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BARTON |
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| W 963 is actually a replica of Barton No. 1 and was built in 1953 using a 1911 Daimler chassis. It is now a part of the Nottingham Heritage Centre's Road Transport Collection. |
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JRR 930 was one of 27 Duple bodied Leyland PD1s purchased in 1948. It is seen at its current home, The Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre during the Grand Bus Gala on September 17th, 1995. |
| 851 (851 FNN) is an AEC Regent V with Northern Counties body which is currently based at the Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre. Having travelled on these vehicles one memorable feature was the need for anyone on the tall side travelling on the top deck to keep their head down due to the low height ! |  |
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| One of Barton's most famous routes was the X9 which was inaugurated in 1927 and linked Long Eaton and Nottingham with Skegness and Mablethorpe. The Company had their own Bus Station in Skegness at Drummond Road and is the location of all these views. Above in 1974 is a (then new) Leyland Leopard 1374 (OAL 618M) on the X9. Top right are (left to right) Bedford YNT/Plaxton 596 (PTV 596X), Leyland Leopard/Plaxton 476 (MNU 476P) and Leyland Leopard/Plaxton 469 (MNU 469P) all on excursions. On the right is the former departure board and timetable which remained long after the bus station closed. No doubt many will remember the building at the bus station which was shared by an estate agent and a cafe, the latter being the booking office for Barton - therefore making it possible to order a cup of tea and book a ticket to Nottingham at the same time ! When this closed, bookings were made at a nearby travel agency (as the sign below indicates). Both the building and bus station have long since been cleared and the site is now occupied by a large council owned car park. Bottom right shows a 1977 timetable for the X9. |
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| On the X64 express from Leicester to Mablethorpe, DAF / Plaxton 1642 (D642 WNU) is seen at Skegness in white livery. |  |
| DAF / Plaxton B627 JRC heads through Burgh le Marsh on its return X9 run to Long Eaton. |  |
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Barton was purchased by the Wellglade Company in 1989 who also owned Trent. Leyland Atlantean 571 (ONN 571P) was New to the Trent Fleet in 1976 it originally had an ECW body, but this was badly damaged by a fire at Meadow Road Depot in Derby in 1977. A new body was constructed by Willowbrook. It was subsequently transferred to Barton and became the first double-decker in the fleet for many years. It was photographed whilst parked at the Broadmarsh bus station in Nottingham. |
| Awaiting departure at Long Row, Nottingham in 1994 is 1246 (RVO 668L) a 1973 Leyland Leopard which awaits departure on route 7 to Calverton minus its fron registration plate ! This vehicle has been preserved by the Barton 1246 Society and another picture of it is included at the end of this feature. |  |
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Taken from a conviently overlooking window of the Gresham hotel in Nottingham is Leyland Leopard 1408 (ONN 291M) which, in 1994, is seen crossing the bridge over the Nottingham Canal in Carrington Street on route 21 bound for the village of Cotgrave. Unusually, the vehicle is minus the purple roof as was standard to the Barton livery. |
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In somewhat cloudy conditions, Leyland Leopard 1467 (MNU 467P) stands at Bottesford prior to returning on the scenic service across Belvoir to Melton Mowbray in 1994. Behind can be seen the spire of St. Mary's Church which, at 210ft., is the highest in Leicestershire |
| 1375 (OAL 619M) is seen at Melton Mowbray bus station on service 113 to Nottingham in 1985. Barton's depot nearby and the bus station itself have both long since closed. |  |
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A nice line up of Leopards at Melton Mowbray in 1985. Left to right are 1231 (RVO 653L), 1247 (RVL 669L), 1295 (XRR 624M) and 1293 (XRR 622M). |
| At Oakham in 1994 is Leyland Leopard 1231 (RVO 653L). This was new to the Company in 1973. |  |
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Leyland Leopard 1231 (RVO 653L en route to Melton Mowbray. |
| Leyland Leopard 1480 (RCH 480R) is seen on the Oakham town service. Following Barton's acquisition by the same owner as Trent, flet numbers were given an additional 1000. |  |
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Barton once had a network of
services in the Stamford area as well as a depot. The
history of these was published in the May/June 1998 issue
of the Lincolnshire
& East Yorkshire Transport Review and a copy
of the article is featured on this site - please click on this link to be
taken directly there. Leyland Leopard 534 (ERB 534T) is seen at Stamford Bus Station after working the local service 101 from Peterborough. Behind it is a Lincolnshire Road Car Bristol LH 1064 (DTL 540T) awaiting departure on route 604 to Grantham c1980. |
| The easternmost extent of Barton's stage carriage services was Peterborough (although in the early 1960s when the Company took over operation from the LRCC of the Midland & Great Northern Railway replacement run, was Spalding). At the Queensgate Bus Station in Peterborough in 1980 are Leyland Leopards 1406 (ONN 290M) on the left and 1381 (OAL 625M). |  |
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A reminder of the a once very useful service that Barton operated which linked Peterborough and Nottingham via Stamford, Oakham and Melton Mowbray. Leyland Leopard 607 (VRC 607Y) stands at Peterborough's Queensgate Bus Station prior to departure on service 117 to Nottingham. Since withdrawal of the route in 1988, there has been no through stage carriage service between the two cities, only a twice-per day National Express route (350) via Grantham. |
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The covers of two timetable leaflets. Stage carriage services during the early 1980s were on black & white leaflets whilst colour was used for express routes as illustrated here. On the left is one for the routes from Nottingham to Melton Mowbray, Corby, Peterborough and Oakham whilst on the right is an example of one of the many express services Barton once operated. The X36 is rather interesting in that much of its route followed the course of the former Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway which closed in 1959 and, despite being an express, served some very small Lincolnshire villages including Edenham and Twenty ! |  |
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Another view of Leyland Leopard 1246 (RVO 668L) after it has been preserved by the Barton 1246 Society. It paid a visit to Skegness on Sunday, May 9th, 1999, and is seen at the Tower Esplanade with the famous Clock Tower in the background. |
| Leyland National 474 (VCH 474S) was new to Trent in 1977 and is seen in 1995 at Bingham Market Place on route 25 to Nottingham. |  |
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The new image of Barton. DAF / Optare 308 (J308 BVO) is seen at Nottingham Broadmarsh bus station prior to departure on Rainbow Route 5 to Derby. |
| The rather interesting vehicle illustrated here is an AEC Mandator tow truck with bodywork constructed from ECW bus parts - hence the similarity of the front end to a Bristol RE. |  |
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From September 4th, 2000, Barton returned to Stamford by extending their service 2 (Nottingham to Oakham) to Stamford (which runs as a 2A between Oakham and Stamford). DAF / Optare 305 (J305 BVO) is seen departing from Stamford bus station on Saturday, September 23rd, 2000, on the 1435 to Oakham and Nottingham. A timetable for the route can be found in the Barton Buses official site (see link below). |
| Optare 221 (W221 PRB) is special "Rushcliffe Line" livery, is seen at Nottingham on route 1 to Bingham. |  |
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On the same day, another Optare, W416 YAL, is en-route to East Bridgford. |
| Optare Delta 164 (S164 UAL) at Nottingham on May 5th, 2001. |  |
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Optare W213 PRB passes the Midland Station in Nottingham on the Cotgrave Connection run. |
| 53 (M53 PRA) is one of five Volvo B10Ms-60s with Alexander Q bodywork. It wears a special livery for the "Transpeak" Nottingham - Manchester service and is illustrated at the Broadmarsh bus station. |  |
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57 (P57 ETO), a Volvo B10M-60 with Plaxton Preniere Interurban body, is seen at the Broadmarsh bus station. It wears lettering for the hourly Leicester service 777. |
| Dennis Dart SLF / PLaxton Pointer 911 (P911 CTO) passes the railway station on the Keyworth service. |  |
| Further information and photographs of Barton's vehicles can be found at the following sites |
| Barton in Stamford (LEYTR) |
