I still have my Route and Stage Book somewhere. It detailed every Bus route in the city boundries, the roads and streets, and the different stages, ie, the distance travelled on that section. This gave the conductor the information on the price of the ticket required. Whoa betide anyone who was found by an inspector to have issued the wrong ticket. As for the box, well, that housed the Ticket Machine, the serial number of which was lodged against the Conductors Badge number, and was only changed when the machine failed. ( Very seldom, it was a very robust and well designed machine ) Rolls of tickets, from one shilling, down to the lowest fare, and a halfpenny ticket roll ( For Children mainly, and only during term time, for their fare was one and a half pence ) Money bags, ( Not the modern plastic ones, but stiff paper ones, of different colours for the various coin denominations. ) A small compartment held the days " float ", about a pound in small change depending on the conductors own financial position. The Way bill was a seperate item, usually on a clipboard, which was started on commencement of the days shift. Name, Badge number, Route/s,( sometimes, on a split shift, you could be assigned to a different route ) the next ticket number on the roll, ticket sales, outbound, and then return, route times, and space for an Inspectors comments and signature. This form was filled in by the way, while the Bus was moving, not an easy task, it required a good sense of balance and a steady hand. There was also a leather Money Bag, and a folding wallet for notes. I am afraid there was very little room for any sandwiches, and on bad weather days, I kept mine in the heavy duty waterproof overcoat we were issued with.
I worked out of the Quinton Depot, which, like most of the others, had an excellent Canteen. All the early shifts had a built in break, and the subsidised meals were fanatastic value. Any loss of equipment, was a nightmare. After filling in a report, you then had to travel all the way to Liverpool Street, and then fill in another report for the storeman. Most of the routes were fairly short, but a stint on the Outer Circle was over two hours, and it would surprise no one, that there were several Cafes on the route, where your flask of tea of Coffee could be replenished. Modern technology had banished the old Billy can into the mists of time. " Pegging the Clock ", a task that the driver had to do, was mostly carried out by the Conductor, who would collect the key from the Driver, via the sliding window in the lower saloon. I would leap off the Bus, if we were running a bit late, note the time, turn the key, and leap back on again, the bus never actually having stopped. I was glad when I changed my Badge from a green one, to a Red one, but to earn a bit of extra money, I never turned down a shift on the back on my day off. It was a lonely life in that draughty old Cab.