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Keith Richardson has kindly contacted Dundee Museum of Transport to share with us some information and photographs of the former 1961 Angus Area / Tayside Fire Brigade Turntable Ladder.
MTS279 is preserved, under restoration and hopefully will become part of Tayside's transport heritage on display in our Transport Museum.
Dundee Museum of Transport registered with RBS CommunityForce, an initiative which sees them working with local communities to support the people, projects and charities making a real difference where you live.
Voting was open for four weeks from 26 September 2011 and in the Dundee area we received 765 votes making us the regional winner.
Our grant of £6000 will be used for our feasibility study, equipment for a mobile exhibition stand for educational purposes and the production of brochures and stationery to help us actively seek volunteers and raise awareness of the project.
On Saturday 29 October 2011 Stagecoach Strathtay ran a Routemaster bus on the Tayway service to mark the 25th Anniversary of their involvement with this service.
This Routemaster, formerly RM560 with London Transport, has been painted into Alexander Midland livery but never actually operated on the Tayway service.
The Tayway service as such actually started in November 1980 and was run jointly by Tayside Regional Council, Northern Scottish and British Rail. An integrated timetable with standardised fares was produced for the route between Carnoustie, Monifieth, Broughty Ferry and Dundee. So, if you wanted to travel from Monifieth to Dundee the fare would be the same no matter which bus or train operator you chose to travel with. For many years "Corporation" buses generally operated within Dundee and Alexander (Northern) outwith the boundary leaving them unable to pick up passengers when travelling in to the city.
Despite an Ailsa bus being used in the promotional photograph Tayside Region actually operated Daimler Fleetline buses on the Tayway route. New in December 1972 the 26 buses purchased were the first dual-door double deck buses bought by Dundee Corporation and originally operated the 1A/1B route to St. Mary's. They would also become the first buses to operate outwith the city boundary and into Monifieth.
The Tayside Region buses actually did have "Carnoustie" on their destination blinds but never operated there when with Tayside Regional Council. However a vehicle shortage did lead Northern Scottish to hire some Tayside buses and operate them as far as Arbroath.
PYJ461 (number 161) is photographed in Dundee High Street with full Tayway branding and may be the only surviving "original" Tayway bus. It is now in the care of Taybus Vintage Vehicle Society but requires a huge amount of work and TLC to get it back on the road. Stripped of its seats and with some of the bodywork already cut in a local scrapyard this bus very nearly didn't make it into possible preservation.
The shared Tayway service continued until bus deregulation in 1986 when Strathtay Scottish (established in 1985) took over sole control the route.
Later Stagecoach did try to operate a rival Tayway service in competition with Strathtay. Apparently the buses were supposed to be branded "Tay Tigers" to echo their successful "Perth Panthers" service until it was pointed out there was an Ice Hockey team in the city of the same name. However the travelling public remained loyal to Strathtay and Stagecoach withdrew from the route after a short time - only to return many years later having taken over the Strathtay company.
Can you help?
We are looking for the following items in relation to PYJ461L, its history and the Tayway service. Please get in touch if you can help.
- an original copy of the Tayway publicity photograph with coach, bus and train;
- a copy of the stylised coach, bus and train graphic as used on the large side advert on the bus;
- any colour photographs of PYJ461L in service and especially in the green Corporation livery.
Voting on the RBS CommunityForce website (external link) is now open until 23 October 2011. Please tell as many people as you can and make sure they place their vote for us!
If we receive enough support the Museum could receive a grant of £6000 so every vote counts.
Dundee Museum of Transport has registered with RBS CommunityForce. This is an initiative which sees them working with local communities to support the people, projects and charities making a real difference where you live.
If we receive enough support the Museum could receive a grant of £6000. Part of the grant would go towards our feasibility study which relates directly to the regeneration and re-use of the former Maryfield tram depot. It would also help contribute towards equipment for a mobile exhibition stand for educational purposes within the community. In addition the grant would help with the production of brochures and stationery to assist Dundee Museum of Transport to actively seek volunteers and raise awareness of the project.
Voting starts on Monday 26 September 2011 so please tell as many people as you can and make sure they place their vote for us!
Online news and entertainment TV station The Dundee Channel (external link) interviewed Dundee Museum of Transport chairman Jimmy McDonell at the Baxter Park Gala Day on 7 August 2010.
We are grateful to the Channel for providing us with a copy of this interview for our website and YouTube channel (external link).
Two new slideshow videos have now been added to the Gallery section of the website. They can be accessed by clicking here or selecting 'Videos' from the 'Gallery' menu.
The first video shows a compilation of a number of photographs and other items that were collected for our successful exhibition held in Dundee's Central Library in October/ November 2010. The first part of the slideshow is mainly dedicated to Ambulances but a number of other vehicles are also featured. Later on there are some railway photographs, views of Old Dundee and very sad views of the destruction of Dundee's trams.
The second video slideshow shows all one hundred photographs that were gathered together to chart the development of Dundee's Buses though the 20th Century - from Scotland's first trolley bus service in 1912 through to the takeover by National Express in 1997.
On Saturday 14 May 2011 a reader's family photograph of Leyland Lion TS6993 (number 13) was published in The Courier. Here's a bit more about the buses and a photograph of all 20 of them.
In 1928 "Dundee Corporation Tramways" became "Dundee Corporation Transport" in recognition of a growing bus fleet. Twenty Leyland PLSC1 Lions entered service between 1 January 1927 and 8 August 1928 with an additional eight Lion LT1s in 1929/30. Often seen from the other end, pictured at the start of the 1930s are the twenty Lions, their drivers and conductors behind the Caird Hall in an area that would soon become long-associated with Dundee’s buses. COURTESY: TAYBUS VINTAGE VEHICLE SOCIETY (TVVS) PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION. Click here to view the Taybus website.
As reported on the excellent SkylineAviation Dundee Corporation pages, the order of the buses from left is numbers 1 (TS6249), 2 (TS6250), 8 (TS6915), 4 (TS6252), 5 (TS6253), 6 (TS6254), 7 (TS6255), 9 (TS6916), 10 (TS6917), 11 (TS6991), 12 (TS6992), 13 (TS6993), 14 (TS6994), 15 (TS7522), 16 (TS7523), 17 (TS7524), 18 (TS7525), 19 (TS7526), 20 (TS7527) and 3 (TS6251).
Continuing our theme of Dundee Buses in the 20th Century here's another two great photographs showing the first trolley bus in 1912 and the last double decker bus Tayside bought in 1989.
Dundee was the first Scottish city, and one of the first in Britain, to operate a trolley bus service. It ran from 5 September 1912 until 13 May 1914, although at that time they were actually known as "railless trolley cars". Two trolley buses, numbered 67 and 68, operated the short 1.25 mile experimental route between Strathmartine Road and Forfar Road. Instead of being guided by rails they had solid wheels which allowed them greater freedom of movement as long as they didn’t stray too far from the pair of overhead power lines. The trolley buses were nicknamed "The Stouries" because of all the dust from their solid wheels on the generally poor road surface in dry weather. The experimental service only lasted for 20 months due to a combination of low demand and damage to the road surface. Trolley buses 67 and 68 saw further service in Halifax after the war. Pictured is a front view of trolley bus, or car, number 67 at the east end of Clepington Road with its driver and conductor looking on. COURTESY OF THE EVENING TELEGRAPH, DUNDEE (ORDER REFERENCE DMOT19). COPIES CAN BE PURCHASED AT ALBERT SQUARE, DUNDEE, ANY BRANCH OFFICE OR BY TELEPHONING 01382 575 002. ANOTHER VIEW OF THIS TROLLEYBUS IS ALSO AVAILABLE (ORDER REFERENCE DMOT20).
Pictured in Panmure Street, near Dundee High School, in 1996 is Alexander bodied Volvo Citybus fleet number 105 G105PES, the final bus of fifteen that entered service in November 1989. Although Tayside bought more single deckers this was numerically their final double deck bus. This is also the final Tayside Buses livery and fleet name style with a greyhound leaping between the two words. COURTESY: TAYBUS VINTAGE VEHICLE SOCIETY (TVVS) PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION. Click here to view the Taybus website
To help illustrate recent bus reminiscences in The Courier, here's a photograph of a Thorneycroft Daring double-deck bus.
These photographs formed part of our very successful exhibition that took place in October/November 2010. Once we are able to secure suitable premises we hope all 100 images will be back on display.
Five Thornycroft Daring DD buses, bodied by Metro-Cammell, were added to Dundee’s existing fleet of fourteen Leyland Titan double-deck buses in 1932. Numbered 49-53 these 48 seat buses remained in service in the city until 1947. Pictured on the far left at Dundee’s Lochee Road/Bell Street Central Garage and Depot is Thornycroft bus number 53 TS9869 along with a collection of other buses and a classic car. COURTESY: GEORGE BETT COLLECTION.
To help illustrate recent bus reminiscences in The Courier, here's a pictures of Dundee's last Thorneycroft bus purchased - the Cygnet.
These photographs formed part of our very successful exhibition that took place in October/November 2010. Once we are able to secure suitable premises we hope all 100 images will be back on display.
The first four single-deck buses bought by Dundee in 1921 were Thornycroft Js. Having tried both Leyland and Daimler buses one more Thornycroft single-deck bus was bought for the fleet in 1933, this time the Cygnet. With dual-purpose seating for 29, and bodied by Pickering, number 65 TS9864 could also be used as a coach and had a sliding roof. It was renumbered 8 in 1936 and finished its service days in West Hartlepool. COURTESY: GEORGE BETT COLLECTION.
To help illustrate recent bus reminiscences in The Courier, here's a couple of pictures of Dundee's AEC Q buses, bodied by Weymann.
These photographs formed part of our very successful exhibition that took place in October/November 2010. Once we are able to secure suitable premises we hope all 100 images will be back on display.
In August 1935 this AEC Q, bodied by Weymann, was demonstrated in Dundee and subsequently purchased by them in September 1935. Number 1 YJ2803 is pictured in the City Square when new and it is certainly attracting quite a lot of attention. This bus had 38 seats and a sliding door whereas numbers 2 YJ2800 and 3 YJ2801, bought in September 1936, only had 37 seats and an open entrance/exit. COURTESY OF THE EVENING TELEGRAPH, DUNDEE (ORDER REFERENCE DMOT12). COPIES CAN BE PURCHASED AT ALBERT SQUARE, DUNDEE, ANY BRANCH OFFICE OR BY TELEPHONING 01382 575 002.
Following the purchase of AEC Q number 1 YJ2803 in September 1935, AEC Q numbers 2 YJ2800 and 3 YJ2801 arrived in September 1936. The engine is mounted sideways behind the driver/front axle and its position is indicated by the long bench seat. Also visible in this rare interior view of number 2 is the open door configuration it shared with number 3 rather than the sliding door which featured on bus number 1. COURTESY: GEORGE BETT COLLECTION.
Dundee Museum of Transport is delighted to have received a five-figure sum from the Dundee Historic Environment Trust supported by Historic Scotland to fund a full feasibility study of the former Tram Depot in Forfar Road, Dundee. This money is in addition to that already received from Destination Dundee for the same purpose.
James F. Stephen Architects will now carry out the full study on behalf of the Museum and we hopefully move ever closer to acquiring the premises and already some further concern have been raised about its deteriorating condition.
Dundee Museum of Transport (DMofT) has been very fortunate to secure temporary premises in the West End of the City. This will give us much needed space as we continue to work towards acquiring the former Tram Depot in Forfar Road, Maryfield.
The owner of the premises, which was formerly used as a laundry, has generously offered us the premises without charge and this will allow DMofT to create an office and storage area.
We urgently need volunteers to help us clear the site on the corner of Roseangle and Greenfield Place and prepare it for the Museum to move in, hopefully before the WestFest in June 2011. To get in touch and volunteer your services please visit our contact page.
I have now had a letter of confirmation that DMofTs application for membership has now been been approved by the Board of Museums Galleries Scotland.
This is a huge step forward for us in terms of being recognised as a committed and serious group based in Dundee who are determined that this area should have a Transport Museum that will be worthy of our city and is well presented and admired by all who visit it.
I have been called by an old pal of mine Keith who runs the Armstrong Siddeley club in Scotland.
What he is proposing is that on Sunday May 15Th May his club will bring 8 / 10 cars through to Dundee and we, using all our contacts and groups get as many cars and unusual vehicles together and we all meet at Discovery point( I have spoken to them and they support this idea)
We get as much publicity going for the event then we offer the public a chance to have a drive in a vintage / unusual vehicle for a donation... Say from Discovery point to the cafe and back.
All the money goes to Help for Hero's. I think Keith has spoken to the Army Cadets through here but I don't know as yet their involvement.What do we think.... Would be a good exercise for us and would be helping a great charity.
If we can do it as well as Lochee High St that would be cool.
