# Bus Garage -Colchester, Essex. June, 2008



## Lightbuoy (Jun 16, 2008)

*Bus Garage / Tram Depot. -Colchester, Essex. June, 2008* part 1

A very good afternoon to you all 

I noticed that the big metal doors had remained closed on the Bus Garage for a few weeks, then managed to grab some spare time and have a sneaky peek inside this often overlooked little jem.
At first glance, this just seems like another Council-built 1950's Garage / Depot. However, dig a little deeper, and you might find much more 
I've been told by one of the more "senior" bus drivers that the site was originally used for Colchester Borough Transport's Trams. First Horse-drawn, until converted to overhead electrically powered in the first decade or so of the 20th. Century.
Armed with this information, things started to become much clearer. The building to the right with the open front were originally the tram sheds, and although the floor has been concreted at some stage, amazingly, they didn't cover over all of the tram tracks -original features -can't beat 'em! 
Also, between these "sheds" and the 1950's Garage with the huge metal doors, lies one of the original Horse-drawn Tram buildings. Brick-built with huge windows. Looking at the architecture, I'd guess it was built in the early part of Queen Victoria's reign? (1840's). This building could easily be missed, as a more modern Office / Reception block has been "bolted" onto the front, I'd say in the 1950's.
Okay, so that's enough of the history and waffle -on with the photos! (to follow shortly)


----------



## Lightbuoy (Jun 16, 2008)

*Bus Garage / Tram Depot -part 2*

*Bus Garage / Tram Depot -part 2*











































*one for Simon! *














































A few more to follow


----------



## Lightbuoy (Jun 16, 2008)

*Bus Garage / Tram Depot -part 3*

*Bus Garage / Tram Depot -part 3*

*Tram Sheds*









































































































Next lot coming soon.............


----------



## Lightbuoy (Jun 16, 2008)

*Bus Garage / Tram Depot -part 4*

*Bus Garage / Tram Depot -part 4*

*Horse-drawn Depot*

















































Another lot on their way............


----------



## Lightbuoy (Jun 16, 2008)

*Bus Garage / Tram Depot -part 5*

*Bus Garage / Tram Depot -part 5*

*1950's Garage & Workshops*





































































































.........................


----------



## Lightbuoy (Jun 16, 2008)

*Bus Garage / Tram Depot -part 6*

*Bus Garage / Tram Depot -part 6*

*1950's Garage & Yard*





























































Last lot coming soon................


----------



## Lightbuoy (Jun 16, 2008)

*Bus Garage / Tram Depot -part 7*

*Bus Garage / Tram Depot -part 7*

*1950's Garage & Offices / Stores*





















































































































































Hope that you enjoyed the "selection" from me collection 

Lb:jimlad:

*Aa a closing point to note, although the original horse-drawn building and 1950's Garage / Depot are dis-used, the old tram sheds are still very much in use by the local Bus Company!*


----------



## Lawrence (Jun 16, 2008)

All those pics from one old bus garage?

Truly shocking!


----------



## CHEWY (Jun 16, 2008)

Could just imagine Blakey with his clipboard shouting....

*Why isn't this bus out Butler? i'll have you on report*


----------



## Abo (Jun 16, 2008)

This was also the Colchester Borough Transport's bus garage, and then Arriva Colchester's when they took over from CBT. As far as I know First (what was Eastern National) now owns what was CBT, so have incorporated their buses into it's own bus depot, hence why it's closed.


----------



## enrashid (Jun 16, 2008)

I'm loving 'old man rubber'


----------



## Mr Sam (Jun 16, 2008)

check out the padlock on the gate


----------



## Foxylady (Jun 16, 2008)

Definitely more than meets the eye!  So many interesting details, even in the newer buildings. The horse-drawn depot is an especial delight though. Excellent report as always, Lb.


----------



## johno23 (Jun 16, 2008)

Awesome and comprehensive report,well doneYou have really documented the place well with some really good shots,especially love the old furnace and the battered doorknob.Good work


----------



## oldscrote (Jun 16, 2008)

enrashid said:


> I'm loving 'old man rubber'



Old man rubber or the Michelin Man when first created back in the depths of time was called Bibendum,always a good question for the local urbex pub quiz.


----------



## Lightbuoy (Jun 17, 2008)

CHEWY said:


> Could just imagine Blakey with his clipboard shouting....
> 
> *Why isn't this bus out Butler? i'll have you on report*



Ha ha, i was thinking almost the same thing when I was in there! 

Lb:jimlad:


----------



## Lightbuoy (Jun 17, 2008)

Abo said:


> This was also the Colchester Borough Transport's bus garage, and then Arriva Colchester's when they took over from CBT. As far as I know First (what was Eastern National) now owns what was CBT, so have incorporated their buses into it's own bus depot, hence why it's closed.



Hi buddy -how goes things?

Thanks very much for the info Abo. Speaking with a bus driver the other week, he says that it's getting a real tight squeeze to find somewhere to park all the buses -especially when half the Bus Station is being built-on at the mo! 

Lb:jimlad:


----------



## Lightbuoy (Jun 17, 2008)

oldscrote said:


> Old man rubber or the Michelin Man when first created back in the depths of time was called Bibendum,always a good question for the local urbex pub quiz.



ta for that 

And there I was thinking about that bendy chap "Tooms" off the X-Files!!! :biglaugh:

Lb:jimlad:


----------



## Lightbuoy (Jun 17, 2008)

Mr Sam said:


> check out the padlock on the gate



Yeah, that'll be the "high tech" security device! :widea:

Lb:jimlad:


----------



## Lightbuoy (Jun 17, 2008)

Foxylady said:


> Definitely more than meets the eye!  So many interesting details, even in the newer buildings. The horse-drawn depot is an especial delight though. Excellent report as always, Lb.



Hi Foxy,

Thanks, as always, for your positive comments! 
Sure was a great suprise to find out all that extra history.
Unfortunately no access into the Horse-drawn building, which is the oldest part ::no::wcry:

Lb:jimlad:


----------



## Lightbuoy (Jun 17, 2008)

JOHNO23 said:


> Awesome and comprehensive report,well doneYou have really documented the place well with some really good shots,especially love the old furnace and the battered doorknob.Good work



Thanks a lot John.

I think that the old furnaces / stoves were used to heat the workshop / repair bay, or perhaps years ago to dry the buses after being painted?

Lb:jimlad:


----------



## King Al (Jun 17, 2008)

Excellent selection of pics as always LB Really like the old fuel pump and the wooden flooring


----------



## Foxylady (Jun 17, 2008)

Lightbuoy said:


> And there I was thinking about that bendy chap "Tooms" off the X-Files!!!



Sqqqquuuueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzze!!!


----------



## Lightbuoy (Jun 17, 2008)

King Al said:


> Excellent selection of pics as always LB Really like the old fuel pump and the wooden flooring



Many thanks KA 

The old fuel pump had the logo "HUSKY" on the handle. I wonder if it's the same company which makes the beer cabinets? -perhaps it's been converted to run on beer  
The wooden flooring & skirting reminded me of the floors at Orchard Villa up at Sevs.

Thanks again,

Lb:jimlad:


----------



## EssexDaz (Jun 18, 2008)

*garage*

love the pic with all the paint on the bench, just shows like the different colour scheme for all the different companys that have ran the yard. Also i think you will find that whoever was there (network colchester?) have moved down haven road somewhere near indicart??? 

cheers. DAZ


----------



## Lightbuoy (Jun 20, 2008)

Hadn't thought about all the paint in that way before, but now that you've mentioned it, that old work bench tells a few stories! Yes, I've heard that the Buses are now out that way.

Thanks for your interest EssexDaz 

Lb:jimlad:


----------



## smileysal (Jun 20, 2008)

ooooooooh excellent pics Lb, really like this place. Love seeing the old tram rails still there, and the size of the place, it looks huge. Love the parquet floor in the offices. Looks a fantastic place to explore. Cheers Lb and everyone for the history of the place.

Excellent work Lb. Glad to see you're still out and about exploring. 

Cheers,

 Sal


----------



## vanburen (Jun 20, 2008)

WOW that knobs had some hammer ! fnark,fnark ! great report mate


----------



## Lightbuoy (Jun 23, 2008)

vanburen said:


> WOW that knobs had some hammer ! fnark,fnark ! great report mate



 Ta matey!


----------



## fperks (Dec 10, 2008)

Lightbuoy said:


> *Bus Garage / Tram Depot. -Colchester, Essex. June, 2008* part 1
> 
> A very good afternoon to you all
> 
> ...




Just found this report and its great. Was in there myself yesterday - and its really now covered in pigeon crap but still fanatastic. The left hand side shed looks completely unused, as does the open air lot to the left of that. Does anyone know if first group (buses) own this or whether they rent off the council? Can't make any headway with First, keep getting idiotic jobsworth, and teh Council are no better.... be grateful for any clues..
Ta


----------



## Lightbuoy (Dec 10, 2008)

fperks said:


> Just found this report and its great. Was in there myself yesterday - and its really now covered in pigeon crap but still fanatastic. The left hand side shed looks completely unused, as does the open air lot to the left of that. Does anyone know if first group (buses) own this or whether they rent off the council? Can't make any headway with First, keep getting idiotic jobsworth, and teh Council are no better.... be grateful for any clues..
> Ta



Hi FP,

Thanks for the interest. Speaking with one of the Supervisors, he told me that the Garages are rented off the Council (used to be Colchester Borough Transport Depot before privitisation). That's about all I know about who currently owns it. Hope this helps. 

Lb:jimlad:


----------



## fperks (Dec 12, 2008)

thanks for that - will pursue Council not First now.


----------



## Lightbuoy (Sep 14, 2009)

*Bus Garage -Colchester, Essex -UPDATE -September, 2009*

*DEPOT at the Old Tram Shed*

For anyone who's interested.....

http://www.mercurytheatre.co.uk/shows.php?id=588

Really good to see that these old Buildings being re-used  Not too sure about their long-term use, however I understand that the Mercury Theatre now own these buildings. It seems that they too appreciate the importance of these buildings, whilst not the best buildings to look at visually, they form an important part of Colchester's early Transport history.

I'll certainly be going -might have to make a few "final" return visits too!


----------



## fperks (Oct 4, 2009)

*Show at Depot*

Hi Lightbuoy,

I am the designer of the show at the Depot on Magdalen Street - glad you've found us - I'm freelance but work a lot for the Mercury. Our deputy techie recommended poking about in this site when we were scouting for sites for a project about 9mnths ago. The pictures on this site were massively helpful to us , and for me to be able to 'sell' the wonder of the site to the crew and cast - at a point when only I and the director had been in for a look. Unfortunately we ( the Mercury) do not own the buildings but merely have temporary residency and license for the run of the show ( it closes next sunday). The buildings are on the council's "disposal" list - but so are a lot of others and a lot remain on the list for a very long time. We would hope the show may go some way in making them reconsider.

On an aside we were also looking at possible sites in Severalls ( too run down for Health and Safety and too much political red tape), the old Odeon on Crouch Street ( Steve Peri proved elusive and then doubtful, then somewhat shady), and very very nearly St Albrights in Stanway, the old victorian Lexden and Stanway Workhouse.....which even at the early phase 2 of development into flats had suceeded in ripping the soul out of the interiors of the building ( though the exteriors do seem to be intact)

Its has been a tireless feat to create a show in this building what with the pigeons and rats and oil and lack of power etc etc; but even after all that I adore this these buildings, and they will always hold a fond place in my heart.
The show - though not directly related to the building itself - respects the site, I hope. I tried very hard not to fall into the trap of 'building a set' inside a warehouse, which so often happens in site specific theatre., and use the wonderful variety of spaces that it gives up to you. We do take the audience into almost every workspace - workshop, office and pit...... We chose the site because of its very industrial nature, its ability of be intimate and expansive; and because as a history it is a place of transistion - were workers and public travelled from one place to another at the end of a journey or at the beginning.

Although we are unable to take audience into the oldest - victorian part of the building, I have been lucky enough to gain access. It is the central brick building tht has the 50's reception offices bolted to the front, and is the most incredible loft space - littered with old receipts and tickets from the 1930s to the 70s. It is my one regret that we could not show this space (the old health and safety demon again) - I'm trying to find the snaps I took of it but to no avail at the moment.

The show itself is based on lost and forgotten stories of people of Colchester - modern and through the ages - those that are not always told - and often those of the common man, the pariahs of society, ostracised and the excluded. It is a good old walk about immersive experience , and fuses live action film, live and recorded music, as well as encouraging interaction from the audience. Blood sweat, tears fire, petrol and...salt ( yes really!!)

I love to hear your response if you do catch it.

Many thanks,

S


----------



## kevsy21 (Oct 13, 2009)

thought with the colour scheme Arriva had occupied it at some point


----------

