Going on the No 2 and No 3 Circular Bus Route

[Todwriter 10]

I remember riding all the way round on the 2 and 3 when I was a student in 1965/6 and my digs were near Gleadless. The bus went past two depots - at Greenland and Herries Road - but which one supplied the buses and crews?

[phantom309 10]

I remember riding all the way round on the 2 and 3 when I was a student in 1965/6 and my digs were near Gleadless. The bus went past two depots - at Greenland and Herries Road - but which one supplied the buses and crews?

 

Herries Road did the most but other garages did odd trips especially at peak periods

[Todwriter 10]

Thanks, Phantom 309. I think it was nearly always an Atlantean on the Outer Circle, sometimes the odd one with an Alexander body, no. 369 - or one of the batch starting at 881. I also saw those in town on the 42 and 53.

[Jacko 1 10]

The route was 25 miles in length from Malin Bridge to Malin Bridge via Rivelin Valley Road and the opposite, the journey took 1 hour 55 minutes and the staff were changed at Herries Road bus depot, a shift on that route constituted of 4 trips.

[david weston 10]

No one has mentioned the actual buses which worked the route in the 50'sand 60's, nor the older crews. The route 8/9 buses were predominantly Crossley DD42's manufactured in Manchester and I believe they were either surplus Manchester Transport vehicles or a trial order by the mostly Leyland/AEC Sheffield Transport Dept.. These buses were distinctive in having half-windows at the rear sides of the saloon and upper deck. The front mudguards were also unusual in that the forward edges of the curve came closer to the ground and were slightly pointed. There may have been some DD42 variations, but I remember them as above; difficult to describe, but there'll be photos somewhere and I don't know how to include a link ! The crews were older chaps on 'Part-Day' shifts where they did half their hours in the morning, followed by an average 4 hour break, and the remainder of the shift in the afternoon. Like these old timers, the buses also plodded around at a service speed which was timetabled much slower than most other city routes. In the 1970's there used to be an unofficial STD magazine, its name I forget, run by a lad at head office called Dennis Vickers, it was full of 'insider information' on due additions to the fleet, withdrawals, fleet numbers etc.. Dennis was bus mad and also owned a preserved Bedford OB coach. Anyone know his whereabouts today, or have copies of the mag ?

[hillsbro 32]

Here is a photo of a Crossley DD42. My carefully-preserved Ian Allan bus spotting book of 1957 indicates that Sheffield had 28 Crossley DD42s, built 1947-49, of which six were 32-seat single deckers.

[Paul-B21 10]

I remember catching the number 2 to go from Ecclesall Road up to Graves Park. It was a great service and provided transport between parts of the city without having to go via town.

 

Very sad to hear that it was no more. I have some good childhood memories from those days

[cookingfat50 10]

I can remember in the 60s/70s catching the No6 N2 us at the top of blackstock road near the Norton water tower, I used to catch it there cause it's a nice long journey to blackborn, near wincobank to see my grandparents

[earthdragon 10]

I remember both the Inner and Outer Circle buses. The no 8/9 used to run from Endcliffe Park up to Broomhill and I sometimes used to catch it, to save me walking up all those hills, although the bus was so infrequent that it was quicker to walk home, rather than wait for the bus.

 

If I saw the bus coming, I sometimes used to catch the No 2 from Crosspool to Coldwell Lane on my way home from Tapton. However, I once did the whole Outer Circle trip with my brother in the 1950s and very enjoyable it was too. It was probably the one of the first times we had seen the countryside, as the outskirts of Sheffield were largely undeveloped at that time. We must have caught the bus in town (possibly after going to a Children's Matinee at the ABC), since it didn't run from Broomhill. It doesn't surprise me that the route has been discontinued, since there were never many passengers on the bus, which, I think, ran every hour. Of course, if I want to do a similar trip now, I can catch the tram from Malin Bridge right up to the terminus at Halfway and back again.

 

We (my sister, brother and I) also once caught the No 2 out into the open countryside past Rivelin, to go on some swing boats. Unfortunately we spent our return fare on an extra ride, meaning that we had to walk home. Considering that we lived at Broomhill at the time and it was getting dark, I'm not sure how we would have got there, if our father hadn't come out looking for us. It just goes to show just how much freedom children had in the 1950s/60s, although I'm not 100% sure that we actually had permission from our parents. I blame my brother; he was the "ideas man" and could sweet-talk anyone into getting his own way. We also used to go to Rivelin Park occasionally, as it had both a playground and a paddling pool that was just deep enough to swim in, plus the café used to sell delicious bonfire toffee lollies. We probably caught the 52 to Walkley and then either walked down or caught the No 2 (it's so long ago that details of our transport are hazy). How we ever avoided getting lost or abducted is a miracle. Happy days!

Edited February 11, 2015 by earthdragon

[hillsbro 32]

Hi earthdragon - happy days indeed, and it was nice to read your recollections. I had a pal at school (King Ted's) who lived at Norton Lees and so I could get the No 2 in Hillsborough and get off on Derbyshire Lane. It was a long journey but a nice run in summer, via Rivelin and Crosspool. I wish I had a photo of the swingboats you mention. They were in a field behind the hut that sold drinks and snacks, going towards Hollow Meadows, just where a local resident recently did some lovely drystone walling. On the way home you'd have had over a mile to walk to catch the bus at Rivelin Post Office, even if you'd had the bus fare! There was also the 54 bus to the Norfolk Arms, though it wasn't a very frequent service. Swingboats were something of a tradition in Rivelin, and there used to be some in Rivelin Glen near the double bend - here's an old photo - but that was before my time - honest it was!.

[stpetre 12]

the 2/59 were run by SYT. the inner circle 8/9 in the 70's and 80's was run by SUT which had red white and blue livery on their buses. They ran from out of the Garage at Charlotte Road, next to the railway line, on the other side from the Olive Grove SYT (now First) depot.

 

I used to catch the inner circle-8and 9- from Burngreave to the Wybourn in the late 70's and don't remember S.U.T being involved, they seemed to be S.Y.T. and I think later on they had 'Bendibuses' on it.

 

---------- Post added 12-02-2015 at 02:20 ----------

 

Here is a typical page from the summer 1954 timetable for the No 2 direction (Monday to Saturday).

 

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u219/twigmore/Circular1954.jpg

 

Every hour a bus left Malin Bridge to do the full circle, and arrived back 1 hour 55 minutes later. So to continue this hourly service, two buses were needed for each direction. As one No 2 bus left Malin Bridge, the next one would be at Darnall.

 

Ignoring the italicised (Saturdays only) times, another bus left Bellhouse Road (indicated by the *) at one minute to the hour and reached Malin Bridge at 25 past. This then turned round and returned as a No 3, leaving Malin Bridge at half past the hour and arriving at Bellhouse Road in time to do the next No 2 leaving at one minute to the hour. There was also an hourly No 2 that ran between the top of Carterknowle Road and Elm Tree, this being another sector that took just under half an hour, so that it could return to Carterknowle Road in time to do the next hourly service.

 

As far as I recall the (complete) Outer Circle was discontinued as a result of the rationalisation of 1970, when many services were cut back.

 

What was the 'Little Walkley' bus No 31 all about?

[hillsbro 32]

What was the 'Little Walkley' bus No 31 all about?

The No 31 ‘Little Walkley’ route first operated in 1954 with single-deckers (unusual at that time for an inner city route) which were quite small with only 31 seats but more room than usual for standing passengers. They were brand-new Leyland/M.C.W. buses, Nos. 222 and 223, that could cope with the steep hills. The route originally operated between Pond Street and Forbes Road, Hillsborough via Scotland Street, Meadow Street, Upperthorpe, Burgoyne Road, Walkley Road and Walkley Lane. It still operates as No 31, though the route has changed several times over the years and now serves South Road, for example. Here's a painting by the late George Cooper showing No 222 turning into Forbes Road, and here's an extract from an light-hearted article "Don't Miss the Bus" that I wrote for the First Mainline staff magazine "Routes":.

 

I remember the elderly crews who were “regulars” on the No 31 Lower Walkley route (known to transport staff as the “mountain goat”). This route used rather special hill-climbing single-deck buses, and the crews were special, too. One Sunday afternoon in 1958 I got on a No 31 at Forbes Road with a bag full of chrysanthemum plants, which my father wanted me to take to my bus conductor uncle Sydney who lived at Walkley. As soon as I got on, the conductor noticed the chrysanthemums and commented that they were “good healthy plants”. At the age of ten I didn’t know a healthy chrysanthemum from a chronically sick one - but I soon learned. Between leaving Forbes Road and arriving at Cundy Street I was given a detailed lecture on the finer points of growing chrysanthemums.

Edited February 12, 2015 by hillsbro