| Four Maidstone Leyland PD2s with Massey bodywork await
disposal at the rear of Armstrong Road depot. Nearest the camera are 25
(25YKO) and 24 (24YKO) along with two unidentified vehicles. This view was
taken around 1977.
Photo: Leslie Chatfield |
| Snow on the roofs of Leyland PD2s awaiting disposal at Armstrong Road depot. |
| Maidstone 39, a Leyland Atlantean with Massey bodywork. The black lining out has been removed from the fiesta blue/cream livery of this bus, seen at the Queens Monument, Maidstone in about 1977. |
 | Maidstone 46 (OKM146G), a 1968 Leyland Atlantean with Massey bodywork seen at The Cannon, Maidstone High Street in September 1978. This bus later joined the Stevensons of Uttoxeter fleet. |
| The rear of Leyland PD2s 24 and 25 at Armstrong Road in about 1977. |
| Maidstone Borough Council 49, a Leyland Atlantean with Massey bodywork, part of a batch acquired for trolleybus replacement in 1967. This bus is seen at the Cannon, Maidstone on a former trolleybus route from Barming to Loose in 1977. |
| Almost 10 years later, Farleigh/Venture Bristol RELL/ECW ECG 108X is seen at the same location on service 58A from Borough Green to Maidstone. |
| Maidstone Corporation 7, a Leyland PD2/Massey also seen at
the Cannon, en-route from London Road (Allington Way) to Penenden Heath
(Peel Street Hedges). Examples of this type survived until Maidstone &
District purchased Boro'line in the mid 1990s.
(Picture source: unknown) |
| Maidstone Corporation 13, a Leyland PD2/Massey seen at the
Cannon with a journey from Ringlestone to Shepway (Oxford Road).
(Picture source: unknown) |
 |
Maidstone Borough Council 11 (SKN491R), a Bedford YRT with Willowbrook
bodywork nicknamed 'The Beast' by Maidstone Borough Council drivers.
Maidstone was an all double deck fleet until 1974 - a new transport manager
replaced the Atlanteans with a fleet of lightweight Bedfords totally
unsuited to urban bus operation.Photo: Leslie Chatfield |
| Some 20 years later, former East Kent Bristol LH/ECW works the same service between Penenden Heath and Allington Way (although the route to the northeast of the Town Centre was revised, thus necessitating the use of shortened vehicles). This particular vehicle was part of a "lowheight" batch for an Ashford Town Service, which passed under a low railway bridge in the Willesborough area. |
| Boro'line Bedford/Wadham Stringer 279 waits at the Queens Monument with a service 85 departure for Shepway and Senacre Wood (1986) |
| The NBC operator in Maidstone was Maidstone & District (now Arriva Kent & Sussex), a company with a marked enthusiasm for the Bristol VRT. 5841 leads a row of 4 Bristol VRTs pictured at Lower Stone Street Bus Station in December 1986, including 2 highbridge versions favoured by M&D in earlier orders. M&D were unusual in having Willowbrook and East Lancs bodied examples in the fleet, although the majority were ECW bodied vehicles as shown above. |
| Midland Red decided it didn't require a 1972 batch of MCW bodied Leyland Atlanteans. Midland Red's loss became Maidstone & District's gain and the batch of vehicles spent most of their working lives at Gillingham, even straying onto Invictaway services between London and the Medway Towns. 5707 is seen here leaving Lower Stone Street Bus Station in December 1986 after working a service 8 journey from Bearsted. |
 | This Maidstone & District Leyland Atlantean/MCW went through a number of identities in its career. Delivered in 1963 as DH621, it became 5621 and eventually joined the private hire fleet as 2621. The bus is seen in Bishops Way, Maidstone in December 1986. |
 | Maidstone & District 5120 on layover at Lower Stone Street bus station after working the once weekly service from Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey. The bus is a 1976 Bristol VRT with ECW highbridge bodywork. One of M&D's East Lancs bodied Bristol VRTs acquired from South Yorkshire PTE can be seen to the left. |