The Merseyside Transport Trust

2025 is pictured at the Pier Head in the early 1970s, and approaching Penny Lane terminus during our running day in 2009.

July 1969 saw the entry into service of the last
buses to be delivered and to work for Liverpool
Corporation.

2025 was numerically the last of a batch of 25
Bristol RELL6Gs with Park Royal dual door
bodywork seating 45.

These were the first Bristol buses to be delivered to the Corporation since the 5 Bristol K5Gs delivered in 1940 and also the first Gardner engined buses since the last of the wartime Guy Arabs, withdrawn in 1955. The 25 Bristol REs (2001- 2025) were powered by the 10.45 litre Gardner 6HLX engine and were fitted with semi-automatic gearboxes.

The Park Royal bodywork was to a similar design as that on the MCW bodied Leyland Panthers being delivered at the same time except the REs had a straight waistrail compared to the stepped arrangement on the Panthers. They all carried the reversed Liverpool livery to signify being One Man Operation (OMO).

2025, along with the rest of the batch, was allocated to Litherland Garage to enable the conversion to OMO, on the 16th June 1969, of the 1 route (Dingle-Seaforth). However some of the batch including 2025, entered service whilst on loan to Green Lane due to a vehicle shortage until they were required at Litherland. Transferred to the Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive (MPTE) on its formation in December 1969, 2025 remained allocated to Litherland until its Certificate of Fitness (CoF) expired in May 1976.

It was then withdrawn and stored until re-entering service along with most of the batch at St Helens in September 1977. After a further five years' service it was finally withdrawn from service in June 1982.

Not all of the Park Royal bodied REs had such a long happy live as that of 2025. One of the batch, 2017, only a few months old at the time had a rather unfortunate and serious collision, whilst working on service 1, with a wagon that had suffered from brake failure. The bus was totally wrecked and it was withdrawn in 1970 and broken up for scrap at Edge Lane Works the following year.

Unusually for the rather hard worked and time expired buses withdrawn by the MPTE, three of the batch were sold for further service to other operators, 2008 & 2015 going to Phillips Coach Co. of Shiptonthorpe and 2021 to Les Hughes Transport at Rhyl. None of them lasted in service for very long and all have long since been scrapped.

Following withdrawal, 2025 was donated to the Mersey & Calder BPG in January 1983. It was restored back to its Liverpool OMO livery in 1984. Further extensive restoration was commenced in 2004 but was been held up awaiting several parts that needed sourcing. 2025 was brought back into use and given a fresh coat of paint in time for the 2008 Running Day. Some bodywork and the replacement of window rubbers still remains to be done.