Angela hopped aboard a 90-year-old relic as the painstakingly restored Ashton Corporation bus number 8 rolled into town.

The vehicle was built in 1928 to carry the town’s citizens to work, market or the cinema but was discarded to be used as a caravan for nearly half a century before it was rescued and rebuilt to mint condition. It will now be on permanent display at the Greater Manchester Museum of Transport.

Angela 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.”

Kelvin Platt, from the Museum of Transport, added: “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.”

The bus

• The bus was bought by Ashton Corporation Transport Department in 1928. It’s a ‘Karrier’ model, made in Huddersfield, and has six wheels. Despite this, it still has only 32 seats and is smaller than modern buses.
• The colour scheme is royal blue and white, which was Ashton’s house colours for its buses.
• The engine is a 5.9 litre petrol unit and does approximately 3 (three!) miles to the gallon.
• It was taken out of service in the 1930s and became a static caravan at Talacre on the North Wales coast. It was rescued in the 1970s by Geoff Lumb of Huddersfield, who has recently completed the long process of restoring it to immaculate as-new condition.