SELNEC/GMPTE 6253 (EX20), Rochdale, 1974
From 1971 - 1972, SELNEC PTE took delivery of 21 experimental double-decker buses for service evaluation. All were bodied by Northern Counties of Wigan with SELNEC's newly designed 'Standard' bus bodies. Six of these buses were Leyland PDR1s (EX1-6), and the rest (EX7-21) were Daimler Fleetlines. The last five (EX17-21), arrived in February 1972 as dual-doored buses. The Fleetline chassis for these vehicles had originally been ordered by Rochdale Corporation.
EX17 TNB757K
EX18 TNB758K
EX19 TNB759K
EX20 TNB760K
EX21 TNB761K
Of the five, EX20 was delivered in an allover advert livery for Barclaycard, becoming the first SENEC bus to carry an allover advert.
Towards the end of 1972, SELNEC decided to renumber EX1-EX21 into the 5xxx & 6xxx series to match the rest of the double deck fleet. EX17-EX21 became 6250-6254, which fitted into the Rochdale District numbering series, these buses being allocated to Rochdale at that time. SELNEC and later GMPTE, continued to use the EX numbering system for experimental buses under evaluation.
In 1974, 6253 (EX20) was painted into to standard orange & white livery fleet livery, as the Barclays advert was likely looking tired and out of contract. Around the same time, Fleetline 7361 (YNA316M) took up the mantle of being the poster-board for Barclaycard.
The picture shows 6253 on the bus stands off South Parade, Rochdale in 1974. 6253 is devoid of its SELNEC Northern decals, as it is likely on the cusp of the GMPTE takeover of SELNEC in April 1974. The building behind the bus was at the time a Burton's menswear store.
These buses were later painted into what became the standard GMPTE livery, which used a darker shade of orange than the former SELNEC livery. 6250 (EX17) went onto received the 1980 brown, orange and white 'Jaffa' livery.
In 1983, GMPTE withdrew two Manchester 'Standards', the first of the kind, both had been fire damaged. In 1984 as new buses arrived, the withdrawal of the Manchester 'Standards' began in earnest. Dual-doored buses were now firmly out of favour and 6250-6254 were all withdrawn that year. With the exception of 6252 (EX19), all went to scrap. 6252 was acquired by the 16th Middleton Scout & Guide Group for transport. As a consequence, the bus survived long enough to be acquired by the SELNEC Bus Preservation Society for preservation in September 1998. The bus remains unrestored and very recently (June 2025), has been offered for sale by the SELNEC.P.S as a source of spares, suggesting that it is in a poor state of repair.
I am not an expert on Manchester buses, but I hope that my background research and notes above do justice to the subject. I am happy to stand corrected where there is error.
Image scanned from the original 35mm slide in my archive.
SELNEC/GMPTE 6253 (EX20), Rochdale, 1974
From 1971 - 1972, SELNEC PTE took delivery of 21 experimental double-decker buses for service evaluation. All were bodied by Northern Counties of Wigan with SELNEC's newly designed 'Standard' bus bodies. Six of these buses were Leyland PDR1s (EX1-6), and the rest (EX7-21) were Daimler Fleetlines. The last five (EX17-21), arrived in February 1972 as dual-doored buses. The Fleetline chassis for these vehicles had originally been ordered by Rochdale Corporation.
EX17 TNB757K
EX18 TNB758K
EX19 TNB759K
EX20 TNB760K
EX21 TNB761K
Of the five, EX20 was delivered in an allover advert livery for Barclaycard, becoming the first SENEC bus to carry an allover advert.
Towards the end of 1972, SELNEC decided to renumber EX1-EX21 into the 5xxx & 6xxx series to match the rest of the double deck fleet. EX17-EX21 became 6250-6254, which fitted into the Rochdale District numbering series, these buses being allocated to Rochdale at that time. SELNEC and later GMPTE, continued to use the EX numbering system for experimental buses under evaluation.
In 1974, 6253 (EX20) was painted into to standard orange & white livery fleet livery, as the Barclays advert was likely looking tired and out of contract. Around the same time, Fleetline 7361 (YNA316M) took up the mantle of being the poster-board for Barclaycard.
The picture shows 6253 on the bus stands off South Parade, Rochdale in 1974. 6253 is devoid of its SELNEC Northern decals, as it is likely on the cusp of the GMPTE takeover of SELNEC in April 1974. The building behind the bus was at the time a Burton's menswear store.
These buses were later painted into what became the standard GMPTE livery, which used a darker shade of orange than the former SELNEC livery. 6250 (EX17) went onto received the 1980 brown, orange and white 'Jaffa' livery.
In 1983, GMPTE withdrew two Manchester 'Standards', the first of the kind, both had been fire damaged. In 1984 as new buses arrived, the withdrawal of the Manchester 'Standards' began in earnest. Dual-doored buses were now firmly out of favour and 6250-6254 were all withdrawn that year. With the exception of 6252 (EX19), all went to scrap. 6252 was acquired by the 16th Middleton Scout & Guide Group for transport. As a consequence, the bus survived long enough to be acquired by the SELNEC Bus Preservation Society for preservation in September 1998. The bus remains unrestored and very recently (June 2025), has been offered for sale by the SELNEC.P.S as a source of spares, suggesting that it is in a poor state of repair.
I am not an expert on Manchester buses, but I hope that my background research and notes above do justice to the subject. I am happy to stand corrected where there is error.
Image scanned from the original 35mm slide in my archive.