Chassis: Leyland Atlantean AN68D/1R
Chassis Number: 8300664
Body: Northern Counties H43/32F
Body Number: 2537
Date of Registration: 17/01/84
Date Withdrawn: 5/8/00
Owned by: Adam Stephenson
8697 is a Leyland Atlantean with a Northern Counties body, built in 1984 to the Standard design that had been develped by SELNEC / Greater Manchester
Transport and Northern Counties, leading to the term 'GM Standard' being used to describe these buses.
It entered service on 17th January 1984 at Greater Manchester Transport's
Bury Depot (which was indicated by a 'BY' transfer close to the front and rear fleetnumbers). Unusually, 8697 was never re-allocated to another depot,
remaining at Bury, its original depot, until it was withdrawn and immediately bought for preservation in August 2000 by Adam Stephenson, having been in service for 16 years.
8697 carried only three liveries during its service life (out of a possible five), and was significant in being the last vehicle in passenger service (with a former GM
Buses company) in GM Buses livery, because it carried the final GM Buses livery until withdrawal. Bury Depot was also home to Olympian 3249, the last
vehicle in GM Express livery, 3150, the last Olympian in GM Buses livery and 3271, the last vehicle in GMN Express livery.
8697 carried the Greater Manchester Transport (GMT) livery of brown, orange
and white until around 1988 (with 2 logo changes - first to GM Buses - with Bury area markings and then to GM Buses with the slogan 'People on the
Move'). It was then repainted into the GM Buses People on the Move orange and white livery, with large side logos. In 1991/2 it was repainted into the final
GM Buses livery, retaining a white windscreen surround and headlight / foglight surrounds from the previous livery (which it now carries) and then in 1992/3 it
received a repaint in this livery, removing these features and the fleet number was changed to 4697. In 1994/5 GMN logos were applied to the side, followed
by Greater Manchester logos in 1996. These were removed in 1998 and replaced by First Manchester logos.
In 1992, a new radio system was installed by GM Buses and this coincided
with the re-numbering of the 8000 series to the 4000 series, due to the large gap in the vehicle numbering system at the time. This meant that 8697 was
renumbered to 4697, the number it carried until it was withdrawn from service.
8697 was fully repainted into 1991/2 livery during the winter of 2001/2, having
been stored at St.Helens Transport Museum from withdrawal until April 2003, when it moved to the
