Greater Manchester Transport 1345 and 7435 in Oldham bus depot
This is a fairly typical view inside a Greater Manchester Transport bus garage in the mid-1970s. You can almost smell the heady mix of diesel exhaust fumes, oil, diesel and tyre rubber.
The bus that's prominent to the right is 7435, a Daimler 'Fleetline' bus that was new in November 1974. It was a rear-engined bus and the engine compartment - often known as a 'bustle' after the fashionable skirts of Edwardian times - is very prominent. 7435 was one of over a thousand GM 'Standard' buses delivered over a decade, and they became very much a feature of almost every main road in Greater Manchester. After bus deregulation in 1986 GM Buses (the successor to Greater Manchester Transport) reduced its fleet and sold off many Standards, so they were bought and used by bus companies all over the UK. 7435 was one of those sold and operated on the Yorkshire coast around Filey for a while.
Bus number 1345 facing us on the left is much less common. It was a single-deck Metro-Scania, one of a small batch bought by SELNEC. In the late 1960s, Leyland was developing its 'National' bus, with integral construction like a car. This worried traditional bus bodybuilders like Metro-Cammell of Birmingham, and in response the company worked with Scania of Sweden to create its own integral competitor - the Metro-Scania. It was very distinctive with its asymmetric windscreen that was intended to help the driver see the kerb.
Also very distinctive, but invisible, was the 'torque converter' gearbox' - this had a very characteristic sound as the bus would pull away from a halt with full revs, then at about 20 mph would 'drop' into direct drive. It made the Metro-Scanias very fast but also very thirsty for fuel, and expensive to maintain. This, and rust problems, meant that the Metro-Scanias were not as successful as Metro-Cammell hoped and tended to not have long lives.
So far as we know no GMT Metro-Scanias still survive but quite a few GM Standard buses are preserved, including the very first production example, 7001, which is restored and on display at the Museum of Transport Greater Manchester.
If you'd like to know more about the Museum of Transport Greater Manchester and its collection of vintage buses, go to www.gmts.co.uk.
Greater Manchester Transport 1345 and 7435 in Oldham bus depot
This is a fairly typical view inside a Greater Manchester Transport bus garage in the mid-1970s. You can almost smell the heady mix of diesel exhaust fumes, oil, diesel and tyre rubber.
The bus that's prominent to the right is 7435, a Daimler 'Fleetline' bus that was new in November 1974. It was a rear-engined bus and the engine compartment - often known as a 'bustle' after the fashionable skirts of Edwardian times - is very prominent. 7435 was one of over a thousand GM 'Standard' buses delivered over a decade, and they became very much a feature of almost every main road in Greater Manchester. After bus deregulation in 1986 GM Buses (the successor to Greater Manchester Transport) reduced its fleet and sold off many Standards, so they were bought and used by bus companies all over the UK. 7435 was one of those sold and operated on the Yorkshire coast around Filey for a while.
Bus number 1345 facing us on the left is much less common. It was a single-deck Metro-Scania, one of a small batch bought by SELNEC. In the late 1960s, Leyland was developing its 'National' bus, with integral construction like a car. This worried traditional bus bodybuilders like Metro-Cammell of Birmingham, and in response the company worked with Scania of Sweden to create its own integral competitor - the Metro-Scania. It was very distinctive with its asymmetric windscreen that was intended to help the driver see the kerb.
Also very distinctive, but invisible, was the 'torque converter' gearbox' - this had a very characteristic sound as the bus would pull away from a halt with full revs, then at about 20 mph would 'drop' into direct drive. It made the Metro-Scanias very fast but also very thirsty for fuel, and expensive to maintain. This, and rust problems, meant that the Metro-Scanias were not as successful as Metro-Cammell hoped and tended to not have long lives.
So far as we know no GMT Metro-Scanias still survive but quite a few GM Standard buses are preserved, including the very first production example, 7001, which is restored and on display at the Museum of Transport Greater Manchester.
If you'd like to know more about the Museum of Transport Greater Manchester and its collection of vintage buses, go to www.gmts.co.uk.