Independent transport videos welcome you to this, our 15th edition DVD programme featuring the Merseyside Transport Trust's (MTT) annual September Buses Running Day. Again we return to the city of Liverpool after the successful event there in 2023. The city centre bus stops for the event were located in James Street adjacent to the Monument of Queen Victoria. Other departure and arrival points used are the familiar Penny Lane (Smithdown Place), Aigburth Vale and this year, Walton. Also new for 2024 was the use of the Riverside Coach Park situated on Riverside Drive, close to the former site of the International Garden Festival held in 1984. Here some of the visiting buses were displayed including some preserved former Ribble buses once so familiar in Liverpool.
As usual our cameras were on hand to record the day’s events for you to enjoy, this time including the contemporary buses of Stagecoach and Arriva to add further interest to compare and see how bus design has changed over the years. In James Street we capture the action of the modern buses and the preserved MTT and guest vehicles as they take up their services before we take a ride on A267 (VKB 900), a former Liverpool Corporation AEC Regent V with MCW bodywork built in 1957 in use on route 1A to Riverside Drive. Here we change to 165 (F456 BKF), a 1989 Leyland Olympian with a Northern Counties body in the smart yellow and blue livery of Fareway of Liverpool. We travel on route 1 back to James Street and change to L227 (SKB 224), the 1956 Leyland Titan PD2/20 with bodywork built by Crossley and Liverpool Corporation. On this bus we travel on route 3 to Aigburth Vale and then onto Penny Lane. Unlike previous years, the weather this time was continuous heavy rain for the entire day that did make filming quite a challenge! We film the action at this ‘famous’ interchange before boarding 651 (AAP 651T), a Bristol VRT/SL3/6LXB with ECW bodywork in the livery of Southdown/Brighton & Hove. This bus, a long way from its original home territory had operated with the Oxford Bus Company, Fishwicks of Leyland and latterly with Alpine Travel of Llandudno. We travel on it to James Street on route 71. At James Street we change to 900 (B900 WRN), the unique Leyland Tiger with Duple Dominant bodywork operating in its former operator’s Ribble livery. We travel on route 1 to Riverside Drive via the Albert Dock. We return on Merseyside PTE-liveried Leyland National 2, 6036 (UEM 36V) on route 100 to James Street.
Our final ride on this very wet day is on board Leyland Atlantean/Alexander 1236 (BKC 236K) for a journey on route 3 to Carisbrooke Road at Walton and back to James Street to film the final departures thus ending an enjoyable, if wet, day reliving the memories of buses in Liverpool. We complete our programme with a short photo gallery of the day and some archive cine film of an event held at Merseyside PTE’s huge depot at Edge Lane in Liverpool.
Produced by - Independent Transport Videos
Duration - 55 minutes
Region - 0 (worldwide) PAL
Aspect Ratio - 16:9 Widescreen
DVD only
Released - October 2024
