A look back at Black Prince buses through 2020 ...
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!
