Resting Panther.
It's always a source of annoyance when you have every opportunity in the world to take pictures of unusual local vehicles, ignore them or procrastinate then one day they're gone. Working as I did a mere few minutes from Graham's Sandyford garage, his ex Maidstone & District Leyland Panther was an every day sight. Sadly I only ever bagged about two or three shots of it which weren't particularly good as this one of it on a poor day and in shadow exemplifies.
As mentioned in a recent posting, Graham had begun his business working out of Lawton Hall, but in the late '70s moved to Sandyford near Tunstall, Stoke on Trent. Later having out grown the above, he moved again to Talke to a site behind what is now the Shell garage at the roundabout junction of the A500 and A34.
From memory Willowbrook bodied Panther JKK 181E didn't make the last move, rather it was acquired by BC Travel of Stoke. Graham always referred to it in less than complimentary tones, on one occasion stating it to be 'the bus that nearly broke him'! That said, it's seen here in the typically pristine condition typified by the whole fleet.
Resting Panther.
It's always a source of annoyance when you have every opportunity in the world to take pictures of unusual local vehicles, ignore them or procrastinate then one day they're gone. Working as I did a mere few minutes from Graham's Sandyford garage, his ex Maidstone & District Leyland Panther was an every day sight. Sadly I only ever bagged about two or three shots of it which weren't particularly good as this one of it on a poor day and in shadow exemplifies.
As mentioned in a recent posting, Graham had begun his business working out of Lawton Hall, but in the late '70s moved to Sandyford near Tunstall, Stoke on Trent. Later having out grown the above, he moved again to Talke to a site behind what is now the Shell garage at the roundabout junction of the A500 and A34.
From memory Willowbrook bodied Panther JKK 181E didn't make the last move, rather it was acquired by BC Travel of Stoke. Graham always referred to it in less than complimentary tones, on one occasion stating it to be 'the bus that nearly broke him'! That said, it's seen here in the typically pristine condition typified by the whole fleet.