W and B Pickup SDK 927J in Rochdale - 23 Dec 1974

Monday 23 Dec 1974 – W and B Pickup of Norden, Rochdale SDK 927J, a Duple Viceroy bodied Bedford YRQ, seen on The Esplanade in Rochdale working on the Asda shuttle contract. For a number of years the Pickup’s ran shoppers shuttle contracts on behalf of Tesco (to the store at Sudden) and Asda (at Castleton). In the 1970s their business expanded into the carriage of garments for the clothing and retail trade under the name of ‘Top Gear Transport’ – a clever play on the ‘gear’ for both clothing and transport created long before the BBC used the name! – and also a travel agency named ‘Top Gear Worldwide Travel’. Their coaches, always very well turned out, also became branded with the name.