The Flickr Bullock Image Generatr

Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve, Encino / Los Angeles, California USA. What beautiful coloration! I heard that this oriole was hanging around the wildlife reserve, and I'm glad I was able to see them today.

Manchester, Oxford Road, 06/01/2015.

Connexions Buses 9936 UB is approaching Harrogate Bus Station. It is a Scania N94UD OmniCity with Scania bodywork, new in 2007 as Lothian Buses 986, registered SN57 DAO. It came to Connexions in 2022 from Bullock, Cheadle.

Manchester, Piccadilly, 30/07/1991.

Another DMS back in its natural state was 2563, which had arrived at Bullocks in August 1991, and initially wore a stripey white-based scheme, which was certainly different ! This probably suited it better though.

It lasted through to 1997, latterly as JIL 8208, and by this time it had been re-fitted with a Gardner engine, and lost its distinctive 'B20' rear end.

Princess Street, Manchester, 15/4/94

This is the nearest I wanted to come to photographing a London bus in London red ! But actually, it is probably more accurately described as 'Southampton red', as the influx of allover red buses in the Bullock fleet really only came about after the arrival of 5 buses from the Southampton fleet towards the end of 1991.

This DMS, meanwhile, joined the fleet in July 1993, and was one of Ralph's impulse buys from a Belle Vue auction, for the princely sum of £1650. For that, he got 3 years of use from it, and probably a source of spare parts at the end, so I am sure it kept the accountants happy !

It had arrived in plain white, having spent a year or so with the European Training Centre at Maidenhead after leaving London in 1992. Later in 1994, it would become JIL 8204, in an era where mouthy local politicians were complaining about the ages of buses on the roads of Manchester, so the easiest solution was to just bewilder them !

Princess Street, Manchester, 15/4/94

Downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Manchester, Portland Street, 25/07/1991.

This would have been one of the first coaches that I remember being 'new' back in 1978 with local operator Bullock's at Cheadle, but it only spent two years in the fleet - which was standard for a Ford coach at that time - so had gone long before I started to photograph their coaches in any numbers. It then spent many years with Whittaker's at West Bromwich, another avid Ford operator, and a firm whose coaches would mainly be found in the 'Brummies only' section at Blackpool, i.e. the back rows at Pleasure Beach !

In 1991, it became the first vehicle with new operator Lockley's at Stafford, who I don't think I had come across at all until it turned up on this occasion, and I wasn't going to miss out on it here. Which was just as well, as it was withdrawn from service only a few weeks later, and scrapped - maybe this was its final photo ?

Central coach park, Blackpool, 8/10/94

on main road @ Snack Stop on way to Jodhpur

Bullock Harbour,
Dublin

The company of Ralph Bullock & Sons of Cheadle is a well-respected name in coach hire and luxury tours, but for quite a few years Bullock also ran scheduled bus services on the post-deregulation Manchester roads.

When local buses outside London were deregulated in 1986, many established coach operators - and a larger number of new start-ups with no relevant experience - entered the market. These ranged from single-vehicle affairs up to quite large companies such as Shearing's of Wigan, and Bullock's also threw their hat into the ring.

Many of the new entrants were impecunious affairs running old cast-offs and buses that had, it's polite to say, their best days behind them. But not Bullock: its standards were (and are) high, so although it did buy second-hand buses, it didn't run some of the more mechanically and aesthetically challenged examples to be seen.

In 2004, 'top of the fleet' for Bullock was this Scania with low floor bodywork - at the time, completely step-free buses with space to park a wheelchair or buggy were still a new innovation. The big operators such as Stageoach, First and Arriva had the means to invest in new modern buses, but few of the smaller operators did: but Bullock & Sons had several buses like this that made travel easier for people with mobility needs.

Eventually, between 2008 and 2018, the company disposed of its scheduled bus service operations and reverted to only running coach hire and tours (which had continued alongside the bus side). At the time of writing this bus is still on the road in Suffolk, while Bullock's fleet of modern coaches is a familar sight on the road in the North West.

You can see a vintage Bullock's coach - at the Museum of Transport Greater Manchester, where you can see a 1949 Foden coach on display in the company's traditional crimson, red and white colour scheme.

If you'd like to know more about the Museum of Transport Greater Manchester and its collection of vintage buses, go to motgm.uk.

© Greater Manchester Transport Society. All rights reserved. Unauthorised reproduction is strictly prohibited and may result in action being taken to protect the intellectual property interests of the Society.

This is the lock refered to in this video by the Lockpicking Lawyer - youtu.be/y4XGY0_cwcM

William Bullock Waterman, son of Stephen and Harriet Pearce (Bullock) Waterman, was born 28 May 1860 in Providence, Rhode Island and died 28 Sep 1897 in Providence, Rhode Island. He is buried in Swan Point Cemetery, Providence, Rhode Island. He was married twice. On 7 Sep 1882, in Providence, Rhode Island, he married Marianna Field Gardner (1861-1890). They had three children: Harold Gardner (1883-1910), Edith (1885-1980) and William Bullock (1889-1980). On 29 Apr 1896, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, he married Maud Reynolds (1872-1956).

Photographer is Hambly & Shaal, Providence, Rhode Island. Cabinet Card.

www.findagrave.com/memorial/137082965/william_bullock-wat...

Pinstripe Scarecrow (zoom in) looking sad following long exposure to the weather.

The Postcard

A postally unused carte postale that was published by Lévy Fils et Cie of Paris and distributed by Librairie Giard. The card has a divided back.

Valenciennes

Valenciennes is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France.

It lies on the Scheldt (French: Escaut) river. Although the city and region experienced a steady population decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded.

During the Great War the German army occupied the town in 1914. They were finally driven out by British forces at the Battle of Valenciennes in 1918, in which seven British divisions attacked eleven German divisions.

One dramatic first-hand experience of this battle is provided by A. S. Bullock who fought at a section of the front near Maresches.

-- Valenciennes Buildings

The Hindenburg Line ran through Valenciennes during the Great War, leading to extensive destruction. Valenciennes was again almost completely destroyed during World War II, and has since been rebuilt in concrete.

Surviving monuments include:

1) The façade of the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall), which managed to survive the bombardments of the war.

2) the Basilica of Notre-Dame du Saint-Cordon, to which there is an annual pilgrimage.

3) La Maison Espagnole, the remains of the Spanish occupation, which ended in 1678. The building is now used as the town's tourist information office.

4) The Dodenne Tower, the remaining part of the medieval fortifications after Charles V ordered them reduced.

5) Théâtre le Phenix, a theatre and performing arts venue constructed in 1998.

6) The "Beffroi", a large, pin-like monument 45 m (148 ft) in height, built in 2007 on the site of the former belfry.

Richmond Bullock Harris, son of Thomas and Sarah Pearce (Bullock) Harris, was born 22 Mar 1862 in Providence, Rhode Island and died 3 May 1943 in Santa Clara Co., California. On 14 Jul 1888, in Rhode Island, he married Grace Lee O’Loughlin (1866-1943). This marriage ended in divorce sometime before the 1900 census. They had no children. Photographer is Hambly & Shaal, Providence, Rhode Island. Cabinet Card.

www.findagrave.com/memorial/112087143/richmond_bullock-ha...