Vintage Ashton bus is finally coming home

A vintage bus from Ashton is finally coming home after decades dumped in a North Wales field, then painstakingly restored to as-new condition in a Yorkshire shed. 

Ashton Corporation bus number 8 was built in 1928 to carry the town's citizens to work, to the market or to the cinema.

But by the 1930s it was already obsolete, so it was discarded to be used as a caravan for nearly half a century, then rescued and rebuilt to the same condition as it was on the day it left the factory by Yorkshire craftsman enthusiast Geoff Lumb. 

Now the project is complete, it’s leaving Yorkshire and coming back to its home region where it's going on permanent display at the Museum of Transport, Greater Manchester. 

On Friday morning (30 June), it will be in Market Square in Ashton – which it must have called at nearly a century ago – to celebrate coming home and everyone is welcome to come along. 

The welcome party will be led by the Civic Mayor of Tameside Cllr Tafheen Sharif and by Ashton-under-Lyne MP Angela Rayner, who supported the fundraising campaign for the Museum to buy the bus and bring it back to the North West.

MP Angela Rayner said: “I’m proud of Ashton’s heritage, and this amazing old bus is a living piece of history. I don’t find it difficult to imagine people going to the mill or the music hall in it and I’m really pleased that it’s not only coming back to its home region, but it’ll be on display where people can see it.” 

Councillor Sangita Patel, Tameside Council Assistant Executive Member for Heritage, Culture and Digital Inclusivity, said: “This old bus is a fantastic piece of Tameside’s heritage and it’s wonderful to welcome it back to its home town of Ashton as it stops off during its journey to its permanent home in the museum.” 

Alison Chew, TfGM’s Deputy Director of Bus, said: “We are delighted that this piece of Greater Manchester’s transport history is coming home after so many years, and I want to commend the efforts of Geoff Lumb in restoring the bus and everyone who helped raise funds to find it a permanent home at the Museum of Transport. 

“The Museum of Transport connects the past with the present, and Number 8’s journey is just another story that we can celebrate as part of our rich transport heritage here in Greater Manchester.” 

Kelvin Platt, of the Museum of Transport, said: “Number 8 fills a huge gap in our collection and we’re thrilled that it will be on public display in our museum. Our heritage isn’t just to be celebrated but to be seen, and its new home in Greater Manchester is the best place for it to be.” 

Read more from the Tameside Reporter

Click here for more of the latest news

Click here to read the latest edition of the paper online

Click here to find out where you can pick up a copy of the paper