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Saturday 23rd October 2021 will see the end of an era in the Morley area, when Arriva Yorkshire cease operation of the long standing 205 route which links Pudsey, Morley and Dewsbury to Mirfield. The company have stated that the service cut is regrettable, sadly due to the national driver shortage. The 205 route was a former Black Prince operation, with Brian's buses contracted by Metro to run the service on Sundays, commencing in 1990. I would hope that an alternative small operator might be found to maintain service over the 205 route, but at this time Metro are understood to be searching for a suitable candidate... Expect to find heritage buses provided by myself and others during the last day of service... more information to come as it is planned, I appreciate it is a short notice running day and am hoping many visitors can come along for a last ride through the winding lanes between Morley and Pudsey... Timetable coming soon, watch this space please.

...the final Black Prince bus services completed their journeys and returned to the garage for the last time... Former Black Prince bus driver Michael Nash has written these lovely words on the 16th anniversary of the business closing "30th of July 2005 marked the final day of bus operations and closure of Black Prince Buses, the last service to operate was X51 Leeds to Morley Tingley Mills with Leyland PD2 / East Lancs 702 (FTF 702F) Crewed by Brian & David Crowther, on reaching the terminus many stayed on the bus for the short ride to Fountain St. depot to be greeted by drivers old & new, friends and enthusiasts - it certainly was a night to remember. Sadly Brian & Sheila Crowther are no longer with us along with a few other drivers who have sadly passed away... Only this week, ex staff members who could attended the funeral of Graham Maddison, another driver to the depot in the sky... We still have a strong bond with each other and we have had reunions and days out in one of the many preserved Black Prince buses and long may it continue..." The attached photo shows the Leyland PD2 earlier on the final day, before that final late evening run as described by Driver Nash...

Dewsbury Bus Museum Trust will return to Heath Common for the first time in several years, with an event on Sunday 27th June 2021. This fabulous setting has been host to a classic transport event for many years, with various organising groups doing the hard work to make it happen, though it is great to see Dewsbury Bus Museum Trust taking the reins again for this year. The event will see several buses on static display, making for a rather nice photographic opportunity in a classic setting. Other buses and coaches will be providing free bus services connecting with public bus and rail services and in addition running special tour routes in the surrounding countryside. Former Black Prince buses are scheduled to spend the day at the Common, helping out with the provision of free bus routes - the timetable of services is to be published in the event booklet, which includes the order of vehicles and can be purchased on the day from the Dewsbury Bus Museum volunteer staff on duty. If you are travelling to the event from the "Five Towns" area, a Black Prince bus will be providing the following FREE courtesy bus connection (Return time shown in brackets) :- Pontefract Bus Station ...10:00 (16:50) Glasshoughton Railway Station ...10:05 (16:45) Castleford Bus Station ...10:15 (16:35) Normanton Queen Street ...10:25 (16:25) Heath Common The King's Arms (Special Event Site) ...10:35 (16:15) If you plan to use the service, please observe the cautions of hygiene, compliant with current Covid-19 advice... wear a face covering on the bus, clean your hands regularly and stay apart from other people. At the rally site, you'll find a great selection of transport related stalls including a Tombola and items for sale on our stall beside our Black Prince bus, it would be great to see some of our friends during the day, it has been a while!...

Sunday 21/02/21 saw Leeds City Council close the section of road outside the Grand Theatre. New Briggate has been shut as part of the dubious "improvement" scheme around Leeds ... All associated bus stops are now closed and the bus services are re-routed via Vicar Lane which has become two-way for the first time in many years, having been a one way street near the red bus station as long as many of us can remember ... This means the sight of buses stopping outside the Grand Theatre is no more, the last chance to ride a Black Prince bus along this section would have been during our Wetherby running day in the summer. Black Prince buses had used these bus stops many many times over the years, notably of course whilst operating the Wetherby service 760/770 ... I wondered if anyone had photographs of our buses spotted on this section of road, it would be great to see these now historical images! Please get in touch via the contact link if you can help :-) https://www.wymetro.com/plan-a-journey/travel-news/bus-travel-alerts/newbriggatevicarln/

LUB512P, the Volvo B58-56 (6653 Pn 7511VX516 C51F) was produced in June 1976, delivered to the West Yorkshire PTE's "Metrocoach" operation as fleetnumber 1512. At Black Prince, 1512 had been re-registered 641UTO, becoming 641 in the fleet. 641 was painted in Brian's coach livery of green and white. The coach was rebodied by East Lancashire with the body number B0901, an EL2000 DP49F type, the conversion happening in the August of 1991. 641 was passed on from Black Prince, operating in Oxford with Motts Travel "Yellow Bus", carrying a yellow and blue livery... I believe 641 lost its cherished registration number during the time spent with Motts Travel, re-gaining LUB512P as a result - the 641 identity passing on to a Volvo B10M/Jonkheere coach which ended up with the fleet of Mark Bland Travel. Mark Bland Travel consequently transferred 641UTO on to a Plaxton Paragon bodied Volvo B10M (X47CNY)... LUB512P then appeared to move on to Tally Ho!, operating the Dartmouth Park N Ride service in an allover yellow livery. It is believed LUB512P was sadly scrapped but I would love to be wrong with that statement!...

HUA563N (2612) was new in May 1975, delivered to the WYPTE Bradford District. The "Metropolitan" Scania was part of a batch I believe were intended for Leeds City Transport (which was the reason for the dark green instead of blue interior) but diverted to Bradford. From the records of Paul Fixter, 2612 was initially withdrawn in 1983 but underwent major overhaul being reinstated on 1/11/83. It was withdrawn again and last used in service on 26/10/85, from where it headed into preservation with Jim Speed. 2612 joined the fleet at Black Prince, purchased out of preservation and put in use for further service in May 1992. The bus was used on various routes but was a favourite on the 205, 428/429 and 90. 2612 left the fleet in August 1993, for preservation in the Manchester area - a future which was sadly short lived, the bus ending up scrapped and a rather sad loss to the local history scene. 2612 was the subject of a fabulous "Britbus" model, depicting the bus in its "Candystripe" version of WYPTE livery. The photograph (unknown source) shows 2612 emerging from Thorpe Road at East Ardsley Bay Horse, whilst operating a journey from Oulton to Morley on the 428 service.

Good Morning! As I progress (very slowly) through the route history of Black Prince, it is always satisfying to fill in a part of the jigsaw which has proved difficult to obtain information about. The 98A has been one such route which has proved difficult to confirm, but with huge thanks to Dave Lee, who has provided several historical timetable leaflets it is now possible to trace what happened (at least partly) with this route. The information has been added to the website at the link here https://www.blackprincebuses.co.uk/98a I shall continue to investigate this interesting service and post updates as required... meanwhile, does anyone have anything to add?... If so, please use the contact form :-)

I’d like to draw attention to the passing of Neil Millington, who died peacefully in hospital at around 1600 on Wednesday 16 December, after battling for many years with a rather wicked long term illness known as Kennedy’s Disease which you can read more about here https://kd-uk.com/ as it’s likely you have not heard of this dreadful muscle disease. Neil was a personal friend to many of us in the Black Prince community, not least myself and Lisa. Neil was a fabulous character, kind, knowledgeable in the extreme, very considered and a very clever man - he had built and developed his business “Autosound” over many years and the company thrives to this day, operating from a base in Bradford. Neil was heavily involved with the classic transport scene, proudly owning a fine and varied collection of vehicles ranging from a Leyland tractor (the chassis tug from the "ROE" factory) to Wallace Arnold coaches and the coaches would always carry tea and coffee ready for the perfect host to look after his friends with hot drinks at any opportunity!... Neil's website link for "Classic Connections" is attached below, showing some great photographs and detailed information about his fine fleet... https://classicconnections.org.uk/ Neil’s death is a huge loss to the transport scene and for many a very sad loss of a good friend and even sometimes mentor, having been the other half of the Leeds Running Day organisation alongside myself since 2017. He shall be missed greatly and is one of those irreplaceable unique characters of a fine generation... Neil's funeral service was held on Saturday 9th January 2021 at Rawdon Crematorium, with a small (because of Covid-19 restrictions) cross section of friends, family and faces from the transport world present to say goodbye. Neil's family have created a memorial page on Just Giving, if anyone would like to contribute towards the fight against Kennedy's Disease, please follow the link below... https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/neil-millington-memorial?amount=25&experiments=b2c_041_fundraising_page_donation_prompts_2%2Cb2c_036_donate_button_colour%2Cb2c_029_first_to_donate%2Cb2c_040_frp_trust_proposition_bar%2Cb2c_042_donate_button_text_on_campaign_pages%2Cb2c_044_donate_to_yourself&hideAmount=false&isMobile=false&successType=StaticDonateButtonClick&fbclid=IwAR0DQu3KvpxQuRUwfXlFxzB9DECJIJhUCpdxEep3HKPwszi-v3NIaF2MN10 R.I.P

Dear Reader, Happy New Year! As we have (mostly) safely landed in 2021, I thought it would be nice to take a look back over what has been achieved with Black Prince buses during 2020. Although the year has brought with it an unprecedented situation the likes of which we have never seen before, there have been many positive aspects which I shall mention here - sadly 2020 will also be remembered for the sad loss of two good friends of the Black Prince preservation movement, John Wright and Neil Millington, neither loss due to Covid-19. I shall pick out the better moments of 2020 to have a look at here in the blog and I do hope the photos and memories bring a little interest to your day! New Year's Day 2020 The NYD 2020 service was a huge success, starting the year off in style with 2 Black Prince buses in operation. Mark Conlon started the shift, with Mercedes 441 in traffic during the morning, running until lunchtime when Mark parked 441 for dinner. Stephen Whiteley was on hand to take over for the afternoon, with his pride and joy - Optare Vecta 73 making a rare appearance in public service for the day. The Vecta drew a fair crowd of riders, eager to sample the sounds of the little MAN engine on Churwell hill! We had a fabulous day, the weather was super kind to us and the centre seemed rather busy which was great! We saw many more passengers on the bus this year than the previous year, I didn’t think we would carry many more than last time but we were all pleased when the clicker turned over to 184 clicks at the end of the day! Most of the passengers tended to bob in to the shops between trips and get on the bus later on to go back home, some came for a ride round on our red and yellow buses and we even welcomed Morley Town Cllr and friend of Black Prince buses, Wyn Kidger! The evening part of the service was completed by myself with Mercedes 441, running into the night with the last departure being the 1900 from Morley Town Hall to Morley Railway Station. The gallery shows a selection of images from NYD 2020 and the 87 was a superb way to kick off the year... if only we knew what was to come! January 21, Staff Day Out Another beautiful sunny day was in store for our busmans outing which took us on a run with 441, also calling in to collect Bournemouth Atlantean 230. Both buses were given a countryside road run and taken for fuel, with lunch in Selby topping off a great day out for those who made it to join in. May 29, A "wash and brush up" As we are all aware, early 2020 saw the emergence in the UK of the Covid-19 virus, which resulted in the first full lockdown situation in March. The restrictions meant the cancellation of every public event until July 4th, when the initial lockdown was temporarily lifted as virus infections had reduced. For the Black Prince buses, this meant the cancellation of the Morley St George weekend in April, meaning the buses had been parked up since the summer of 2019. The Volvo Ailsa, 814 and the Mercedes-Benz, 441 were chosen to head across to Connexionsbuses, Tockwith, where Craig had kindly offered the use of the washing facilities. The buses needed a good run and a clean-up, it does them the world of good. It was great to catch the Mercedes-Benz, BK13XYF in the yard which was paired up alongside 441 as an added bonus, showing generations of Mercedes bus side by side. Some excellent photographs were taken of the buses on this hot sunny day, the red and yellow livery looking amazing against the blue skies!. Many thanks were due to Craig and the team at Connexionsbuses for the kindness and help. Weekend 6/7/8 June, Riding, Fuelling, Repairing This weekend saw a lot of action, with buses 814, 441 and Leeds City Transport 331 taken for fuel and a short road run around the countryside surrounding the depot during the Saturday. 577 had suffered from a failure in the air suspension system, so the Saturday saw DNC across at the depot on the Sunday to repair the fault with new parts in from Mercedes. The bus had been stood for a long while prior so it was good to get the repair done and dusted. It was also noted that the exhaust system was becoming noisy, on investigation it was found to have cracked. A top effort from Dave as always to get things sorted and 577 back in traffic :-) 577 was taken on road test during the Monday, heading to Connexionsbuses for a long awaited wash and fuel on the way home, via the Wetherby Whaler of course!. The repairs to the air system bedded in well and the exhaust was monitored and still noisy, further developments later. Weekend 4/5 July, Sadness, Drama and Success! The loss of a railway colleague and a friend was a terribly sad occasion, but the railway family were certainly out in numbers to say goodbye. I had been asked about the possibility of providing buses to carry guests to the site of the funeral, so after some thought, 814 and 441, (with the help of Northern Rail to get the buses sorted for the social distancing measures) duly obliged... R.I.P Sean... After funeral duties were complete, myself and Adam set off home to the depot, via York Road, but whilst we passed along York Road, we were witness to an accident with another bus. 441 was duly commandeered to take the regular passengers forward in service as an emergency vehicle!. The Sunday saw the Wetherby Wanderers event for 2020, which went ahead against all the odds, the Covid-19 regulations being relaxed the previous day. The day really did run superbly, with major changes taking place to ensure we complied with all the new Covid-19 regulations. More Here... https://www.blackprincebuses.co.uk/single-post/the-wetherby-wanderers-2020 Weekend 21/22 July, Welcome Home "Charles Henry Roe", R.I.P John Wright July 21 saw 441 attend the opening ceremony of the latest addition to the Wetherspoon "fleetlist", the Charles Henry Roe, opened in Crossgates on this morning. A small but interesting cross section of vehicles produced by the former Roe business were assembled for a road run around the vicinity of the new pub, really turning heads as they passed by. After the opening ceremony and superb breakfast was polished off, the buses did one more parade of the area, much to the delight of the locals and enthusiasts alike. The destination display was set to "ROE CROSSGATES" in tribute to the days events and the factory where the bus was built. On leaving the Crossgates area, 441 was taken to Hunslet depot for a wash, in readiness for the following days rather sombre duties. The evening saw 441 out for a quick blast through to Slaithwaite, for fish and chips and refreshment in memory of John Wright. The bus was garaged in Huddersfield depot overnight, ready for the important duty the morning after. The following day saw 441 conveying invited guests to the funeral of our good friend and railway colleague John who had died after a short battle with cancer during June/July. July 30, "Route Rambling" to mark 15 years since the closure of Black Prince Richard Huxham's Volvo Ailsa, 814 was chosen to take our group on a trip down memory lane to mark 15 years since the retirement of Brian and Sheila Crowther and the end of Black Prince Buses. The Ailsa was taken for a leg stretching over several former Black Prince routes, 88, 54, 428, X49, 90, 205 and 53. It was an awesome way to remember Black Prince and the people who came along had a most enjoyable day out... Of course, fish and chips were added into the itinerary at the socially distanced compliant Wetherby Whaler, Pudsey. August 9, sizing up the joint By August, It had become apparent that a new home was required for the buses, so after feelers were put out for alternative storage in the area, a depot was found and needed trying out for size before any commitment was made. Myself and Mark Byard (WROPS) took a trip across to the new shed with a Mercedes and the Ailsa, to test for size and height. Although the Mercedes fit very well, it was extremely tight for the Ailsa which is low height as we know... this meant the Atlantean would most definitely not be able to fit, so alternative storage was found for the Leeds bus, now staying with Connexionbuses. August 13, Exhausted, but still time to play with the tigers! After the discovery of the cracked exhaust system earlier in the year on 577, the system manufacturer was contacted and an arrangment was made to transfer the bus to the Idle premesis where an inspection could be made and a course of action taken to repair under warranty. Whilst at the building, the chance was taken for a coupleof shots with Yorkshire Tiger who were based next door. I rather liked this neat little bus and the livery suited it well, such a shame the company is no longer functioning in the Flying Tiger brand... 577 was consequently furnished with an improved exhaust system. With thanks to Mark @ Wunoff CPE https://www.wunoff.co.uk/ September 7, Stretching their legs!... 577 and 441 were taken for a run on this day, a beautiful breakfast was enjoyed in the local garden centre. It did the pair of Mercedes the world of good as always, the more running the better!. October 20-31, Depot Move When the contract had been finalised at the new depot, efforts were made to move the fleet across ASAP. Volvo Ailsa 814 and Mercedes 577 were the first pair to transfer across to the new building on October 20. The rest of the fleet followed suit on October 31, with Leeds 331 heading off to live with Craig at Connexionsbuses. November 24-December 5, MOT preparation with successful result 441 and 577 were both due an MOT at roughly the same time. Engineering had requested the pair of buses so they were transferred to Huddersfield depot for DNC to work on whilst preparing for the test... The two buses consequently passed the test and transferred back home. December 22, Santa Claus is coming to Morley Santa and his elves came to town on December 22, making a huge effort to fight against the negativity brought about by "Covid" The Christmas Grinch! The Santa Special bus run went down an absolute treat, amazing considering we had only a handful of days to organise the event and make it happen!... 441 was decorated in true festive fashion, complete with a sound system booming Christmas songs through the doorway into the streets - you could certainly hear this Black Prince bus coming! Santa was absolutely amazing, the streets were lined throughout the chosen route and the children were out in force to see their hero! The route encompassed most of the easily accessible schools in the area with a short pause at each forecourt for Santa to give the kids a wave!. It was a very proud moment to see such enthusiasm surrounding the bus and the fact that we had managed to spread some cheer through the town at this difficult time... https://www.blackprincebuses.co.uk/single-post/morley-santa-special-22-12-2020 December 25, Christmas Day X51 The Christmas Day service for 2020 was operated to a reduced timetable, reflecting the situation with the Covid-19 virus and the resulting visiting ban at the hospitals. Nonetheless, the X51 carried 23 passengers during the course of the day in this 6th year of operation. A more detailed write up can be found over here... https://www.blackprincebuses.co.uk/single-post/christmas-day-2020-x51-mission-accomplished December 28, Destination Re-Wind It has been noted that the roller blind destination display fitted to Optare buses is not the best design in the world, so after a length of time, the display will appear wonky as the roll becomes creased or offset. 441 was beginning to suffer from the effects quite severely, so the opportunity was taken between the seasonal bus services to do a bit of work on the roller gear. Many thanks due to a good friend of Black Prince for expert destination blind advice and help with this matter. After the destination blind task was completed, 441 was given a quick tidy round in readiness for the New Year's Day bus service, bringing to a close the activity of Black Prince buses for the year of 2020, a year of many "ups N downs", shocks and upsets, successes and progress. 2020 was a real mixed bag, but throughout the year, I'm really proud to see just how much was achieved with these wonderful red and yellow buses, in the face of adversity nd given a bit of thought we still managed to work out a way within the rules to safely run the buses, putting a smile on faces wherever they went. As always a huge thank you is due to everyone who has made it possible, helped, supported and worked on the buses during 2020... As I write this blog, we are in the midst of the third national English lockdown of the Coronavirus pandemic, with vaccines on the way and (hopefully) control of the virus going forward... What will happen during 2021?... Well, we shall see what we shall see!... The almost wholesale cancellation of all public events during 2020 really was unprecedented and hugely disappointing but sadly necessary in many situations unless Covid-19 regulations were observed at all times. We can hold out hope that it'll be possible to return to running some buses during this new year... Anyway, from me, it's bye for now, time for a nice brew and a piece of cake... keep safe, keep well and God willing we shall all be able to meet up again very shortly on one of our fabulous Black Prince days out!... Best Wishes to all for 2021. Bradley and the Black Prince Gang!

New Year's Day 2021 Happy New Year Black Prince followers, here is my short review of the NYD bus service 87 which operated successfully for the 3rd year in a row. The service was again very well received, with 59 passengers using the bus to travel between Morley railway station, Morley Town Hall and The White Rose Centre during the course of the day, carried safely in socially distanced, clean and disinfected comfort, just like a big bus company! The bus in use was Mercedes-Benz, P441 SWX, previously prepared to satisfy the latest Covid-19 regulations, social distancing and hand cleansing facilities installed as required. Covid-19 precautions were supplemented throughout the day with regular disinfectant misting in the saloon. The White Rose Centre were highly enthusiastic, very supportive and welcomed the Black Prince connection to link the centre with Morley on a day when no other public transport is available. Metro have been most helpful during the festive season, a notable highlight this year being the inclusion of Black Prince buses on the electronic display system in bus shelters along route 87 which I have no doubt helped boost numbers slightly as potential passengers could see for sure that a bus was actually in service running on the route. As always, many thanks are extended to all those kind folk who helped with preparation and or operation of the festive services again in 2020/2021, you know who you are and your help is always appreciated in whichever shape or form to keep the preserved buses running. The gallery below contains a selection of images taken during NYD, showing some of our passengers, the bus in service and the fantastic measures implemented by Metro to advertise Black Prince. Best Wishes All, Take Care!.

With the latest government advice update, it is great to hear Leeds will remain in tier 3 for the time being, which will mean that the White Rose Shopping Centre is to remain open during New Year's Day. The 87 service will operate between Morley and the White Rose Centre, the timetable is posted below... I hope the service can provide those good people of Morley and Churwell who may not have the option to drive with a chance to do something on NYD, with a visit to the WRC and a look around the sales. Many thanks are due to all volunteers who make the service possible, to Metro for assistance with the publicity and White Rose Centre for encouragement and support agin this year, in these trying times. Other public transport around West Yorkshire will operate as detailed below... a full timetable will operate on the railway during most of the day, with connections to Leeds, Huddersfield and beyond at Morley railway station. No other bus services are expected to operate in West Yorkshire during NYD 2021.

Good Evening All... I apologise for the late night excitement, but I have found this gem in the timetable archive!... Can anyone add any further to this information - Black Prince operated evening and Sunday work on the 44 service, between Pudsey Owlcotes Centre-Swinnow-Bramley District Centre, commencing 19th February 1995 until date unknown. Any ideas? Cheers All, I hope you can sleep after such a discovery! More information here... G'night!