Wigan Album

Another good one Eddie.
Well the date has got to be on or over 1979 T reg.

Also the coach firm were based at Newtown/saddle around that time.

They eventually became part of Shearings, whose office is based at Miry Lane.

Eddie , Interesting photo.If i remember rightly ??? Smiths were a tour company based in Market St,in the 40.s they Amalgamated/ or where taken over by Webster Bros and then teken over by Blundells, a Southport company Hence the Blundell on the front

You probably know a great deal more about Smiths than I do AB. I only remember them from the 70's when they had their premises, as Garry says, at The Saddle junction, where Halford's etc. are now situated. My interest in P.S.Vs is very limited. Apart from doing a few trips for Arthur Eaves in the 80's my entire working life has almost exclusively consisted of driving H.G.Vs, or L.G.Vs as they are now called. Hence my bias towards lorries.

In the interests of historical accuracy, I'm obliged to state that the driver and owner of the vehicle in the photo was Roy Jackson from St. Helens. I made an incorrect assumption regarding the engine. In actual fact, the vehicle was powered by an A.E.C. 760 engine and not a Leyland power unit, as I had previously surmised.The vehicle was capable of attaining 80 + mph evidently. I also omitted to give credit for the photograph to Terry Lawrenson, the subsequent owner of the vehicle. My apologies to all concerned.

There is if anyone is interested a very nice model of this coach made by Base toys, available from all model shops.
It carries the registration BTB 696T. as a collector I have 2 of these, which reminds me of catching the coach to Pwllheli butlins from the market square when Wigan still had wakes week early 1970s

Carl I would be interested in buying one off you my details are in the text.I just purchashed 2 Wigan Corp buses they are belters .Always interested in local things .Been after a Leigh Corp Blue and White DD and the original SELNEC orange and White which was the forerunner of GM Buses.If you know of anyone .

The model that you mention Carl is 1:76 scale, which makes it unsuitable for me as I collect 1:50 scale. I don't know if either yourself or Colin would be at all interested, but there is currently a 1:50 scale Bedford VAL ( the coach that featured in ' The Italian Job' ) for sale on eBay. painted in Smith's early livery it was one of a batch of 4 that were ordered for Smith's of Wigan under the new ownership of Blundell's of Southport. It carries the FY Southport registration and the asking price is £25 00 + postage. Although coaches aren't really my thing, it's such a nice looking model that if it's still on there in a day or two, I may be tempted to send for it myself. Check it out. Regards. Eddie.

big memories

I believe the coach was first used for either south coast tours or it may also have been used in Scotland, we had just taken to using Volvo B58s on the continental tours. After a year on tour I think coach 107 when to Levenshlme garage where Frank Ashton drove it on private and brochured tour,great coach to drive.

that coach is still on the road

I actually own this coach it’s stored in Norfolk

Is this A Bedford VAL Twin Steer. Reg CFY 956C if so I drove this occasionally When I worked for Blundell Group in the Mid 60s at the Southport depot

The registration BTB690T would have been issued by Warrington Local Vehicle Licensing Office (LVLO), that being the office which would have normally issued registrations to vehicles new in the Wigan area at the time.
When the LVLOs were formed in 1974 many registration marks were reallocated to areas other than would have been expected. The former Lancashire County Council marks were scattered - TB to Warrington LVLO, TC Bristol LVLO, TD and TE Bolton LVLO, TF Reading LVLO, and TJ Liverpool LVLO. The two former Preston CBC marks, CK and RN, remained local with Preston LVLO, to which were added former Blackpool CBC marks FR and FV, former Burnley CBC marks CW and HG, and former Blackburn CBC mark BV. The other former Blackburn mark, CB, went to Bolton. Warrington LVLO started out with the former Warrington CBC mark ED, the ex-Wigan marks EK and JP, the ex-St Helens mark DJ, and, as mentioned above, TB.
Whether by fluke or intention, the first Smiths coaches to be registered under the new system received 'EK' marks, as they might have done under the previous system.
After Warrington LVLO closed in 1981, Smiths coaches (and later Shearings) received registrations from Manchester LVLO.