David Slater (Spoddendale)'s photos

July 1974 - From 1966 Plaxton became the main bodywork supplier for the Yelloway fleet after Harrington ceased bodybuilding. FDK 415D was one of the 1966 intake of six Plaxton Panorama bodied AEC Reliances. I seem to recall this location was at Rhyl when I was assigned to supervise the loading of homeward bound coaches on the Llandudno to Rochdale service (more than likely on the last Saturday of the Rochdale and Oldham holiday fortnight). A coach operated by Travis’s of Middleton, working on hire to either Yelloway or North Manchester Motor Coaches, stands behind.

A Saturday evening in July 1973 on the fuel pumps at the Yelloway garage in Rochdale. Left is Yelloway FDK 416D, an AEC Reliance with Plaxton Panorama body new in 1966. This was the coach involved in a bad accident on the A56 near Bowden in Cheshire when working a London bound express a few years previously. It was returned to Plaxtons for repair and came back to work a few months later. Note the destination blinds both read 'Yelloway'. It was customary to set them thus when a particular destination name wasn't available. A most unusual visitor on the right is Northern General 114L (NCN 814L), a Bristol RELH6G with Plaxton Panorama Elite bodywork in National coach livery just a couple or so months old. It shows Torquay on the destination blind but it was heading home to the north-east of England.

April 1968 – Yelloway FDK 418D, one of the 1966 intake of Plaxton Panorama bodied AEC Reliances, seen at the Yelloway coach station in Bloomfield Road, Blackpool after arriving on a journey from Oldham and Rochdale. The famous tower can just be seen in the distance on the right. After sale the site was redeveloped as a Magnet and Southern builders supply store and later still a Lidl supermarket.

Summer 1967 - Yelloway FDK 419D seen in Caledonia Street Coach Station, London having worked the 'morning flyer' motorway express service from Rochdale and Manchester. Precise date not noted but it was in the summer of 1967. The coach was one of the 1966 intake of Plaxton Panorama bodied AEC Reliances.

Summer 1969 - Yelloway FDK 420D stands beneath the prominent Yelloway coach station signboard at Weir Street, Rochdale ready to work the 1600 motorway express (‘flyer’) service to London. It would have worked the morning ‘flyer’ from London earlier in the day arriving in Rochdale at 1411. It was one of the 1966 intake of six Plaxton Panorama bodied AEC Reliances and the one I also considered my favourite after previously taking a trip on it for a day in London. The passenger waiting area was along the right hand edge of this photograph with coaches parked facing where passengers would stand. Taken on a quiet afternoon the London coach was standing on Bay 1 which was that used for the Blackpool service.

Summer 1969 - Yelloway FDK 420D stands in the doorway of the coach station at Weir Street, Rochdale ready to work the 1600 motorway express (‘flyer’) service to London. It would have worked the morning ‘flyer’ from London earlier in the day arriving in Rochdale at 1411. It was one of the 1966 intake of six Plaxton Panorama bodied AEC Reliances and the one I also considered my favourite after previously taking a trip on it for a day in London.

Summer 1967 - The Creams (Lancashire) Limited was a Yelloway subsidiary between .... and ..... and held the operators licence for the Rochdale to Llandudno North Wales service together with excursion licences from a number of originating points in the Rochdale, Oldham, Rossendale Valley and Calder Valley areas. There were normally three coaches lettered for the Creams fleet (which carried Yelloway colours) and these were of lightweight manufacture only being retained for one summer or maybe slightly longer. HDK 46E was a Plaxton Panorama bodied Bedford VAL purchased in 1967 and is seen on the parking ground outside the Rochdale garage.

December 1971 – Yelloway and Premier Travel had a close working relationship spanning many years notably on the joint services between the North-west and Cambridge/Clacton-on-Sea via the East Midlands. The AEC Reliance chassis served both companies well and this picture shows Yelloway HDK 508E, with Plaxton Panorama bodywork dating from 1967, standing on the parking ground along Penn Street, Rochdale with Premier Travel FCE 132D, with the Alexander ‘Y’ type coach bodywork favoured by Premier.

Friday 25 May 1973 – HDK 512E, a Plaxton Panorama bodied AEC Reliance new in 1967, standing in the garage at Rochdale ready to work the first run of a brand new timing on the ‘Devonian’ service, an 1130 hrs Fridays only run from Rochdale to Bristol. Picking up at the usual service departure points as far as Altrincham (1255 hrs) it then ran via the M6 to pick-up at Newcastle-under-Lyme (1346 hrs). A 30 minute refreshment and toilet stop was scheduled at Hilton Park Service Area before the first set down point at Worcester (1537 hrs) and then Cheltenham (1613 hrs) where it connected with various 1630 departures of Associated Motorways. Leaving Cheltenham at 1620 it travelled via Gloucester (1639 hrs) arriving in Bristol at 1737 hrs. The following day the coach returned via the same route leaving Bristol at 0930 hrs, Cheltenham at 1100 hrs (with some connections arriving around 1015 hrs) reaching Rochdale at 1532 hrs. The timing wasn’t overly patronised although was useful in providing transport to Bristol for drivers involved in the night service driver changeovers which occurred there in the early hours of Saturday morning. There was a dedicated coach (‘paddy bus’) leaving earlier for Bristol which not only conveyed the drivers employed by Yelloway but also the drivers of coaches from hired operators. Sometimes though drivers got out of bed too late for that and therefore travelled down on the 1130 hrs service.

Friday 25 May 1973 – During the course of the day on Fridays all the vehicles detailed for the night services would see their oil and water checked and their destination blinds set for their assigned services. (Usually Inspector John Howard oversaw this process since Jack Hughes, the resident garage inspector, was down in Cheltenham over summer weekends). In the background WDK 650K (new 1972) has had its blinds set for the night south X35 service as far as Torquay. The X35 was jointly operated by Yelloway and Lancashire United Transport (LUT) operating via the small towns in the LUT heartland including Swinton, Tyldesley, Atherton and Leigh. It came about as a result of what was thought a most audacious licence application LUT made for a Swinton to Cheltenham service to which Yelloway naturally objected! Nearest the camera is HDK 512E (new 1967) poised to work the first run of a new timing on the ‘Devonian’ service. This was an 1130 hrs Rochdale to Bristol service which picked up at the usual departure points as far as Altrincham (1255 hrs) before running down the M6 to pick-up at Newcastle-under-Lyme (1346 hrs). A 30 minute refreshment and toilet stop was scheduled at Hilton Park Service Area before the first set down point at Worcester (1537 hrs) and then Cheltenham (1613 hrs) where it connected with various 1630 departures of Associated Motorways. Leaving Cheltenham at 1620 it travelled via Gloucester (1639 hrs) arriving in Bristol at 1737 hrs. The following day the coach returned via the same route leaving Bristol at 0930 hrs, Cheltenham at 1100 hrs (with some connections arriving around 1015 hrs) reaching Rochdale at 1532 hrs. The new timing wasn’t overly patronised although was useful in providing transport to Bristol for drivers involved in the night service driver changeovers which occurred there in the early hours of Saturday morning. There was a dedicated coach (‘paddy bus’) leaving earlier for Bristol which not only conveyed the drivers employed by Yelloway but also those of the hired companies coaches. Sometimes though drivers got out of bed too late for that and therefore travelled down on the 1130 hrs service. Tucked between them was Harrington Cavalier 7074 DK (new 1964) which in the past would have pounded the roads down to the south west of England but by now operating services closer to home.

Sunday 31 March 1968 - Yelloway entered a coach in the Blackpool Coach Rally most years which was usually driven by Bill Grundy. KDK 800F, a Plaxton Panorama bodied AEC Reliance barely days old, is seen here during its rally participation. Leading up to the rally weekend Bill would painstakingly prepare the coach and on a number of occasions he won both driving prizes and coach presentation prizes in the event. I travelled back to Rochdale with him on the coach at the end of the proceedings on Sunday evening and I recall him being more than a little miffed that he had to take the coach down to the Yelloway Coach Station at Bloomfield Road to duplicate the X79 service back to Rochdale - he was aggrieved that this nice new coach was going to be debased by the general public - but after all it would have had to be sooner or later! But not that soon!!

June 1972 - Yelloway Plaxton Panorama bodied AEC Reliances seen on the forecourt of the old Central Railway Station in Manchester. KDK 800F is the southbound Blackpool-Cambridge service vehicle (service 78) and FDK 418D has worked the Blackburn-Manchester feeder service (service 77). Yelloway used this location as its Manchester coach station for about three years (1970-1973) after the East Street Coach Station of LMS Coachways was closed for redevelopment and prior to the move into Chorlton Street bus and coach station. Along the edge of the site which bordered Lower Mosley Street (alongside KDK 800F) were former World War 2 air raid shelters which were suitably converted to become a booking office, an inspectors office, waiting room and general storage rooms (for signposts etc used during times of peak departures). The former roof span of the the old railway station is now part of the Manchester Central Convention Complex.

June 1972 - Yelloway Plaxton Panorama bodied AEC Reliances seen on the forecourt of the old Central Railway Station in Manchester (now part of the Manchester Central Convention Complex). Right: KDK 800F is the southbound Blackpool-Cambridge service vehicle (service 78) and left is FDK 418D which had worked the Blackburn-Manchester feeder service (service 77). Yelloway used this location as its Manchester coach station for about three years (1970-1973) after the East Street Coach Station of LMS Coachways was closed for redevelopment and prior to the move into Chorlton Street bus and coach station. Along the edge of the site which bordered Lower Mosley Street (alongside KDK 800F) were former World War 2 air raid shelters which were suitably converted to become a booking office, an inspectors office, waiting room and general storage rooms (for signposts etc used during times of peak departures). The Midland Hotel forms a backcloth.

October 1972 - Yelloway KDK 800F seen in central Manchester when working the day north service up to Blackpool from Cambridge. One of the six Plaxton Panorama bodied AEC Reliances added to the fleet in 1968, this particular coach was the entry in the Blackpool coach rally that year. Originally fitted with 45 reclining seats it was upseated to 49 non-recliners earlier than the others to become one of the regular service vehicles on the joint North-west to Cambridge and Clacton-on-Sea operated with Premier Travel.

February 1973 - Yelloway KDK 800F passes Lea Hall in Smith Street, Rochdale outward bound to Blackpool on service X79. One of the six Plaxton Panorama bodied AEC Reliances added to the fleet in 1968, this particular coach was the entry in the Blackpool coach rally that year. Originally fitted with 45 reclining seats it was upseated to 49 non-recliners earlier than the others to become one of the regular service vehicles on the joint North-west to Cambridge and Clacton-on-Sea jointly operated with Premier Travel. Inspector John Howard is standing in the stepwell which narrows it down to being either the 0900 or 1345 service departure which had just left Weir Street Coach Station.

Sunday 20 August 1972 - Yelloway KDK 804F, a Plaxton Panorama bodied AEC Reliance, seen in the evening sunshine during a refreshment break when working as a duplicate to the 1730 London to Rochdale Motorway Express service. London picking up points on this service were Kings Cross (1730) and Golders Green (1750) with no other timing points until Manchester (2155). The service coach then covered Miles Platting (untimed request halt), Hollinwood (2212), Oldham (2219), Shaw (2227), Newhey (2232), Milnrow (2235), Rochdale (Milnrow Road) (untimed request halt) and Rochdale, Weir Street Coach Station (2241). KDK 804F, bought in 1968 and thus one of the last batch of the Plaxton Panorama models, was working as far as Manchester and then running empty to Rochdale. The service coach, which is standing behind, was one of the Plaxton Panorama Elite bodied AEC Reliances acquired from 1969.

Saturday August 19 1972 - The cover of the Yelloway Lancashire-London services timetable extolled ‘Air conditioned reclining seat coach services’ although the definition of ‘air conditioned’ back then wasn’t what we know as air conditioning today. It was basically forced air ventilation. The Yelloway services competed with those of North Western (later to become National Travel and then National Express) which was without doubt the market leader on the routes. There were various reasons for this, the main one being that the Yelloway services used lesser known coach stations in Manchester and London (Kings Cross - where fewer connections to other destinations were available rather than Victoria used by all the big companies). Another was that the North Western services ran all year whereas those of Yelloway only ran in summer and at Christmas. The Yelloway coaches did have more luxurious seating and with such lightly loaded trips it was often quite possible to have a double seat to oneself in most cases on a Yelloway service. This shot, taken at Corley Service Area I seem to recall, shows Yelloway KDK 805F a Plaxton Panorama bodied AEC Reliance’s seen alongside one of North Western’s Alexander ‘Y’ type bodied Leyland Leopards which had recently been painted into the then new National white coach livery. The two vehicles were working almost parallel services. That of Yelloway was the 1600 hrs service from Rochdale (departing from Manchester (Central Station Forecourt) at 1700) and due in Kings Cross at 2125 with that of North Western being the 1715 service from Manchester (Lower Mosley Street) arriving at Victoria at 2145.

July 1972 - Yelloway KDK 805F pulls out of the Weir Street garage and coach station at Rochdale on the 1600 Motorway Express service to London (Kings Cross). The arrival time would be 2125. Bought in 1968 the year the last Plaxton Panorama models entered the fleet, the more square shaped Plaxton Panorama Elite body was launched for the 1969 intake which were also to the longer permitted 12 metre length.