David Slater (Spoddendale)'s photos

Summer 1972 - Yelloway KDK 805F (first registered on 1 May 1968) runs through the washing machine at the Rochdale coach station and garage after working the 0900 motorway express service from London (Kings Cross), due in Rochdale at 1411. At 1600 it would be ready to work the southbound run back to the capital. The company's Lancashire to London services ran between Easter and 31 October each year together with a ten day period over Christmas which included the 'flyer' services (as they were referred to by the employees). The 0700 (later to become 0730) service southbound and 1730 northbound ran daily and were more cost effective than the operation shown here which had been daily at their inception but were subsequently reduced to become Friday, Saturday and Sunday southbound returning northbound on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Saturday 19 September 1970 - During the 1960s Yelloway supplemented their group fleets with lightweight coaches of Ford (1961) or Bedford (1962-1969) manufacture which were only kept for 1 or 2 years. The final year of this practice saw MDK 994G added to the Yelloway fleet which was a Bedford VAM with Plaxton Panorama Elite bodywork (another similar coach, MDK 995G, worked for North Manchester). This was the first year of the Plaxton Panorama Elite model, a model which had less depth between the window line and the side moulding. Consequently the Yelloway fleetname would not fit and had to be positioned on the lower panels. A more squat fleetname was created so that future deliveries could carry the fleetname higher up on the body sides. MDK 994G sets out from Weir Street as a duplicate on the North Wales service and was showing ‘Colwyn Bay’ on the destination blind. Visible behind is a Hebble coach which had worked through from Halifax to Rochdale on Hebble’s own service carrying through passengers for North Wales. The coach had now become ‘On hire to Yelloway’ for the journey to Llandudno. (1970 was the first season that the North Wales service was licenced to Yelloway. It had until this time been licenced to The Creams (Lancashire) Limited). Vincent Reeves, my mentor in the Chart Room, is standing by the front of the parked Harrington Cavalier coaches watching the coaches pull out. He supervised the coach departures from Weir Street on Summer Saturday mornings although his main ‘day job’ was charting the bookings for the very popular North Wales and Blackpool services.

Summer 1969 - In readiness for operation on the overnight service from Rochdale to Paignton, one of the Yelloway mechanics (Ernie Nichol) was returning NDK 164G to the front row of the garage after a workshop check on this summer Friday afternoon. The coach was one of the newest in the fleet and it was normal practice that the newest coaches in the fleet were always assigned as the service vehicle on the ‘Devonian’ service. I was stood against the river wall in what was Weir Street itself . (Pity I didn't clean up the litter before I took the photograph!)

Monday 5 March 1973 - Yelloway NDK 165G, one of the 1969 intake of six Plaxton Panorama Elite bodied AEC Reliances (NDK 165-169G), this was the first year of this model and also the first year of 12 metre long coaches. It was stood on the fuel pumps at Weir Street, Rochdale in the company of Premier Travel Alexander ‘Y’ type bodied AEC Reliance LJE 991G which had unfortunately suffered a mechanical problem and stayed in Rochdale for a little longer than it would normally have.

April 1972 – 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 NDK 166G (with Plaxton Panorama Elite body) stood alongside two visiting Premier Travel coaches. NMU 7 with Harrington Cavalier body is on the left and OVE 232J with Alexander ‘Y’ type body is in the centre. The picture was taken on the parking area between Weir Street and Penn Street (later renamed Ink Street when Penn Street was severed with the building of Rochdale’s new bus station - most original but ‘Penn’ was double ‘n’!). Having two Premier Travel coaches parked at Weir Street like this leads me to believe it would have been very close to the Easter weekend when service duplication took place more than usual. NDK 166G sports ‘South West Clipper’ and ‘Bradford’ on the destination blinds. Yelloway was a joint operator on the Yorkshire-West Country services.

January 1972 – Yelloway standardised on the AEC Reliance for its heavyweight chassis purchases from 1955. This line up includes its front line machines bought between 1969 and 1972. From right to left can be seen NDK 166G, NDK 165G, PDK 460H, NDK 164G, then two of the PDK-H series, one of the TDK-J series and two more of the NDK-G series. At the far end an earlier Harrington Cavalier bodied example can be seen. This splendid line up was set up for a photographer working for the ‘AEC Gazette’, the house magazine of AEC. The Cavalier wasn’t part of the official line up and was moved there after the photographer had got the more modern line up.

January 1972 – Yelloway standardised on the AEC Reliance for its heavyweight chassis purchases from 1955. This line up includes its front line machines bought between 1969 and 1972. From right to left can be seen NDK 166G, NDK 165G, PDK 460H, NDK 164G, then two of the PDK-H series, one of the TDK-J series and two more of the NDK-G series. At the far end an earlier Harrington Cavalier bodied example can be seen. This splendid line up was set up for a photographer working for the ‘AEC Gazette’, the house magazine of AEC.

January 1972 – Yelloway standardised on the AEC Reliance for its heavyweight chassis purchases from 1955. This line up includes its front line machines bought between 1969 and 1972. From right to left can be seen NDK 166G, NDK 165G, PDK 460H, NDK 164G, then two of the PDK-H series, one of the TDK-J series and two more of the NDK-G series. At the far end an earlier Harrington Cavalier bodied example can be seen. This splendid line up was set up for a photographer working for the ‘AEC Gazette’, the house magazine of AEC. After the photographs had been taken it was business as usual and one of the older coaches, a Harrington Cavalier which hadn't been part of the official line up, got in this photograph of the more modern line up.

Tuesday 9 May 1972 - Yelloway Plaxton bodied AEC Reliances seen on the forecourt of the old Central Railway Station in Manchester during the transfer of passengers on the London service. Right is NDK 169G, a 1969 Panorama Elite model, which was London bound today. Left is FDK 419D, a 1966 Panorama model, which had operated the feeder service from Haslingden, Rochdale and Oldham. 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 NDK 169G) 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 the backcloth. The old railway station itself (left but off camera) became the Manchester Central Convention Complex.

Tuesday 9 May 1972 - Yelloway Plaxton bodied AEC Reliances seen on the forecourt of the old Central Railway Station in Manchester during the transfer of passengers on the London service. Left is NDK 169G, a 1969 Panorama Elite model, which was London bound today. Right is FDK 419D, a 1966 Panorama model, which had operated the feeder service from Haslingden, Rochdale and Oldham. 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 NDK 169G) 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 old railway station itself became the Manchester Central Convention Complex.

February 1973 - This absolutely appalling picture is the only one I seem to have which shows where the Yelloway fleetname was applied on the first examples of the Plaxton Panorama Elite bodywork which came into the fleet in 1969. (Registration numbers NDK-G series). It was as a result of there being less depth available between the lower window line and the horizontal chrome strip. It was this situation which prompted the fleetname depth to be changed to a more squat style so it would fit the available depth on this body style. This coach was turning into Milton Street from Smith Street on its way towards the garage.

Saturday 19 September 1970 - Yelloway ODK 993H was a one off purchase in 1970 additional to the usual six vehicle annual intake. Like the main six this year (PDK 458-462H) it was also an AEC Reliance with Plaxton Panorama Elite bodywork but was delivered with standard seating rather than recliners for use on the likes of the Cambridge/Clacton-on-Sea or North Wales services etc. It was always noticeable because of having a red steering wheel and marked the new policy of ceasing to buy lightweight Bedford coaches for the fleet after the 1969 purchases. It leads a convoy of coaches out of Weir Street and was the service coach bound for Llandudno on the North Wales coast. (1970 was the first season that the North Wales service was licenced to Yelloway. It had until this time been licenced to The Creams (Lancashire) Limited).

August 1973 - ODK 993H was a one off purchase by Yelloway in 1970 and additional to the usual six vehicle annual intake. Like the main six this year (PDK 458-462H) it was also an AEC Reliance with Plaxton Panorama Elite bodywork but was delivered with standard seating rather than recliners for use on the likes of the Cambridge/Clacton-on-Sea or North Wales services etc. It was seen here at the top end of the garage/coach station at Rochdale loading on the day south Cambridge/Clacton service. The sliding doors of the lower workshop can be seen. This older workshop was built in the days of shorter coaches. Some of the longer coaches (the 36 foot/12 metre long models I think) were a very tight fit leaving just a couple or so feet in front of the coach facing the workbenches, the sliding exterior doors were only inches from the rear end of the coach when closed to keep out the cold winds that blew straight up the garage in winter!

February 1974 - ODK 993H was a one off purchase by Yelloway in 1970 additional to the usual six vehicle annual intake. Like the main six this year (PDK 458-462H) it was also an AEC Reliance with Plaxton Panorama Elite bodywork but was delivered with standard seating rather than recliners for use on the likes of the Cambridge/Clacton-on-Sea or North Wales services etc. It was always noticeable because of having a red steering wheel and marked the new policy of ceasing to buy lightweight Bedford coaches for the fleet after the 1969 purchases.

October 1973 – PDK 458H, working a Rochdale-London motorway express service, stands at Corley Service Area near Coventry in the company of one of the Standerwick Eastern Coachworks bodied Bristol VRL double deck coaches also London bound (OCK 64K?).

A Saturday morning in August 1973 sees Yelloway PDK 463H, an AEC Reliance with Plaxton Panorama Elite bodywork new in 1970, pulling out of Chorlton Street coach station, Manchester when working the joint Yelloway/Associated Motorways direct service to Minehead and Ilfracombe, North Devon. After vacating Central Station Forecourt in Manchester, Yelloway moved to Chorlton Street and was assigned the end bay at the Sackville Street edge of the building. Departing coaches pulled out into Bloom Street as seen here.

Saturday x August 1973 - Two Plaxton Panorama Elite bodied coaches in the Yelloway bay at Chorlton Street coach station Manchester. On the left is Yelloway PDK 463H, an AEC Reliance, the ‘service motor’ on the joint Yelloway/Associated Motorways Rochdale to Ilfracombe direct service. On the right is Wallace Arnold (Devon) Limited WUM 520L, a Leyland Leopard, which was loading as a duplicate to the Yelloway 0830 Rochdale-Paignton motorway express service. This express left Rochdale one hour later than the normal daily service picking up as far as Altrincham then running non-stop (except for refreshment/toilet stops) to Exeter, Newton Abbot, Torquay and Paignton. On paper leaving Rochdale one hour later, it arrived in Devon 15 minutes earlier.

Summer 1966 (I think) – A line up of three Plaxton bodied coaches of Wallace Arnold Tours (Devon) Limited parked on a summer Saturday together with a Weymann bodied AEC Regent V of Rochdale Corporation Transport. The coaches had worked on the Yelloway Friday night northbound service from Torquay and would return on the Saturday night southbound service. The road along the front of the picture is Smith Street and Penn Street is alongside the RCT bus. This parking ground became part of the then new bus station in the 1970s which has itself been demolished and redeveloped.