On The Buses

On The Buses

There's an element of nostalgia about buses. I haven't travelled on them since I was a teenager, usually finding my way from Irlams o' th' Height to Manchester City Centre. That cost 10d, and what fury there was in the commuters when the price went up to 1/- (10 old pence increased 12 old pence, or one shilling). The buses were Salford city Transport, all smart green with yellow stripes. If I went beyond Manchester, perhaps out to Longsight where I worked for a while, then a change of bus to the smelly, polluting Manchester ones was required. I have no idea why Salford's buses were so clean and smart by comparison, but when they were all merged into one service all those smart buses disappeared and were seen all over Manchester. Salford got the old smelly, polluting ones.

Meanwhile, if I went to Worsley or Swinton to catch up with my cousins, it was the gorgeous red Lancashire United Transport. These were super clean and had a gentle whirring sound as they gathered speed. LUT had a great service, but there were few buses going in my direction so much of the time I would actually walk. It takes 37 minutes to walk from Irlams o' th' Height to Moorside Road in Swinton.

So what has this got to do with photography? We can enjoy photography and the nostalgia of old buses at Manchester Bus Museum, or similar museums up and down the country. I have for you now a selection of images from the Manchester Bus Museum, exploring the interior of some of those fine old Salford City Transport vehicles. Just touch the memories....





























Soon I'll even find you some pictures of the buses themselves, but in this batch I was taken by the construction details - the crude riveting on inside of the panels, the feel and smell of the leather seats, the polished poles to hang onto, the spiral stairs, the mirrors on the stairs. It's weird though, because I may love the nostalgia of buses, but I really hate travelling by bus.....