Merseyside Bus Club 40th Anniversary Tour

The Merseyside Bus Club came into existence in 1976 at a time when, amongst other things in the bus world, the final rear open platform buses were being withdrawn from service by bus companies. It was a time to organise 'Farewell Tours' using these buses and on Merseyside this was no exception! The 1st tour took place in Liverpool in December 1976 using former Liverpool Corporation, now Merseyside PTE, L227 (SKB 224), a 1956 Leyland PD2/20 with Crossley/LCPT H58R bodywork. The 2nd tour was on 20th March 1977, this time on the Wirral to mark the end of rear loading buses there, using former Birkenhead Corporation Transport, now MPTE 152 (GCM 152E), a 1967 Leyland PD2/37 with Massey H66R bodywork. To commemorate these two events, and to mark the Club's 40th anniversary, a tour was organised for the 8th January 2017 and ITV were invited to record the event. It is also amazing to think that both the vehicles used on those Farewell Tours still survive in preservation in 2017.