Yelloway (ATL) LES 295X at Rochdale – 7 Dec 1986 (42-13)

Sunday 7 December 1986 – In July 1985 the Yelloway business which had been managed by the Allen family for more than 50 years was sold to a new owner. Changes ensued which might have portrayed an air of an optimistic future that sadly was not going to be.

Amongst the changes made by the new management was the decision to branch out into bus service operation and to hand over the long distance coach services to National Express for which Yelloway then became a contracted operator. Vehicles would wear National Express livery resulting in the famous Yelloway colours and name no longer being seen countrywide. Initially the motley collection of acquired buses did gain Yelloway colours as evidenced by the double decker just visible on the right.

The new owner was Carlton PSV (ATL Holdings), the UK Neoplan dealership, and a number of secondhand Neoplan vehicles were transferred to Yelloway including LES 295X. Looking rather down at heel and quite tatty for a coach not yet five years old, it was seen parked in Milton Street, Rochdale near the Garage/Coach Station at Weir Street.

It is a Neoplan Skyliner N116 which had been new to Stagecoach, Perth in May 1982 for operation on the deregulated coach services from Scotland to London registered LSP 222X. It subsequently carried registration 4009 SC before a further re-registration to LES 295X.