My uncle and his family lived in Todmorden from the mid 1950′s for a few years and our family would now and again go to visit for tea – as you did. This involved catching a Halifax J.O.C. Regent III or CVG6 from Stump Cross to Hebden Bridge on the 48/49 service, then a fine T.J.O.C. PD2 to Todmorden, and another one on the Cross Lee service to Ferney Lee. Then a few hours later, we’d do it all again in reverse order. A wonderful day out. I don’t remember much of the tea, but I remember the bus rides! Then the tickets were still Bell Punch rack type tickets – the only ones I personally ever encountered. Unfortunately I hadn’t started to retain bus tickets at that early stage in my life, so these later Setright Speeds are the only ones I possess.

Photograph and Copy contributed by John Stringer

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18/04/12 – 07:05

Ah, those visits to relations. When I was little every weekend we were either visiting them, or they were visiting us – my dads parents, or three lots of uncles/aunts/cousins. I have written about the three-stage trip to my grandparents in Hucknall. The other regulars were in different parts of Nottingham – one of which involved the Mapperley route 31. In the early 50s this was always operated by Daimler CVD6s, which were unusual in the AEC dominated NCT fleet. I remember just one occasion when we went to visit my dad’s cousin in Grantham. I was grievously disappointed when the bus turned out not to be the melodious Trent crash-gearbox Regent I expected, but a Lincolnshire Bristol K5G on the joint service.

Stephen Ford

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23/04/12 – 15:56

I always recall that the ticket number on TJOC Setright tickets comprised four digits whereas tickets of most other operators I have seen had only three digits.

David Slater

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25/04/12 – 09:28

If I’m not mistaken Midland Red’s Setright ticket numbers also had four digits but I can’t think of any others that did.

Alan Hall

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25/04/12 – 12:06

The 4-digit serial number was something many operators wanted but Setrights seem to have been reluctant to supply. The reason seems to have been that the 4-digit serial number mechanism was inherently less reliable.
Midland Red was by the far the biggest user; also Walsall Corporation, Eastbourne Corporation were two other 4-digit users.
Rather more unusual on the Todmorden tickets was the machine number appearing where "PENCE" bar usually appeared. The two examples illustrated are from machines 03 and 12.

DRH – Transport Ticket Society

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26/04/12 – 11:52

Of course I should have remembered about Walsall’s tickets as I spent many happy days travelling on their trolleybuses in the last few years of their operation.

Alan Hall