Museum of Transport, Greater Manchester

Search for Stockport’s Oldest Busman

25 January 2008

Greater Manchester’s Museum of Transport is gearing up for a reunion of old Stockport buses - and the staff who worked with them.

Stockport’s streets once resounded to the sound of not one, but two local bus companies in the town – the town’s own Corporation transport department ran the local routes and the North Western Road Car company ran more rural routes to such far-flung destinations as Marple, Hayfield and Buxton.

All this was swept away in 1969 as the orange buses of SELNEC (South East Lancashire and North East Cheshire) took over, followed by GMT and eventually Stagecoach: but ‘proper’ Stockport buses will return to the road for just two days in May, when the Museum of Transport will celebrate the company’s history with a weekend event featuring memories of the old rivals, free vintage bus rides – and in pride of place, the few surviving buses from the company brought out of museums and brought back to life by the dedication of volunteers and enthusiasts.

Meanwhile, the Museum is searching for surviving employees who used to work for Stockport Corporation Transport Department or the North Western Road Car Company. The Museum says it hopes that the oldest person from each will be Guest of Honour at the event.

“We’re really looking forward to the weekend,” said Museum spokesman Paul Williams. “Anyone who remembers the old North Western or Stockport Corporation buses has fond memories of them, whether it’s travelling to work or taking a coach to Blackpool. There’ll be lots going on to see and do, and most of all families will get the chance to ride on the buses that you would see on the road thirty or forty years ago. Children of today have never seen a bus with the door at the back and the engine at the front or a bus conductor collecting fares, so we hope lots of families will come to take a ride back in time.”

Free vintage buses will shuttle between the Museum of Transport in Boyle Street, Cheetham, Manchester and Manchester’s Victoria railway and Metrolink station all day, with other excursions happening too, and inside the Museum the memories will carry on with everything from staff outing snapshots to timetables, posters and other reminders of Stockport’s red buses.

“Most of all, North Western and Stockport buses were known as friendly buses,” said Paul. “Their staff were legendary for their courtesy and we hope that many former employees will turn up and share their memories. And if anyone comes who used to work for North Western or Stockport Corporation, they’ll get in free and hopefully they’ll be able to meet old friends and colleagues from thirty years ago.”

Anyone coming to the event, to be held on 17/18 May this year, who has evidence that they were employed by Stockport Corporation Transport or the old North Western company will get free admission; and the Museum says that it wants to make the Saturday, 17 May, a special reunion for old timers to meet and share their memories. If anyone or their relatives feels they could be the oldest ex-employee, the Museum wants them to write to Stockport’s Old Buses, Museum of Transport, Boyle Street, Cheetham, Manchester M8 8UW.

Ends

Notes to Editors

The Stockport Corporation Transport department ran trams for 50 years from 1901 and replaced them with a fleet of rear loading double deckers. The transport department prided itself that it had always made a profit and had a regime of low fares. The department was very traditional and at the time of its demise in 1969 still operated all its services with conductors.

The other company operating buses in Stockport was North Western Road Car which had been formed in 1923 with its Headquarters at Charles Street in Stockport. Not only did North Western operated buses in Stockport, Altrincham, Urmston, Glossop and Oldham but it had a large coach fleet. It was always possible to see North Western Coaches all over the country operating on Private Hires or on the express coach services to London and the coast.

The Staff reunion day will be on Saturday 17th May.

The Museum is in Boyle Street, Cheetham, Manchester (close to Manchester Fort shopping park) and is open to the public every Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday. An admission charge applies. The Museum is a partnership between the volunteers and the Greater Manchester Transport Society and GMPTE, the public body which supports and co-ordinates public transport in Greater Manchester. Telephone 0161 205 2122.