During the mid-twentieth century, bus companies either bought a dedicated breakdown lorry for the company’s own use, relied on a third-party commercial service or, increasingly, converted a redundant bus from their own fleet into a service vehicle.
Companies with a decent size fleet manifest made do with an old, time-expired model of a single or double decker bus, chopped-up around the rear to provide a working area and, if management were sympathetic, some cover for the recovery crew. Sometimes, it was done neatly with two bays of the passenger compartment retained; others had their bodywork unceremoniously hacked off with a welding torch with no attention to aesthetic detail, but usually just enough was left to offer some shelter and storage. Our 1965 picture of ex-Bradford ‘Leyland’, 296 KU, is a…