Museum of Transport Greater Manchester
I enjoyed my visit to the Museum of Transport Greater Manchester in March 2025. There was a fabulous collection of vintage buses and all the staff were very friendly.
Location
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A selecton of the buses on display
Over one hundred vintage buses on display.
Restoration work in progress.
The ‘might-have-been’ Manchester Routemaster
This text was taken directly from the fact sheet in front of the bus, but due to all the myriad reflections in the garage that sunny day, I could not edit the fact sheet photograph to a readable form.
From time to time, bus operators have always tried out new types either loaned from elsewhere or using demonstrators provided by a manufacturer looking for sales. The London Routemaster was developed specifically for London but a batch was sold to Northern General of County Durham where they were successful. Manchester Corporation decided to try the Routemaster out and borrow RM1414 for two weeks in February 1963, working with Parrs Wood Garage in Didsbury. None were bought by Manchester, but when RM1414 was taken out of service in September 1982, it was presented to the Museum in the November as an interesting ‘might-have-been’.
Manchester’s ‘might-have-been’ Routemaster
The reason why Manchester rejected the Routemaster
Specifications of Routemaster RM1414
- Fleet Number: RM1414
- Registration: 414 CLT
- Chassis: AEC Routemaster 2R2RH
- Bodywork: Park Royal Vehicles, H36/28R configuration
- Length: 27.5 ft (8.38 m)
- Width: 8 ft (2.44 m)
- Height: 14 ft 4.5 in (4.38 m)
- Seating Capacity: 64 (36 upper deck, 28 lower deck)([Flickr][2], [Wikipedia][3])
- Engine: Originally equipped with an AEC AV590 9.6-litre diesel engine. Some Routemasters were later re-engined with Leyland O.600 or O.680 engines during overhauls.
- Transmissio: AEC four-speed semi-automatic gearbox
- Brakes: Air-operated hydraulic braking system
- Suspension: Independent front suspension with leaf springs at the rear
- Construction: Integral design with an aluminium body mounted on a steel sub-frame([Flickr][4], [Flickr][2], [Wikipedia][3])
- 1963: RM1414 was loaned to Manchester Corporation for a two-week trial on routes 41, 42, and 43.
- 1975 & 1979: Underwent overhauls at Aldenham Works, during which its bodywork was replaced.
- 1982: Withdrawn from service in London.
- 1983: Donated to the Museum of Transport, Greater Manchester.
Sources
- Wikipedia: AEC Routemaster
- Flickr: photos/ingythewingy/54498507391
- classicbuses.co.uk/%2B%2BRoutemaster-1.html
Conductors Uniforms
Manchester Transport History
Operation Pied Piper
Like most towns and cities in the line of fire from the German bombers during World War II, the citizens had the heartbreak of seeing their children taken away by strangers for their own safety. Their parents did not know if they would see them again, if ever. The very real threat of German bombs finding their targets, or a rogue bomb being dropped at the end of the bombing run, could quickly make the children orphans and they would only find out much later.
Manchester played its part in organising the children, grouping them all together and making sure they left the city in safety. The same evacuation process was being carried out in vulnerable towns and cities across the UK.
Liveries and Coats of Arms
Various districts had their own liveries.
Greater Manchester various districts coats-of-arms.
TikTok Slideshow: Greater Manchester Transport Museum
Manchester Museum TikTok slideshow
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