IMG_20150612_0001.jpg | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

IMG_20150612_0001.jpg

IMG_20150612_0001.jpg
Submitted by gordon

A number 7 bus, maybe along Waterloo Road, When? I used a similar bus on Prince Edward Road to reach the bottom of the steps that led to the Diocesan Boys' School. The buses in those days were also packed with passengers.

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Submitted by Bob Tatz on Fri, 2015-06-12 21:57.

I remember these buses well. There were no double deckers prewar (in the 1930s), but I remember there was another model before this one. The body of the earlier models had heavy ribbings supporting the roof canopy. There was lighter ribbing running the length. The ceiling was painted white so I can only guess the body was constructed of wood. I was always intrigued by the ribbings and when the next generation came on the scene, it was all a flat ceiling and looked most uninteresting.

I seem to remember that the bus engines were made by Guy or Lelland. It was after the war that the double deckers started to appear.

I also remember the steps off Prince Edward Road going up to the DBS. I was living in the apartment block just across from the railway bridge.

Thanks for the memories, Gordon. 

Submitted by gordon on Sat, 2015-06-13 09:08.

Hi Bob,

You obviously meant Leyland who started up in 1896. There is an interesting website that gives a history of the company and a coloured picture of a Hong Kong double decker bus with 7B on it. They even built the Cromwell and Centurian tanks.

The DBS magazine is called ' The Steps'. I used to fly down them at 4 or 5 steps a time!

As an aside, Canadian blur berries are up to scratch!

Thanks for your comments, always good to share memories.  Gordon

Submitted by moddsey on Sat, 2015-06-13 11:29.

Just happenened to catch an article in the papers from 1925. Checking the accessibility of the proposed school in Kowloon, DBS students from the original school on Bonham Road made a site inspection of the new school by taking the KCR train from Tsim Sha Tsui to Yau Ma Ti (today's Mong Kok station).  I never connected the siting of the school with the proximity to the KCR line!

Don't know if that is Waterloo Hill on the right as seen here? 

Submitted by David on Sun, 2015-06-14 15:20.

There's another bus the looks like it's turning in from a side street on the left.

And are the black & white stripes in the middle of the road the wall around a nullah?

Not sure if they can help pin down the location?

Regards, David

Submitted by Bob Tatz on Sun, 2015-06-14 20:01.

To me the black and white stripes are cement blocks forming a traffic circle.

Submitted by gordon on Thu, 2015-06-18 13:35.

Hello Moddsey,

Thanks for your interest. The Argyle Street entrance to the DBS would have been a gradual ascent compared to an approach from Prince Edward Road without the steps in place. The students would have needed ropes!

The funeral procession appears to be coming from the junction of Argyle Street and Waterloo Road. I witnessed many such funerals along Price Edward Road when my family resided at the "Seaview" flats opposite St. Teresa Hospital. The musicians certainly made their point.