Richard Walter reports on a very special parade through the streets of Glasgow to celebrate the centenary of the introduction of motorbuses by Glasgow Corporation Transport
Saturday 3 August was a very special and indeed very colourful day in Glasgow as a convoy of some 22 buses ran through the city centre, starting off at Glasgow Green and finishing at the Riverside Museum. It featured 111, the oldest surviving Glasgow bus from 1928, leading the parade with other vehicles then following in date order, with representatives of today’s First Glasgow fleet bringing up the rear.
The event was organised by the Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust (GVVT) and CBW asked the Trust’s Chairman, Steven Booth, for some background. “We had never undertaken an event like this,” explained Steven. “We had to seek permission from Glasgow City Council and Police Scotland to be able to hold the parade. This involved negotiating with them and agreeing the route. The parade also had a police escort as it travelled through the city, with them holding back traffic at junctions as the line of vehicles passed.”
On the day the expert police operation went so smoothly that the buses turned up early at Riverside Museum. The convoy left from Glasgow Green and headed to the Merchant City where it went through Glasgow Cross and up High Street. It turned along Ingram Street before finding its way onto George Square and from there headed up St Vincent Street. It proceeded over the M8 motorway and through the trendy Finnieston area before passing Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum and on to Patrick Cross. After heading along Dumbarton Road, the parade headed to Riverside Museum where the buses went on display on the museum forecourt. The buses spent the afternoon there before heading back to Bridgeton Bus Garage following the same route.
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