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Belfast Corporation / Citybus |
New to Belfast Corporation in 1935 with a Service Motor Works body, No 102 received a new body by Harkness in 1949. It remained in use until as a driver training vehicle until the late 1960s. It is now owned by the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum but, unfortunately, isn’t on display to the general public.
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Guy trolleybus No 112 was new in 1948 and gave 20 years’ service to the city, only being withdrawn when the trolleybus system, the only one in Ireland, closed in 1968. No 112 is currently on display in the Transport Gallery at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum.
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In 1950/1 Belfast Corporation took delivery of 70 Guy Arabs – 25 with single-deck bodies and 45 with double-deck, all by Harkness. Happily an example of each has survived and they are seen here at a Translink function at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum. No 286 is owned by Jonathan Miller and No 346 by Raymond Bell.
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After purchasing Guy Arabs the Corporation turned to Daimler for its 1952/3 deliveries, choosing the Daimler CVG6, again with Harkness bodies. One hundred were acquired, the last being withdrawn in 1975. Number 446 survives in preservation and is owned by Jonathan Miller.
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Daimler Fleetline No 2857 was one of the last new vehicles delivered to Belfast Corporation. It was destroyed in 1974 and was later rebuilt, returning to service with Citybus in 1976. On withdrawal in 1994 it was overhauled at Falls Park depot and presented to the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum where it is on display as a reminder of those Citybus and Ulsterbus staff who lost their lives in ‘The Troubles’. |
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Bristol RE No 2415 was delivered new to Citybus in October 1980 and was one of over 300 REs delivered new to the company. It is now preserved by the Irish Transport Trust (www.irishtransporttrust.freeserve.co.uk) and has made several visits to the mainland in connection with vintage vehicle rallies. |
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NIRTB / UTA / Ulsterbus |
This Bedford OWB was delivered to the Northern Ireland Road Transport Board in 1942 with a 32 seat utility body by SMT. It was sold in 1948 and was re-bodied. After working for a number of operators, and a fruit farmer, V957 was purchased by a Mr Reid and brought back to Northern Ireland. Ulsterbus acquired the bus and set about a major rebuild, replicating the original wartime utility body. |
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Leyland Tiger PS1 A515 was new in 1947 and carries 34-seat bodywork by the NIRTB to a style that will be familiar to many in Northern Ireland. After passing through the hands of a number of preservationists, No A515 is now owned by Translink.
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New in 1950, Leyland Titan PD2 No D927 carries a lowbridge body seating 53 passengers. D927 served with the UTA and its successor Ulsterbus until 1968. It is currently owned by Jonathan Miller, who is undertaking a major restoration job. |
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Number H301 came to the UTA in 1954 as a Leyland demonstrator and it was intended that it eventually be returned to the manufacturer. However Leyland made the UTA a fair offer and the vehicle was purchased. It was withdrawn by Ulsterbus in 1971 and is now preserved by a private owner in Co. Antrim. |
Leyland Tiger Cub K318 was delivered new to the Ulster Transport Authority in 1956 and carries bodywork built in-house. After 21 years’ service it was withdrawn by Ulsterbus in 1977. It is now preserved by Raymond and Trevor Bell.
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After running Tiger Cubs for a number of years the UTA acquired 70 AEC Reliances in 1963/4 and, again, built the bodywork in-house. Number S234, new in 1963, is now owned by Translink and is currently undergoing restoration. |
The first new vehicles purchased by Ulsterbus on its formation in 1967 were 70 Bedford VAMs and 20 Leyland-engined Bristol REs. These latter buses bore the brunt of ‘The Troubles’ in Londonderry and only one, No 1058, survives. It is now in the care of Raymond Begley and is in store awaiting attention. Bodywork is by Alexander (Falkirk). |
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Between 1971 and 1973 Ulsterbus purchased 40 Leyland Atlantean double-deckers, all bodied locally by Alexander’s. Number 919, one of the 1971 batch, is now preserved by Raymond Begley and is the sole survivor.
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Leyland Leopard No 1591 was new in 1969 as No 1347. In 1974 it was hijacked in West Belfast and destroyed. A major rebuild of the chassis was undertaken and after receiving a new body, and registration number, No 1591 re-entered service in 1978. Withdrawn in 1989, it was eventually acquired by the Irish Transport Trust to replace a vehicle lost in an arson attack. |
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Number 1886 was new to Western Scottish in 1976 and was acquired by Ulsterbus in 1988 from Clydeside, ostensibly for onward sale to Halpenny of Blackrock, Co Louth. On discovering it had a manual gearbox, Halpenny’s rejected it and it became No 1886 in the Ulsterbus fleet, allocated to the driving school. It is now owned by the Irish Transport Trust and is in the care of member, Trevor Dixon.
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London Transport |
Familiar to many will be the London Transport AEC Routemaster. This example is now owned by Co Antrim resident, Jack Gowdy. RM 2154 once wore a yellow and red livery for the short-lived ‘Shop Linker’ service, which linked the major shopping areas of Knightsbridge and Oxford Street. |
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