely an act which tested your nimbleness and good sense of balance.
How this “poleless” platform design got past the eagle eyes of the Traffic Commissioners
remains a mystery to me. It is small wonder then that is was not long before CCT came
around to fitting centre poles to these otherwise excellent vehicles.
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A very interesting bus turned up in the summer of 1932, it was the first diesel bus in the
Cardiff fleet. This was an 8.8 litre AEC Regent demonstrator with lowbridge 50 seat
body by Weymann. She came all dolled up in Cardiff’s livery complete with Cardiff
registration, KG 1251, with transfers on the lower side windows proclaiming that this
was a diesel engine bus. These transfers remained in position for a long time in service.
The upper saloon arrangement was again unusual in that there was a line of seats, each
seating three, with access from gangways on either side. This was the same principal as
the herring bone system as on the aforementioned Dennis’s, but with cross seating
instead of being angled at 45 degrees.
The first diesel engine bus in the Cardiff fleet, No.76, KG 1251, arrived in July 1932.
The other unusual feature was that the tops of the windows on the upper deck were
very low and when seated your head was above the window level, also there was a high
arch to the roof. This also meant that in the lower deck those passengers sitting in the
window seats would need to duck for arising. In spite of the oddities, this was an
attractive vehicle and a very lively performer. She was on the 22 route for quite a while,
no doubt to prove her capabilities on Pen-y-lan hill. After trials on city services she was
used on the Radyr route and purchased by CCT after two years. I preferred her to ride
in to the Titans which were inclined to sway rather alarmingly when cornering.
The next batch of Regents came in 1934 with highbridge 50 seat Northern Counties
bodies. These also had the 8.8 litre diesel with crash boxes, but to me they seemed
noisy and vibrated a lot.
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The 1936 Regents were powered by 7.7 litre engine coupled to a preselector box
and bought to replace trams on the Splott route. They did the job they were bought for,
but were kept off the hilly routes such as Cyncoed and Newport as they were not nearly
as powerful as the Titans.
No. 184, BBO 69, a NCME bodied Regent when new in 1938.
The later batch had a much improved performance, perhaps the 7.7 litre had been
tweaked to give more power. The Northern Counties bodies were handsome looking
jobs with their flared skirts and nicely rounded roofline. They took over the Cyncoed
route as soon as they arrived and spread to many other routes afterwards including the
24 when this was extended to Colchester Avenue.
Their claim to notoriety though came from the fact that they had squealing brakes.
Right from the first day, they protested in a piercingly high pitched squeal every time the
brakes were applied. The maintenance department were unable to cure this for about a
year leading one councillor to remark, when funds were being allocated for a further
intake of buses, that he hoped that these would not have “musical brakes.” Oddly
enough some AEC Regals which Cardiff acquired about the same time did not suffer
from this complaint.
(We will continue Arthur’s reminisces of the 1930s and of his visit to Porthcawl in 1936 in a
future edition. Ed.)
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DATES FOR YOUR DIARY;
Meetings will be held at Penarth Conservative Club at 19.30 on the third Wednesday of
the month. Summer Road Runs from Barry Depot will leave at 19.00.
Sun. 14 th July
Glos & Warks Railway Bus Rally at Toddington Station.
Wed. 17 th July
Road Run T.B.A.
Sat. 20 th July
Ebbw Vale Classic Bus Day.
Sun. 11 th Aug.
Brislington Rally & Running Day , Bristol.
Wed. 21 st Aug. Road run T.B.A.
Sat/Sun 31 st /Aug./1 st Sept Barry at War Weekend
Sun. 8 th Sept.
Bus & Coach Wales 2013 at Merthyr Tydfil Leisure Centre.
Wed. 18 th Sept. Joint Meeting with Omnibus Society.
Sat. 28 th Sept.
Red & White Reunion Rally at Beachley.
Wed. 16 th Oct. Meeting T.B.A.
Sun. 27 th Oct.
Swansea Bus Museum Running Day.
Wed. 20 th Nov. Meeting T.B.A.
Wed. 18 th Dec. Annual Quiz Night with Chris Taylor.
Details of all events will be updated regularly on our website. www.ctpg.co.uk
COMING NEXT; Featuring in the next issue (October) will be the first part of
Andrew Wiltshire’s Cardiff Lynx Story.
The take up of members opting to receive email versions of “Bustler” instead of hard
copies has been very low. Please do this if you can, whatever we save can go towards
painting a bus.
It’s going up – not coming down!
But where and when?
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About the CTPG
The CTPG lease the former Western Welsh Depot on Broad Street, Barry from the Vale of
Glamorgan Council. The CTPG organises two vehicle rallies each year and holds a monthly
meeting on the third Wednesday of each month at the Penarth Conservative Club. Members
receive a quarterly journal recently renamed BUSTLER and if they wish they can help to restore
the Group’s buses, ride on them and travel to rallies.
The Group aims to preserve representative samples of the buses that ran in South East Wales and
the Valleys, as well as memorabilia and records of the operating companies.
Annual membership of the Group is £20, which runs from the date of joining. Joint membership is
also available for £25.
CTPG Committee
Chairman
Deputy Chairman
Secretary
Mike Taylor, 10 Ger Nant Ystrad Mynach, Hengoed CF82 7FE
Phone: 07733 302242
email: mikeystrad73@btinternet.com
Chris Taylor, 31 Heol Wen, Rhiwbina Cardiff CF14 6EG
Phone: 02920 693734
Gayle Alder, 16 Carter Place, Fairwater, Cardiff CF5 3NP
Treasurer Paul Hamley email: squash33@btinternet.com
Membership Secretary
Derek Perry, 11 Countess Place, Penarth CF64 3UJ
Other Non Committee Post Holders
Bustler Editor Viv Corbin email: viv.corbin@ntlworld.com
Webmaster CTPG Mac Winfield email: info@ctpg.co.uk
Publicity Officer Tudor Thomas email: tudoralt@cf14.freeserve.co.uk
www.ctpg.co.uk
Published by the Cardiff Transport Preservation Group
(Registered as a Charity No. 1063157)
The opinions and views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Group, its
Committee or the Editor. Every effort is made to give due credit for all photographs and material
used in this newsletter. Should there be any unintended breach of copy right; the Editor must be
informed to enable a correcting acknowledgement to be made.
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The Swansea Group open top Bristol KSW leads our ex. Newport Atlantean away from the
depot bound for the Barry Island Festival Site. (Glyn Bowen) Below; Mike Taylor greets the
Vale Mayor, her Consort and Jane Hutt AM. (Ade Pitman)
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