| This route has an important part in the history of Saddleworth’s buses as it was on 31st August 1914 that Oldham Corporation started a bus service from Grains Bar to Denshaw which was the first such service to operate in Saddleworth.
The genesis of this service lay in the extension of the tram network from Grains Bar to Moorside which was the highest tram route in the country with a terminus at around 1150 feet above sea level. Oldham had started bus operation (from the Town Hall to Coppice) on 12th May 1913. This service only ran on weekdays and the popularity of the hills at Grains Bar led to the buses being used to run a Moorside to Grains Bar service from 16th May 1913 at times when there was a demand. This was usually on early closing day (Tuesday) and at weekends and at busy times two buses would be used. The tram route extension opened on 4th June 1914 which made the bus service unnecessary, but a bus was soon deployed on the new route to Denshaw, at least during the summer. However, the Great War brought about different needs and the service last ran on 27th August 1916. Denshaw was served by North Western buses from 1925, but Oldham Corporation did not start to run to Denshaw until 15th April 1927. A new service was introduced from Oldham to Halifax. This was operated by Oldham Corporation and North Western and in agreement with Halifax Corporation. The initial service ran every 90 minutes but this may have been reduced for the winter as there is a record of a complaint about the reduced winter service. On 26th July 1928 Oldham Corporation Tramways Committee approved a Heads of Agreement with North Western whereby Oldham’s operation would be restricted to a local service from Oldham to Denshaw. The timing avoided a dispute with West Riding County Council who had complained that Oldham’s operation on the route was unauthorised in the WRCC area apart from a short stretch which was presumably that in Saddleworth. They were threatening to institute proceedings for operation in excess of statutory powers but the North Western agreement allowed Oldham to say they were ceasing operation anyway. The Halifax service had been given the route letter ‘H’ in line with Oldham’s practice of using letters for bus services. Letters were allocated in order as new services were introduced and it is just a coincidence that H is the first letter of Halifax. The route letter continued to be used for the Oldham to Denshaw service until September 1957, when a reorganisation of services saw the introduction of a modified service 6 running from Chadderton Burnley Lane to Denshaw. One unusual feature of the timetable was the lack of a morning service to Denshaw. For example in 1964 there were morning peak journeys from Denshaw every 15 minutes up to 0827, then there was a bus at 1030 and the next was at 1250 after which the service ran every 30 minutes (15 minutes in the evening peak). From 22nd September the route was extended in Chadderton from Burnley Lane to Chadderton Hall Park. A more gradual development was the massive housing estate at Sholver and in 1969 some buses to Denshaw were diverted to serve this estate and given the service number 4. Due to the extra traffic from this development most journeys on the 4 were ones that terminated in Sholver. The through journeys to Denshaw were mainly in the evenings and on Sundays, the detour through Sholver adding seven minutes to the journey time. The 4 and 6 were renumbered 404 and 406 respectively on 2nd December 1973. From 17th August 1975 the Denshaw service was separated from the other services using Ripponden Road (those to Sholver and Strinesdale) and linked with the 422 service to give a through service from Moston Greengate to Denshaw. This was a Limited Stop service between Oldham Mumps and Moorside and was co-ordinated with a 423 Moston to Strinesdale service. A further rationalisation of services followed from 21st January 1985 when the 422 and 423 were withdrawn and the section to the north-east of Oldham replaced by extending the 408 service which had run from Stalybridge to Oldham. Buses for Denshaw turned off at Moorside to go to Pennine Meadows, which was the name for Strinesdale following the selling-off and refurbishment of the former council estate. They then returned to Moorside before continuing to Denshaw. This service continued until deregulation, when Denshaw was served by the 556 and later on the 407 (q.v.). The last 408 to Denshaw ran on 25th October 1986. |
This photograph shows first two buses (BU 401 and BU 402) parked together carrying route boards for the Moorside to Grains Bar service. It was these and a third similar vehicle (BU 11) which worked the Denshaw service. All were Tilling-Stevens petrol-electrics, a form of transmission not ideally suited to such hilly terrain but one that was easy for new drivers to master. Photo from David Beilby collection. 799x533 H001_Oldham_BU_401_and_402_D_Beilby_colln.jpg |
Where once Manchester trolleybuses congregated in large numbers (until their abandonment here in 1955) former Wigan PD2 3294 stands virtually alone in the bus station at Moston Greengate which served the former AVRO factory opposite. It is about to work one of the two evening peak journeys which worked from here the full length of the route to Denshaw. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt. 1000x666 H005_PJW3715.jpg |
Oldham PD2 357 is on Henshaw Street by the corner of the Victoria Market, better known as the Market Hall. This much-loved facility was destroyed by fire on 5th October 1974. The name of Haigh's Walk Round Stores (the shop to the right) takes us back to the days when "being served" was normal practice in a shop. Photo courtesy Roy Marshall. 799x533 H101_RM19740 Oldham_357_Henshaw_Street.jpg |
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Even in the last years of Oldham Corporation, Grains Bar was only used as a terminal point on Sunday mornings, so the destination display seen here on 5888 was almost certainly incorrect as the 422 never terminated there. 5888 has recently been repaired after a rear-end accident which left it without the waistrail moulding in that area, as can be partly seen in the picture. At the back of the bus can be seen the art deco facade of the UCP restaurant, where tripe would most certainly be on the menu - UCP stood for United Cow Products. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt. 999x667 H110_PJW2706.jpg |
Oldham's first post-war buses comprised a batch of fourteen Leyland PD1s which were the last narrow (7'-6" wide) buses bought by Oldham, who were pioneers in the introduction of wider and more comfortable buses. These buses enabled replacement of Oldham's last trams on the Manchester to Waterhead route. 229 is on Peter Street in Oldham, the terminus of the H service. This street is long-lost under the Town Square and Spindles developments and used to run parallel to and slightly below High Street. Photo courtesy Roy Marshall. 799x533 H121_RM6231 Oldham_229_Peter_Street.jpg |
327 was one of a batch of unusual Crossley-bodied Daimlers that Oldham bought. With the Daimler engine these were smooth-running buses but probably not ideal for Oldham's hills. It is also seen on Peter Street. The building to the right of the bus is Cleeg's print works; to the right of that was Yates's Wine Lodge (which fronted onto High Street). At the rear on Peter Street was tucked away Yates's Tea-Total Tavern. Photo courtesy Roy Marshall. 799x533 H123_RM9131 Oldham_327_Peter_Street.jpg |
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5335 makes an unusual manoeuvre at the roundabout at Mumps whilst on a Sunday working from Denshaw to Chadderton on the 4. The finishing touches were being put to the roundabout at Mumps prior to the opening of the by-pass and on this day the slip road off the roundabout into the town centre was being re-surfaced. This meant traffic going the wrong side of the island whilst traffic in the other direction went through the "Grotto" (Wallshaw Place). 5335 negotiated this corner quite easily but a much longer Leyland Panther stuggled and at one stage ended up at right angles to the kerb! 999x666 H145_0631.jpg |
This small batch of six Northern Counties-bodied Leyland PD2s is very well represented in this gallery. Here 416 is leaving the 'grotto' (Wallshaw Place) at Mumps on its way to Denshaw. In the main only buses used this street but on this occasion the finishing touches are being applied to the new roundabout and all traffic is going that way - the tail-back can be seen in the left distance. 799x533 H150_0642.jpg |
The first of Oldham's PD3s, by now in GMT livery as 5101, approaches Bottom o'th Moor. 1000x666 H170_3033.jpg |
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Oldham PD2/Roe 395 negotiates the bends above Old Tame before the road was re-aligned here. 395 was one of several members of this batch to lose their staircase windows. It's not clear why the modification was made - it may have been a way of getting more advertising revenue from Stardrops, whose adverts were usually found in this location! Photo courtesy Colin Routh. 999x667 H300_Oldham_395__NBU_495__Old_Tame.jpg |
This enlargement from a commercial postcard shows one of Oldham Corporation's normal-control Guy BKX six-wheelers at Denshaw. These buses had Daimler sleeve-valve engines and were bodied by Guy. New in 1927 they only lasted until 1932/3, although such a short life was not unusual in an era when design was progressing so rapidly. Photo courtesy Peter Fox. 799x533 H350_Oldham_Guy_Denshaw.jpg |
Flooding washed away Oldham Road in Denshaw and to keep traffic moving the gap was bridged by a Bailey Bridge, a portable structure developed for military use. This was my first encounter with one but not my last as two appeared in Greenfield whilst the canal and river bridges there were renewed (see the 10 and 180 collections). 428 is still in original lined-out livery at this time. It's difficult to imagine now the traffic being controlled by these two-aspect traffic lights, but temporary ones were always like that then. Photo courtesy Peter Greaves. 999x666 H352_Oldham_428_Denshaw.jpg |
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Leyland National 178 is seen in almost the same location many years later as it completes a journey from Moston on the 422. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt. 1000x666 H355_PJW3911.jpg |
English Electric supplied bodywork for a significant number of Oldham buses before the war. 140 is one of the last batch of twenty-one which were new in 1937 on Leyland Titan TD5 chassis. It is posed at Denshaw for a Leyland Motors official photograph. The building behind is the Junction Inn and at the corner can be seen a petrol pump; at the time of this photograph on-street fuel dispensing was still common practice, particularly in rural areas. Just visible on the wall is a North Western timetable case. Photo courtesy Roy Marshall. 799x533 H360_RMC7190 Oldham_140_Leyland_Motors_photo.jpg |
The terminus later moved slightly up Rochdale Road to the end of Dumfries Avenue and this is where 3294 stands waiting time to return to the garage as it is only working to Mumps Bridge. At either side of the destination display can be seen, painted over, the green lights which were used in Wigan (whence this bus originated) to distinguish Corporation buses at night from Ribble ones. Photo courtesy Paul Wreghitt. 1000x666 H368_PJW3716.jpg |
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North Western Fleetline 4 is still in its old company's red and cream, but has an Orange SELNEC flash rather than the brown "Cheshire" one it would have carried when the Greater Manchester operations of North Western were first taken over. The bus has arrived at the Dumfries Avenue terminus of the service, which had been renumbered 406 by the time of this photograph. Photo courtesy Geoff Lumb. 799x533 H370_North_Western_4_Denshaw_G_Lumb.jpg |
