A VERY GOOD WINDSOR .sx says Dennis Gander .sx THE September Windsor meeting at the Montem Centre was , I thought , a very good swapmeet .sx With the array of diecast being as usual , enormous !sx And without taking that branch of the hobby for granted , Windsor this time produced , perhaps , an extra amount of very fine tin toys .sx There was a veritable flotilla of water craft , waterline diecast ships , and a more than usual number of tin motor launches , many by Hornby and by Sutcliffe , with a fast looking Bluebird II by the latter firm .sx One table had a fine show of 1200th scale warships by Tremo , all boxed .sx Like the railway collectors who can 'work' their models , the slot car collectors too are well established in toy collecting , although my memory goes back to the very early days of this hobby , when the gimballed circuit pushers were not looked upon as collectable toys , as now they are .sx Here at Windsor the track racers are part of the normal scene .sx I found great pleasure at this Windsor , to 'ferret' around the tables sniffing out the classic British cars from the 'sixties ; Austin , Sunbeam , Jaguar , Vauxhall , all those magic marques , the classic collectables .sx The Triang Victory series could be seen on the stalls at Windsor , vehicles now pure nostalgia , but I could not find an example of the Morris Minor , perhaps the most elusive of this fine series .sx If Windsor has a gap it is perhaps a lack of antique dolls , though I doubt whether there is room for them !sx Maybe tables organiser John Moore could entice a dolly dealer !sx John was as usual very busy during the day , but I always get a smile and a cheery greeting from him - wouldn't do his job if they paid me !sx .sx As ever , the September meeting brought in many overseas visitors , many regulars from abroad ; from the USA Gates Willard ( of course !sx ) keeping a sharp eye on Minics , and the older Tootsie Toys .sx And a touch of class on novelty toys was provided by Tim Turner , the American based purveyor of timeless pieces .sx The pulling power of Windsor gained interest from as far away as Italy , Japan and Australia , but in reporting that , we must not leave out the very many British regulars who unfailingly attend every swapmeet organised by the Maidenhead Club .sx It was good to see Sally Armstrong and her son there , too , Sally remarking that since the passing of Anthony , the dealers had really made her feel welcomed and at home .sx That's one of the many nice things at Windsor .sx It is one big happy family meeting , in the sense that many of the visitors are known to each other - indeed there are a number that only visit this longest established swapmeet .sx Although from time to time I have mentioned the prices on toys displayed at Windsor , look hard enough and you will find a wide range of prices asked , and you will also find many people willing to swap or part exchange - a tradition from the early days that , thankfully , is still believed in among the tables at the Montem Centre .sx I hope the accompanying photographs will give those who did not go a reflection of what they missed .sx They are but a tiny fraction of the wonderful toys on show .sx I left the hall at Slough at the end of a happy day , reflecting that meetings don't have to get bigger and bigger ; the quality and choice was certainly here at Windsor .sx WORLD OF BYGONE BUSES .sx Manchester Museum of Transport .sx by Jack Tempest .sx Bus enthusiasts are innumerable in the collecting world and it is fairly safe to believe that the majority of them are to be found circulating around the swapmeets whenever they can , seeking new additions to their ever increasing collections .sx Collecting the real thing is obviously out of the question for many bus fanatics , storage space being a leading problem .sx Those who have invested in such a relic of bygone public transport are often grateful when storage is made available in a handy museum with space to spare , a situation which also permits the vehicle's greater exposure to the admiration of fellow bus buffs .sx At the Museum of Transport in Manchester there may be seen one of the country's largest accumulations of buses , with examples dating right back to the horse drawn days .sx It is a fabulous collection made up of some seventy vehicles owned by the Executive Body , the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority :sx the Greater Manchester Transport Society and by Museum volunteers .sx As may be expected , the Museum is generally biased towards the history of public transport in what is the extensive area nowadays known as Greater Manchester .sx The first recorded public 'omnibus' service relates that a Pendleton toll keeper named John Greenwood commenced running a three times a day horse bus between his Toll Gate and the centre of Manchester .sx This is believed to have been the very first true bus service to appear in the country - possibly even the world !sx .sx Greenwood's idea caught on and by 1850 there were over 60 horse buses plying for business in Manchester alone .sx Horse trams , giving smoother rides on steel rails and calling for the use of fewer horses to haul them , were to follow .sx The Museum has many early photographs of these vehicles and their proudest possession is an actual horse bus built by the old Manchester Carriage & Tramways Company in 1890 .sx This type of horse bus , immaculately restored , was replaced by motor buses in 1906 and , with great foresight , was fortunately retained by Manchester Corporation for preservation as a museum piece .sx On special occasions it is often taken out through the city where it obviously causes a great deal of attention and provides an excellent advertisement for the Museum of Transport .sx Amongst the display of buses , trams and trolley buses , there are many other associated vehicles and artefacts to be seen in the Museum , which is ideally situated in a spacious section of the city's Queen's Road Bus Depot .sx Some of these , such as the old Lancashire United Tow Vehicle , have seen service with bus companies ; others , like the early Lacre street-cleansing vehicle originally operated by the Manchester Cleansing Department , which was rescued for preservation from Manchester Airport where it had been given the job of clearing snow from the runways !sx .sx There are also a few interesting non-bus associated commercial vehicles on display including a Ford Model 'A' Van manufactured at the Henry Ford plant which existed in nearby Trafford Park from 1919 to 1931 , when it was closed in favour of the move to Dagenham .sx The Museum has a well equipped department dedicated to the restoration of old vehicles which is also responsible for the maintenance of the Museum's exhibits .sx Every effort is made by the voluntary workers to ensure that the majority of the vehicles are kept in full working order .sx Here a great deal of time and effort is spent in returning neglected buses , trams , trolley buses and commercial vehicles of all kinds , back to their original condition .sx Visitors can often watch restoration work in progress , an activity that adds to the nostalgic atmosphere , bringing a little realism to the museum display presented in authentic 'garage' surroundings .sx They may also sample the working environment of the Museum's ticket machine repair shop , the destination blind manufacturing area , and the signwriting department !sx .sx As for the buses on display , there is a fine example of a single deck 1930 Leyland Tiger TS2 specially created as an express bus designed to beat the competition from the 'pirate' operators then in operation on the city's roads .sx That same year the Government introduced a Transport Act which led to the eventual ousting of the 'pirates' .sx Nineteen years on Manchester was ridding itself of its tramway system and a 1949 Leyland PD 1/3 double decker in the collection commemorates the fleet of buses acquired to replace the trams .sx The last of Manchester's newer trams were Pilcher cars , named after the city's General Manager who actually preferred buses and was hoping to rid the city of its tramway system as soon as he could !sx It was 1949 when the last trams ran and several of the 'Pilchers' were sold for service in Aberdeen and Leeds .sx Crossley motor-buses and trolley-buses were bought by Manchester , and a batch of the company's six-wheel vehicles were delivered in 1951 .sx An example of the latter was saved for the Museum when such forms of transport were discontinued in the city in 1966 .sx Ramsbottom was the first town to run trolley buses in the district just before the out - break of the first World War .sx These vehicles began to take over from trams in Wigan , Ashton , and Oldham from 1925 and came to Manchester in 1938 .sx Manchester is shortly to return to tramway transport , as every enthusiast will know well , but the vehicles are of foreign manufacture - in the old days it was unheard of for Britain to buy foreign vehicles and northern transport was usually provided by north-western manufacturers such as Crossley and Leyland .sx Salford preferred Daimlers powered by locally made Gardner engines , and so did Rochdale , though they also operated AEC types .sx The Atlantean bus , from Leyland of 1958 , saw a big change in bus design with its rear engine and the placing of its door next to the driver .sx This made one - man operation possible , a necessity resulting from the ever increasing demand for higher wages , and with the doors driver operated , helped reduce passenger accidents .sx A visit to the Manchester Museum of Transport is well worthwhile for all bus fanatics , whether they like the 'real thing' or are content to collect diecast models .sx For the latter a specially good time to drop in is over the weekend of the 16th/17th November from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. when a Two Day Toy Fair will be taking place with hundreds of collectable models being offered by stallholders from a wide area .sx A highlight of the weekend will be Saturday's Toy & Transport Auction Sale taking place on the Saturday when , in keeping with the fact that it will be only so many shopping days to Christmas , Santa Claus will be paying a special visit .sx Other special attractions will be a fairground organ , a brass band recital , miniature railways , and other special attractions .sx For more information on this event phone 061-430-4827 .sx The Museum of Transport is situated on Boyle Street , off Queen's Road ( Ring Road ) about one mile north of the City Centre , and is open Wednesdays , Saturdays , Sundays and Bank Holidays from 10a .sx m. to 5p .sx m. ( Christmas excepted) .sx Free on-street parking at the Museum .sx Further information on 061-205-2122 .sx WORLD'S LARGEST COLLECTION .sx by Jack Tempest .sx A collection with a difference can be visited at the Midlands car-racing centre of Donington Park , situated almost next door to the East Midlands Airport .sx Inside the specially designed building , its layout planned in the form of a crank-shaft to permit the best possible use of the site on which the museum stands , the visitor is able to inspect over one hundred and fifty immaculately preserved examples of single-seat racing cars .sx Owner Tom Wheatcroft , a car racing enthusiast since the 1930's began collecting his cars , representing some eighty years of the motor sport , only as recently as 1964 when he purchased an ex-Peter Whitehead 1951 Ferrari .sx This car he bought as a 'one-off' , for his personal amusement only , with no idea in his mind of starting to collect at the time .sx The thrill of the sport was Tom's main interest , and had been since the Donington Grand Prix was attracting contestants from all over the world to Britain's first true road course in the mid-1930's .sx Tom found himself buying more vehicles and , in 1971 , he purchased Donington Park with the intention of reviving international motor racing there .sx By now his collection had grown so much that its owner decided that it was time that suitable accommodation be found to put it on public display .sx Tom now had the space available at Donington Park and , by 1973 , the brand new permanent home for his racers was declared open to the public .sx