Whose Bus Is This ???

A Memory of Old Colwyn.

This early motor wagonette was probably operated by J. Fred Francis from Colwyn Bay to Old Colwyn for a three-penny fare until the coming of the Trams in March 1915. It succeeded a two horse omnibus which ran between the two locations eight times daily until about 1907. The horse bus was painted green and is likely to have been purchased and constructed in the Manchester area circa 1895-8

Francis was one of the road transport pioneers of motor driven vehicles in the North Wales area. Within ten years of this date he was operating silver painted 'torpedo' charabancs to locations throughout the area, to Bettws y coed and Caernarfon etc. His early bus services were [almost literally !] overtaken by buses of the London & North Western Railway which ran between Colwyn Bay and Old Colwyn from 1912 -14 at a reduced fare of only tuppence !

What a shame the man on his bicycle is obscuring the registration number of the bus !!! My grandmother, who was a local, would probably have known the names of the people seen here.