Bradford 313 - Leyland Titan (LAK 313G)
LAK 313G : Leyland Titan PD3A/12 Alexander H41/29F 1969
At the formation of West Yorkshire PTE, the only constituent fleet to contribute
a significant number of Alexander-bodied buses was Bradford City Transport. The only
exceptions were one AEC Reliance and one Daimler Fleetline from the Halifax fleet
which had originated with Hebble and Yorkshire Woollen District respectively.
The fifteen buses which made up the batch 301-315 were ordered by Bradford City Transport
in 1967 and were intended to have Metro-Cammell Weymann bodies. However, due to protracted
delivery times at MCW and despite the chassis being delivered to MCW’s Elmdon factory
to await bodying, the body order was consequently switched to Alexander. The finished
buses were finally delivered in spring 1969, and the subsequent orders for the bodying
of Atanteans and Fleetlines was also placed with Alexander.
313 entered service in April 1969, along with 301-311. The other three followed in
May, and the entire batch was initially allocated to Bankfoot garage.
301-315 were withdrawn during 1980/81, 313 itself being withdrawn in October 1980
and sold via Central Motor Auctions at Rothwell in December 1980. It was then to
spend 21 years as a storeshed for Johnson, a Giggleswick-based building contractor.
All lower deck seating was removed and replaced by racking and shelving (stripped
out since arriving at Keighley Bus Museum); some of the upper deck seating was also
removed.
It was rescued for preservation in August 2001. As sister bus 309 is already in the
Museum collection and restored to Bradford City Transport livery, 313 will be repainted
into Verona green and cream to represent its PTE period of ownership.
Leeds 331 - Leyland Atlantean ( CUB 331C )
Another new arrival of the rear-engined persuasion at Riverside is Bradley McMullan’s
ex-Leeds Atlantean 331 (CUB 331C), formerly well known on the rally circuit in the
hands of Joe Proctor
Having lived at Bramley Garage for many years, the bus was turfed out into the yard
a couple of years ago and has since taken a battering from the weather, so that it
is now looking rather dejected. Health problems decided the Proctor family that it
was time to part with the bus; Bradley hopes to get it back into shape quickly so
that it can once more get out and about, though it is already taxed and tested.
331 passed from Leeds to WYPTE, finally being withdrawn in July 1981, by then having
worn two versions of the LCT livery and PTE verona green. It was bought straight
off the scrap line at Bramley by the Proctors and restored to it’s original appearance.
331 is a 1965 MCW-bodied PDR 1/1, which makes an interesting comparison with Graham
Mitchell’s 59 which has substantially the same body. The Leeds bus is far less spartan
in it’s appointments with much use of formica, and a completely different staircase
and luggage-pen arrangement. It’s actually rather a messy interior layout, the designers
for LCT obviously groping towards the neater effect achieved a year later on our
own 131, but it is interesting to see the continuity of thought from Regent 980,
with the same pale woodgrain formica, transparent roof-lights and a reincarnation
of the straight Roe Safety Staircase, albeit rearward-ascending,and therefore not
very safe at all!
CUB 331C - Leyland Atlantean
