The programmes
The programmes for Saturday 11th August 2001 commenced with a welcome from First Manchester and the Bolton Bus Group, and a reminder that Crook Street Depot (out of bounds) and Moor Lane and the surrounding streets were fully operational, Take Care and Be Aware at all times, paid credit to all who had moved mountains and molehills to make the day possible including GMPTE for allowing the event to take place and relaxing the vehicle age/type rules for certain tendered services, details of the day and a timetable of events, a brief history of the Atlantean, some cartoons, a personal reflection, and that some bespoke videos had been produced along with a raffle for a headboard.
Proceeds from the event were going to then named The Imperial Cancer Research Fund.
Swifts car park was closed for the day to allow a static display of visiting Atlanteans, thanks to all who attended.
I ran some 250 copies off, absolutely no idea how many we would need, on the depot printer. Some 2500 B/W and 250 front covers. I was just finishing packing up the sheets in the boxes they came in ready for a mass stapling session at home when I heard someone in the office say, "The printers out of ink, (They were huge!!) I only renewed the cartridges yesterday."
TIME TO DISAPPEAR!!
A ½-hourly shuttle between Moor Lane and the display at Crook Street was operated by Bolton 232.
But of course the star of the day was the last native fleet of GM Standard Atlanteans and they were near the end ......but we mustered 37 I think.
I arranged for all the Atlanteans to be rostered on local services where possible so each one visited Moor Lane Bus Station at least once an hour, sometimes twice.
The success of the day was summed up by a visitors comment in the press - There just seemed to be Atlanteans everywhere and its probably the last time we will ever witness such an event ....
I invited Dave Spencer for the day but he was unable to attend, otherwise engaged, and later told me he bitterly regretted not attending as he had heard that he'd missed a good day....
10 Years On was held on Sunday 21st August 2011 and a few similar programmes were produced. Being a Sunday the normal services were concentrated on the centre island platform on Moor Lane so thanks to TfGM, we were allowed to use the out of use bays for displaying the static visiting vehicles, (Crook Street having closed by this time), some privately owned and those from the Bolton Bus Preservation Group and those from The Selnec Preservation Society. Again thanks to all.
But this time there were no in service GM Standards and no CRUK participation.
A free hourly service Blackhorse Street to Bobs Smithy Pub on the peak of Chorley Old Road was run, so a much lower key day.
It all seems so long ago now, 21 years in the case of the native fleet......
The programmes
The programmes for Saturday 11th August 2001 commenced with a welcome from First Manchester and the Bolton Bus Group, and a reminder that Crook Street Depot (out of bounds) and Moor Lane and the surrounding streets were fully operational, Take Care and Be Aware at all times, paid credit to all who had moved mountains and molehills to make the day possible including GMPTE for allowing the event to take place and relaxing the vehicle age/type rules for certain tendered services, details of the day and a timetable of events, a brief history of the Atlantean, some cartoons, a personal reflection, and that some bespoke videos had been produced along with a raffle for a headboard.
Proceeds from the event were going to then named The Imperial Cancer Research Fund.
Swifts car park was closed for the day to allow a static display of visiting Atlanteans, thanks to all who attended.
I ran some 250 copies off, absolutely no idea how many we would need, on the depot printer. Some 2500 B/W and 250 front covers. I was just finishing packing up the sheets in the boxes they came in ready for a mass stapling session at home when I heard someone in the office say, "The printers out of ink, (They were huge!!) I only renewed the cartridges yesterday."
TIME TO DISAPPEAR!!
A ½-hourly shuttle between Moor Lane and the display at Crook Street was operated by Bolton 232.
But of course the star of the day was the last native fleet of GM Standard Atlanteans and they were near the end ......but we mustered 37 I think.
I arranged for all the Atlanteans to be rostered on local services where possible so each one visited Moor Lane Bus Station at least once an hour, sometimes twice.
The success of the day was summed up by a visitors comment in the press - There just seemed to be Atlanteans everywhere and its probably the last time we will ever witness such an event ....
I invited Dave Spencer for the day but he was unable to attend, otherwise engaged, and later told me he bitterly regretted not attending as he had heard that he'd missed a good day....
10 Years On was held on Sunday 21st August 2011 and a few similar programmes were produced. Being a Sunday the normal services were concentrated on the centre island platform on Moor Lane so thanks to TfGM, we were allowed to use the out of use bays for displaying the static visiting vehicles, (Crook Street having closed by this time), some privately owned and those from the Bolton Bus Preservation Group and those from The Selnec Preservation Society. Again thanks to all.
But this time there were no in service GM Standards and no CRUK participation.
A free hourly service Blackhorse Street to Bobs Smithy Pub on the peak of Chorley Old Road was run, so a much lower key day.
It all seems so long ago now, 21 years in the case of the native fleet......