Coaching centenary aims to bring ‘knights of the road’ back together

Steve Buckley, left, owner of a Yelloway coach, with John Whitworth (right), a former driver for the Yelloway company for many years

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A piece of Lancashire’s transport history is being commemorated soon – and the organisers have appealed for the ‘Yelloway knights of the road’ to join a unique reunion of men and machines.

The famous ‘Yelloway’ coach firm was founded in Rochdale in 1915 and became a byword for luxurious coach travel all over Lancashire on tours and express routes to Blackpool, London, Devon and even abroad.

To mark the centenary, bus enthusiasts from the Manchester Museum of Transport and Bury Transport Museum will bring together vintage Yelloway coaches at a special event based at Rochdale’s famous Town Hall – and they want to bring together the men and women who were proud to work for the smartest, poshest coach company in the land.

“Working for Yelloway was really something in the golden days of coaching,” said Paul Blackburn, organiser of the event. “Other coach drivers looked up to you, your passengers felt really special on a Yelloway coach. If you worked for Yelloway, you were a knight of the road.” Passengers loved Yelloway too, with reclining seats long before they were common; the best coaches money could buy; and above all, the spotless yellow and orange paint scheme.

On Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 July, vintage Yelloway coaches will gather in Rochdale for a weekend of memories, snapshots for the album and a vintage coach cavalcade on the Sunday. But the finishing touch is a reunion for former Yelloway staff in Rochdale Town Hall at 3pm on Saturday 4 July – and the event organisers want as many Yelloway old-timers as they can find to be there.

“The men and women who worked for Yelloway, didn’t just come from Lancashire,” said Paul. “There were ticket office staff in Blackpool, travel agencies in Bury, Bolton and Oldham – even drivers based in places like Cheltenham and Fleetwood. We want everyone who used to work for Yelloway to come together to share their memories, and so we can thank them for their years of service to the travelling public of the North West.”

If anyone who was an employee of Yelloway wants to come along, they should contact the event organisers at yelloway100@gmail.com