85th anniversary of the first SHMD – motor bus service

Date published: 11 May 2010

The wheels on the Stalybridge, Hyde, Mossley and Dukinfield – Joint Board motor bus service (SHMD) bus will go round and round again at the end of the month when the famous green and cream livery makes a return to the streets of Tameside.

Saturday, May 29, is the 85th anniversary of the Stalybridge, Hyde, Mossley and Dukinfield Joint Board commencing bus operations and to celebrate, two SHMD buses will be travelling through the four towns.

The first service ran from Hyde Market to Woolley Bridge on the Glossop border, but as the latter is not a sensible place to turn a bus these days, the plan is to retrace the old 4/4A route, the only one which ran through all four towns. Later in the day the buses will visit a few other locations with SHMD connections.

Greater Manchester Museum of Transport has promised to bring its SHMD bus. The other belongs to Keighley Bus Museum secretary David Jones who grew up in Dukinfield. Only seven such buses are still running although Keighley has two awaiting restoration.

Manchester's bus is 70, the unique Atkinson double-decker which was specially built for SHMD in 1955. David’s is 76, one of six Daimlers from 1956. Both buses have the centre-entrance arrangement which was a Joint Board speciality in the 1950s. They were withdrawn from service in the early 1970s and have been in preservation ever since.

76's great claim to fame is that it once destroyed a house on Ridge Hill Lane, Stalybridge. They put the bus back together and 40 years later it is still going strong. The house was pulled down.

SHMD ceased to exist in 1969 when the South East Lancashire North East Cheshire (SELNEC) Passenger Transport Executive was created. This became Greater Manchester Transport in 1974.