Millar’s TALES
The editor’s sideways view of the bus scene
Please send any stories, photos, (digital, prints or slides), cuttings and other information of off beat bus matters direct to: Buses, PO Box 14644, Leven, KY9 1WX Or e-mail: alan.millar@keypublishing.com
A lesser-known fact of model bus history is that in 1957 toy manufacturer Tri-ang produced a large pressed steel double-decker in Glasgow Corporation colours. The original model was initially offered in London Transport red in 1956, with LT fleetnames and destinations, and there also were Birmingham and Manchester versions.
A December 1956 letter from Tri-ang to the ‘Public Transport Department’ in Glasgow survives in the archives of the Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust. It is short and to the point: ‘We are anxious to include in our range of toys models based on public transport vehicles used by various corporations in this country, including Glasgow. In this connection we would be most grateful if you could let us have details of your omnibuses, including colours etc, which would be of great assistance to us.’ Sadly, the reply appears not to have survived, but Glasgow-liveried buses were produced by Tri-ang, and Stewart Brown can remember as a …
