Museum Stories: Matthew Hill

Written by Matthew Hill

For as long as I remember I have loved all things transport. From many an hour spent with my grandmother on Durham station, to standing on trams and buses at Beamish, I love all things buses, trains and trams. My earliest memories of buses was a Volvo B10BLE in the Go Northern’s Lime brand stood on the stand in my home village of Lanchester at the Green. Me and my gran were off to go and see about a washing machine in Anfield Plain, so we took the X31 to Anfield Plain. At this time services X30/31 were half hourly, express buses from Lanchester to Newcastle. Memories like this still live with me, my earliest memories of trams were at Beamish, and it was Blackpool 31 and the conductor let me ring the bell! I was so happy! 

As life has moved on, I have developed in a hobby, and lifestyle I love. Throughout school, weekends would be spent at Beamish, riding on the front of the B or D bus with a driver we knew, or afternoons at Durham station with Grandma. Happy memories of which I all look back on fondly. As schooling progressed so did my passion, as I ended up in secondary school, I ended up going away on Saturdays to West Yorkshire riding on electric units, finding HSTs or just generally exploring the iron roads that laid before me. Sundays would be spent going back and forth on a Tyne and Tees Day Rover to tick of HSTs and 91s on the East Coast Mainline. Buses were never a part of my childhood apart from going to and from places, memories include Yellow Bus Palatine 2s being inaccessible for my baby sister in her pushchair, much to mine and my grans dismay as we then had a rainy walk home from school. Travelling home from Durham station after days out, running to make the 1 an hour bus to get home for tea or after a long day. I was never an enthusiast of buses when I was younger, now I couldn’t imagine a world without them. Holidays as a family varied, from Scotland to Devon. In Scotland, Gran had surprised me with a trip on the Jacobite, it was wonderful passing over Glenfinnan Viaduct in a First Class MK1. In Devon, I’d take myself out for days on the buses to visit the South Devon railway, and other such like. One day we went to the open-air waterpark at Paignton, and 2 panniers were running back and forth on the Paignton and Dartmouth Railway, and it was pure bliss for 13-year-old me! As well as these holidays, we spent time with family in Wakefield. The Pugneys Light Railway was down the road, and many a time before heading home we’d go for a ride on the railway. Happy memories!

As COVID came in during 2020 and with the launch on LNER Azuma’s and TransPennine Novas, the regular local rail scene became unappealing to me. Thus, through daily exercise and the incredible bustimes.org, I was taking pictures of streetlites and solos in Lanchester. Within about a week I had ‘ticked off’ all Diamond Streetlites at Consett Depot for sight and couldn’t wait to see what had come after the lockdown. The previous summer, whilst during a 6-week holiday, Go North East had changed the services through the village from the X30 to the M6, and I decided to sample it one afternoon. I took an ex Go South Coast WK59 plate solo to the Metrocentre to spend a few hours in Clara Vale, a level crossing on the Tyne Valley line, to view some freight services. That was as passive as it got for me for buses, noticing changes in the buses and services local to me. 

As lockdown finished, some of my pals that I had met through the railways, were also bus enthusiasts and at the first chance I could, I had a North East Explorer in my hand! With returning to school, I was interested to see what would come through the village and made good friends with regular drivers and faces of the buses, Ian Robinson being one of them! As time went on, I made friends with both staff and enthusiasts of the local bus scene. I remember with fondness my first Durham Bus Rally, photoing till the last bus had gone! I rode loads, from Atlanteans to Olympians, Open Top RMs to Volvo B10s, I was experiencing what being a preservationist was like for the first time. F106 UEF was on a tour of local routes and places, I was in Crook looking at Weardale Motor Services fleet and had the ‘gen’ the moment it left Gateshead that it was heading my way. I was lucky enough to get chatting to Lee Garrat, and an invitation was given for me to join them, and I loved it. It was a fabulous journey and Lee showed me the joy of bus preservation. 

Later down the line of that year (2021) I would go onto meet some fabulous people. People I now call brothers, and family. James Daglish, at the time was a leading driver at GNE Riverside and we shared many a laugh over 2099 which at the time was on loan to GNE. We grew to what I can now only describe as brothers having taken the time to listen eachother and get to know eachother and several years later, we still are!  James had bought YSV876/R139 ABT ‘Albert’ a Volvo B10M Coach that was a Nat Ex coach for Northern in the 1990s. I helped from time to time restoring and preserving it, which made me realise the joy of taking a part in preservation. The 2022 Durham Bus Rally came round and I met up with James, his boyfriend Marc, Rachel Smith and a few others. At this point, I was out at every waking moment to enjoy the buses of the local area and 6066 (NK62 CYC) was Volvo B5LH painted in X-Lines Orange which was that of the X5/15 running through Lanchester between Castleside & Durham at the time. This event took place a few days before my 16th birthday and James asks me to stand in front of the vehicle and ‘smile’ I knew something was going on, I was told to turn round, and so I did! 16 Matthew Hill, Happy Birthday, adorned the bus and I was very made up! A plethora of destinations had been made by Dan Graham, commercial manager of GNE, at the time. Matthew Hill, Member of Youth Parliament also adorned the vehicle, of which a certain Mr Robinson threatened to have put on all the school buses into St Bedes the next morning, he was swiftly told, where to go! I should say at this point, I was a Member of UK Youth Parliament, elected by young people in County Durham and had to be there voice in decisions made locally and nationally. It was a lot of responsibility, but I loved every minute of it, and became known in the bus circles hence it appearing on a screen!

Shortly after this, I joined the Northern National Restoration Group. I really enjoyed my time there, running bus rallies and getting to understand the dedication, time and effort put into the vehicles really helped me. I met Alex there and we clicked instantly on all thing’s railway and buses. We ran successful open days and shared the load in event planning. One opportunity I am extremely thankful for is the opportunity to assist our friends at the Workington Transport Heritage Trust in their Leyland National 51 event in 2023. I got the job of service coordinator with a lad called Gordon Ford. Now I met Gordon on a day of Rail Replacement at Newcastle. Now this always was a highlight in my calendar as it meant coaches and operators from far and wide, compared to the usual run of the mill stuff. I thoroughly enjoyed my spotting days on Rail Replacement, something more to come with that. 

A sunny day, an intense service and an experienced colleague meant it wouldn’t just be fun, but a learning experience. And by the time of leaving on the Sunday, I was asked if I would be back next year, and of course I said yes! I love the LN series of events and have done since its inception. I was at the first as a visitor, and I will be there still as service planner and coordinator once again. The NNRG taught me so much and gave me so much, and the chance at LN set me up for something, as much as I didn’t know it at the time.

The Workington Transport Trust took me on shortly after the event as a member, and I was back as coordinator the next year. After that I went onto to be the planner for the entire service of the event. I am still there and have meetings and magic to work every year. Coordinating and controlling a bus service was an invaluable skill Gordon lead me on. This would later turn out to become my job. Through standing and chatting with coordinators on Rail Replacement and I ended up applying for a Coordinators job with Stagecoach and got it! I had my first shift at Durham station, and I made sure to dress smart, with a tie and shirt to help customers get to where I want to be. Under the watchful eye of Dave Oliver, I passed my assessment with flying colours. Little did I know what was to come. 

By this time, I was at college and spending my weekends coordinating buses seemed like a fabulous job and use of time. Having had previous work experience in college with Elddis at Consett, I knew I had to do something. With university an unlikely path, I ended up being invited to look at Stagecoach Rail Replacement control in York. I accepted and set a date for 14th Feb 2024. Valentines’ day rolled around and I turn up to York ROC (Rail Operations Centre) met the manager of the SCRR team and see what it is like. An eye-opening experience, I was asked if I wanted to work here, part time whilst I did my A-Level exams. I graciously accepted and started training that Easter. 

As this is going on, so is my hobby, I attend many events, network with those I’ve met and of course conduct buses! I attend my first Kirkby Stephen event with LFT 5X and Graeme Scarlett, a fabulous day riding around in beautiful scenery. I meet up with loads of people from all over the country, and end up second manning a Strathclyde Atlantean, and riding vehicles, I didn’t even know existed! The day prior I started my training. At this point a full-time post came up to be a ‘Rail Replacement Manager’ with Stagecoach in the LNER team at York. I apply and wait patiently for the next step which I got, a few days after applying. The date of that interview was the 10th of April, about 10 days after Easter Sunday. 

I do my training and thoroughly enjoy learning the ways of Rail Replacement. I have the following weekend off, the Saturday spent revising and catching up with family. The Sunday was the annual Beamish Steam Fair. I went along after church and enjoyed my day photographing all things Steam. Locomotives, traction engines rollers, and of course the trams and buses. Now, me and Graeme Scarlett had got on for some time, and I had been nicknamed the ’Ticket Tart’ within the Yesterbus group. Having taken PFN 858 to a Beamish ‘Fares Please’ the year previous, I knew a few of the younger crew through conducting PFN. One in particular was a certain Tom Fletcher. Tom, a Lincolnshire lad, had moved to Stanley to work at Beamish and at this Steam festival was conducting Sunderland Corporation 16 with the infamous Keiron Bains. We get chatting, as like previous and have more in common than first met the eye and became great friends. Tom at this point had moved back home and had a job on trains. We agree to meet in Leeds a few days later as I am working in York and catch up. From then we became great friends and have shared many a happy day since. The Wednesday comes round and I do the interview in the same NBC National Express tie, I first walked into the ROC with! Training continues and the dreaded call comes in on the Friday around 5 at Ferryhill South Jnc. and I accept the job offered to me. Walking into college a few days later was interesting telling the careers advisor I had a full-time job, and she needn’t worry where I would end up. My mother on the other hand screamed Durham station down when she came to collect me from the station a few minutes after the call.

So I had a job, the years of volunteering, asking questions and generally doing what I love became something that pays! Life would change from the 1st of July, my starting date. I knew this and had prepared; I decided to leave the NNRG and became a volunteer conductor at Beamish Museum. And since, I have never looked back. I have the immense privilege of conducting trams and buses round a world-renowned living history museum. My lifestyle has changed but my passion has never wavered. 

So, there I am, 19 years old and we are here. My life revolves around buses and trams, whether it be 150 Rail Replacement Buses or Darlington 7, I wouldn’t change it for the world. My Mum always says ‘If 8-year-old you could see you now’ and she’s right! I have channelled what I love to become a career. It’s not been easy, and it’s not been a smooth journey, but through hard work I’ve got where I am. I have an immense gratitude to those mentioned and not mentioned whom have supported me to get to where I am today. They are the people that have believed in me when I haven’t and told me where I have gone wrong. I spend weekends at rallies and events, have friends all over the UK and enjoy spending time with my close friends when I am not on the back of a bus, stood on a bus stand, or sat planning the next blockade. These are my memories of how I got my passion for preserving vehicles for those memories to last forever.