Memories of Swanley Bus Conductor 1960's. Copyright Christine Couchman and Swanley History Group
MEMORIES OF
CHRISTINE COUCHMAN, Bus Conductor at Swanley Bus Garage
I was just eighteen years old in 1964 when I joined London Country Buses based at Swanley in Kent. My father worked there before me and lots of my uncles too so it seemed to be a family tradition. Before I became a fully fledged “clippie”, I travelled to Gunnersbury in North London for two weeks training. To complete the training I then spent a week training with a conductor at Swanley Garage. His name was Jim Whittaker, a very nice man that taught me a lot in that week.
The first bus left the depot at five o’clock in the morning, when the bus was started up you would be choking with diesel fumes that would sting your eyes, as well as making you cough!! That was part of the job in those days and you became used to it. The first journey would head to Crockenhill Village and then we would start to pick up workers going to J&E Hall and the paper mills in and around Dartford. By the time we reached our destination the bus would be full. I got to know the regulars and they were always cheerful and ready for a joke, even at that unearthly time of the morning!
The winters seemed to be much colder then. If the heating wasn’t working you had to stand behind the drivers’ cab to feel the little blast of warm air that blew out. It was absolutely freezing and your hands and feet would be numb with the cold. I can recall being on an early shift. The roads were very icy and as the bus attempted to drive past Wilmington Church, going down the hill towards Hawley Road, the bus skidded out of control and was heading for a row of small cottages on the other side of the road. It came to a stop when it ploughed through the front of a house! You can imagine the shock the lady of the house had when she came downstairs and was greeted by a double-decker bus! Luckily there were no serious injuries, just damage to the poor bus!!
There was a great canteen that was based at Westgate Road in Dartford and served all of the bus crews. There were two lovely ladies that worked there called Jesse and Molly. Sometimes the bus crews would play games of cards whilst on their break. The main meal on the menu was known as ‘a special’ which we now know as a Full English. If there was a shortage of staff I would sometimes be asked to help out. You never had to be a “Jamie Oliver” to cook up ‘a special’ or make a good strong cup of tea.
There were some real characters amongst the staff – one of the bus inspectors springs to mind. He was very much like the character in “On the Buses”. He would be hiding behind bus shelters and jump out at the last minute. I do believe he would have loved to catch the driver or conductor smoking on duty but the bus going in the other direction would give us a warning so we rarely got caught with a cigarette!
The buses were nearly always on time, although there wasn’t the amount of traffic on the roads as there is now. The main bus routes that came out of Swanley Garage were the 477 that covered Orpington through to Dartford and the 423 which covered Longfield and surrounding areas, normally through to West Kingsdown and Wrotham. We then had the 401 route which went from Belvedere right the way through to Sevenoaks Bus Station. This route was very busy in the summer. Families would purchase Rover Tickets for 25p (5/- in old money). This allowed them to hop on and off all day – good value for the price. You couldn’t get anywhere for that these days. The 401 route was not good on a late turn in the winter. Once you left Dartford you would be lucky to pick up any passengers all the way through to Sevenoaks, very lonely stuck on the back of the bus.
When I started working at Swanley Garage my wage was £20 per week, which was huge in the sixties. It was approximately during the mid sixties when it was decided that women were going to be allowed to learn to drive. You cannot imagine the conversations that were going on in the canteen and the conductor’s room. Many of the men were really against this decision, especially the men that were of ‘the old school’. However I decided to try my hand and it was an unforgettable experience. The buses never had any power-steering and I soon built up muscles, turning that heavy steering wheel. The day of my test, which took place around London, was a unique experience. The examiner could not find any fault with my driving but he decided that my arms “didn’t have a bend in my elbow”. He was without doubt not ready for women drivers! I could have appealed against the decision but decided that I couldn’t put myself through the stress again. I was only the second woman at the time to learn how to drive a bus.
Sadly it was decided to bring in driver only operated buses which, in my opinion, was the beginning of the end of an era. All conductors were there on standby every day and be ready to cover in other garages if need be. This was ok for a while but soon became soul-destroying. I decided that the time was right to move on, as did all the conductors.
I really have some special memories of my time spent at Swanley Garage.
Christine Couchman
Photo and Article are Copyright Swanley History Group and Christine Couchman and should not be copied or shared without permission
CHRISTINE COUCHMAN, Bus Conductor at Swanley Bus Garage
I was just eighteen years old in 1964 when I joined London Country Buses based at Swanley in Kent. My father worked there before me and lots of my uncles too so it seemed to be a family tradition. Before I became a fully fledged “clippie”, I travelled to Gunnersbury in North London for two weeks training. To complete the training I then spent a week training with a conductor at Swanley Garage. His name was Jim Whittaker, a very nice man that taught me a lot in that week.
The first bus left the depot at five o’clock in the morning, when the bus was started up you would be choking with diesel fumes that would sting your eyes, as well as making you cough!! That was part of the job in those days and you became used to it. The first journey would head to Crockenhill Village and then we would start to pick up workers going to J&E Hall and the paper mills in and around Dartford. By the time we reached our destination the bus would be full. I got to know the regulars and they were always cheerful and ready for a joke, even at that unearthly time of the morning!
The winters seemed to be much colder then. If the heating wasn’t working you had to stand behind the drivers’ cab to feel the little blast of warm air that blew out. It was absolutely freezing and your hands and feet would be numb with the cold. I can recall being on an early shift. The roads were very icy and as the bus attempted to drive past Wilmington Church, going down the hill towards Hawley Road, the bus skidded out of control and was heading for a row of small cottages on the other side of the road. It came to a stop when it ploughed through the front of a house! You can imagine the shock the lady of the house had when she came downstairs and was greeted by a double-decker bus! Luckily there were no serious injuries, just damage to the poor bus!!
There was a great canteen that was based at Westgate Road in Dartford and served all of the bus crews. There were two lovely ladies that worked there called Jesse and Molly. Sometimes the bus crews would play games of cards whilst on their break. The main meal on the menu was known as ‘a special’ which we now know as a Full English. If there was a shortage of staff I would sometimes be asked to help out. You never had to be a “Jamie Oliver” to cook up ‘a special’ or make a good strong cup of tea.
There were some real characters amongst the staff – one of the bus inspectors springs to mind. He was very much like the character in “On the Buses”. He would be hiding behind bus shelters and jump out at the last minute. I do believe he would have loved to catch the driver or conductor smoking on duty but the bus going in the other direction would give us a warning so we rarely got caught with a cigarette!
The buses were nearly always on time, although there wasn’t the amount of traffic on the roads as there is now. The main bus routes that came out of Swanley Garage were the 477 that covered Orpington through to Dartford and the 423 which covered Longfield and surrounding areas, normally through to West Kingsdown and Wrotham. We then had the 401 route which went from Belvedere right the way through to Sevenoaks Bus Station. This route was very busy in the summer. Families would purchase Rover Tickets for 25p (5/- in old money). This allowed them to hop on and off all day – good value for the price. You couldn’t get anywhere for that these days. The 401 route was not good on a late turn in the winter. Once you left Dartford you would be lucky to pick up any passengers all the way through to Sevenoaks, very lonely stuck on the back of the bus.
When I started working at Swanley Garage my wage was £20 per week, which was huge in the sixties. It was approximately during the mid sixties when it was decided that women were going to be allowed to learn to drive. You cannot imagine the conversations that were going on in the canteen and the conductor’s room. Many of the men were really against this decision, especially the men that were of ‘the old school’. However I decided to try my hand and it was an unforgettable experience. The buses never had any power-steering and I soon built up muscles, turning that heavy steering wheel. The day of my test, which took place around London, was a unique experience. The examiner could not find any fault with my driving but he decided that my arms “didn’t have a bend in my elbow”. He was without doubt not ready for women drivers! I could have appealed against the decision but decided that I couldn’t put myself through the stress again. I was only the second woman at the time to learn how to drive a bus.
Sadly it was decided to bring in driver only operated buses which, in my opinion, was the beginning of the end of an era. All conductors were there on standby every day and be ready to cover in other garages if need be. This was ok for a while but soon became soul-destroying. I decided that the time was right to move on, as did all the conductors.
I really have some special memories of my time spent at Swanley Garage.
Christine Couchman
Photo and Article are Copyright Swanley History Group and Christine Couchman and should not be copied or shared without permission