DM 2583 - 1923 Leyland SG7 Bus
Leyland SG7 Bus

What a thrill to welcome a very special vehicle to the Transport Festival for its 10th anniversary in 2003. This magnificent machine, now owned Mike Sutcliffe, started its life working for Brookes Brothers from Rhyl in 1923. They traded as White Rose Motor Buses, running services from a garage by the Town Hall - which is now a shopping arcade. The company and the vehicle were taken over by Crosville in 1930 during their aggressive campaign to obtain a local monopoly of motor bus services. It later became a static caravan on a farm.

Leyland SG7 Bus
Shortly before being rescued, the remains of the caravan were set on fire. This most unfortunate occurrence created a considerable puzzle for Mike Sutcliffe, who has recreated the body almost entirely from the remaining iron framework. During the restoration, the originally solid-tyred wheels were re-fitted, and the full original livery applied.

It is planned that DM 2583 will be in operation in Rhyl during the morning of Friday 2nd May between 10-11 o'clock, outside her original home on the High Street which has become the White Rose Centre. It is also hoped that Mike Sutcliffe's book 'The Leyland Man', which covers the operation and restoration of the vehicle, will be published during April.

In 2001 the Festival was host to Mike Sutcliffe's Leyland 'Torpedo Charabanc' which was new to the LNWR at Colwyn Bay.