These PD2s were the last delivered with the traditional Manchester style of bodywork. They disappeared from the Saddleworth services by 1956 with the transfer to Rochdale Road garage and I never saw one until, astonishingly, the SELNEC era when one appeared on a Greenfield run in 1970! This shot typifies the old order at Manchester. The intermediate blind is unusual on this vehicle as the Limited Stop lettering is smaller than normal. Photo courtesy the late Ray Dunning (via Peter Thompson).

418 waits departure time in Lever Street. This shot shows the bus in original condition (these buses were never lined out) with the pull-down ventilators which proved so troublesome in service. They were eventually replaced with conventional sliding units. Despite the newness of the bus, it is not carrying its original roof as it lost that one in an accident in Rochdale when it was diverted due to another accident. Photo courtesy Roy Marshall.

Oldham 423 in the same location has already seen some years service, although it carries the lined-out livery in which it was delivered. The tin front has been replaced by Oldham's fibreglass version; this is an early example as the grille itself is flat. That was later changed to be slightly protruding (see photos elsewhere in the gallery), presumably to give additional stiffness. Photo courtesy Roy Marshall.

This was my first sighting of this bus after its seven year overhaul and repainting into SELNEC orange livery. It is waiting in Lever Street to work the 1815hrs departure to Uppermill. Although the location is the same as the previous shots, the GPO Sorting Office has been built in the intervening years.

Nearly-new Metrobus 5007 is turning from Stevenson Square into Lever Street. I believe this was only temporary as it reversed the normal one-way traffic flow along Lever Street, so I suspect it was due to some road works in the vicinity. This is backed up by the temporary cover over the bus stop behind the Mancunian-style Atlantean, which is one of the batch ordered by Salford but delivered to SELNEC. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

5891 was numerically the last PD3 delivered to Stockport and, in theory at least, the last open platform bus built for use in this country. This historic bus was transferred to Oldham, still in Stockport livery, in 1971 and spent most of its life there. It is now preserved at the Manchester Museum of Transport. It is seen passing the Playhouse cinema in Miles Platting on the first journey on a Sunday morning on the 183.

5166 was one of the last batch of single-door Atlanteans delivered to Oldham Corporation at the end of 1967. There were forty-one of these which were virtually identical, and another ten with East Lancs/Neepsend bodies. This view is on Oldham Road in Failsworth near Evening Street. The shops in the background have all since been demolished. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

Tiatn 4009 makes its way up Copsterhill Road with a good view of the Manchester conurbation behind. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

This fascinating shot at Oldham Market Place contains a puzzle as Leyland Tiger 62 has a black or grey roof which was not the normal livery. The first conclusion would be that it is a wartime shot, but the bus has no blackout masks, there is too much of the tram network still present (see the distant tram on West Street) and tram 111 on the left was withdrawn in 1937. What cannot fail to impress is the magnificent bus stop. Photo courtesy Roy Marshall.

Little wonder the photographer never returned to the area after the weather he encountered on this visit in 1969! North Western Fleetline 211 heads on to Union Street at Rhodes Bank. The later North Western Fleetlines had a forced ventilation system which meant that the only opening windows provided were those you can see towards the rear of each saloon. I can vouch from personal experience that they were not enough on hot days, although probably quite sufficient on this occasion. The building at the back of the bus with the higher frontage than its neighbours was once a branch of Lloyds Bank and ended its days as an artists' supply shop. Photo courtesy Mike Bennett.

If you compare this with the previous shot you will see that this first batch of Fleetlines had a more conventional ventilation system. The same comparison also shows that they could be distinguished head-on from the later ones by the shallow number blinds. North Western 3 managed to keep the same fleet number in SELNEC days. It is seen here during the short-lived existence of SELNEC Cheshire, in which period things carried on pretty much as before at the Oldham depot, with the North Western vehicles still operating the same journeys on the same services. Photo courtesy Adrian Dodsley.

Titan 4008 has almost completed the descent from Scouthead to Waterhead and has stopped to pick up passengers at the stop at the end of Stamford Road. The terminus of the Stamford Road service (see a separate collection) was to the right, just off the picture. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

In those days the Three Crowns at Austerlands was a pub where you sat outside on a summer evening and had a pint of Wilson's. Many things have changed with the pub since then - also there are no 183s passing and Metrobuses such as 5133 are no longer to be seen there. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

GMT 5059 is at the summit of the route in Scouthead. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

Similar Metrobus 5058 heads the opposite way. St. Paul's church behind has since been de-consecrated and adapted for commercial use. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

8303 is in the sun against a splendid Pennine backdrop as it approaches Scouthead. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

SELNEC 3714 starts the drop down to Delph cross roads. The lay-by here is a legacy of work done to ease the bends on this road in the 1960s. Photo courtesy Martin Arthur.

Heading the opposite direction in murkier conditions is former Stockport PD3 5889. This is likely to be a schools journey from Saddleworth School as it is only going to Oldham. At this time the evening service was curtailed in Oldham but as this is a February shot it is clearly not in the evening! Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

5318 approaches the 1000 foot contour as it nears the summit of the climb at Star Inn, Scouthead.

3714 is seen again heading away from the photographer on a lovely late spring evening. Photo courtesy Martin Arthur.

7315 is seen in the distance approaching Scouthead, passing the snow warning sign, one of several positioned on the routes across the Pennines in the area. This particular one was used to give advance warning of the road being closed beyond Delph cross roads. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

Fleetline 8044 heads out of the sun as it descend from Scouthead towards Delph at the top of Wall Hill Road.

5307 was still fairly new when seen climbing up to Scouthead past the top of Wall Hill Road.

This is another of my personal favourite photos as it features one of the most dramatic backdrops available in Saddleworth. The A62 road can been seen continuing in the distance, climbing out of Delph up to Standedge. What makes this photograph unusual is the sight of a Manchester PD2 here, as their appearences on this service were quite rare by this date and had been since before Manchester started working the Uppermill loop this way (they had hitherto only worked in the opposite direction). It was for this reason that I made the special trip to photograph 3716 and wasn't disappointed. It was also unusual as it carried the protoype stylised Greater Manchester Transport 'M' logo which was only ever carried by a few buses.

It is always difficult to get a photograph of two buses passing and usually, as in this case, it is by chance rather than deliberate. 5308 climbs up to Scouthead whilst 5303 is at the back of a queue for some temporary traffic lights at Thurston Clough.

SELNEC Cheshire Loline 894 climbs up past Megheys towards Scouthead. It was still in North Western livery and would remain so as it had only two months of service left before the former North Western garage in Oldham closed.

5310 climbs up through Thurston Clough past the pub which used to be known as the Cross Keys but has been a restaurant with a succession of other names in more recent times. The open space to the left of the bus, now used as a car park for the pub/restaurant, used to be filling station.

This Fleetline had a special number (1) in both the North Western and SELNEC fleets, matched with a registration that would be of considerable value today. It is passing the same spot as the Metrobus in the previous shot some twenty years earlier. Photo courtesy Geoff Lumb.

5311 swings round the long bend at Thurston Clough. The clean appearance of the original Express livery has been rather spoilt by the large side adverts.

5090 is approaching the Cross Keys from the Oldham direction. This shot gives an idea what a massive building it is. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

Loline 895 is stopped near the Cross Keys Inn and is actually on a Ribble Enthusiast Club tour to commemorate the end of North Western in Oldham.

A cloer view of 5090 stopped in the lay-by just below the Cross Keys. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

A distant view of former North Western Dennis Loline 894 as it climbs up from Delph to Scouthead. The A62 was smoothed out considerably to make the passage of heavy traffic easier, but that all disappeared with the opening of the M62 and the road has remained something of a backwater ever since.

A similar view over eight years later sees GMT Standard Fleetline 7366 on the same stretch of road. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

548 was a Volvo B10B with Wright bodywork, the first of many from this coachbuilder in recent years. It is approaching the horseshoe bend at Thurston Clough along a new alignment of the road dating from the late fifties/early sixties when traffic was much heavier here.

The Museum's own 5208 is climbing towards Thurston Clough with a wintry sprinkling of snow on the Pennine hills behind.

5309 was one of the few buses to carry this GM North Express livery. The factory behind the bus was owned at the time by Status Plastics, but had previously been that of Clucas and Atherton, yard dyers.

A very distant view of 4010 climbing out of Delph. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

5320 has just started the climb from Delph cross roads to Scouthead on a pleasant spring morning. This was numerically the last of the batch and has now been restored to original condition by the SELNEC Preservation Society.

A rather hurried shot of 5311 approaching Delph cross roads, hence the rather-too-obvious presence of my car!

5315 is seen on Lodge Lane in Delph on one of the peak hour 183 workings which served Delph and Carrcote. At the time it was not the normal route although it would become so following the 2001 service revision. 5315 had been refurbished lately to the then latest standards including high-visiblity handrails, visible through the windscreen, to aid the partially-sighted. As a consequence it received the orange livery with yellow (instead of blue) stripes, the only one of the type to do so.

Having been up to Carrcote, 5208 returns along King Street in Delph to continue the journey to Uppermill and Greenfield.

Mercedes-Benz Citaro 60237 pulls up to the stop on the Sound in Delph. The concrete bus shelter is of a type that was once common in Saddleworth but, like the others, this too has since been replaced.

5209 halts at the stop at Delph cross roads on its way to Manchester. The road layout was modified here around 1960 - originally where the bus stands was where the station building was.

Another evening shot of PD2 3714 is this one on Delph New Road. Prominent behind the bus is Measurements Mill which was important enough to have its own works buses and even a railway station (or at least a halt). The five-storey mill had large windows to let in plenty of light, essential for the delicate work involved. The mill was opened by Hirst Bros. in 1919 and was later Parkinson Cowan Measurements and Neptune Measurements. Photo courtesy Martin Arthur.

The newness hasn't really worn off the upper half of 8382, but the lower half is caked in the salty dirt which is a feature of buses on wintry days such as in this scene on Delph New Road. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

On the last day of operation of the 183 First Manchester’s 60450, a Mercedes-Benz O405 with Optare Prisma body, approaches Tame Water on Delph New Road.

Redevelopment has completely changed this scene at Tame Water, where 5006 is swinging round the corner at the bottom of Wall Hill Road to head towards Delph. The buildings on the right formed the warehouse of J. T. Sykes and Sons. This was Tame Bridge Mill which once even had a railway connection from the Delph line, although this was taken out of use in the very early 20th century. Sykes had five shops (four in Saddleworth and one in Shaw) and proclaimed themselves as Corn Millers, Grocers and Provision Dealers and as specialists in cheese, bacon and ham. To the left of the bus can be seen the yard of Kenlyn Garage, which was Ken Shaw's garage and coach depot. By the time of this photo Shaw's had sold out to Stott's of Oldham and there were two disused former Burnley and Pendle PD2s in the yard, one of which is visible. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

Working a school journey from Saddleworth School is Stott’s ANC 932T which was originally Greater Manchester Transport 7932. It is on Delph New Road at Tame Water, near Dobcross.

First Manchester 943 heads along Dobcross New Road in the low sun of a winter afternoon, heading for Uppermill and Greenfield. Dobcross and Delph New Roads were built following an Act of 1863 as the existing roads between Uppermill and Delph took a roundabout route and had steep hills. The subscribers for these new roads were mainly mill owners who stood to benefit from a level route which also served the mills better. Dobcross New Road opened in 1865 but due to a land dispute Delph New Road didn’t open for another two years. Both ceased to be toll roads in 1885.

A distant view of one of the two coach-seated Olympians at Oldham depot (3255 and 3276) as it crosses the River Tame at Brownhill in a very typical Saddleworth setting.

Seen from a viewpoint just up Brownhill Lane and by the pedestrian entrances to the closed Saddleworth station, 5151 waits to turn out of Dobcross New Road towards Uppermill. The steep road to the right of and above the bus is Nicker Brow, a pack horse route which crossed the river just behind the bus on a single stone arch, the remains of which are still visible from the main road. This pack horse route then continued up to Saddleworth church. Nicker Brow is now only a footpath. The tower on the horizon is that of Holy Trinity Church, Dobcross, which was the first village church in Saddleworth. Consecrated in 1787, the church's Italianate tower is a later addition, being built in 1844. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

Stagecoach 755 is the more distant bus, renumbered, but not very thoroughly, as 16755 in the national numbering system. It is loading at Uppermill Bus Station to work a schools journey. Interestingly, the 183 had ceased operation some six months earlier! Photo courtesy Mark Amis.

Stott's XSJ 671T was a Northern Counties-bodied Leyland Fleetline which was new as Western SMT 2771. It is waiting, along with a fine variety of other buses, for pupils to leave Saddleworth School. Although GMT had vehicles which, on paper, were similar, this bus has a lowhieght body and is more similar to those supplied, for example, to West Yorkshire PTE. Petrol at Central Garage/Rick Whyman's was never cheap, but it has to be said it looks that way now! Photo courtesy Eric Ogden.

This distant shot gives an unusual view of Uppermill square, with Atlantean 8202 waiting to work to Oldham via Scouthead as a 183, despite the blind display. This Sunday shot pre-dates the boom in tourism and the square is deserted. The Galleon restaurant on the right was long a feature of Uppermill. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

A wet Wednesday in Uppermill as 7312, also incorrectly showing 184, picks up market shoppers going home. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

This Stagecoach ex-Busways Olympian was working the 183 as a result of Stagecoach taking over Universal Buses and continuing operating their tenders. This was a Sunday working and was associated with the 353 operation as the bus arrived in Uppermill as one and left as the other. There are other pictures of this bus in the 353 gallery although not, in those cases, on a Sunday. Photo courtesy Eric Ogden.

This splendid shot of 5057 in Uppermill square captures beautifully the bustle and colour of market day. The bus has arrived as a 183 and will depart for Manchester via Lees as a 184. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

GMT Leyland National 177 has arrived in Uppermill square and will have worked a schoolday extra from Oldham, as single-deckers were not used on normal service on this route at the time. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

At the time the oldest bus in the First Manchester fleet, 5013 tackles the hill at Greenfield station. However, this isn’t the correct route for the 183, it should have gone along Chapel Road. As the bus leaving Greenfield on the 183 comes in as a 180 it may be the driver forgot which route he was on, either that or he preferred pulling out at the junction at the top rather than the one at Chapel Road as visibility is better.

60441 signals to take the correct route along Chapel Road towards Uppermill. It is on Chew Valley Road in Greenfield and about to cross the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.

In almost the same place but seen from road level is Optare Prisma 60445 heading along Chew Valley Road in Greenfield, about to turn right towards Uppermill. These buses were the usual vehicles in the last years of the 183 - this photograph was taken on the last day of operation of the service. Photo courtesy Mark Amis.

Completing the Prisma trio is 60442, again in the same location but seen from the other side. I took this to get Wellington Mills in the background before they were demolished. I needn’t have hurried! It is working the last journey of the day, a short working to Oldham.

Another shot on the last day of operation of the 183 sees Wright-bodied Volvo B10B 60349 waiting at Greenfield Clarence prior to turning round in the junction and heading for Manchester, as indicated on the barely-visible destination display.

A contrast in orange Metrobuses at Greenfield. 5013 is an early Mark I Metrobus and waiting to work a 183, whilst behind is a Mark II version 5579 which was new to West Yorkshire PTE as their 7579.

8202 passes through Lydgate heading for Uppermill. This is the route of the 184, not the 183. I believe this bus had diverted this way due to the weather conditions, but it is difficult to be sure as if you look through the 183 and 184 collections there was a lack of precision in indicating the correct route number. However, this was usually to be found on journeys heading FROM Uppermill, in which case the route the bus would take was fairly self-evident. Hence my belief that this really is a 183.