Lancashire United Transport (LUT) was a

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

and

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

operator based at

Howe Bridge Howe Bridge is a suburb of Atherton, Greater Manchester, Atherton, Greater Manchester, England. Historic counties of England, Historically within Lancashire, it is situated to the south west of Atherton town centre on the B5215, the old Turnpike t ...

in Atherton, 10 miles north west of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. It was the largest independent bus operator in the United Kingdom until its acquisition by the

Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive was the public body responsible for public transport in Greater Manchester between 1974 and 2011, when it became part of Transport for Greater Manchester. SELNEC PTE Until 1969, the conurbati ...

in 1976.

History

The company was founded in 1905 as Lancashire United Tramways Ltd to assume operation of the

South Lancashire Tramways South Lancashire Tramways was a system of electric Tram, tramways in south Lancashire authorised by the South Lancashire Tramways Act of 1900. The ''South Lancashire Tramways Company'' was authorised by the act to build over of track to serve t ...

system, which had run into financial difficulties. Ogden 2006, p.13 The tram system was centred on the towns of

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

and Atherton in South Lancashire, with lines running towards St Helens,

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

and

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

. Trams continued to run under the "''South Lancashire Tramways''" fleetname, but after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

LUT took the opportunity to operate motorbus services using the "''Lancashire United''" fleetname. By 1926, the bus fleet had reached the total of 100 operating over 21 routes. Ogden 2006, p.34 The company changed its name in the same year to Lancashire United Transport and Power Company Ltd to reflect the widened range of business activities. The company continued to operate routes in South Lancashire until purchased by

in 1976. LUT remained as an independent subsidiary until 1981 when the company was officially wound up and its assets transferred to Greater Manchester Transport.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Lancashire United Transport Society

Historic transport in Lancashire Tram transport in Greater Manchester Defunct companies of the United Kingdom Companies based in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan 1905 establishments in England British companies established in 1905 Transport companies established in 1905 Former bus operators in Greater Manchester {{GreaterManchester-stub Former bus operators in Lancashire

History

See also

References

Bibliography

External links