Liverpool Corporation Transport Department had several of these Bedford artic mobile canteens.
They all had JXC and single number reg plates, were they ex London Transport ? or perhaps they
were ex London Airport like someone suggested many years ago. This one is seen at Old Haymarket
in the centre of Liverpool, parked on the tramlines, along with a Crosville Bristol Lodekka, and a
Bedford van. The trams finished running in September 1957. The locations of some of the other
mobile canteens were Lower Lane/East Lancashire Road, (Not far from Arthurs Café), Seaforth
Dock, and Speke Boulevard, near to where the Ford factory was built. To the immediate right of
the picture is the entrance to the original Mersey Tunnel. The 2 buses on the right are a Ribble
Leyland PD2, and a Liverpool Corporation bus, probably a Leyland. Regards, Ray Smyth.
WFN 513 was one of a later batch which were used on the express Canterbury to London Victoria coach Station Service. Also used on frequent continental tours, the bus was modified by East Kent who fitted the six speed overdrive 'box to improve motorway speeds, this I can certainly conform turned it into a real flying machine. The bus has now been sold on so I no longer have any involvement with it. Like most 470 powered Vacuum braked Reliances it had its share of cooling and braking problems, but it was a nice vehicle to drive although sometimes a trifle awkward to work upon.
cav551:
WFN 513 was one of a later batch which were used on the express Canterbury to London Victoria coach Station Service. Also used on frequent continental tours, the bus was modified by East Kent who fitted the six speed overdrive 'box to improve motorway speeds, this I can certainly conform turned it into a real flying machine. The bus has now been sold on so I no longer have any involvement with it. Like most 470 powered Vacuum braked Reliances it had its share of cooling and braking problems, but it was a nice vehicle to drive although sometimes a trifle awkward to work upon.
They were lovely coaches. Travelled up to London on them sometimes back in the '60s. Robert 
As I said to the chaps on the Removals thread, thereâs quite a bit of crossover between this thread and the other because of the number of bus chassis (e.g. Leopard, Reliance, SB3/ SB5 Bedfords, Ford R224) adopted and adapted for furniture transport.
Have a shufty viewtopic.php?p=2512988#p2512988
Now this is what I call âticking overâ flickr.com/photos/56546711@N03/8076337647
(Ex-Bournemouth Leyland PD2/ Weymann)
Spotted decaying some years ago at Winkleigh, this is (was?) a VanPlan body built for Silver Cross (the pram makers) based on Bristol LH chassis and running gear. I think Iâm right in saying that Silentnight and Relyon had similar wagons (but donât quote me on it).
Bournemouth Queen Mary Leyland.
Pneumatic governor, fiendishly difficult to adjust without burning yourself.
DEANB:
A couple of adverts from 1964.
Thanks Dean. That Duple ad is quite the thing and shows that âcreative licenceâ with the facts has been around for quite some time⊠
cav551:
^^
Pneumatic governor, fiendishly difficult to adjust without burning yourself.
On the PD2 you mean? I can imagine that might be tricky.
(for some reason I imagined it was a mechanical governor)
Like me, those of a certain age will have spent many an hour on something very like this (Bedford SB3/ Duple Vega).
Almost 50 years later, even a photo of one summons up leaking windows, musty fusty smells and the unmistakable whinging of a petrol BefordâŠ
youtu.be/KqArTCjZ0Oo?t=119
cav551:
WFN 513 was one of a later batch which were used on the express Canterbury to London Victoria coach Station Service. Also used on frequent continental tours, the bus was modified by East Kent who fitted the six speed overdrive 'box to improve motorway speeds, this I can certainly conform turned it into a real flying machine. The bus has now been sold on so I no longer have any involvement with it. Like most 470 powered Vacuum braked Reliances it had its share of cooling and braking problems, but it was a nice vehicle to drive although sometimes a trifle awkward to work upon.
Strewth, Iâve driven one of those (once) Leicester Forest to Dover, they were certainly quick.
I canât recall the circumstances as to how I came to be on a changeover at Leic. Forest but it only happened once.
During the 50s, 60s, & 70s, âForces Leave Specialsâ at weekends were a regular source of income for bus and coach companies
large and small. Military personnel were picked up on Fridays between 4pm and 5pm from Army, Royal Air Force, and Royal Navy
sites and taken to towns and cities throughout the UK, their return journey would commnce on Sunday evening, having enjoyed a
48 hour weekend leave at home. Wilts & Dorset operated regular journeys from several military sites in the Salisbury Plain area,
including Bulford, Larkhill, and Tidworth. This Bedford VAL coach from 1968 is showing âNewcastle Upon Tyneâ on its indicator,
so it probably would have done a Salisbury Plain Friday PM run with military personnel as far as Newcastle. The paper sign in the
nearside of the windscreen reads âFiley-Butlinsâ. This picture would have been taken on a Saturday, en route from Newcastle to
Filey, or perhaps the return journey back to the North East. âUnitedâ will have borrowed this coach, and possibly its
driver also, to cope with the vast amount of holidaymakers that went to the seaside back then. I remember during the 1960s
in Liverpool when Crosville and Ribble depots would borrow whatever coaches had arrived overnight, and on Saturday morning,
fill them with holidaymakers going to Blackpool, Colwyn Bay, Rhyl, etc. and bring back last Saturdays passengers.
Toward the end of 1969 during my last days with Ribble at Wigan depot, this Bedford coach broke down on a Friday evening,
on the Northbound M6 near Haydock, although only 18 months old, it had a high mileage, and was towed to the Ribble depot
at Wigan with engine problems. The Wilts & Dorset driver was given a Ribble Leyland Leopard/Harrington coach to complete
his journey north, and his return back to Salisbury Plain on the Sunday. A few days later, the Bedford had been repaired, and
because of a vehicle shortage at Wigan, we used it several times. I did a local journey with it, 316 to Roby Mill and return,
but because it wasnât fitted for one man operation, I had to take a conductor with me, and put a paper sign in the windscreen
so that passengers knew where it was going.
Regards, Ray Smyth.
cav551:
Bournemouth Queen Mary Leyland.Pneumatic governor, fiendishly difficult to adjust without burning yourself.
Youâve answered a question thatâs been nagging me for 60 years! As a boy often I wondered why some buses ticked over thus and others didnât. The PD2s on Nottingham City Transport certainly ticked over like that, so I assume they too were fitted with pneumatic governers! My own PD2 didnât. Robert
Thames Traders were the same. Berrrr⊠ooomâŠberrrr⊠ooom, with a little whistle sometimes as well. As said not all Leyland 600s had a pneumatic governor, but you could hear which ones did.
Since several period pictures of Liverpool have been unearthed, I wonder if there are any of the bus station area and the wholesale fruit market area. I went there just the once and recall stopping near the bus station to ask the drivers where the market was.
cav551:
Thames Traders were the same. Berrrr⊠ooomâŠberrrr⊠ooom, with a little whistle sometimes as well. As said not all Leyland 600s had a pneumatic governor, but you could hear which ones did.
They went very fast when the diaphragms split! 
A local coal merchants 4 cylinder TK did just that and he smashed the pump to pieces with a hammer trying to stop it, a fitter shoved a sack in the aircleaner and that stopped it! 
Pete.
cav551:
Since several period pictures of Liverpool have been unearthed, I wonder if there are any of the bus station area and the wholesale fruit market area. I went there just the once and recall stopping near the bus station to ask the drivers where the market was.
And you queued in the street to offload. The queue was patrolled by an officer who would belt the driverâs door with a truncheon if he caught you having a crafty doze. Bl**dy jobsworth! 
