Greater Manchester

Stop the traffic! Six Vintage coaches to travel to the Museum of Science & Industry.

Manchester city centre shoppers will not be able to believe their eyes when six distinctive vintage coaches travel into the city to take part in a summer event at Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI)

Six ‘Royal Blue coaches will travel into the city via Deansgate on Thursday 13th August (mid morning) to take part in a week-long Transport Festival (August 8th-16th) at the museum in Liverpool Road, Castlefield.

Manchester residents may remember the distinctive blue and cream livery coaches that used to stop and pick up passengers in Manchester on journeys between the South West of England and Scotland from after the First World War to the 1980s.

The coaches are taking a detour into Manchester from a 770 mile three day cross UK trip from Penzance in Cornwall to Aberdeen in North East Scotland. The trip is to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of their original company, the National Steam Car Company, and the 80th anniversary of its successors, the Western and Southern National Bus Companies, based in South West England.

The coaches, the oldest built in 1951, will be on show at MOSI from approximately 11.00am on Thursday 13th August. But customers better hurry; they will only be there for one hour before heading out of the city and onto the M6 for the next leg of the journey to Scotland.

First the UKs biggest bus and train company, which includes bus operations in Greater Manchester, as well as operating the TransPennine railway service, is sponsoring the anniversary coach trip and is encouraging its many thousands of customers in Manchester to attended the fun and nostalgic event at MOSI.

Event organiser Colin Billington, who is driving his own 1951 Royal Blue Coach on the whole trip, said: "We were very keen to stop off in Manchester just as the original coaches did in years gone by.

"When our friends at the Museum of Science & Industry told us about their week long transport festival we were very glad to accept an invitation to show our coaches to transport aficionados young and old alike.'

MOSIs Transport Curator, Nick Forder, commented: "Our Transport Festival is a wonderful opportunity for visitors to enjoy all sorts of vehicles, including these ‘Royal Blue coaches. Later the same day we will also be welcoming a cavalcade of 15 historic buses to celebrate the 40th anniversary of passenger transport executives.'

For more information on the Transport Festival visit the MOSI website: www.mosi.org.uk