County Borough of Southport : Centenary Celebrations 1867 - 1967 : Transport Department commemorative brochure, 1967 : 1932 Leyland Titan TD2
In 1967 the Lancashire seaside resort of Southport celebrated its centenary of being incorpoated as a County Borough, an administrative honour that granted the borough the power sof the county council within its boundaries. To help celebrate the Borough's Transport Department, Southport Corporation Transport, produced a neat little booklet that looked at the history of public transport in the borough.
This started in May 1873 with the running of horse trams by the Southport Tramways Company who, in 1880, were joined by the Birkdale Company. In 1896 the Corporation exercised its right to purchase the tramways and also began the process of electrifiying and extending the network. The first electric services ran on 18 July 1900 (work having started in February that year!). The Corporation finally bought out the remainder of the Southport Company. The system was a typical Edwardian 'first generation' system in that by the 1920s the Corporation was looking to run motor buses and, on 31 December 1934, the last tram ran in the town. The first motor bus purchased had been in 1924 or 26 - a locally constructed Vulcan. The buses, I recall, rean in a grand red and cream livery that matched the painting of the town's street lighting columns!
In the next few decades the undertaking were staunch supporters of the nearby Leyland company and they provided the majority of the bus fleet as can be seen in the photographs. There were some wartime interlopers in the form of Utility Daimlers and, in post-war years, the Department ran one of the country's most unusual services using most unusual vehicles. These were the twelve Bedford QL type that ran, open-top, along the beach from the town's promenade to Sandhills and Ainsdale. These last ran in 1967 and the Bedford's disposed of.
By 1967 the Corporation was on the verge of purchasing the first 'new generation' buses in the form of Leyland Panther single deck buses suitable for OPO operation. This was driven byt he need to review operations as passenger figures continued to collapse. Some Atlantean double deckers were purchased in 1973 - the year before the Borough became part of the new Merseyside County Council and the transport department passed to the Merseyside PTE.
This image shows one of the first 'modern' motor buses delivered to the undertaking - a 1932 Leyland bodied Titan TD2 that lasted in the fleet until 1947. Such buses, both in terms of design of chassis and bodywork, were the start of real technological advances in motor bus design.
County Borough of Southport : Centenary Celebrations 1867 - 1967 : Transport Department commemorative brochure, 1967 : 1932 Leyland Titan TD2
In 1967 the Lancashire seaside resort of Southport celebrated its centenary of being incorpoated as a County Borough, an administrative honour that granted the borough the power sof the county council within its boundaries. To help celebrate the Borough's Transport Department, Southport Corporation Transport, produced a neat little booklet that looked at the history of public transport in the borough.
This started in May 1873 with the running of horse trams by the Southport Tramways Company who, in 1880, were joined by the Birkdale Company. In 1896 the Corporation exercised its right to purchase the tramways and also began the process of electrifiying and extending the network. The first electric services ran on 18 July 1900 (work having started in February that year!). The Corporation finally bought out the remainder of the Southport Company. The system was a typical Edwardian 'first generation' system in that by the 1920s the Corporation was looking to run motor buses and, on 31 December 1934, the last tram ran in the town. The first motor bus purchased had been in 1924 or 26 - a locally constructed Vulcan. The buses, I recall, rean in a grand red and cream livery that matched the painting of the town's street lighting columns!
In the next few decades the undertaking were staunch supporters of the nearby Leyland company and they provided the majority of the bus fleet as can be seen in the photographs. There were some wartime interlopers in the form of Utility Daimlers and, in post-war years, the Department ran one of the country's most unusual services using most unusual vehicles. These were the twelve Bedford QL type that ran, open-top, along the beach from the town's promenade to Sandhills and Ainsdale. These last ran in 1967 and the Bedford's disposed of.
By 1967 the Corporation was on the verge of purchasing the first 'new generation' buses in the form of Leyland Panther single deck buses suitable for OPO operation. This was driven byt he need to review operations as passenger figures continued to collapse. Some Atlantean double deckers were purchased in 1973 - the year before the Borough became part of the new Merseyside County Council and the transport department passed to the Merseyside PTE.
This image shows one of the first 'modern' motor buses delivered to the undertaking - a 1932 Leyland bodied Titan TD2 that lasted in the fleet until 1947. Such buses, both in terms of design of chassis and bodywork, were the start of real technological advances in motor bus design.