You wait all day for a bus enthusiast, then three come along at once.

Alistair Grey, Mark Hall and Dennis Bracken have given varying levels of service to Workington Transport Heritage Trust since it formed in 1997.

It is now celebrating its 20th anniversary and former bus driver Alistair has been there since the beginning, while Mark and Dennis are relative newbies, having devoted four and three years respectively.

Each year, the trust’s 20 active volunteers dedicate the equivalent of six full-time jobs in their spare time.


The original master plan was to use lottery funding to transform a site near Workington’s railway station into a visitor centre which would be up and running in three years and attract people from all over the county.

It quickly became apparent that that wasn’t going to happen, yet the trust is still here 20 years later with a precious haul of gleaming vintage buses and 100 members.

Asked why, Alistair, 64, says: “At heart we are a bunch of bus enthusiasts that wanted to preserve some of the area’s transport heritage.

“It’s an unusual hobby because if you’re into classic cars you can keep one of them in your garage and tinker on it but it’s quite difficult to do that with a vintage bus or train.

“Too many towns let the past disappear, even Workington, if you look at the steelworks and what’s left of that.

“There’s so much of a story to tell and we’re just telling a small part of it.”

A Leyland National bus built in 1973 is the oldest of the trust’s 18 buses and coaches, while it also has a number of fire engines, but Alistair says it
is hard to pick a stand-out.

The collection has certainly proved popular with the community, which is at the heart of much of the trust’s work.

It runs free bus services every Boxing Day, has restarted model railway exhibitions, held two successful beer festivals and is visited by schoolchildren.

The trust also now runs day trips to attractions across the north which have proved hugely popular and it is a familiar sight at local rallies.

“It’s a matter of helping other people appreciate this bit of history,” says Alistair.

“When we go out to rallies, people love it and you get little Tommy up to sit in the driver’s seat.


“A lot of it is personal; people spotting a bus that they rode to school or work or took their children to the shops on is rewarding.”

Family ties brought Dennis, 42, of Moorclose, to the trust.

His father was a conductor, his grandfather a driver and now Dennis shows the public where they worked.

“It’s important we’re here,” he says.

“It’s nice to see people give you appreciation and share their memories of the buses.”

Mark, 23, of Salterbeck, loved trucks and trains as a child and, when he spotted one of the trust’s historic buses at a rally, soon found himself helping out with restoration on weekends.

“My mother actually used to work at the Leyland factory at Lillyhall as a cleaner,” he says.

“I only found that out recently which was funny. I love the history and the engineering.”

But what about that long-lost visitor centre plan? Or a more permanent home than the old fire station in King Street which currently
houses the trust on a temporary basis?

“That’s still the aim, finding suitable accommodation,” Alistair says.

“The county council has been absolutely brilliant with us but we are only a caretaker for this site and we could be out with three months’ notice. Our problem is cost.”

For more details about the group visit wtht.co.uk