Yelloway NNC 850P in Rochdale - Sep 1978

September 1978 - For a number of years Yelloway always added six AEC Reliances to the fleet usually with Plaxton bodywork. However, in 1976 the intake was for four coaches with Plaxton bodywork and two with Duple Dominant bodywork. NNC 850P was 11 metres long and fitted with 45 reclining seats. The other Duple coach, NNC 855P, was 12 metres long and fitted with 49 reclining seats and survives as the home of the Yelloway Museum. NNC 850P was pictured here on Milton Street (at the rear of the Yelloway garage) in Rochdale one Sunday morning. It shows the destination display of ‘X35 BURY’ and had operated the Saturday overnight northbound run of that service via the south Lancashire towns of Leigh, Atherton and Swinton etc - towns once the heartland of Lancashire United Transport. In fact, the service had originally been operated jointly by Yelloway and LUT following an audacious attempt by LUT to register its own Swinton-Cheltenham service. Later when LUT was absorbed into the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport executive its coach services passed to National Travel. In the 1976 exchange of services between Yelloway and National Travel, Yelloway assumed sole operation of the X35.