Busworld Photography: Celebrating a high point. My Wallace Arnold Leopard

BUSWORLD PHOTOGRAPHY

I AM CHRISTOPHER LEACH THE ARTIST. I started this blog so that I can share with everyone my vast collection of transport photographs showing a personal and nostalgic view of the industry with images that span some 45 years taking in the U.K and some of Europe. I have no darkroom and so rather than being the perfectionist after tidying them up I upload the images warts and all, and even those that won't scan squarely or are scratched. In a way it adds age and character. You are all free to download these for your personal use but please remember I still own them and you are not just free to use them without prior permission for any knd of publishing. Click on images to enlarge them and if you want to see more leave your comments or visit my website for the mother-site with galleries including those Buses & Girls: PICTUREWORLD

Sunday 25 September 2011

Celebrating a high point. My Wallace Arnold Leopard

I'm careful not to buy things I don't really want and there is always a short list of bus models I want to have in my collection. I'm putting this Wallace Arnold Leopard on today as I'm celebrating the purchase on eBay for £6.67 (£8.67) of their similar Panorama Elite AUA 422J, not usually a bargain as it's still available at the normal price from EFE. Officially I stop at K-Reg as everything quickly went downhill from then on with things like The National, tacky NBC and even worse PTE liveries. So as well as 1971 being something of a high point with my EFE model with it's 'Indian Summer' of popularity for Leyland with the Leopard, it bore a classic Plaxton Panorama Elite body topped off with a distinctive modern attractive livery that even Ray Stenning hasn't bettered. From a personal perspective 1971 was an interesting and difficult year as at 22 I was being forced to decide what direction I should take, and none of the sensible one's seemed to appeal and coaches like this made me want to be out on the road. But I have no regrets. PNW 314W was shot on the old lorry park at Broad Eye in Stafford and now part of Sainsbury's car park.