Subject: Northern 4309 (HUP 952C)
Chassis: Leyland Leopard PSU3/3R
Body: Weymann DP49F
Location: Manchester, Bloom Street
Date: mid-1970s

This is from a batch of vehicles that the 1967 edition of British Bus Fleets 10 got about as wrong as is possible, in that they were shown as AEC Reliances with Marshall bodies and the registration of this bus was shown as AUP 352B!

When new it was delivered in Sunderland District’s attractive pale blue dual-purpose livery but later received their more familiar dark blue before the more drastic change to poppy red. About the end of 1974 the fleet was absorbed into that of the parent Northern General and this bus was renumbered 4309 as seen here.

Vehicles like this from the Northern fleet appeared regularly on these services in earlier years at busy times and because they look like buses they seem unsuitable, but with dual-purpose seating they probably weren’t too bad.

From an original slide in the David Beilby collection, photographer unknown.