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ACCOMMODATING A FLEET OF 200 BUSES.

16th October 1928
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Page 12, 16th October 1928 — ACCOMMODATING A FLEET OF 200 BUSES.
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Lord Derby Opens New L.U.T. Garages and Repair Shops. Some Details of the Company's Fleet and Services.

BY the end of March, 1929, the Lancashire United Transport and PoWer Co., Ltd., will have over 200 motorbuses and motor coaches in service. The fleet on the motorbus side consists of 150 vehicles and, as its development has been rapid and continues to be so, the company has had to make considerable additions to its garage and repair shop equipment at Atherton. Atherton, the concern's headquarters, is situated in tip heart of the LU.T. system, the outposts being St. Helens in the west, Manchester in the east, Wigan and Bolton in the north and Warrington in the south. This is a well-developed industrial area, within which the L.U.T. has, to our personal

knowledge, pursued an active and intensive policy of co-ordination with neighbouring transport undertakings.

The company's motorbuses comprise Leyland, Dennis, A.E.O. and Bristol chassis,. and 40 machines are now on order for delivery during February and March, 1929. LJT.T, buses connect at Warrington with the Crosville motor services for Widnes, Runcorn, Chester and North.Wales, and with those of the North-Western Road Car td. for Stretton, Great Budworth, Co.,!Wincharn, Norwich, etc. • at St. Helens a link is made with The local corporation's tramWay system, which provides a route to Prescot, Knotty Ash and Liverpool: The buses which travel to Wigan meet the Wigan Corporation trains and en-• able passengers to join the vehicles of Ribble Motor Services ' Ltd., for Chorley, Preston, Ormskirt and Southport.

.Eccles is another important junction where passengers may transfer to the buses of she North-Western Road Car Co., Ltd., for Urmston, Stretford and Longford Park. Nearly all the services of the L.U.T. network terminate at

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points which enable passengers to continue their journeys by motorbus or tramcar, if they so desire, the only exception being the joint bug-service which takes passengers right through to Manchester, From this outline it will be seen that the area which is the special preserve, as it were, of the Lancashire United Transport and Power Co., Ltd., is one which has been assiduously developed. Since there have existed arrangements for papengers to make through journeys between the main centres of population there has been a marked growth in the

number of passengers carried. The Company is interested in 15 routes operated as joint undertakings with municipal authorities or private concerns.

The Lancashire United Transport and Power Co., Ltd., is one of the very few concerns which operate electric trams as well as motorbuses and motor coaches, but it is noteworthy that since the motorbus has come to the fore it has borne the full burden of this company's development work. The original tramways concern was formed in August, 1900, and the first sections, consisting of 18 miles of route, were opened in the years 1902 and 1903.Further sections consisting of 20 miles were opened between 1903 and 1906, giving a total of 38 route miles. When the system was officially opened, a little over 25 years ago, through cars were operated from Liverpool to the Town Hall, Bolton. The existing tramway service connects up Leigh, Atherton, Tyldesley, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Hind. icy, Worsley, Swinton and Farnworth and forms part of a through tramway route between Liverpool and Manchester and Liverpool and Bolton, passine through St. Helens, Wigan and Salford.

Lord Stanley, who performed the opening ceremony for the tramway undertaking, is now the Right Hon. Earl of Derby, who, on Thursday, October 11th, visited Atherton to perform the opening ceremony of the new garage and workshops at Atherton and afterwards presided at a luncheon at the Midland Hotel, Manchester, to celebrate the completion of an important stage of development. Although the company has operated buses since 1914, it was not until 1919 that it was able seriously to take in hand the provision of really adequate services for the district. The concern then started with 35 vehicles and, in the interval of nine years which has elapsed since then, the total fleet strength has increased sixfold.

As an instance of its success in meeting the needs of the travelling public, it is worthy of note that in the year 1903, the company carried 6,096,065, passengers. That number increased to 36,352,786 in the last completed year for which returns are available. As a matter of fact, 27 separate and distinct routes are operated in addition to the joint bus services enumerated above. Apart from the joint express service with Ribble Motor Services, Ltd., to Blackpool, the company also operates an independent daily service to this popular resort. An outstanding road transport event of last week was, of course, the official opening, mentioned above, of the company's new buildings for the accommodation of the great fleet The dimensions of the new garage are 292 ft." long by 86 ft. wide, giving an unobstructed floor area of

25,112 sq. ft. The construction has been carried out in steelwork, the roof trusses, of 86 ft. oierall span, being carried on stanctious at 15 ft. centres. The roof itself is composed of coriu

gated asbestos sheets and four stretches ' of patent glazing run the entire length of the building. The south side of the garage has been formed of temporary material so as to be easily removable when future extensions become necessary.

Three petrol pumps serve this garage. These are fixed about 30 ft. inside the entrance of the bay adjoining the new one and immediately after these are erected the new washing platforms. This arrangement allows for the inside of the buses to be swept out and dusted while their petrol tanks are being filled. The buses then pass on to the wash. where hose pipes play on the roofs and sides as they are being cleaned down with brushes. The process of sweeping out, dusting, fuelling and washing, takes, on an average, six minutes, so that, with the three washing bays, three vehicles can be dealt with every six minutes. The buses then pass on through a 30-ft. opening into the new garage, where they are parked.

There are two exits to the garage, one at the front and one at the back, both leading on to the main road. The petrol pumps are supplied from underground tanks, these having a total capacity of 13,000 gallons, the tanks being filled direct from railway tank wagons, parked on a siding some 3,500 ft. away, by means of an underground gravity pipe.

As already indicated, in addition to the new bay, considerable extensions have been carried out to the repair

shops. The new "light dock'! overhauling bay has a floor area of 8,800 ft., and provides accommodation for eight new pits, together with the necessary benches and overhead cranes. The pits are so arranged that buses can be run on to them for inspection with a minimum amount of mauceuvring. In addition there is a heavy dock ' overhauling shop where the chassis are completely rebuilt, this shop having a floor area of 8,900 ft. and accommodation for eight pits. There are also the enginebuilding department, the electricians' and trimmers' shops, the acetylenewelding section, etc.


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