Author Topic: who remembers crosville buses  (Read 3133 times)

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Offline gaztrucker

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who remembers crosville buses
« on: September 09, 2018, 04:42:06 pm »
as a kid in the 1970s i well recall going to school on the crozzy buses bristol re's seddon pennines and the leyland nationals am i right in thinking there was a pay system where you threw your money into a kind of box thing next to the driver? so no ticket!! coming back to rhos from dingle hill there must have been 70 plus kids on those buses seem to remember the leyland nationals used to lean alarmingly on bends like five ways roundabout they had a good engine sound though!! leyland 510 fixed head turbo diesel not the most reliable but went well

Offline Cambrian

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Re: who remembers crosville buses
« Reply #1 on: September 09, 2018, 06:25:47 pm »
Yes, the "fare box" system was used on some "One man operated" bus services in the early 1970s. No ticket was issued which caused revenue protection issues and so the system was not a success being discontinued after a few years.


Offline SDQ

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Re: who remembers crosville buses
« Reply #2 on: September 10, 2018, 05:35:07 pm »
Most of the Leyland engines were replaced by the more reliable Gardner engines which were lower revving and more fuel efficient. I think the fare boxes were called Johnson Boxes.
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Offline squigglev2

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Re: who remembers crosville buses
« Reply #3 on: September 11, 2018, 07:13:01 pm »
I was in Pydew till about 73/74 and back in 78.  I don’t remember this pay sytem but I’d have been on a school bus pass first time round.  I don’t remember them running Bristol REs up there but I mostly have vague memories of older buses on the route (though I think I have seen Nationals on the route 78 or a bit later). One I remember seemed a bit odd in that it had a sliding door which opened by rotary switches rather than a folding door and the cab occupied all the front with passengers getting on/off behind the driver.

I believe the plates on the buses told you something, eg. I think an EPG would have had express coachwork, Pennine body and a Gardener engine but I can’t get beyond that.

Offline SDQ

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Re: who remembers crosville buses
« Reply #4 on: September 12, 2018, 09:36:36 am »
I believe the plates on the buses told you something, eg. I think an EPG would have had express coachwork, Pennine body and a Gardener engine but I can’t get beyond that.


The first letter signified the type of vehicle, usually an S or D (Single or Double decker) except in the example you have given where an E is used for express coachwork regardless of class.
The second letter denoted the model type. N for Leyland National, V for Bristol VR , O for Leyland Olympian etc...
The third was which type of engine it had fitted. L for Leyland, C for Cummins, G for Gardner etc...
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Offline gaztrucker

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Re: who remembers crosville buses
« Reply #5 on: September 14, 2018, 06:46:42 pm »
hi squigglev the pydew bus you remember was a bristol sc4lk a family friend clive myers owns one and we run it occasionally if we have an event on in glanwydden the bus is lovingly restored and kept with clive,s other ex crosville buses at ty celyn farm in the village

Offline squigglev2

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Re: who remembers crosville buses
« Reply #6 on: September 14, 2018, 06:57:23 pm »
Thanks for the info, Gaz. I'll try to look it up later.

Btw, thinking people and places, is it still Will at Tyn Celyn?

Offline gaztrucker

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Re: who remembers crosville buses
« Reply #7 on: September 16, 2018, 03:20:00 pm »
hi Squig Ty celyn is where the buses etc are stored i dont actually know Will, Mostyn estates own the land and the sheds

Offline trefor

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Re: who remembers crosville buses
« Reply #8 on: July 07, 2020, 03:45:39 pm »
Does anyone have any photos of the old Crosville garage in Llandudno Junction, showing the shops at the front of the building? There are lots of photos showing the garage in decay and the final months before it was demolished, but I would like to find out more about the shops.
Also does anyone know when the garage was built (sometime in the 1930's?) and what was there before. The maps from1899 show either houses or shops there, and the omnibus depot appears in a 1937 map. Thank you.

Offline Meleri

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Re: who remembers crosville buses
« Reply #9 on: July 07, 2020, 05:17:50 pm »
Crosville bought the Llandudno Junction Depot from Royal Blue Buses in 1931 by the Traffic manager M J Hargreaves. I can remember a few of the shops that were attached to the depot in the 1960's, there was a cafe & betting shop.

Offline Cambrian

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Re: who remembers crosville buses
« Reply #10 on: July 07, 2020, 08:33:25 pm »
Interesting Meleri.  In 1939 there were three shops, greengrocers, tobacconists and a confectioners.  Also four flats above.  With the old Maelgwyn Hotel, there was quite a busy little community there.  I used to spend hours watching the signalman in the Crossings Box - had his work cut out on a Summer Saturday with trains passing every five minutes or so.

Imperial Buildings itself seems to have been built in the period between 1925 and 1929.  It was originally built by the Llandudno Coaching and Carriage Co. Ltd which traded as "Royal Blue Motor Services" and "North Wales Silver Motors".  The Silvers had started as a separate entity and operated from the garage on Mostyn Broadway.  The HQ of Royal Blue was originally 6 Clonmel Street which continued as an office under Crosville.

Offline trefor

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Re: who remembers crosville buses
« Reply #11 on: July 13, 2020, 05:33:44 pm »
Thank you for the replies to my request for historical information on the Imperial Buildings in Llandudno Junction, the site of the Crosville garage. I have found an interesting link to two letters suggesting that the previous occupier was "Electricity Distribution of North Wales and District Limited". The letters were sent to a customer in Pwllheli, from the electricity company whose address was "Imperial Buildings, Llandudno Junction, N.Wales". The letters were dated 24th & 27th July 1926.  I will keep on digging...!