Ellen Smith (Rossendale Transport) 321 (RJI 8721) (F348 JSU) in Newgate, Rochdale - 16 Apr 1995 (260-16)

Easter Sunday 16 April 1995 –Rossendale Transport bought the old family business of Rochdale based Ellen Smith (Tours) Limited in 1991 and continued to use the well respected name.

Van Hool Alizée bodied Volvo B10M-60, 321 (RJI 8721) was new as F348 JSU to Bruce Coaches, Airdrie in March 1989 and was seen in Newgate, Rochdale loading for a day excursion to Whitby and Robin Hoods Bay. The ‘Grand Luxe’ livery maintained the traditional Ellen Smith colours of white, red and gold as well as a tiger logo albeit in a different style from that employed from the early days.
Ellen Smith always had a comprehensive excursion programme from Rochdale and the Rossendale Valley.

The departure point in Rochdale town centre was Newgate. I remember the company having a wooden built booking office close to the rear of the Red Lion and White Horse public houses. When the site was redeveloped as part of the shopping centre a temporary site for a cabin and departure point was located in the Town Hall Square near the end of Fleece Street. Upon completion of the shopping centre the company returned to Newgate albeit on a smaller plot close to the Roebuck Inn.

Rossendale created the ‘Estelle’ brand for its travel business using the initials of Ellen Smith Tours.

Across the road is 384 (LIB 1184), a Plaxton Supreme VI Express bodied Leyland Tiger, duplicating the ‘Fylde Coaster’ service X69 to Blackpool. Along the side panels it carried lettering for services numbered X69 and X79, the latter number from the days of the erstwhile Yelloway service. New to Hills of Tredegar in March 1982 registered NDX 148X as it had been in the Rossendale fleet as fleet number 84 prior to the acquisition of the Ellen Smith business.