One Man Operation on Half-cab Double Deckers

[delt1c]

Remember getting on Lodeka of Eastern Scottish which had fare collection equipment but was crew operated. Now I know quite a few operators converted half cabs for OMO operation. Some like Aberdeen who converted rear entrance Daimlers to front entrance and Nothern Gerneral who rebuilt a Routemaster and a Leyland. Others were not such major rebuilds and some late models were even constructed from new for OMO operation.
Now for the question can anyone remember using halfcabs which were used as OMO. Even Eastern National which converted some late Loddekas rarely used them as such

 

[GusB]

To be slightly pedantic, these were forward entrance rather than front entrance. The Northern General conversions, Tynesider (PD3) and Wearsider (Routemaster), were certainly interesting. Here's a photo of the former (credit: Wood's Library on flickr.com):

Tynesider

n 1242. 10 August 1977. Northern General Omnibus company's Leyland PD3 converted into the 'Tynesider'. This was an attempt by the company to keep the benefits of front-engine engineering with driver-only use. Although a damaged Routemaster was later converted to OPO by moving the driving...

www.flickr.com

It's nae the bonniest-lookin' thing on the planet!

I believe the Wearsider was more or less a standard Routemaster that had its driving position moved back to allow the driver to collect fares.

 

[delt1c]

I stand corrected

 

[Robertj21a]

Brighton Corporation converted the first ones, and used them regularly in service.

 

[David Verity]

Darwen Corporation had their PD2A double deckers - 12 in total - fitted for Driver Only Operation working top deck closed. They passed to Blackburn when the undertakings were merged; one of them (39) survives in preservation and another one (40) as an open topper with Stantons of Stoke,

 

[RT4038]

City of Oxford Motor Services had a number of AEC front entrance double deckers worked OMO in the period 1974-7. Mostly on peak hour workings.
Southport had PD2 front entrance half cabs worked OMO

Overseas, in South Africa, the Cape Tramways Group (Cape Town, Boland & Port Elizabeth) ran Leyland OPS4 half cab saloons OMO, and the Municipality of East London bought a batch of London RTs, which were later converted from rear to front entrance and worked OMO.

 

[randyrippley]

At the end, Lancaster City Transport had a pair of convertible roof front entrance Lodekkas which were normally used as training buses but very occasionally got a weekend run along Morecambe prom
Both retained Southdown livery - one standard National Green with Southdown branding, the other in a one-off Southdown livery of two-tone green with a lot of bubbles between the windows. The window between driver and cab was removed and a ticket machine fitted. Whether Southdown had converted them to OMO at the same time as the roofs were converted I don't know
Quite incongruous to see buses emblazoned "Southdown" in service in Morecambe.

==edit==
my memory was that they were half-cabs, but I've just seen a photo of an ex-Southdown at Morecambe depot and thats clearly full-fronted

 

[carlberry]

At the end, Lancaster City Transport had a pair of convertible roof front entrance Lodekkas which were normally used as training buses but very occasionally got a weekend run along Morecambe prom
Both retained Southdown livery - one standard National Green with Southdown branding, the other in a one-off Southdown livery of two-tone green with a lot of bubbles between the windows. The window between driver and cab was removed and a ticket machine fitted. Whether Southdown had converted them to OMO at the same time as the roofs were converted I don't know
Quite incongruous to see buses emblazoned "Southdown" in service in Morecambe.

==edit==
my memory was that they were half-cabs, but I've just seen a photo of an ex-Southdown at Morecambe depot and thats clearly full-fronted

The effect is much the same in that the driver is still sat next to the engine so, to take a fare, has to turn around and lean over the engine. It's slightly easier and needs less modification but still a horrible way to do it!

 

[Robertj21a]

At the end, Lancaster City Transport had a pair of convertible roof front entrance Lodekkas which were normally used as training buses but very occasionally got a weekend run along Morecambe prom
Both retained Southdown livery - one standard National Green with Southdown branding, the other in a one-off Southdown livery of two-tone green with a lot of bubbles between the windows. The window between driver and cab was removed and a ticket machine fitted. Whether Southdown had converted them to OMO at the same time as the roofs were converted I don't know
Quite incongruous to see buses emblazoned "Southdown" in service in Morecambe.

==edit==
my memory was that they were half-cabs, but I've just seen a photo of an ex-Southdown at Morecambe depot and thats clearly full-fronted

That sounds like a 'Queen Mary' - full fronted Leyland PD3.

 

[Man of Kent]

East Kent had both half-cab and full front AEC Regent Vs worked as Driver/Conductor only, as the local parlance had it.

 

[Surreyman]

That sounds like a 'Queen Mary' - full fronted Leyland PD3.

Southdown converted half a dozen PD3 ' Queen Marys' in @1971, don't think they were very popular with drivers, I remember one operating a 'Schools' service out of Horsham depot.
I remember that one of the open top PD3s was earlier converted to OPO as an experiment, don't think it was ever used in service?
The conversions featured a small reversing window low down in the rear emergecy door.
I think they reverted to crew operation later on.

 

[randyrippley]

Southdown converted half a dozen PD3 ' Queen Marys' in @1971, don't think they were very popular with drivers, I remember one operating a 'Schools' service out of Horsham depot.
I remember that one of the open top PD3s was earlier converted to OPO as an experiment, don't think it was ever used in service?
The conversions featured a small reversing window low down in the rear emergecy door.
I think they reverted to crew operation later on.

perhaps that's what came to Morecambe then, not a Lodekka

 

[martinsh]

perhaps that's what came to Morecambe then, not a Lodekka

almost certainly as Lancaster CT NEVER had any Lodekkas

 

[Robertj21a]

perhaps that's what came to Morecambe then, not a Lodekka

Try googĺing 'Lancaster 187' and it will show the bus.

 

[randyrippley]

Try googĺing 'Lancaster 187' and it will show the bus.

that must be one of them, the funny thing is I've no memory of it ever being painted blue

 

[Robertj21a]

that must be one of them, the funny thing is I've no memory of it ever being painted blue

Ìt was probably still in Southdown green initially.

 

[martinsh]

I remember it now ! PRX187B - and that's without even googling. I have a photo somewhere ...

 

[Busaholic]

Southend Corporation Transport had ten Albion Lowlanders (though badged as Leyland) which were first used as omo buses late in 1967 during a strike by municipal drivers and conductors, driven by management and office staff on special routes: the experiment was successful enough to become permanent when the strike was over, and lasted into the 1970s I think. Short of other contenders coming out of the woodwork, I tentatively propose this arrangement as being the first such scaled-up permanent application in the U.K.

 

[neilmc]

Anyone ever hear of a One Man Operated REAR entrance half cab? Someone told me of an operator who bought one, presumably because it was cheaper, and ran it OMO on service. When a passenger boarded, the driver would simply put the brake on, hop out of his cab and walk round to collect the fare then set off again. I think it was in Scotland, not surprisingly.

In the 1960s we had a OMO school service using rear-platform Leeds City Transport buses, usually elderly AEC Regent 3s. However it was a private hire taking us from school to a remote rugby pitch, with the games teacher acting as "guard". I suspect that doesn't count as we weren't fare-paying.

 

[Busaholic]

Anyone ever hear of a One Man Operated REAR entrance half cab? Someone told me of an operator who bought one, presumably because it was cheaper, and ran it OMO on service. When a passenger boarded, the driver would simply put the brake on, hop out of his cab and walk round to collect the fare then set off again. I think it was in Scotland, not surprisingly.

In the 1960s we had a OMO school service using rear-platform Leeds City Transport buses, usually elderly AEC Regent 3s. However it was a private hire taking us from school to a remote rugby pitch, with the games teacher acting as "guard". I suspect that doesn't count as we weren't fare-paying.

London Transport, during a ban on overtime by the TGWU in the early 1960s, resorted to sub-contracting certain Saturday services on (mostly) outer suburban routes. One of these routes was the 160, then Welling to Catford St Dunstan's College via Eltham, a route I took to school between the last two named places. The Saturday service, which I was forced to use as well, was run by omo elderly Bedford (?) coaches, omo in that they had no conductor and the driver had to alight from his cab to manually open, close, then lock the sliding door. Obviously no fares were taken (I had my free school pass anyway) but I recollect seeing very few passengers other than fellow victims of my school's ridiculously old-fashioned attendance policy, which still grates sixty years on! This may well be the first case of omo on a red (i.e. Central) London bus route, as it predated omo of AEC Regal RF routes like the 20B, 136 and 250.

 

[Robertj21a]

Southend Corporation Transport had ten Albion Lowlanders (though badged as Leyland) which were first used as omo buses late in 1967 during a strike by municipal drivers and conductors, driven by management and office staff on special routes: the experiment was successful enough to become permanent when the strike was over, and lasted into the 1970s I think. Short of other contenders coming out of the woodwork, I tentatively propose this arrangement as being the first such scaled-up permanent application in the U.K.

Not sure that I understand the reference to 'scaled up'. Brighton had been routinely operating OMO PD2s and, later, PD3s ever since they launched 23 ACD as such in 1966.