PRESERVATION CANDIDATES

As we continue within the 21st Century the future in terms of the individuality of bus design and development has become very bland, with three major private operators in the field: Stagecoach, First Group and Arriva, and a narrowing range of chassis makes and bodybuilders. Quite regularly one can see the same design of vehicles in one of the three main colour schemes across the length and breadth of the country.

No longer do vehicles depict, as they once did, the individuality of the towns or regions in which they operate, or the operators that own the vehicles in question. Also, now, fleets no longer stay intact because of transfers of vehicles within the three major groups, from one company to another, between different areas of the country.

Many years ago, when watching television, one would know immediately where a film had been made - not just by the architecture of the buildings necessarily, but by the design of the buses therein, but this alas is not the case so much now and is less likely to be so in the future.

Although the SELNEC Preservation Society has tracked a number of vehicles from the late 1960's through the 1970's and 1980's, we realise there has to be an appropriate 'end' to our vehicle collection as we do not wish to enter the field of preserving Alexander bodied off the peg B6's or B10's, for example, or the production line standardised vehicles available today, although it may well be the case that younger and newer groups over the years would wish to do so.

We have carefully established the beginnings of our preservation collection through ex-Manchester vehicles and Mancunians and since that time have expanded our collection, in particular to reflect the design and development in the PTE area, originally SELNEC, followed by Greater Manchester Transport and more recently Greater Manchester Buses, developing through GM Buses (South) Ltd and GM Buses (North) Ltd to Stagecoach Manchester and First Manchester.

In this regard we have collected a number of ex-SELNEC/GMT Standard Atlanteans and Fleetlines, Seddon Minibuses and along the way we have also added other relevant types of classes of buses operated in the North West, including Bristol VR, Bristol LH, Leyland National, MCW Metrobus, Leyland Titan, Leyland Olympian and a Dennis Domino.

In early 2009, In order to draw our preservation activities to a proper conclusion, and bearing in mind the firsts and lasts we have already secured, there was only two more vehicles we need to acquire that will reflect the end of the adaptation of the SELNEC/GMT Standard body, being its application to second generation rear engined chassis which just preceded the influx of 'off the peg' vehicles. These were Greater Manchester's 7001 (H701 GVM) the first of ten Standards Volvo B10's and 7010 (J710 GVM) Greater Manchester's last ever Standard. At the time, both of these were in service with First Glasgow, with commitment that when they withdrawn 7001 and 7010, the the SELNEC Preservation Society would be informed.

Sadly, in May 2009 this was bypassed, and 7001 was sent to a scrapyard in Scotland. By the time the First Group contacted 7001's scrapyard at, all of the windows had been removed and the bodywork had been melted down into aluminium and steel ingots. Following this error, the First Group immediately withdrawn 7010 and was transported to First Manchester's Queen Street Depot on 4th June 2009, where our members collected the vehicle on 7th June 2009.

Therefore, the SELNEC Preservation Society have no future vehicles planned to secure for preservation. However, the museum have always considered securing for preservation Leyland Atlantean 7777 (UNA 777S), which is currently an Exhibus with Commbus, Birmingham. We would like to preserve 7777 because this completes a large 'hole' within our current preserved standards (7501 - 7960).