Wigan Album
Wigan Corporation Transport
10 Comments
Photo: RON HUNT
Item #: 35131
No doubt someone will know all the details of the buses..
Number 3 bus to Hindley outside Timberlakes in Library St.
The third bus on the top row standing on the Market Square bus station is a Wigan Corporation bus I can't recall seeing on local routes, it looks to have an inward sloping windscreen rather than the usual flat, and also has a large square box on the front above the destination name and where the route number is on the other buses, also it looks to be parked where the long distance routes would be, such as to Manchester, Liverpool etc.
Cyril, i'm 83 and that's a new one on me.
Roy, this bus in the photo in the link below looks to be a very similar design with an inward sloping windscreen, and does look like a Wigan Corpy bus too except for the top rear side. I've looked at photos on bus sites and this is the only similar design I could find, so probably a rare bus design.
https://i2-prod.mylondon.news/incoming/article22781561.ece/ALTERNATES/s1227b/0_GettyImages-3433207.jpg
The bus has KITT GREEN on the destination board. Bus No. 103. Reg JP 297?2 The third number is partially hidden by the starting handle but looks like 7.?
Thanks Ron.
I was thinking and remembered that some earlier bus coach bodies had been built by Massey Brothers at Pemberton, and was wondering if Massey's had built the design of the bus or -
This photo about Massey's is on the Album by Barrie, so could it too have once been converted from a tram into a fuel engine bus.
Photo 34292
https://www.wiganworld.co.uk/album/photo.php?opt=3&id=34292&gallery=MASSEY+BROS&page=6
This Wigan bus reg.JP2972 built by Massey Bros. on a Leyland Titan TD5 chassis. Number 103 was delivered to Wigan in early 1938. It was one of a group of 4 delivered during this period. By then, my father had left Massey's and was working at Santus Motors.
Barrie, thanks for that information about the bus.
The bus bottom right is the newest and biggest being a Leyland PD3 with 69-72 seats than the shorter PD2s with no more than 64. It has a Massey body rather than Northern Counties and is front entrance. Can't tell if it has a tin front that will be EJP501-504 or GJP8-10 17-19, or if it has fibre glass "St Helens" front that is HEK705-707 and HJP1-4. If it is HEK705 then that became the celebrity Wigan bus after 1978 when all others were now in GMT orange and white livery. The location is the old bus station on the market square.
Cyril
If you look up places -Market Place - page 2 there's a photo of one of these buses on there