One of my (many) interests is collecting Postcards, particularly those from the NE. I have a small collection of them which I have collected over the years. They are mainly scenic views, with buses being in the minority. However some do feature local transport close enough to identify the vehicles clearly.
I once rung up one of the Manufacturers with an enquiry regarding the negatives, to be told that 'they were thrown away' !! This is the problem with entrusting important Historical material to commercial companies. Anyway, hope you enjoy whats here, this collection will be added to over time.

Back in the 90's I acquired a large collection of Railway and Bus Negatives from a chap who lived in Blyth. They cost me an arm and a leg at the time, but they are worth it! The majority show the Railway scene (mainly around Newcastle) in the early 80's, at about the time when I was active, But there are some from the Scottish Region also. The Buses are mainly Northern and United vehicles on Tyneside, and these will appear under their relavant headings. Upon checking my spotting records, I found that I must have been there on some of the occasions that these pictures were taken, however, I haven't found any pictures of me yet (thank the gods!). All the major types are there which I was interested in at the time, including my particular favourites, the Class 55 Deltics. These photos are shown here for the first time, so please enjoy them.

From time to time other interesting buses have turned up on Teesside. These are presented here to show that despite being a Transit fundamentalist, there were other vehicles on occasion which warranted my interest.

Ok, so these are not from the North East, but never mind! I make no secret of my fascination for the many service vehicles which have operated alongside the Buses fleets. This collection will show the many and varied types of service vehicles which I have acquired over the years. They are not in any fleet order, but are just as I come across them in my collection.

During the 80's, I had a friend who was a car salesman, of all the Cars he brought back with him, none were (to me at least) more impressive than the giant 7 series saloons. I loved their austere agressive styling. They really are impressive beasts, and during the late 90's I was lucky enough to own a 740. F844ONL (where are you now?) This created an interest in these magnificent cars which endures to this day. Perhaps if this greedy government ever gets the fuel crisis under control, I'll have another.
Anyway the following are what I've seen on the road. Do'nt forget to checkout the owners website, if you are interested in these wonderfull cars.

Although my primary interest is in Buses from the North East, I can, and do, appreciate interesting Buses (and other vehicles) from elsewhere in the country. This collection will show vehicles which for one reason or another have been photographed from time to time.

The History of the P4 Rover is well written on the web, (and in Books) and certainly needs no introduction from someone as unqualified as I am. One only has to look at the P4 Rover Drivers Guild website to see the model's impressive History. It is truly one of Englands finest Cars. I have long had a facination for them, and have always been captivated by their elegant and imposing appearance. I have owned four in my time, all of which have now passed on, but they gave me pleasure, and perhaps when the time is right, I shall be lucky enough to own another. Until then, I will keep photographing them, and adding their pictures to this collection. These photos were taken either at Rallies, or occasionally (where I have been lucky enough) out on the road. If you like me, appreciate a time when Britain had a wonderfull Motor Industry, then you will enjoy looking at these pictures, as much as I did taking them.

In 1987, a year before the formation of the 500 Group, I was on a quest to photograph as much of the Cleveland Transit Fleet as I could. I had actually started photographing Transit buses on and off from1983, but it was only at the end of that decade that I was able to devote the time available to my quest in any depth .
The oldest Buses at that time were the L5xx class Daimler Fleetlines which had been new in the early seventies, and had once numbered seventy six vehicles. By the end of 1987, these buses were down to a handfull of active individuals, and I particularly sought after these. In November 87, I acquired my first pass to go round Stockton and Middlesbrough Depots, only to find out that all the L5xx were now out of service except for three, namely L560, L569. and L544. These three I chased allover Teesside, only once did I get two of them on the same picture, however, this little collection will show what did I manage to achieve at a time when I was employed in a job where I had very little time available. When the 500 Group was formed in November 88, two of the three were out of service, L560 (my particular favourite), and L569 (the group's original choice as it was in better overall condition) leaving just one example (L544) in service. L560/9 were cannibalised and scrapped very soon after withdrawl, so L544 was the one which was secured for preservation, and the rest as they say, is History. Anyway, hope you enjoy my efforts to record the last of the L500's.

My first ever railway photo was taken in 1978 at Darlington Bank Top. It was Deltic 55016 'Gordon Highlander'. Since then I have spent too many years recording the Railway scene, mainly in the North East. Eventually though, I moved on to Buses and the Railways dropped out of favour, particularly when those ghastly sectorisation schemes came out. However as always, there is always the exception to the rule. For me, these were the customised Thornaby examples, and these will eventually be shown here. To me the best period is the BR Blue period, and apart from the above mentioned Thornaby subjects (and one or two others) my collection will reflect this. As in my other galleries, the majority of photographs were taken by myself, however in the early 90's I acquired a large selection of North East Railway negatives (of mainly Tyneside) which will apear in their own collection. Hope you enjoy what you see.

My employment at the Bus Station (and the bus depot) consists of being a Data Collector, that is I check the leaving times of Stagecoach buses when they depart for service. I also help to keep things running smoothly by helping out where possible, such as carrying spare ticket rolls, and a spanner for the odd minor running repair job. From an enthusiasts point of view I suppose I'm in a unique position, in that I can take the odd snap now and again.
The pictures here are taken in a discreet manner of something that is worth photographing, always when there is a break in the proceedings, or when I'm leaving the site, and never whilst on duty. I do not have time to, nor would I ever run negligently around snapping away at anything that moved! Also I will not take a photo on request for anybody, nor will I photograph sensitive incidents. so please do not ask.
These pictures are just a personal record for me of my time here, so that in twenty or thirty years time, I can say 'I worked here'.

Due to internal problems at Leyland throughout the 70's, Fleetlines were hard to get. In order to meet it's vehicle requirements for 1977, Cleveland Transit were offered a batch of fifteen Bristol VR's (from a Leyland Dealer!).
These were unusual (to ECW fans) in that they were Northern Counties bodied, but that was Transits specified bodybuilder, and the Buses would have been Northern Counties bodied anyway, regardless of the chassis type.
H100 - H114 arrived at Stockton Depot in 1977, and lasted till 1989, when they and several P reg Fleetlines, and the re-bodied Atlanteans (H38-H52) were displaced by Leyland Lynxes introduced from that year to combat the severe competion experienced by Transit from Trimdon Motor Service. This Company had established a network of predatory services on Teesside at the start of the De-regulation farce, becoming a thorn in Transit's side for several years. The new Leyland Lynxes being better equipped to meet this threat.
In order to show the type on the Rally scene before it was too late, I arranged for the 500 Group to take the last example of the class, H114, to the last Bradford Transport Museum Rally in October 1989, before that Museum closed to become the ill fated transperiance. H114's appearence at Bradford created a lot of interest, and caused some interesting comments amongst the many enthusiasts who had been brought up on ECW Bristols.
An attempt by the 500 Group to purchase H114 along with Fleetline JDC544L, came to nothing as H114 had already been earmarked for sale.
The Bristols were withdrawn during the de-regulation period, when you sold your assets for what you could get for them, and thus several of these Bristols found new homes with operators nationwide.
H106 together with H113 & H114, found themselves on the isle of Anglesy in Wales, working for Jones of Llanthethlu.
By 2005, H106 was the last survivor of this trio, and the only survivor of the batch intact as a Bus, the other two survivors (H100/H108) were both exhibition units.
H106 was advertised in the Magazine Bus and Coach Preservation, and it was duly retrieved for preservation during 2005.
Work is still going on with this Bus, much of it needing major rebuilding, this collection of photos will show the restoration as it develops.
As a footnote, when the 500 Group took H114 to Bradford back in 1989, I made up a display board showing the two different liveries carried by these Bristols at that time, the picture illustrating the then new de-regulation livery (of which several of these Buses carried) was none other than H106! Spooky or what!

This Bus was new in 1967 to TRTB, it was the first member of a batch of four buses (JVN40 - 43E) which were the last new traditional half cab style buses to any operator in the North East.
When new it carried Turquoise livery with experimental 'Teesside Transport' fleetnames, but with TRTB legal lettering. This was because the merger into Teesside Municipal Transport was underway, but details like fleetnames had not been finalised yet.
The Bus was withdrawn in 1980, and was acquired by the then Cleveland County for use as a Playbus, replacing a former ex Stockton PD2 (279DUP).
JVN40E was painted in a garish colour scheme decorated with Disney Characters, and fullfilled the Playbus role till 1984 when it was donated to the North East Bus Museum.
They thought it was too new to preserve straight away (?) so it was painted it into a pseudo TRTB dark green livery, and used as a mobile sales stand.
It was then leased long term to Go Ahead Northern as one of their PSV Trainers, and they refurbished it into their smart Red and White Training livery, and based it at the Training school at Gateshead.
In 1992 when the requirements for Training Vehicles changed, JVN40E was returned to the North East Bus Museum, and it was offered for sale in 1995.
The 500 Group acquired it in the August of that year, and after eighteen months without use, it fired up and was driven back to Teesside under it's own power.
The plan was to have had JVN40E restored after JDC599 was finished, however, a certain ex Transit Bristol VR appeared on the scene!
Eventually JVN40E will be restored, and it will carry Cleveland Transit Green and Jasmine as H240, it's 1980 condition, making a fine addittion to the 500 Group's stable.

This Bus was built in April 72, and entered service with Teesside Municipal Transport in April 73. It has a special low height version of the Bus Grant Bodywork, something which only Teesside and Southend Corporation were allowed to have.
There were originally seventy six Buses in it's class (L501 - L576) but L544 is now the only survivor. The 500 Group acquired it in late 1989, and it was restored to it's original TMT Turquoise livery by July 1990. It has been rallied ever since, and has now been in the 500 Groups ownership longer than it has been with either TMT or it's sucessor Cleveland Transit. This collection of photos will show it's life both with us, and it's original owners, hope you will enjoy them.

The 500 Group acquired this Bus in 1991 following the placement in the Bus Press regarding the whereabouts of former Teesside vehicles. JDC599 had been owned by a Mr Ron Mowbray (who kept it in his back garden) since 1977, and he sold the Bus to us on condition that it was restored and retained it's original registration.
The Bus (by 1991 now at the Trent Bus Depot in Derby) was duly purchased, and was restored by members of the 500 Group over a seven year period. JDC599 made it's suprise Rally debut in at Showbus in 1998.We knew it was going to Showbus, we just didn't tell anyone about it! The dropped jaws were amazing! This collection of photos show it's preserved life from when we acquired it to current times. Hope you enjoy them.

This selection shows some of the interesting service vehicle fleet operated by Cleveland Transit. Most of these by their nature were very elusive, only appearing outside the depot fleetingly. the only one I saw (and photographed) with any regularity was the Master Breakdown Tender, G16 the Leyland Clydesdale, so there are more pictures of that than the others! In this collection also, you will find examples of the infrastructure, such as Bus Stops and other oddments.

The southern most of the North East Brigades, the thing that fascinated me about this brigade was the North East registrations, such as AJ & EF, both registrations common on Teesside. Following various county boundry changes in the 60's and 70's, North Yorkshire lost some of it's stations to Teesside fire brigade in 1968, (Grangetown/Thornaby/Redcar) and again in 1974 to Cleveland fire brigade. (loftus/Saltburn/Skelton/Guisbrough/Yarm).

This Brigade was formed in 1948, and covered much of the area between the Tees and the Tyne. From the county boundry reviews in 1974, it lost several stations to Cleveland and Tyne & Wear fire brigades.

This Brigade was formed in 1974 with the amalgamation of Newcastle & Gateshead, Sunderland ,South Shields, together with parts of Durham and Northumberland Fire Brigades. This collection will show various appliances from all of these, from my own photos, and colour slides that I hold the copyright to. hope you enjoy them.

The Tyne and Wear Metro is one of the jewels of the North East. This wonderful system has long been a favourite of mine. As England's first modern rapid Transport system, it provides a fast convienient way into the City of Newcastle upon Tyne, the North East's principal City. The system uses the original North Eastern Railway's Tyneside loop route, which runs out from Newcastle to the coast and back, and then to South Shields, was Electrified (with third Rail Electrics) way back in 1904. The original Electric trains ran till 1967, and after Dieselisation, it was revitalised from 1975, and is now an effective modern Transport system using overhead Electric trains which are very fast.
The rolling stock was built by Metro Cammell, and perhaps partly owes its success to the fact that, apart from being Electric, all the technology used on it was all proven; ie- no expensive untried 'gadgets'. The Metro is now over twenty five years old, and celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2005. this collection will be added to over time, and consists of pictures taken by myself, and from views I have picked up along the way. For some reason the Metro doesn't seem to attract the same attention as other NE Railways, and most of the older views here came out of unmarked 10p boxes! anyway, hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Cleveland Transit acquired this Bus in 1988 for private hire use. The 500 Group started taking it to rallies from November of that year, and from this begining we now have an excellent preservation society, specialising in former Teesside vehicles.
The Bus is no stranger to the North East, as it worked on hire to United Automobile Services at Scarbrough along with several of its sisters on the open top sea front services in the summers of 1978/9.
Stagecoach Transit sold the vehicle around 2001, to a preservation society in it's original operating area, however it has not been seen for a while.

Cleveland Fire Brigade was created on 1st April 1974 when the then new County of Cleveland was created during the County boundry revisions of that year. The Brigade comprises of the former Teesside Fire Brigade, (which in itself was only a new creation, being created in 1968.) together with further parts of Durham and North Yorkshire, and Hartlepool Fire Brigade. Cleveland is well known for the distinctive white fronts on their appliances, which first appeared on a pair of AEC Mercury's (AXG2 & 29K) in 1971. This livery variant continues on todays appliances.
This collection taken by myself over the last twenty years or so, will feature appliances and other vehicles of this very interesting Brigade.