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Stockton & Thornaby Corporation Tramways

In 1921, the three Corporation s of Middlesbrough, Thornaby and Stockton exercised their powers and took over the services and vehicles of the Imperial Tramways Ltd on Teesside M Middlesbrough had its own fleet but Stockton and Thornaby ran theirs jointly. They retained the vermillion and white livery but both town crests were added to the waist panels

(below) Ex Imperial Milne’s tram, No 43 was one that was transferred to Stockton; it was eventually re-numbered 18 in the Stockton fleet. It is seen at Norton Green terminus on the main drag

Motor buses were transfered too

Four new motor buses were bought and six Bristols were transferred from Imperial. The Bristols were mainly 33 seaters of 1913 vintage

Below is Bristol J2636, No. 69 in the fleet, it is seen in Yarm High Street whilst still with Imperial, probably about 1915

Double-Deck motor buses

Among the the first double deck motor bus was UP1540, bought new in 1928. It was an all Leyland TD1with a 51 seat Lowbridge body with open rear staircase

It is seen working a “2”service to Yarm in Stockton High Street

Enclosed staircase buses

UP3707 was also an all Leyland, but by the time this was new in 1930 staircases were being covered. This meant a reduction in seating to 48

(below) No 51. when new. It was finally withdrawn in 1949

A new single deck Bristol

Also new in 1930 was this Bristol "b" model, Fleet No. 9 (UP3712)
It was a twenty-six seater
(below) No. 9 when new

An A.E.C. single deck bus

This A.E.C. was a Regal IV model with a 30 seat Brush body, it was new in 1930 and lasted till 1944
(below) No. 12 outside the Brush works at Loughborough in 1930 prior to delivery

Tram replacement buses

In 1931, ahead of the tram replacement, six, 50 seat, double-deck buses were obtained, four were Daimler CR6 models, one was an A.E.C. and the other was a rare Crossley Condor
(Below) Daimler No. 58(UP5326) was one of the batch

The first Weyman body bus

Weyman were a body builder unfamiliar to Stockton Corporation in 1934. they were subsequently to become a major supplier in the 1960s

(below) Dimler CP6, Fleet No. 21 with a Weyman 54 seat Highbridge body, was new in this 1934 photograph

An early 40's double-deck bus

The body of this Daimler, DUP879 (Fleet No. 79) was fitted in 1946, as a replacement for the poor quality body by Cravens which was originally fitted in 1940. The bus was finally withdrawn in 1958 and sold to local builders, Lane-Fox. It was scraped at a brickworks in Neasham in 1965

(Below) The new body was quite handsome for the period as seen in this view taken in Boathouse Lane

A wartime "Austerity"

This is a Daimler GWA6 with oil engine, supplied in 1944. It had an Austerity body built by Brush and was originally supplied with wooden seats. It was re-furbished in 1948 with upholstered seats

(Below) FPT687 (No. 94) is seen in the Boathouse Lane depot. The chimney in the background was for the tramway power station

A rare Strachans body

This Guy Arab was a wartime acquisition and had a Gardner engine and a Strachans body
FUP254 (Fleet No.103) had an aggressive look with its extended engine bay for its Gardner 6LW engine. It is seen in Stockton’s interesting High Street, heading South on a service to Thornaby

One of four Bristol chassis

This bus is one of the four Bristol’s K6Gs obtained in 1947. They had Massey Bros highbridge bodies with 56 seats. They were the only Bristol double-deck buses that the Corporation owned. United was of course a major operator of Bristol buses.

HPT433 (Fleet No.12) is seen on an “O” service just outside the “Blue Post” Hotel in Stockton High Street in 1950

A batch of Leylands

There was a return to Leyland buses as soon as they became available following the freeing up of supplies in 1948. a batch of eleven were bought, all with Leyland all metal bodies wit 56 seats

(Below) JUP156 (No. 123) works on the main drag (“O”) service through the southbound High Street

A batch of twenty-five Leylands

A further batch of twenty five was obtained, this time with bodies by Massey Bros of Wigan. This order was a “catch up” batch to replace work worn pre war buses

(Below) KPT759 (No.54) works a “2” to Yarm. The “D” shaped lower deck windows were a distinctive feature of the Massey design.

A Leyland Olympic

A single deck bus was obtained in 1951. It was a Leyland Olympic, which was state of the art at the time. It was of integral construction, (i.e.) without a separate chassis frame). It originally had twin doors, at the front and rear. It was quite troublesome bus and was extensively modified during its life

MPT858 was No. 26. it is seen here in rebuilt form, with front entrance only fairly late in its life in Hartburn, probably in 1964

Another all Leyland double-deck bus

OUP757 was fleet No. 8 in the Stockton fleet; it was later re-numbered 108 by Teesside Municipal Transport in 1968.
It was once again an all Leyland vehicle, the chassis being a PD2/12 and the 58 seat all metal body being a Leyland built highbridge.

(Below) No. 8 stands in the new Church Road depot in 1968, it has yet to be re-painted in the new Turquoise livery.

Northern Counties Bodies for Stockton

Eight Leyland’s were bought in 1955, two had Weyman bodies but six were bodied by Northern Counties. They had lower deck standee windows as fitted to a similar batch of Guys supplied to Middlesbrough Corporation

(Below)RUP305, Fleet No. 31 is seen passing down Yarm Lane on what is probably a school special.

A second hand one-man bus

SFC730 was bought second hand in 1964 from City of Oxford Motor Services. It was bought to try one man operation again

(Below) Numbered 10 in the Stockton Fleet, it was an A.E.C. Regal with a Willowbrook 42 seat body. It had been new in 1952.

A Crossley body on a Leyland chassis

A trio of unusual buses were bought in 1957, they were the usual Leyland PD2s but were fitted with a Crossley bodies, built in Manchester. They were 43 seaters and lasted until 1973

(Below) VUP462 (No. 97) is seen in Middlesbrough Exchange bus station working an 11 service.

1960, more Leylands

A pair of Leyland Weymans was bought in 1960. They were 759/760 HPT. They lasted right through to Cleveland Transit days, 759HPT finishing as a driver trainer before being scraped at in 1976

(below)Passing the imposing doors of the Yorkshire Bank in the High Street, 759HPT (Fleet No. 40) is working a 9 service

The Weyman "Horse-Boxes"

The first double deck buses to be fitted with front entrances wee the PD2s with Weyman bodies delivered in 1962. They had an unusual appearance, with small upper deck windows, and of course the first window on the nearside lower deck blanked off by the staircase. They had the nick name of “horseboxes” because of their appearance.

(Below) 4708UP Fleet No.109, from the 1963 batch is pictured at Yarm Town Hall

Stockton's first Leyland Atlanteans

Stockton took the plunge and bought the largely untried Leyland Atlantean in 1964. Fourteen of these handsome rear engined buses were bought and were put into a new number series A1 to A14.

They had Park Royal 74 seat bodies and were originally operated with conductors

(Below) Atlantean BPT516B,( Fleet No.A6) is seen outside the Odeon Cinema, where John Wayne is playing in “the Magnficent Showman”

The last batch of single-deck buses

The last batch of buses to be bought by Stockton Corporation was the Leyland Panthers bought in 1967 ahead of the Teesside amalgamation. They were not a great success and were extremely short lived, lasting only until 1974 before being withdrawn and scrapped

(Below) VUP913F was allocated the Fleet No. S13 and was delivered already painted in the new Turquoise livery, but with Stockton Corporation Fleet names. It was re-numbered S333 in 1970.
In this 1969 view it is working a service 4 down Bishopton Road towards the town centre.

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