Wigan Album

wigan when it was a proper town full of interest .then some empty space between labour councillors ears ruined the place

Jacksons doorway, did some courting there whilst waiting for the last bus to Standish.

Those were the days Ray, best of times and no doubt.

We left Wigan in the mid 50's for pastures new but this is just how I remember it. It was busy town with character.

And still they keep voting them in.

Yes, you'd think that they'd never be forgiven for stealing our buses, water, electricity, gas, Royal Mail, etc...

Give me the hustle and bustle of the town then rather than the dead town as it is now... Yet I still feel the need to come to Wigan.... Must be habit, because there's nothing else really to draw me there...other than ghostly memories.

The Wigan Corporation bus fleet started a century ago in 1919 with the gradual replacement of the tram fleet. All buses to 1928 were single deckers both long and short, front and rear entrance with between 14 and 38 seats, the first three, EK1361 1362 907 were EEC bodied Pagefield and AEC. In 1920 were six Tilling Stevens bodied by Massey, the registration of only four are known, EK2227 74 2288 2497. The next year for buses was 1924 with a Massey bodied Thorneycroft and Santus bodied Morris 1 ton, EK3529 3820. In 1925 were three Santus and Massey bodied Thorneycrofts, EK3893 3242 3243. In 1926 were six Santus bodied Thorneycrofts, EK4251 4452 4454 4516 4517, HO6387. In 1927 16 Thorneycroft, Bristol, Karrier and Leyland,EK4846-4851 4994-4999 5700-5702 6001 6042 6043. In 1928 8 Pagefield Leyland, and Bristol bodied by Walker Brothers, Leyland, Bristol and Northern Counties, EK6255 6281-6284 6323 6324 6409.
1929 was the first year for double deckers with four Leyland bodied Leyland TD1s, EK7260-7263. In 1930 9 more TD1s, EK7434-7436 7906-7914. In 1931 there were 32 TD1s bodied by Leyland, Northern Counties, Massey, and Santus, EK8039-8044 8086-8091 8100-8116 8330-8333. In 1932 three Massey bodied Leyland TS4 single deckers, EK8866-8868, and 15 Northern Counties bodied Leyland TD2 double deckers, EK8869-8878. In 1933 four Santus and Massey bodied Leyland TS4 single deckers, EK 9309-9312 and ten Northern Counties bodied Leyland TD2 double deckers, EK3913-3922. In 1936 five Northern Counties bodies TD4 double deckers, JP1211 1212 1925-1927 and a Santus bodied TS7 single decker, JP1213. In 1937 nine Massey and Northern Counties TD4 double deckers, JP2025-2031 2195 2196. In 1938 7 Massey and Northern Counties TD5 double deckers,JP2965-2972 and three Nothern Counties LT9 single deckers, JP3533-3535.In 1939 14 Northern Counties, EEC and Leyland TD5 double deckers, JP3700-3707 3900-3906. In 1940 14 Leyland bodied TD7 double deckers, JP4700-4713. In 1942 three TD7 double deckers bodied by Northern Counties, Leyland and East Lancs, JP4816 4817 4922. In 1945 three Guy Arab bodied by Weymann and three Bristol K6A double deckers double deckers, JP5130-5135 non standard buses when Leylands were not available.
The post war fleet starting in 1946/47 with no fewer than 75 Leyland bodied Leyland PD1s, JP5500-5537 6000-6036 being the last lowbridge buses. In 1950 the first highbridge double deckers, 30 Leyland bodied Leyland PD2s, JP8300-8329. In 1952 four Northern Counties bodied underfloor engined Leyland Royal Tiger single deckers,JP9061-9064 with four more in 1953, AEK513-516 and 12 Leyland bodied Leyland PD2 double deckers, AEK501-512. In 1955 another Northern Counties bodied Leyland Royal Tiger single decker, BJP364.
In 1956 five Northern Counties bodied Leyland PD2 double deckers, CEK837-841. In 1957 nine Massey and Northern Counties PD2 double deckers, DEK105-113 and two PSUC Northern Counties bodied single deckers, DEK534 535. In 1958 nine Massey and Northern Counties PD2 double deckers, DJP751-759.
In 1959 double deckers switched to front entrance with ten longer Massey and Northern Counties bodied PD3s, EJP501-510, 12 more in 1960, GJP8-19, and 14 in 1961, HEK705-707 and HJP1-11. Shorter PD2 double deckers from 1962 bodied by Massey and Northern Counties, JJP502-509, and a PSUC Massey bodied single decker JJP501. 12 more double deckers in 1963, KEK739-750 bodied by Massey and Northern Counties, and ten in 1964, AEK1-10B bodied by Massey). In 1966 two PD2 double deckers bodied by Massey, DEK2-3D, and four in 1967 by Northern Counties, DEK4-7E, also two Leyland Panther Cub single deckers bodied by Massey, DJP468E and EEK1F. In 1968 the last nine PD2 double deckers bodied by Massey, FEK1-9F and the first rear engined Leyland Atlantean PDR1 bodied by Northern Counties, FJP566G. In 1969 nine more PDR1 Atlanteans, GJP2-10G. In 1970 12 Northern Counties bodied Leyland Panther single deckers, HJP950-961H. 1971 12 longer PDR2 Leyland Atlanteans bodied by Northern Counties, KJP20-31J and in 1972 the last ten Wigan Corporation buses, Atlanteans NEK1-10K.

Your right rev long I remember when weekends were a great time in wigan shops full .if you worked worked weekend it was time and half and double time Sunday not now,

WOW MR. X's knowledge Is incredible *****

I ve said it before. Why has the town lost its cherry colour on signage and changed it for blue and green?

Philip C - apart from it being, to my mind at least, a more pleasing colour scheme - as Wigan Metropolitan Borough covers a far wider area than the old Wigan Borough, it seems better to adopt a colour scheme which does not narrow loyalties down to one specific area of the present Borough.

Rev David Long. I accept that opinions differ . However I feel that the removal of the cherry colour is just another example of somebody somewhere conveniently forgetting part of Wigan's past heritage

Philip C: I have a lot of empathy relating to your views about why Wigan has lost its individualism, but like the song said, times are a changing.
I think it was around 1974 when district councils changed to cover a wider area, and now of course Manchester is starting to swallow Wigan.
That's bad enough but parts of North Ashton has been pushed into Merseyside from being part of Lancashire.

While I take your general point Reverend, I think your comment “it seems better to adopt a colour scheme which does not narrow loyalties down to one specific area of the present Borough” is something that can be interpreted several ways.
It’s now generally recognised I think that to keep something on a human scale that people can relate to is much better than feeling you are powerless to protect that which you identify with. From a personal point of view I feel the old colour scheme was a unique ”Wigan brand” and something we unashamedly felt loyalty to, if I can put it that way. It certainly was far more tasteful and refined than the present colour, but that’s only my personal opinion.

It is now over 50 years since SELNEC was formed, and Wigan's buses were absorbed into the new transport authority - and the colour of each transport undertaking's buses began to change. In an ideal (Wigan) world, they would all have been painted in Wigan's colours..., or Leigh's, or Salford's....

Colours. It is not just the buses that I have an issue with but the use of blue and green on anything to do with Wigan. Why on crossing the Wigan boundary does blue and green welcome you ? These are not Wigan’s colours. Who decided to change them? I know times change but some things are worth keeping.

There must be few, if any, boundaries of Wigan which have such a sign - most of those I know are on the outer boundaries of Standish, Haigh, Leigh, Lowton, Ashton, etc..

Half an apology - I noticed for the first time yesterday the signs which ring Wigan Town Centre, which is a 'Wigan boundary' of sorts, and they are green and white. Given the colourful picture signs which mark most of the boundaries of the old constituent areas around Wigan of old (including a splendid one for Spring View), I think that these new (?) signs around the town centre should have had a similar historic reference - even if it was just rendering them in cherry and white.

Rev David Long . Apologies not needed. Everyone has a different opinion. I obviously prefer cherry colour. Main main point which perhaps has been lost is who decides such changes. It may have been put forward into the public domain but I am unaware of it being. Colour ,to some people at least unifies a place , especially a historic colour. Other people might ask what am fussing about. What other changes that sweep away the past could be brought in.