Barton 587, Harby, Leicestershire, c1955-57

            Scanned from a medium-format  sized negative I acquired a few years ago, the negative came without any accompanying information. It's a wonderful picture, the photographer clearly going to some trouble to take the snap. From memory, a fairly new looking Ford E103 Popular car appears in some images, so presumably the photographer's means of getting to these rural locations. 

The Barton bus is easy enough to identify, 587 (HL7432) was a low-bridge, Roe bodied Leyland TD4 that had been new to West Riding in 1936. Barton acquired a number of second-hand Leyland buses in the early 1950s, rebuilding them into more modern looking vehicles. Although some Leyland TD4s were rebuilt, HL7432 doesn't appear to have been amongst them.  587 was a Nottingham (Huntingdon Street) based bus, and would have been some 20-years old at the time of this picture.

The photo is certainly taken in the 1950s, I would suggest c1955-7. The bus is destined for Stathern, a village in North Leicestershire. Looking at the location and having a vague knowledge of that area, I'm fairly sure that the bus is on Colston Lane (Harby Mill), approaching the village of Harby having come through nearby Colston Bassett? 

At this point, 587 looks to be crossing the hump-back bridge that spanned the former Grantham Canal at Harby Mill. The canal closed in 1936 by Act of Parliament and was re-classified as suitable for agricultural purposes. During the 1950s, some 46 bridges along the canal were demolished and lowered. I would suggest that is what we are witnessing here.  

Today, the Grantham Canal is long out of use for narrow boats, but this section of the canal is reserved for walkers and cyclists. With the  hump-back bridge at Mill Bridge demolished, the remains of the canal now feed through a culvert, allowing the road to run flat across the top of it. The once open Colston Lane pictured above is now tree-lined but takes the same course.

I'm sure that there are experts on Barton who can comment further on the bus's history and demise.

Please see the comments below, particular that of Phil Backhurst.

Taken on: December 29, 2018

Tags:

Barton

Leyland

HL7432

Route

Stathern

service

countryside

Leicestershire

Grantham canal

1950s

bridge

demolition

cross

hump back bridge

Harby Mill « less

Sets appears in: • Britain in the 1950s • Leicestershire more » • Trent, Barton & Wellglade « less

Camera: Epson PerfectionV800 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Epson PerfectionV800
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Pixelmator 3.5.1
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