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[tunnie]

I did hear a few years ago that were going to lay off 400 workers and that they had plans to move production abroad,looks like the prophecy came true,got a feeling that the buildings frontage is listed so I guess what ever they do with it the result will have to be sympathetic to it's history

Yes it is, shame they did not get it sorted in time for where we are based now. The old Firestone building was such an impressive Art Deco example, bulldozed on a bank holiday Monday. They day before it was listed 

There used to be a walk-way between Sky and Gillette, but a wall on Gillette side collapsed. They've closed that walkway now for past year 

[Seth]

Those?

Thanks Tunnie, but no they were round, yes, but with a shield/piece of cowling that came down about a third way down over the opening were the heat came out from a wire mesh grill.  That is from childhood memory anyway!

Found what Lizzie's after ... i think!


Fitted to a 1949 Thornycroft Nippy.

[Lizzie_Zoom]

Those?

Thanks Tunnie, but no they were round, yes, but with a shield/piece of cowling that came down about a third way down over the opening were the heat came out from a wire mesh grill.  That is from childhood memory anyway!

Found what Lizzie's after ... i think!


Fitted to a 1949 Thornycroft Nippy.

That's the one Seth, the one in the lower photograph behind the driving compartment!!

I thought I would never see again one of those that so fascinated me as a child. As said before, they were very efficient heaters, as long as you were within a few yards of them as the open entrance at the rear was always sucking in cold air!

Thanks Seth!

[Seth]

Here's the bus that had the Clayton heater fitted:


A 1949 Thornycroft 'Nippy' with 20-seat Croft body from the David Macbrayne fleet.

[Lizzie_Zoom]

Here's the bus that had the Clayton heater fitted:


A 1949 Thornycroft 'Nippy' with 20-seat Croft body from the David Macbrayne fleet.

I like that one Seth.  Really cute, and so typical of that era................that I cannot remember  because I was not alive then before anyone says!

[Lizzie_Zoom]

Just looked again at that picture of the "Nippy" and notice the driving position seems to be central.  Is that correct Seth?

Was the steering linkage at the back of the radiator and in front of the engine?

[Seth]

Just looked again at that picture of the "Nippy" and notice the driving position seems to be central.  Is that correct Seth?

Was the steering linkage at the back of the radiator and in front of the engine?

I take your point Lizzie, that photo's a tad misleading.
It was in fact a pretty orthodox set-up as better viewed from the interior:


Basically, a full-fronted 'forward control' layout rather than a conventional 'bonneted' jobbie.

[Seth]

Here's another gem from the Macbrayne stable:


A 1949 Maudslay 'Marathon III' with 35-seat Park Royal body.

Rescued from a Welsh scrapyard in 1990 - a truly magnificent restoration!

[Lizzie_Zoom]

Just looked again at that picture of the "Nippy" and notice the driving position seems to be central.  Is that correct Seth?

Was the steering linkage at the back of the radiator and in front of the engine?

I take your point Lizzie, that photo's a tad misleading.
It was in fact a pretty orthodox set-up as better viewed from the interior:


Basically, a full-fronted 'forward control' layout rather than a conventional 'bonneted' jobbie.

That is weird.  In the photo from outside is really appears as though the steering wheel is central, but in the internal shot it is obviously not!  Photo's can lie

[Seth]

That is weird.  In the photo from outside is really appears as though the steering wheel is central, but in the internal shot it is obviously not!  Photo's can lie

And be deceptive!

[Seth]

The David Macbrayne name and that individual livery was synonymous with transport in the Highlands & Islands.

It's operations encompassed ferries/shipping, freight/road haulage and of course, buses. The carriage of fare-paying passengers was augmented by the transportation of the Royal Mail throughout the region, and many of the buses featured specially-constructed compartments for these duties.

Here's one such example at Inveraray:



A 1960 Bedford C5Z1 with Duple 20-seat (plus mail compartment) body.






Interior view looking forwards.






The mail compartment is clearly visible at the rear.

[Lizzie_Zoom]

That mail compartment on this coach reminds me about the changes that have taken place regarding the distribution of the Royal Mail.

The stage coaches of yore ceased with the last of them running in 1850, after the railways had taken their business, including the Royal Mail.  Indeed it was in 1830 that the first Mail was carried by train on the Manchester and Liverpool Railway that had opened that year.  This became a general method of transportation of the Royal Mail with an Act of Parliament in 1838.

Very quickly the travelling post office - TPO's -, with special coaches built, but the first one was no more than an adapted horse box, were used from January 1938 on the Grand Junction Railway.

On the GJR they also used for the first time an apparatus designed by Nathaniel Wordsell that dropped and picked up Mail whilst the train continued to travel.



This became a familiar sight on the railways, and the best film I can recommend for seeing all this apparatus and the TPO in action is Night Mail , a 1936 documentary on this great process.

If you do not want to buy your personal copy, as usual this is available on Youtube:

Part 1:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WO7JxYlhOM

Part 2:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pQJzZDIQTs

Note this film contains the wonderful much celebrated poem, This Is The Night Mail by  W.H. Auden, and with music by Benjamin Britten:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmciuKsBOi0

So with the scrapping of the TPO on trains from 4th January 2004, the Royal Mail went back to being transported in the way it had on stage coaches; by road!

[Lizzie_Zoom]

..................and bus companies did sometimes become Royal Mail carriers in especially remote rural areas, like Scotland has in abundance, and Macbraynes had a wonderful logo to display this fact in their case:



In general Macbraynes obviously had a great livery and logo scheme, including the image of a highland warrior.  Does anyone know who this could be?  Rob Roy?   William Wallace?  A Clan Chieftain, such as  MacIain, Chief of the MacDonalds of Glencoe, at the time of the Glencoe Massacre in 1692?

[Seth]

Well done Ms Zoom!

Here's a couple of other logos which adorned Macbraynes' buses:



The 'Clansman' motif as applied to each side of their buses






And a typical rear end view of one of their splendid AEC Reliances

[Seth]

The Swansea Bus Museum staged one of their 'Running Days' yesterday, so a few enjoyable hours were spent there during the afternoon.

Clicky: http://www.swanseabusmuseum.com/




A few photos of the proceedings:



Managed a punishing trip out to Pennard on South Gower aboard this beauty.
It's a 30ft AEC 'Regent V' with forward entrance Weymann 'Orion' body.

For many years these were The South Wales Transport Co's standard double-decker, and dozens of 'em put in working lives of at least 12 years service on the plethora of difficult cross-city routes.






A recently-restored Caerphilly UDC Leyland 'Titan' PD3 with rear-entrance lowbridge Massey body.
It resides at the Barry 'Bus Depot' and ran superbly throughout the day.






Alongside the Titan is what ultimately replaced it - a 10-metre PSU4 Leyland Leopard with East Lancs body.

Following local government reorganisation in the 1970s; Caerphilly and several other neighbouring municipalities were merged to form Rhymney Valley District Council, which adopted this Brown/Yellow/Cream livery.