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Fleet no. 8551 was delivered in a batch of 125 vehicles, 8531 to 8655 - ANA 531Y to ANA 655Y, from
Northern Counties of Wigan. 8551 is a GMT Standard Leyland Atlantean - AN68D/1R. The first part of the code, AN68 stands for Atlantean with an 0680 engine, the D indicates
the fitting of the 'rationalised' 0680 engine which was known as the 4000 series (and was an interim design between the 0680 and the TL11 engines) and the 1R indicates
the chassis length and the right hand drive model.
Unlike the early 'steel framed' vehicles, 8551 had the newer 'alloy framed' structure which started to be
built during 1982. The vehicles are immediately recognisable by the rubber mounted recessed windows. The alloy framed design addressed the structural weakness of the
original steel framed body and was standard from fleet no. 8443, with 8433/37-38 being built before full production commenced. 8551 left Northern Counties' paint shops in
the then new GMT bus livery which consisted of the three principle house colours of brown, orange and white. The brown contained pigments which made it particularly
resilient to the attack of road dirt, oil, grease and heat and the front entrance doors were white to make them more prominent.
It was delivered to Charles Street
depot in Stockport, where all new vehicles were stored until they were allocated to a particular depot. On the 7th September 1982, 8551 was inspected at Charles
Street and then registered on the 9th September 1982 with only 90 miles on the clock.
The vehicle's first depot was Queens Road (QS) in Manchester where it was
fitted with "Sounds in Motion" equipment. This was fitted to around 100 vehicles from Queens Road and Princess Road depots. It consisted of speakers fitted
in the upper saloons which were connected to a tape player which played music and adverts repeatedly.
When 'D-Day' arrived on 26th October 1986, 8551 received a new
identity - GM Buses - with a narrow fawn coloured band at wheel arch level and 'City North' displayed above the entrance door. These aspects were short lived and were soon
replaced with the new style GM Buses logo with "People on the Move" slogan and pictorial depot logos on the N/S first window and under the cab window on the
O/S. 8551 did not however receive a repaint into the GM Buses - People on the Move all over orange livery, which was introduced around 1988.
In 1992 8551 was
renumbered losing the '8' for a '4' to bring the fleet numbers into line with a new radio system and its call signs.
In 1994 GM Buses was split into two companies -
'North' and 'South'. This meant that 8551 received the new GMN logos for GM Buses North around about 1995, still working for Queens Road. First Bus bought the company in
April 1996 and renamed the company 'Greater Manchester' with the First Bus logo after the name, and this new logo was applied to 8551 shortly afterwards.
When First
Bus took over the company, changes were made with Queens Road changing to low-sulphur diesel, causing the Atlanteans to suffer from running problems, so 4551 was
subsequently transferred to its second home of Oldham Depot (OM), which was not using this fuel at the time.
First Bus changed to FirstGroup in 1998 and Greater
Manchester Buses North was renamed First Manchester Limited. 8551 therefore received the new trading name of First Manchester, with 'First' being applied to the front
panel and rear dome and 'Manchester' under the cab window and under the first N/S window. Oldham received a large number of new vehicles shortly afterwards to replace many
older Metrobuses and Atlanteans and 8551 moved to Bolton Depot (BN) where it ran its last months in service with the company. The vehicle's MOT expired on 19th
August 1999 and First Manchester wasn't prepared to put it through another MOT due to the loss of school contracts to Coachmasters. This meant that 8551 was withdrawn
from passenger service and within one week of being withdrawn, 8551 left Bolton Depot on the 28th August 1999 to become part of the collection at St.Helens Transport
Museum.
8551 was repainted into original GMT livery at First Manchester's Wigan Depot in February 2001. |
