Leyland National 53
Our popular event returns on May 3rd and 4th 2025, with this years theme focusing on the Nationalistion of bus companies.
With buses on display and free tours, local made street food stalls, trade stands and much more. It promises to be a great weekend
Booking form is here as a word doc or here as a pdf. Meanwhile, look out for updates here and on our facebook page. For more information please call Mike Morton on 07812 210880 or mike.morton22@icloud.com
2024 Boxing Day service
On Boxing Day, the towns of Workington and Whitehaven once more reverberated to the roar of locally built Leyland National buses on the free bus services traditionally provided by Workington Transport Heritage Trust.
Two routes were operated hourly throughout the day:
52 Harrington – Workington – Seaton
20 Whitehaven – St. Bees
Ex Manchester B10M R983 XVM recreating a once common sight around Workington during the Stripe Era of Stagecoach in the 1990s
The morning timetable was operated by former Stagecoach Volvo B10Ms, a familiar sight from the 1990s when they were the workhorses of bus services in Cumbria.
Cumberland 210 made a return to Whitehaven for 2024 service, 10 years after her last boxing day run.
In the afternoon, duties were taken over by a pair of former Cumberland Motor Services Leyland Nationals, built locally at Lillyhall: CHH210T, a 1979 ‘Country Cousin’ variant was on home turf working out to St. Bees whilst 51 year old GRM353L, preserved as delivered, carried passengers in its spiritual home of Workington for the first time since 1989.
Once a common sight in 1970s and 80s, a Cumberland National leaving Workington bus station. As Cumberland 353 worked the afternoon service on Boxing Day
As testimony to the ground-breaking design of the Leyland National many passengers boarding the oldest example didn’t realise they were boarding a bus that was over 50 years old, and some even remarked on the warmth of the saloon and windows that were clear and not dripping with condensation!
A testament to the Nationals, GRM 353L, our Grand Old Lady, 51 year old and performed 4 round trips with grace.
Workington Transport Heritage will be running free services again, with Leyland Nationals and a wide selection of other heritage buses from all over the country, during the Leyland National 53 Festival at Whitehaven during the Bank Holiday weekend 3-4th May, 2025.
40 years of the Border Clipper
At 7:15am on Sunday 25th August 1984, a Willowbrook bodied Leyland Leapord, PRM 629X, set off from Whitehaven on a new service to Carlisle, on what was the inaugural run of the Border Clipper serivce.
The Border Clipper service, running as 300 route number, ran regularly from Egremont to Carlisle, in a little over 1 and half hour. 35 minutes faster than the former 30 service that ran alongside it. It wasn’t only to Carlisle that the 300 ran to, there was a morning and afternoon run that extended to Newcastle and Sunderland. In addition to the 300, the Border Clipper also ran a 600 service from Egremont to Carlisle along with a 710 and 720 Cockermouth to Carlisle route.
Between 1984 to 1991, the Border Clipper used a small fleet of Willowbrook bodied Leyland Leapords, Duple Laser bodied Leyland Tigers, and two ECW Bodied Leyland Olympians. The Olympians were unable to keep to the timings of the faster coaches, and as a result, the Newcastle and Sunderland section was cut from the timetable.
Following the take over by Stagecoach, in 1991, the 30 service was speed up and renumbered to 300, with one return trip to Gateshead. These were operated by Stagecoach Striped ,Duple Laser bodied Leyland Tigers, that were swapped from Ribble in exchange for Alexander bodied Tigers. 1995 saw a X3 route added that ran from Whitehaven to Carlisle via Cockermouth.
Gradually the X3 and the 300 Gateshead were removed and the Border Clipper slowly entered history, there was sense of reprieve in 2013 when 4 Stagecoach Gold Scania E400 deckers were introduced for the 300, but today, these are now repainted in standard Stagecoach colours. But the Clipper legacy lives on with the 300 and 600 routes still in use.
Willowbrook bodied Leyland Leapord PRM 628X in Carlisle (photo by Keith Hewitt)
Duple Laser bodied Leyland Tiger VRM 619S (photo by Keith Hewitt)
One of the more iconic vehicles, ECW bodied Leyland Olympian URM 801Y (photo by Colin Rough)
Allerdale and Lakeland Lottery
This lottery gives players the chance to win up to £25,000, with smaller prizes also available. There is a 1 in 50 chance of a win.
Nominate WTHT as your chosen charity and we get a percentage of your ticket price. Please take a look at http://allerdalelottery.com
WTHT background
Since its formation in 1997, the Trust and its members have developed their collection of locally important buses, fire appliances and other vehicles. Currently housed at two sites, these are used at a variety of community events.
We have buses that were built by Leyland in Workington or operated by Cumberland Motor Services and Stagecoach. We give a home to fire appliances, large and small, with local connections.
We normally attend a number of local events and open days. Our vehicles attend local rallies and shows including those at Distington, Cockermouth, Keswick, Silloth and Carlisle.
Some of our vehicles are maintained to Class 6 MoT standards and are used on day trips & rail replacement; they are also available for hire locally.
Join Us
We have volunteering opportunities in all aspects of restoring, maintaining and driving vehicles. Also in buildings and site maintenance, cataloguing & running our archive, producing educational materials, running trips and events, staffing our shop at Workington railway station, and fundraising.
If you are interested in getting involved, please feel free to contact us or download the Membership Application.
Subscriptions run from 1st April to 31st March, but anyone joining in January, February or March has their membership extended until April of the following year.
Rates are:
Adults from 1st April 2024: £15, Unwaged £10, Family £20
Our 28 page quarterly newsletter Wheels and Tracks is published in January, April, July and October.
2024 anniversaries
- It was 45 years ago on 1st April 1979 that our ex Cumberland National Mk 1 CHH 210T was first registered.
- It is 35 years since our Lynx F251 JRM was registered on 1st June 1989. It is currently undergoing major body frame rebuilding.
- On 1st April 2024, we celebrate 20 years of WTHT as a charity and limited company. The previous body was Workington Transport Heritage Centre.
- 15 years ago in 2009, Workington suffered devastating floods which damaged or destroyed the town’s road bridges. For Boxing Day free buses we provided 2 vehicles on a cross-river services to link Maryport to Harrington.
- 10 years ago, we ran 3 buses on Boxing Day linking Maryport to Whitehaven hospital, plus a Workington town service.