 |
| Leyland Tiger single-decker in Preston Corporation Livery |
Childhood memories are deeply imprinted and when I happened to see the above bus on 'Call the Midwife' tonight, it immediately brought back fond memories of catching it on Deepdale Road when I was a toddler. Its terminus was at Blackpool Road next to Deepdale football ground and close to my grandparent's house. I usually managed to persuade my mum and grandma to skip the double-deckers and wait for this bus when going into town. It was one of only three single-deckers in the fleet of brown and cream corporation buses. In those days the timetable was to the nearest half minute and buses kept to schedule because the work hooters and school bells were unforgiving of latecomers.
The bus ended its days as the free bus to Preston's first supermarket, Fame, which opened in an old cotton mill in Dundonald Street in the 1960s. Its endearing feature, the back platform, was like those on the double-deckers and was an invitation to run after the bus and jump on by grabbing the pole as the bus accelerated away but had to de-clutch whilst going through the gears. I contrived to do this most mornings by leaving home late, it was one of the highlights of going to school although my schoolmate disagreed. He seldom managed to make the platform and had to wait seven and a half minutes for the next bus. It also guaranteed the ire of the bus conductor but the attention of the girls from Larkhill Convent.
Seeing the bus again was a powerful reminder of how cheap, punctual, and reliable the bus service was when the Corporation ran the buses. Municipal enterprises provided efficient transport services before their forced disposal by the Thatcher government in the 1980's. They provide a quality service compared to the bus services today which are delayed by traffic and are, despite hefty subsidies, too expensive for many dependent young passengers. And with closing doors you can't contemplate chasing them down, let alone knowing when the next one will arrive.
The bus ended its days as the free bus to Preston's first supermarket, Fame, which opened in an old cotton mill in Dundonald Street in the 1960s. Its endearing feature, the back platform, was like those on the double-deckers and was an invitation to run after the bus and jump on by grabbing the pole as the bus accelerated away but had to de-clutch whilst going through the gears. I contrived to do this most mornings by leaving home late, it was one of the highlights of going to school although my schoolmate disagreed. He seldom managed to make the platform and had to wait seven and a half minutes for the next bus. It also guaranteed the ire of the bus conductor but the attention of the girls from Larkhill Convent.
Seeing the bus again was a powerful reminder of how cheap, punctual, and reliable the bus service was when the Corporation ran the buses. Municipal enterprises provided efficient transport services before their forced disposal by the Thatcher government in the 1980's. They provide a quality service compared to the bus services today which are delayed by traffic and are, despite hefty subsidies, too expensive for many dependent young passengers. And with closing doors you can't contemplate chasing them down, let alone knowing when the next one will arrive.
No comments:
Post a Comment
thanks