Our group came alive late in 2004, with the entry into preservation (in quick succession) of four historic former Leeds vehicles (574, 591, 1705 and 1807). 45 and 1751 had been in preservation (along with a very small number of WYPTE vehicles with other owners) for a couple of years, however they were not alone for too long... Whilst 574 was preserved at the Dewsbury Bus Museum and considered relatively safe, and 1705 was stored with a preservationist in Poole, 591 and 1807 at least were in danger of destruction. 1751 was also similarly saved from the scrapman in 2003, whist 45 had a happier existance, being purchased by its present owner from a fellow preservationist.

The preservation of these most historic vehicles is not a cheap exercise, each one costing around £100 per month just in rent and overheads, then at least the same again (per month) to enable some level of restoration to be carried out. That is before thinking about fuel, tax and breakdown cover to take vehicles out and about...

To assist with securing the long-term future of these vehicles, in February 2007 Transport Yorkshire Preservation Group Ltd became a legal entity, a not-for-profit company (company limited by guarantee) registered number 06125986. This is a vital step in ensuring that our vehicles can exist with a secure, long-term future, and opens up all sorts of future possibilities - not least the opportunity for everyone to get involved with donations (bank HSBC, sort code 40-05-18 account number 72451484). More about this in due course.

To comply with the requirements of the Companies Acts of 1985, 1989 and the latest amendment (Companies Act 2006) concerning websites, please note that Transport Yorkshire Preservation Group Ltd is a not for profit company, limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales, registered number 06125986 VAT number GB 915 7861 95, registered office Unit 591, 57 Great George Street, Leeds LS1 3AJ. Post for the group may be sent to this address.

At the moment, 45, 1807 and 5507 are MOTd and taxed, 1705 and 591 are under restoration, and 1751 and 574 are stored awaiting time and funds to restore.

There are a large number of people and businesses I must thank for various things, at the risk of leaving someone off, I will just say thank you to everyone - you know who you are!!

For permission to use photographs on this site, thanks must go to Malcolm King, Adam Smith, Andrw Jarosz, Andy Burbidge, Russ Petty, John Law, Nigel Heaton, Phil Stevens, Simon Turner and James Fairchild. Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders of pictures displayed on this site - if you think a picture is incorrectly credited then please get in touch.

For contributions to the fate list (however small or large), both in terms of doing the looking up, and providing info on re-registrations and survivors, we must thank Michael Highman, Andy Burbidge, Simon Turner, Martyn Bryant, Daniel Stazicker, Dave Hodson, Terry Stapley, Danny Chabaud, Richard Lamb, Marty Balmforth, Dave Entwistle, Craig Temple, West Yorkshire Buses website, Matt Hubbard, Steve Carter, Neil Halliday, Kiran Tolson, Scott Poole, Matthew Didier, Mike Cammack, Paul Fixter, Jean-François Henssens, Mark Bradbury and James Fairchild.

For designing our group logo, many many thanks to Gregory Guinea Pig.

To make contact, please email us at webmaster@typg.org.uk.

If there is anyone (private individual or a business/corporate body) who would feel able to support us, we would gratefully accept either one-off donations, or a small, regular monthly donation that would go towards rent for undercover accommodation for our historic vehicles, or towards their rectification and maintenance costs. Please contact us as above if you would like to help. Businesses in particular, there is an opportunity to sponsor the repaint (to include your logo) of 1705, 1807, 2004 or 5507 or to sponsor more extensive work on 591.

Vintage Vehicle Hire
We are often asked whether it is possible to hire one of the TYPG vehicles. Due to legislation concerning the operation of vehicles for hire or reward, the answer is complex. In general, we can provide a vehicle for use as a backdrop (for example film work), or for use wholly on private land, and we can also hire a vehicle without a driver (for example to another operator). For vintage bus/coach hire (whether for a wedding, or a special trip somewhere) we recommend the following local companies:
Yesteryear (Bradford/Leeds, a range of Routemaster-type buses (inc an open top) and old-fashioned luxury coaches)
Geldards Coaches (Leeds, Routemaster and modern double-deckers)
Harrogate Coach Travel (York/Leeds, WYPTE 1970s double-decker, 1970s/1980s coaches, modern double/single deckers)
Keighley Bus Museum(Routemaster type bus, modern open-top bus)
Yorkshire Heritage Bus Company/Halifax Joint Committee (a range of routemaster-type buses, inc open top, and modern double deckers)
South Yorkshire Heritage Buses (Rotherham, routemaster-type bus)
Wilfreda Beehive (Doncaster/Wakefield, routemaster-type buses)
All these organisations have an Operators Licence, enabling them to hire vehicles direct to the general public. Do note however that vintage vehicles are not suitable for longer trips, nor for going on the motorway (in general). If you contact the above, please mention TYPG when you call. If you really have fallen in love with one of the TYPG vehicles, it is possible we may be able to arrange something for you in conjunction with one of the above operators (where we hire your chosen vehicle to the operator, and you make your booking direct with that operator) - this would require notice (and in most cases, the vehicle to be submitted for a more rigorous MOT), but please contact us in the first instance.