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[splott]

Here are two more for you guys to come up with some interesting information.


Where and what is the building behind, is it actually the Barry Hotel? :-? :-?
What type of buses?? :-? :-?
http://[IMG]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/splott_album/img123.jpg[/IMG]

Same type of bus,I think, but again where?  :-? :-?
http://[IMG]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/splott_album/img124.jpg[/IMG]


By the way I know what buses they are but I haven't got a clue where the pictures were taken or thier history  :-/ :-/

[Seth]

The top photo shows 1956 Leyland Tiger Cub 475 in 'as delivered' condition at Cardiff Central Bus Station.
It's from a batch of around a dozen, but with Willowbrook bodies, and finished to 'dual-purpose' spec (coach-seated buses).

Allocated to Barry, (black diamond), it's blinded-up for the then 15-minute headway 'bottom road' (via Dinas Powys) service. Not long after, it was re-numbered as 1475, and re-liveried into 'true' dual-purpose livery similar to 489 pictured below.

The building under construction in the background was to be Western Welsh's head office, until extensions to the Central Works and offices at Ely were completed a few years later.
This entire office block was demolished in 2009, in readiness for a major bus station make-over.



The bottom shot is of 489, (later re-numbered 1489), and my guess is that it's on a Day Tour duty to somewhere on Gower.

The bus is another of the chassisless Leyland Olympians, with Weymann dual-purpose body, and one of around a dozen delivered in 1958.

Take note that DPs had the company crest affixed centrally on the body sides with no WW fleetnames.
The livery being wine red and royal ivory at this time. This batch was the first to incorporate route number blinds within the destination display.

[Seth]

But tell me this..................
 Regarding the system of coloured diamonds that are on the buses above the fleet numbers. How many colours and depots were in the Western Welsh empire!

Gotchya, I've done my homework on this 


If we take the mid-1960s, (just before I started working for WW), there were some 20 depots situated across a large swathe of southern Wales.
The total fleet strength was around 560 buses.

If you drew an imaginary line from Aberystwyth to Hereford, then another line south to Newport, then the area bounded by it was Western Welsh territory. The only exclusion was Swansea and the Gower peninsular - this area was the preserve of the South Wales Transport and United Welsh concerns.



A system of coloured diamonds was used to denote the area to which a bus was allocated thus:

Green:
Carmarthen, Fishguard, Haverfordwest, Milford Haven, Newcastle Emlyn, New Quay, St David's.

Blue:
Bridgend, Kenfig Hill, Port Talbot.

Red:
Aberdare, Ammanford, Neath.

Grey:
Cross Keys, Cwmbran, Pontypool.

Black:
Barry.

White:
Brecon.

Orange:
Cardiff (Penarth Road).

Interestingly, the coach fleet never carried the coloured diamonds, and was generally based at the Head Office & Central Workshops at Cardiff (Ely).

Western Welsh was keen to support a thriving staff sports & social scene.
Accordingly, Bridgend's rugby team was fielded in a blue strip, with Haverfordwest's similarly in green, and so on.
 

Research suggests that I needed to make a correction as now shown above.
Ammanford's buses carried a RED diamond, as the 'parent' depot was in fact Neath, and not Carmarthen as I originally assumed.

 :-/ :-/ :-/ :-/

[splott]

But tell me this..................
 Regarding the system of coloured diamonds that are on the buses above the fleet numbers. How many colours and depots were in the Western Welsh empire!

Gotchya, I've done my homework on this 


If we take the mid-1960s, (just before I started working for WW), there were some 20 depots situated across a large swathe of southern Wales.
The total fleet strength was around 560 buses.

If you drew an imaginary line from Aberystwyth to Hereford, then another line south to Newport, then the area bounded by it was Western Welsh territory. The only exclusion was Swansea and the Gower peninsular - this area was the preserve of the South Wales Transport and United Welsh concerns.



A system of coloured diamonds was used to denote the area to which a bus was allocated thus:

Green:
Carmarthen, Fishguard, Haverfordwest, Milford Haven, Newcastle Emlyn, New Quay, St David's.

Blue:
Bridgend, Kenfig Hill, Port Talbot.

Red:
Aberdare, Ammanford, Neath.

Grey:
Cross Keys, Cwmbran, Pontypool.

Black:
Barry.

White:
Brecon.

Orange:
Cardiff (Penarth Road).

Interestingly, the coach fleet never carried the coloured diamonds, and was generally based at the Head Office & Central Workshops at Cardiff (Ely).

Western Welsh was keen to support a thriving staff sports & social scene.
Accordingly, Bridgend's rugby team was fielded in a blue strip, with Haverfordwest's similarly in green, and so on.
 

Research suggests that I needed to make a correction as now shown above.
Ammanford's buses carried a RED diamond, as the 'parent' depot was in fact Neath, and not Carmarthen as I originally assumed.

 :-/ :-/ :-/ :-/

Your slipping young Sir

[splott]

Here is another quiz for you Welsh Western fanatics. See if you BAs can get this one...........................

What is the location for each bus.
Why do they have a different body style.
Do they have a clippie or are they a one-man operation and if one-man, when did it  come into force?


Bus  1
[/img]

Bus 2

[/img]

No prize, but you might have to buy me a pint at Welland

[Vamps]

He will know Do you think you will stump him....
Keep it going though, I find it interesting, but not driven any bus older than 1963.....

[splott]

He will know Do you think you will stump him....
Keep it going though, I find it interesting, but not driven any bus older than 1963.....

He made a little mistake on the diamonds question. Almost had him

[Vamps]

He will know Do you think you will stump him....
Keep it going though, I find it interesting, but not driven any bus older than 1963.....

He made a little mistake on the diamonds question. Almost had him

Yes, but he corrected himself, can't knock a chap for that.....

[splott]

He will know Do you think you will stump him....
Keep it going though, I find it interesting, but not driven any bus older than 1963.....

He made a little mistake on the diamonds question. Almost had him

Yes, but he corrected himself, can't knock a chap for that.....

I know............ the bast**d
He will struggle with the last one I posted

[Vamps]

He will know Do you think you will stump him....
Keep it going though, I find it interesting, but not driven any bus older than 1963.....

He made a little mistake on the diamonds question. Almost had him

Yes, but he corrected himself, can't knock a chap for that.....

I know............ the bast**d
He will struggle with the last one I posted

We will see Mind you they look like the same body to me, the only difference being some form of sign / flap on the front and side.  :-/ :-/

[Seth]

The top photo is of Leyland Tiger Cub 1245 - one of a batch of 24 delivered in 1959, and wearing 'as delivered' livery.

It has a Park Royal 43-seat body of the newly-introduced BET Federation style, and were the first WW buses to enter service equipped for one-man operation. I reckon that the location is Brecon Square, and being a Brecon-allocated vehicle would've sported a grey diamond.

These were delightful buses to drive, with beautifully light steering, (no PAS in those days), and also had Eaton 2-speed rear axles. When I joined the company, four of this batch were still in all-day service at 15 years old, beings nos 1243, 1252, 1253 and 1260. They were especially popular with our drivers on the intense Bridgend town services.
Bridgend also had 1249 on shed, which wore an all-yellow livery and had been converted for towing duties at Ely Works in the early '70s.





The lower shot was definately taken on Broad Street, Barry sometime in the early '60s.

Barry-allocated 1495 was working one of the cross-town services, and the route number should've displayed '349'. It was one of around six similar buses delivered in 1959, and again of the ubiquitous Tiger Cub/Park Royal combination. This batch were sumptuously-appointed 41-seat dual-purpose vehicles, with amazingly-comfortable suede-covered seats. It should have displayed a black diamond.

[Seth]

He will know Do you think you will stump him....
Keep it going though, I find it interesting, but not driven any bus older than 1963.....

He made a little mistake on the diamonds question. Almost had him

Yes, but he corrected himself, can't knock a chap for that.....

I know............ the bast**d
He will struggle with the last one I posted

We will see Mind you they look like the same body to me, the only difference being some form of sign / flap on the front and side.  :-/ :-/

Yep, it was an illuminated sign which said: "Pay as you enter - please tender exact fare"
Obviously, if a conductor was on board, the flap was fastened shut to hide the sign!

 

By the way, at this point in time, all Western Welsh vehicles fitted with route number blinds, sported yellow-coloured numerals on a black blind. Destination blinds were the customary white characters on black backgrounds.

 8-)

[alunonhisown]

Does the old man remember Tudor Davies from Bedlinog? He owned a few buses, and also Keith Brown. I believe that Keith Brown took over Traction Yard after the demise of Morlais Coaches.
I bet he is stumped on these.

[Seth]

I remember Morlais, and the 'Traction Yard' address certainly rings a bell.
Unfortunately, that's about it regarding these two ......
 :-/

Now, if we were to get more WW Tiger Cubs posted-up, then I'd probably be able to quote chapter and verse - well, probably!

 8-)

[splott]

I remember Morlais, and the 'Traction Yard' address certainly rings a bell.
Unfortunately, that's about it regarding these two ......
 :-/

Now, if we were to get more WW Tiger Cubs posted-up, then I'd probably be able to quote chapter and verse - well, probably!

 8-)

There you go, Morlais Coaches................
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