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Ulster Transport Authority 1962 to 1966 (by Shane Conway)

Page last updated on 11th November 2019

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Northern Ireland menu:

Belfast Corporation diesel buses   Belfast Corporation trolleybuses   H M S Catherwood Ltd.   Citybus   Great Northern Railway Lough Swilly   NIRTB 1935 - 39   NIRTB 1940 - 48  

Sureline, Lurgan 1966 - 87   UTA 1948 - 56   UTA 1957 - 61   UTA 1962 - 66   U'bus 1967 - 72   U'bus 1973 - 76   U'bus 1977 - 82   U'bus 1983 - 88   U'bus 1989 - 2012

During 1962 the Ulster Transport Authority used the body design of the Albion Aberdonians to produce a further 60 Tiger Cubs, these being the last new Leyland single deckers to enter service until 1965. A solitary Willowbrook bodied Bedford SB5 entered service, the first of this chassis manufacturer's products to have been purchased since 1945 (and the only time ever that a new Willowbrook body was bought). Further variety entered the fleet in 1963, when six Bedford VAS5s and the last twelve PD3s went on the road alongside 40 Reliances with a C41F version of the UTA/Alexander body, as well as the third and final pair of AEC/Plaxton coaches. One of the surviving 34 Leyland PS2s was modified by being lengthened to seat 37 passengers and being rebuilt with a forward entrance for one man operation on city services in Derry.

1964 was notable in that it was the only year in the period 1946 to 1993 in which no new Leyland buses entered service in Ulster. That year's intake comprised 76 Bedfords (one VAL14, one VAS5 and the rest SB5s), and a further 30 AEC Reliances, this time fitted as 42 seat buses. The latter were recognisable by having the emergency exit in the rear of the bus, instead of the offside as on the Tiger Cubs, Albions and the 1963 Reliances. The company's smallest bus, an Austin J2 11 seater, also entered service in 1964.

Further Bedford SB5s entered service in 1965, comprising a batch of 35 Duple Bella Vega coaches. Ten of these arrived as complete vehicles, the remainder having the bodies assembled by the U. T. A. For their first few years, all were painted in special liveries for contract work for hotels in Ballycastle, Portrush, Bangor, Whitehead and Larne. Four Leyland Leopards also entered service in 1965, being used on a new express service on the recently opened M1 motorway. Of a similar design to the contemporary CIE C class Leopards, these differed by having manual gearboxes and toilets. A final pair of these arrived in 1966, and at least one of them worked on the first day of a joint C. I. E./U. T. A. Galway to Belfast service, with C. I. E. providing similar bus C259.

By late 1966 the Ulster Transport Authority's days were numbered, and a new Holding Company was established to replace it. Two groups of routes in the Lurgan and Portrush areas were disposed of to two new independent operators, Sureline Coaches Ltd. and Coastal Bus Services Ltd., with Ulsterbus taking responsibility for all other ex UTA bus services in 1967. Before its demise though, the UTA added further buses to the fleet, comprising 38 1952 Leyland Royal Tigers and seven 1951 Olympics from Ribble, fifteen 1960 Leopards from Western SMT, and 48 1959 Tiger Cubs from Edinburgh Corporation. The ex Ribble buses had been replaced by new Marshall bodied Leopards, while the Scottish municipal buses with a mere seven years under their belts had been made available due to alterations of a number of Edinburgh's railway bridges.

Under Ulsterbus ownership, the half cab single deckers and lowbridge Titans were the first withdrawals. While some of the AECs, Tiger Cubs and PD3s remained in service until 1980, sadly many buses (approximately 140 to 150 of N. I. R. T. B/U. T. A. origin) were prematurely lost due to terrorist action, as can be seen in the vehicle lists. On the plus side, a small but representative collection has been saved for preservation, both by Ulsterbus and private owners.

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