5194 completes the turn at Hollinwood. The gasometer forming a dominant backdrop here is a last relic of Hollinwood gasworks. This came under the fold of Oldham Corporation in 1853 with the municipal takeover of the Oldham Gas Light and Power Company. There were other works in the borough but some closed soon after and others once the new municipal gasworks at Higginshaw opened, after which only Hollinwood remained to provide additional capacity. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

Demolition of buildings in the area has started but Ferranti's building is still standing at the time of this photo of Atlantean 7580. Photo courtesy Peter Crichton.

All is quiet at Hollinwood as ex-Oldham Atlantean 5161 basks in the morning sun. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

Two Saddleworth services in one shot as an unidentified bus on the 180 passes 8382 at Hollinwood terminus. The bus on the 180 is an earlier example but in the later livery - the main visible difference between the two is that 8382 has three hinges on the emergency exit instead of two. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

Visiting preserved Kentish Bus Routemaster RML2715 is a source of some bemusement to the driver of Metrobus 5089 at Hollinwood. Photo courtesy Peter Crichton.

GMT Fleetline 7337 was one of the last ones built with flat windscreens as the design evolved with curved ones soon after it was new. It waits departure with a typical Hollinwood backdrop of Ferranti's factory. In the days when it was the O and T service buses used to go further down Wicken Tree Lane to turn round and come back to pull up alongside the mill, a little behind where 7337 is standing. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

5194 is in the same location and at the time was one of the last connections between Oldham Corporation and its most profitable service, being the last buses ordered by Oldham (but delivered to SELNEC). Behind is a GMT Standard working the following journey. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

This Scania was originally with Cardiff and has now received an advertising livery whilst working for Stott's that makes it look very much like a school bus (which it often is). It has just set off from the Hollinwood terminus of the 427 at the end of Wicken Tree Lane. Photo courtesy Mark Amis.

Coming out of the sun and in the right hand lane ready to turn into Hollins Road is 5183, the first of a batch of five Atlanteans that was delivered to SELNEC in Oldham colours. The SELNEC numbering system was that new they were delivered without fleet numbers, which were applied after arrival. Photo courtesy Peter Crichton.

5155 has arrived at the alighting stop at Hollinwood. As can be seen, this stop was also used by National Express coaches and Yorkshire Woollen for the erstwhile X12 service, which was probably the 224 by the time of this photo. Another important coach operator also used to stop round here and that was Yelloway, who are advertised as running to London, Clacton, Llandudno and Torquay on the front of the Hollinwood Travel Bureau across the road. Photo courtesy Peter Crichton.

Former Stockport PD3 5887 has arrived at Hoolinwood and is parked outside the original Housing Units emporium before it moved to its present site down Wicken Tree Lane. The sign in the window advises that the store will be closed on Good Friday and Easter Monday - in 1980 it was taken as read that it would not be open on a Sunday. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

Just over a year later 5887 is seen again in almost the same place. This time there are clearly no passengers to set down and it is in the right hand lane ready for turning round. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

Two years later Metrobuses are the order of the day with 5154 on the 427 about to overtake 5129 on the 82, the long cross-city route from Waterhead to Chorlton. There appears to be a party upstairs on 5129 if the balloons are anything to go by. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

5162 has arrived at Hollinwood and unloaded and is now about to turn round. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

5183 is using Hudson Street in Hollinwood as a terminal point due to roadworks. The Manchester to Oldham line crosses behind and the end of Hollinwood station platform can be seen. The low bridge here was not beneficial to the health of double deckers, however I believe it only claimed one victim unlike the far more notorious one the other end of the station on Bower Lane. This latter claimed numerous double deck bus roofs until it was rebuilt in conjunction with the construction of the M60. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

5162 is involved in the same diversion as 5183 and as a result is turning right out of Hollins Road onto Manchester Road. It would then turn left down Bower Lane and left again just before the notorious bridge. That would then lead it past the station before turning into Hudson Street where 5183 was seen. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

This is the same Stott's Scania seen earlier in this collection when it carried normal Stott's livery. It is passing the Britannia Tavern in Hollins. Photo courtesy Mark Amis.

Former Oldham Atlantean 125 still carries the corporation fleet number plate, SELNEC has been in existence less than a year. It is climbing Copsterhill Road which is completely devoid of parked cars, unlike today.

Copsterhill Road is quiet on this dull September Sunday as Atlantean 136 passes on its way to Grotton.

Some years later similar 5166 is seen slightly further up Copsterhill Road, the brick terraced houses being a typical Oldham backdrop. Photo courtesy Peter Crichton.

Front-entrance PD3 103 loads up at the top of Copsterhill Road whilst working a 28 to Lees County End.

Atlantean 5139 is on the King Street roundabout on a very wet morning and is being hotly pursued by a North Western Loline on the 14 to Uppermill.

The location of this photograph has changed out of all recognition. 361 was numerically the last of this batch of PD2/3s and is stood outside King Street post office. This was just along the road from Star Inn towards Ashton and the buildings here were cleared to make way for the roundabout and intersection with the by-pass in the late sixties. Bennett's shop on the right specialised in foundation garments (corsetry). Photo courtesy Roy Marshall.

A more modern version of the Leyland/Roe combination is seen at the same location. The tall building in line with the back of the bus is Unity Hall. Here in 1899 a public meeting was held to raise funds for a statue of Robert Ascroft, the town's M.P. who had just died and was renowned for his work in improving the rights of workers in the cotton industry. The statue was unveiled in 1903 and still stands in Alexandra Park. Photo courtesy Roy Marshall.

5337 is on the link road between Manchester Street and West Street. Traffic now goes the opposite way on this stretch of road.

8197 on the 427 is wearing the newer livery but can be compared with the later body design on 8480, working the 82. This shot is in almost the same location as the previous photo but the road is now one way in the opposite direction.

Stott's K247 HKV made a few appearances on the 427 in summer 2006 and is seen on one such occasion as it turns into West Street with the rather garishly-painted Dog and Duck behind. Photo courtesy Ian Roberts.

124 was one of the first of the Oldham Atlanteans to lose the ventilators on the front windows, a process Alan Holland is still trying to reverse in the restoration of the later, but similar, 163. This shot shows how some buses used the link road and others went to the bottom of West Street. I was never clear which was the official route.

Metrobus 5319 causes chaos by catching fire in the (then) new Cheapside bus station in Oldham. Photo courtesy Ian Roberts.

As this photo makes clear, 5319 was heading for Grotton when trouble struck. More recently Optare Prisma 62115 caught fire and was destroyed in the new West Street part of the bus station here, but in that case the cause was arson. (My legal advisors suggest I use the word "allegedly" here.) Photo courtesy Ian Roberts.

7471 is in Market Place at the head of a convoy of GMT Standards. Part of the civic centre is visible on the left whilst behind the bus can be seen the C & A store, closed when that company pulled out of the UK. It is odd to see this once-familiar brand still in evidence in cities in mainland Europe. Photo courtesy Peter Crichton.

Oldham Atlantean 159 passes through the nightmare that was the Market Place of the late sixties and seventies, a concrete creation of ugly subways. Although this stretch of road is now pedestrianised, most of the buildings visible are still in existence. 159 was delivered uniquely fitted with hopper ventilators instead of the normal sliding type, but as can be seen from this photograph taken when it was barely two years old, they were soon replaced with standard units. Photo courtesy Roy Marshall.

239 was one of the first postwar buses delivered to Oldham which enabled the last tram route, the 20 to Waterhead, to close. There were fourteen of them and they were the only 7'-6" wide double-deckers bought new by Oldham after the war (although they did buy some secondhand ones in 1965/6). 239 is nearing the end of its days and is on a short working to Market Place, following which it will probably return to the garage. Photo courtesy Ted Jones.

Oldham PD2/3 353 is at the Hollinwood-bound stop at the top of George Street. It is almost new and the tram tracks are still visible in the street although they wouldn't have been used for some years. Where this bus is standing is now part of the Spindles shopping centre. The buses from Hollinwood used to travel part way up George Street before turning into St. Peter Street (just below where 353 is). This street was shared with the H bus to Denshaw (see that collection). Photo courtesy Alan Cross.

Oldham's 179 was one of a small batch of Leyland TD5s fitted with Leyland's own coachwork. They were smart and long-lived buses. As can be seen clearly in this view, prewar Oldham buses had an offside destination blind (earlier postwar ones had a number blind there, later ones nothing at all). On the Leyland bodies it was placed further forward than on those by Roe. This photograph shows the bus parked up during the day on Charlotte Street, which led off the lower end of George Street. Photo courtesy Roy Marshall.

This Daimler Fleetline was one of the last double-deckers to be delivered to Manchester before the appearance of the revolutionary Mancunian design. Even on these the panel below the windscreen was a style developed by Manchester. It would appear that 4753 is a recent transfer to Oldham and no suitable number blinds were initially available to show the Oldham area routes, so it had to display the earlier 27 number instead of the correct 427. It is seen near the top of George Street in the low winter sun. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

Atlantean 136 is on George Street with the disastrous St. Peter's shopping precinct in the course of construction behind. The Manchester PD2 is headed for Chorlton on the 82 whilst the North Western Loline has come from Saddleworth and is more likely to be on the 13, but could be a 10. Photo courtesy Roy Marshall.

Just slightly lower down George Street is earlier Atlantean 127. Only this batch was delivered in the crimson and white livery, which I thought looked particularly smart on this type of bus. Photo courtesy Roy Marshall.

GMT 7201 was a long-term Oldham resident, having been delivered new to the garage. It is threading the now-pedestrianised High Street, passing Boots when that was on the corner of the Town Square development, before Spindles was built. Photo courtesy Peter Crichton.

Also on High Street, but many years before, was Oldham's 178. The interest in this shot is that it shows a working on the S, a service rarely photographed, mainly because its operation was generally confined to peak hours. Behind is another TD5, 201, but this time one of the large batch with Roe bodies. Photo courtesy Ted Jones.

5870 was numerically the newest ex-Stockport PD2, but appears in this gallery a bit as it was a long-term resident at Oldham garage. This was a familiar scene at the time with High Street full of buses and 5870 about to pull up at the 427 stop. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

This picture of Oldham High Street will no doubt bring back memories for those who shopped there. Firstly there is the news stand at the bottom of Hilton Arcade, a busy and useful facility right next to the express (10/13/14) bus stop. Then there was Market Avenue, another arcade behind the bus. This was more popular with the youth of the time as it contained two record shops! Although the Hilton Arcade has been refurbished, it hasn't recaptured the vitality of these once-popular thoroughfares. Photo courtesy Roy Marshall.

In ten years there has been little change on High Street. The bus is new, however. 101 was the first of ten forward-entrance PD3/5s which showed a lot of the influence of the new General Manager, Harry Taylor, in details such as destination blinds and also saw a complete change in the interior trim. The Stardrops advert clearly visible was a very common sight on Oldham buses at the time. Of the buildings behind the bus only the Hilton Arcade survives in a modernised form, together with the upper storeys of Flacks's which survives as part of the current Woolworth store. At the time of this photograph Woolworth's was across the road. Photo courtesy Roy Marshall.

A most surprising vehicle to appear working from Oldham garage was this Mancunian, one of the unhappy-looking batch bodied by East Lancs ordered by Manchester but delivered to SELNEC in Manchester's red and white livery. It is at the bottom of Market Avenue arcade (now lost in the middle of the newer Woolworth's store). Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

This splendid panned shot of ex-Stockport PD3 5889 was taken on High Street when the light was failing and the traffic had gone away. To the left can be seen the earlier Woolworth's store mentioned in previous captions. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

Due to pedestrianisation of the town centre, buses now have to take a more circuitous route through Oldham. Here Stott's ex-Cardiff Scania J610 VDW descends Lord Street past the Oldham Pool on its way to Grotton. Photo courtesy Mark Amis.

3295 is on the part of High Street still served by buses, which come out of Lord Street in the background. The tobacconists on the right was a long-standing feature of this location. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

The Leyland Titan TD3 certainly marked a visual step forward in design with the deeper radiator. 58 was the first of this model with Oldham and the first of forty-one Titans to be bodied by English Electric in the 1930s, making them the second most important body supplier to Oldham in this period (after Roe). 58 is on High Street and heading for Grotton on the O service, it was only later on that workings to Grotton gained a separate route letter T. Photo courtesy Roy Marshall.

Atlantean 5162 is on High Street, about to pass the war memorial on one side and Town Hall on the other. Behind is the Wimpy Bar - from the halcyon days when you could buy a burger and get given a knife and fork to eat it with! Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

On a gloomy evening 5188, the first of the last batch of Atlanteans ordered by Oldham Corporation, loads up in Town Square bus station. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

With the brickwork of the Greaves Arms visible on the left, former Manchester Fleetline 4737 nears the top of the climb to Market Place on its way to Hollinwood. Unlike the Atlantean seen earlier in this collection, 4737 has got suitable numbers blinds. It was easier with a former Manchester bus as standard GMT blinds as fitted to the new buses would fit. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

It's almost exactly the same spot, but this time the Greaves Arms is surrounded by scaffolding. Atlantean 5164 shows the typical appearance of the batch in GMT days. The nearside blind showing the number was once a destination blind, the change avoided the need for a one-man bus driver to have to leave the cab to reset the destination at each terminus. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

5157 is caught in the shadow as it also passes the scaffolded Greaves Arms. It's hard to see how St Mary's Way has managed to find its way through between the buildings in the background. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

There is now a much bigger taxi rank in the same location at the top of Greaves Street, a reflection of changing travel habits. The original cabin at the taxi rank, as depicted here, is long gone. Alongside PD2 448, still in original lined-out livery, heads for Hollinwood. Photo courtesy Ted Jones.

This somewhat shaky shot has been included as it is from an unusual angle. It shows the back of a similar PD2 which has by this stage received Oldham's pommard and cream livery and its SELNEC fleet number 5341. Whilst much in this view is unchanged, to the left of the bus can be seen the former Bardsley's bookshop (closed when they moved into St. Peter's precinct) and Greenwood's. Both these buildings were subsequenctly demolished to make way for the entrance to St. Mary's Way.

Originally buses had gone both up and down Yorkshire Street, but a one-way system was introduced a long time ago which involved buses coming into Oldham from the east using Union Street and Waterloo Street. Atlantean 130 is about to turn into Waterloo Street and I believe the modern building just visible on the left is Oldham's first supermarket - "Payless". Photo courtesy Roy Marshall.

Oldham's 382 is still in pretty original condition with lining out, but has now got flashing trafficators instead of its original semaphore indicators. It is also clearly a little battle-weary and due for a repaint. This batch of buses served Oldham well, but were very confusing as the allocation of fleet numbers and registration numbers was mixed up and they didn't correspond, even though they could have done. Photo courtesy Alan Cross.

5297 is at Rhodes Bank working a journey to Stamford Road. In the era of route letters such journeys were shown as 'O', the same as those to County End, but with the change to numbers the opportunity was taken to give a separate identification. Giacomo and Piero was one of two Italian hairdressers here, the other one (not visible) being Mario and Pasquale. The Dunn's shop to the right was in the standard traditional style of that very traditional chain of men's outfitters. This style incorporated coats-of-arms of the various towns in which they had branches in stained glass panels above the main shop window.

5293 leaves the then relatively-new bus station at Mumps for Hollinwood. The B & Q store had yet to be built in the background. This bus was the only one of the NBU-registered PD2s to receive orange livery and this was only after withdrawal and entering the training fleet. Sister 5294 was also a training vehicle but retained pommard livery and has been preserved by the GMTS.

Erstwhile Stockport PD2 5857 can be seen earlier on in this journey in the 184 gallery. It started off as a school bus from Uppermill to Grotton, whence it changed into a 427 and is seen at Mumps bus station. 400 ASA film allowed the bus to be captured despite the lack of light.

5157 approaches Mumps. In the left distance is Photomarket, which was once Lawton Miller's and my principal photographic supplier for some years. Just to the right of the bus is "Aladdin's Cave", a secondhand shop which was a feature of the locality for many years. Photo courtesy Peter Crichton.

It would be nice to think that this was a rarer shot of SELNEC Standard working the service before it was renumbered, but sadly it's 1982, over eight years after the renumbering and the bus isn't old enough. It must have been a driver with a sense of history! Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

One of the more surprising vehicles to be transferred to Oldham in the SELNEC/GMT era was this former Rochdale AEC Regent V. Oldham's last AEC double-deckers were withdrawn in the 'thirties! 6204 was originally Rochdale 304 and had been the first of the type to receive SELNEC's orange livery in 1970. It is seen on a very dismal January day at the Mumps bus station.

Caught nicely in the afternoon sun is 5164, behind it the bridge which has been the principal feature of Mumps since it was built and a constant in a time of great change. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

409 was the only one of this batch of Crossley-bodied PD2s to actually run for SELNEC. This shot is in very early SELNEC days as the bus has SELNEC legal lettering but still has the small Oldham coat-of-arms on the grille. The story of this batch can be found with the picture of 410 in the 153 collection. Evidence of the rebuilding can be seen in the windows - those downstairs, where the rebuilding took place, are flush fitting whilst the upstairs ones are recessed. Photo courtesy Roy Marshall.

This is a superbly panned shot of 156 passing under Mumps Bridge having just left Lees Road. The area has been cleared for the new roundabout but the road layout is as yet unchanged. The bus sadly reflects the condition of a lot of the fleet at the time, with all sorts of minor dents and scratches. The bottom trim is also missing from the rear engine housing and I recall this as being quite common then. Photo courtesy Roy Marshall.

Until the early fifties the bus stop for eastbound buses at Mumps was on the main road by the junction, just in front of the West Pennine Water Board offices visible in the previous shot of 158. The finger post for the junction is just visible on the lamp standard to the right of the bus, whereas on the left is the Salisbury Hotel. The subject of the photograph, Leyland Titan TD2 68, had an eventful life. New in 1932 it was loaned to Bristol for no less than five years during the war. After sale in 1948 it saw further service in Scotland before returning much closer to home as a showman's vehicle in the late fifties. Photo courtesy Roy Marshall.

This was my first sighting of Atlantean 126 following its return to traffic (possibly that day) after a major rebuild as a result of hitting a lamppost on Broadway almost a year earlier. The bus remained distinctive as one of three of the single-door Atlanteans (the others being 168 and 171) to have the destination display lowered to facilitate operation by the driver from downstairs (you originally had to go upstairs to change the blinds). 126 is leaving a particularly damp and dismal Wallshaw Place.

This picture shows what I always consider to be the "classic" Mumps bridge junction, but in fact many of the features seen here were really quite ephemeral. The most striking feature is the Guinness advert in huge letters on the bridge, a very early instance of the development of a strong brand identity, yet this had gone by 1969 as seen in the earlier shot of 158. The traffic lights were a relatively recent feature too and note in particular the set of lights to the right controlling traffic leaving Bell Street on the left. The traffic lights became but a memory in early 1970 when work started on the roundabout. Underneath the bridge is the boarded-up shell of Buckley and Prockter's, once one of Oldham's most prestigious stores. The bus was very new at the time of the photo and is one of a batch of ten which like all new buses at this time were put to work on these routes as they were the busiest and most profitable. Photo courtesy Tony Moyes.

The finishing touches are being put to the roundabout at Mumps as Atlantean 144 passes under the railway bridge on its way to Grotton.

The end of Lees Road just before the completion of the roundabout at Mumps (see the picture in the 14 and 184 collection for more details). 438 (as I believe it was) is still in full Oldham Corporation livery, complete with coats of arms and lettering on the upper panels. These were quite quickly painted out and within six months of taking this photo had disappeared completely.

Buses using Lees Road started to leave Mumps along Huddersfield Road and Cross Street in 1970 when work started on the Mumps roundabout and have continued (at least officially) ever since. 5352 heads for Grotton past a disused garage which clearly dates from the halcyon days of motoring.

Five years later and the scene has changed little as 5104 approaches the traffic lights to turn into Cross Street.

Bottom o'th Moor had taken on an appearance which is still familiar today in 1970. 5121 is leaving Cross Street, the route taken by this service at that time whilst the roundabout was completed.

5342 has turned into Cross Street and will shortly join Lees Road. This bus was one of the later examples of the batch that did not receive full overhauls by SELNEC, but were given a less thorough overhaul and the paintwork touched-up. The expectation was that these buses would be rapidly replaced by new buses suitable for one-man operation and the additional expense was not worthwhile. The location has not changed significantly since this photograph, but the previous few years had seen considerable re-modelling of this junction. Notable in the right background is the soot-begrimed bulk of St. James's C of E Church on Barry Street.

5313 curves off the original alignment of Lees Road onto the new link road to the Mumps roundabout. The VW pickup going the other way on trade plates would have been new!

5333 was one of just a handful of Oldham PD2s left running by this time and is caught on Lees Road. This bus was bought by GMTS after withdrawal but, sadly, not for preservation but for parts to help the restoration of earlier PD2 394.

5887 was one of the four ex-Stockport PD3s which worked most of their lives from Oldham garage. It is seen here amongst an array of contemporary cars at the bottom of Balfour Street, outside the offices and depot of Stott's Tours.

3043 was new to Salford City Transport as their 194. Six of these were transferred to Oldham, adding to the already considerable variety of vehicles in the allocation. They do not seem to have been particularly popular. The Salford two-track number blinds were a disincentive to moving them about as Salford were able to retain most of their route numbers which were below 100. This was not the case in Oldham, though, and the need to squeeze the numbers on the first blind can be clearly seen. These blinds would of course have to be specially made.

Another example of the temporary influx of Stockport buses in 1973 (see later photos) is 5946, a Longwell Green-bodied PD2 which is just passing the end of Brewerton Road. A sign of the times is the advert for Belle Vue Zoo Park on the end of the block of houses in the background, which have already been bricked up prior to demolition.

The houses mentioned in the previous photo have been demolished but there is otherwise little change here. 5196 has reached the top of the long climb up from Lees Brook and is approaching the bus stop at Clarksfield Road, which has since been put in a lay-by. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

Another Stockport bus is seen in almost the same location a couple of years earlier, but this one had a Crossley body and spent some years at Oldham. Clearly visible to the left is the cutting through which once passed the Oldham to Greenfield railway line, closed some seven years earlier. The cutting is now filled in. Parking on Lees Road was quite straightforward then!

5954 was a surpise visitor from Stockport and was only in Oldham for a short while. It was probably spare at Stockport due to school holidays and helping out at Oldham. It is climbing Lees Road towards Clarksfield on the stretch of road that now has a bus lane, which runs where the houses on the right are in this photograph. There are still several mills and chimneys to be seen in the background, as well as good view towards Lydgate and beyond.

It is difficult now to imagine buses in First corporate livery without the national fleet numbers, but that was certainly the case in 2001 where 3408 is descending to Leesbrook on the Sunday service to Uppermill. These Alexander Royale-bodied Olympians only appeared on the service on a Sunday, which seemed odd until you realise that the service was interworked with the 59 on a Sunday and that was the normal route for these buses. Lees Road looks unfamiliar on this photo as we have rapidly become accustomed to the extra width resulting from the bus lane going up the hill.

This Metrobus of Stott's came from Arriva but was new to Merseyside PTE.

New Oldham PD3 104 looks slightly out of place amongst the traditional Oldham enamel bus stop flags and standards for a tram service that had ceased more than thirty years earlier. However, new concrete lamp-posts are already in place and the scene is about to change considerably, with the exception of the substantial Lees Brook Mill. Photo courtesy Tony Moyes.

All-Leyland PD2 371 symbolizes an older order as it passes the same spot. As the next shots show, the buildings in the left background have been demolished, opening up the view somewhat, as well as allowing in some welcome greenery. Photo courtesy Tony Moyes.

With Lees Brook Mill to the right this Stott's Scania (new to Cardiff) climbs Salem Brow having just joined the bus lane.

As a contrast to the previous photograph, the scene in 1973 was dominated by Athens Mill. That had ceased to be a cotton mill as long ago as 1933 and I remember seeing many tractors there, which were apparently being packed by a company called Greenwoods Building Industries. That activity ceased in 1970 and it was then used for furniture storage. Following a fire in 1981 the upper floors were removed but it wasn't completely demolished until a clear-up of the area following demolition of nearby Owl Mill in 1993. The bus is also of interest as 5947 had unusual Longwell Green bodywork, built in Bristol. It was another Stockport bus on temporary loan to Oldham garage.

R357 XVX was an East Lancs-bodied Olympian new to Harris Bus at West Thurrock. These were bought by the infamous GM North for use in the bus wars on Wilmslow Road in Manchester and following the demise of that company were eagerly snapped up by other operators including Stott's. By the time they had been prepared for service the 427 was approaching its own demise (at least from Stott's point of view) and they never became regulars on it. This photo was taken at the end of Nicholson Street in Lees, near to the Co-op. Photo courtesy Mark Amis.

P341 ROO had a similar history to R357 XVX. It carries a broadside advert for Aria PC Technology and is also seen in Lees. Photo courtesy Mark Amis.

Oldham's second batch of East Lancs-bodied Atlanteans was actually bodied by their Sheffield subsidiary, Neepsend Coachworks. 5151 was one of this batch and has just crossed the bridge over the closed railway from Greenfield to Oldham at St. John's Street, Lees. The station, which closed in 1955, was just to the left here. High Street can be seen in the distance, the bus having turned off to head to the Stamford Road terminus. The small print on the lower sign at the right advertises the mill shop selling "household textiles". These mill shops were once a feature of the local landscape but have now disappeared with the loss of manufacturing capability.

The business end of an Atlantean is on view at the Stamford Road terminus, with 5160 waiting time to depart for Hollinwood.

5180 is seen at the same location but this time from the front end. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

5165 reverses into Dunham Street to turn round at the end of Stamford Road, one of the reasons the service remained two-man operated for so long as the conductor was needed to assist the driver in this manoeuvre. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

5889 performs the same maneouvre. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

The third of the trio seen reversing is 5870. This was a shorter PD2 compared to PD3 5889. Comparison of the two reveals several detail difference in body design, although both are from East Lancs (even though 5870 was actually built at Neepsend. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt.

Stott's F822 YLV passes J609 VDW at County End, Lees. These were the two principal types of bus seen on the service at the time.

J609 VDW is now nearer the camera, bound for Grotton. These Scanias, new to Cardiff, gave good service to Stott's.

The same bus is seen again from a slightly different angle two months later. Photo courtesy Peter Crichton.

368 was the last bus in the Oldham fleet that was not a Leyland and made a farewell tour of Oldham just prior to withdrawal at the end of 1967. It is seen here parked at the Lees County End terminus, which was in Jackson Street, although whoever set the blinds had not been very accurate as it was the O that went to here, not the T. Photo courtesy Stan Fitton.

On a chilly St. Valentine's Day in 1970, Oldham Atlantean 141 waits at the terminus in Jackson Street, Lees. By this date it was actually owned by SELNEC but it was too early in that organisation's existence for any evidence of ownership to be visible. To the left is a lorry belonging to Alfred Taylor (Alco) the builder's merchant that occupied much of the site for many years.

Jackson Street, referred to in the previous photo, went off to the left of this photograph; Alfred Taylor (ALCO) builder's merchants used adjacent land as their depot and one of their Bedford TK lorries can be seen waiting at the end of the street. Services had by this time ceased using the County End terminus and all buses went to Grotton as a 27. 5857 was another Stockport bus that spent most of its life in Oldham. It has just passed the West Riding of Yorkshire sign, but the actual boundary is close to where I stood to take the picture.

Stott's F819 YLV is a very late Metrobus which was new to Merseyside. It is descending from Springhead to County End at Lees and heading for Hollinwood, not Grotton! Photo courtesy Mark Amis.

A rather shaky shot, I'm afraid, showing Oldham 396 in Springhead, passing what is now the end of the link road to Shade Avenue but was at this time a small park. The green Ford Transit to the right of the bus belonged to Saddleworth Urban District Council.

5344 negotiates road works outside Kershaw's garage in Springhead. This garage was later owned by Paul Abbott but has closed and redevelopment of the site was completed in 2006. To the left of the bus can be seen the yard of W. H. Bridge (Transport) who operated a small haulage fleet from here. They still exist but no longer use this as an operating base.

Grotton is still a bustling village but James Shannon's grocers shop has been gone for some years now. They moved in when this new block of shops opened in the early sixties, whilst at the other end of the row was Stanley Ogden. His butcher's shop had formerly been at Mumps and he brought the clock with its "Meat Under the Clock" legend with him from that site. The business has since been sold by the family but still trades under the old name. 5102 was one of nine of the ten Oldham PD3s which passed to SELNEC. The other was, by the time of the take-over, just a carcass, having been damaged beyond repair when it turned over on West Street in 1967. I once travelled on one of these in service down Station Road (to the right beyond the zebra crossing), then up Hillside Avenue and along Mildred Avenue to avoid an accident that had blocked the road just beyond the junction. Those are not roads on which you would expect to find a bus!

Stott's usually work the 427 with double-deckers, but single-deckers are occasionally seen, more often in school holidays when the bus will not be involved in a busy journey elsewhere. K247 HKV, leaving the turning circle in front of the Grotton Hotel, is a Northern Counties-bodied Volvo B10B that started life as a Volvo demonstrator. Photo courtesy Mark Amis

3296 was originally Wigan Corporation 34. The changing of the destination has now been completed and it shows Hollinwood.

1083 later became 40230 in the First Manchester fleet and moved away from Oldham garage. It was a Volvo B6LE-53 with Wright bodywork and is seen at the Grotton Hotel working through to the bus station at the Arndale in Manchester. Photo courtesy Eric Ogden.

Seen outside the Grotton Hotel, 5314 was one of the few buses to survive into Greater Manchester Transport days still in Oldham's livery. Its longevity can be partly attributed to a major overhaul in very early SELNEC days after a long period out of use. The use of the black fleet numbers on the pommard background was not common. This bus has also uniquely lost its nearside destination display.

Stott's Metrobus F819 YLV is seen again at the terminus in front of the Grotton Hotel. Photo courtesy Mark Amis.

Panning has frozen the front end of 3296 and was necessary as only a very slow shutter speed could be used - it was darker than the photograph would indicate. This ex-Wigan PD2 is sweeping into the turning circle at Grotton. The destination blind shows "Mossley" but I suspect the driver was mid-way through changing it for the return journey. In the background James Shannon's grocers is closed and awaiting a new tenant.

This is the first of three photographs of Oldham 368 at the terminus in Station Road, Grotton which show just how busy the T service used to be. Four other buses can be seen turning round in the time 368 was there. One reason was that most buses continued to Grotton as the Lees terminus was very restricted and if too many buses tried to turn there everything would gridlock. Photo courtesy Eric Ogden.

368 is seen again in company with a Crossley-bodied Daimler CVD6 and PD2 416. The older buses are showing X which was the universal display for trips back to garage from anywhere. Photo courtesy Eric Ogden.

As well as 368 and 416, two Atlanteans from the first batch (121-130) can be seen on this shot. 368 was rescued for preservation (one of the first buses preserved in the area) and today resides at the Greater Manchester Transport Museum in Boyle Street, Manchester. Photo courtesy Eric Ogden.

Occasionally over the years buses have had cause to use Platting Road from Scouthead across to Lydgate as a diversionary route to avoid a closed section of road. What appears to be Atlantean 4546 has just done that and is taking care at the tricky junction with Oldham Road at Lydgate to make sure it doesn't get grounded. The reason for this particular diversion is now lost in the mists of time. Photo courtesy Eric Ogden.

Atlantean 7740 climbs Oldham Road, Grasscroft heading for Hollinwood.

Gardner-engined Metrobus 5309 makes its leisurely way up Oldham Road in Grasscroft - one of my favourite locations in Saddleworth because of the massive bulk of Wharmton behind.

Optare Prisma bodied Mercedes 60437 has just passed Clough Lane in Grasscroft on the climb to Lydgate. These buses have since been much improved with the brighter Barbie 3 livery and Hanover LED displays.