Cheltenham & District Reborn: Leyland National PHW 985S

Even I am starting to feel a bit of nostalgia for things like the Leyland National, and especially going to Cheltenham and all owned by the same firm being able to see Gloucester's pained blue and those from Stroud in green. Swindon's were a bit more jazzy but like Cheltenham & Disrict PHW 985S employed a red and cream livery. Yes the few years between the demise of the old boring NBC hues till the seemingly all encompassing marques of empire with the big groups were a bit like an Indian Summer for enthusiasts.

RMA 44: Practice Makes Perfect

When one has to drive in London every day it is not as frightening as one might imagine as we are too occupied being where we should be or even trying to keep ahead. But for the stranger it can all be a bit daunting and even this National Express driver stuck behind the RMA trainer didn't seem to know his way around Vicoria and had to ask a pedestrian.

Yorkshire Woollen District Atlantean MUA 862P

When one thinks of the attractive NBC Park Royal bodied AN68 Atlanteans they tend to recall London Country, Southdown, Ribble and Northern General group, but Yorkshire Woollen District also had a batch of ten. One of these No.765 MUA 862P was seen climbing out of Bradford City Centre on it's way to Dewsbury in the Eighties.

Catch Us If You Can!

It's a good thing there is no race to get to events like Showbus as there would always be the same winners and losers. Even though the Silver Star Harrington bodied Leyland Tiger Cub was the true coach our Seventies Marshall bodied Leyland Leopard Dual-Purpose built for the faster 'Motorway Age' simply romped passed the Fifties veteran. But on the other hand if you were in charge of such a lovely beast would you thrash it down the road just to save a few minutes getting to Duxford. After the proprietors for health reasons sold Silver Star to local Wilts and Dorset in 1963 the smart fleet of Leylands was scattered far and wide across the South West. Numbered 3805 1955 NMR 553 was one of five PSUC1/2's that went to Western National along with a Royal Tiger.

Freshly repainted yellow HT 406

My favourites in the Greater Copenhagen HT bus fleet were these Leyland DAB's especially the ones with the large route number box like 406 looking very cheerful in it's fresh coat of all-over-yellow as it pauses outside the BD main railways station before heading off to Sundbyvester Pl. on Amager.

VDV 819. Nothing Straightforward at Exeter

I understand Devon Geneal was unable to operate 30ft deckers like it's Atlanteans in Exeter till the end of the Sixties and I imagine this was in the terms of it's area agreement with the city council. Devon General certainly entered into the spirit of it and getting rare elsewhere within the BET had dedicated batches of these AEC Regents with open platforms to run alongside the similar Corporation buses on city services. Here 819 advertised DG's own Grey Cars coach fleet but it had close links with Greenslades too who bought the time expired coaches, and who was also based here. Though not such a great presence in the city S/W. National had it's head office here as well..

Blue Bus of Horwich LBZ 4071

As well as buying new double-deckers a feature of Blue Bus of Horwich was it's fleet of elderley Leyland Leopards of which some like this example seen in Bolton had been rebodied to East Lancs of Blackburn.

First & Arriva Deckers Return to Stafford Streets

In Midland Red BMMO days fairly rural Stafford was unusual before the arrival of OPO in having a tiny single-deck allocation which might explain the fact that out of 219 S14's it only ever saw three examples. Today the local Arriva depot workshop can't accommodate any deckers but not only does First Bus now use some on the 101 Hanley service, Arriva from Cannock also run in their case four similar Wright bodied Volvos out of Cannock on the 74-75 up to the Hospital, buses that have recently been displaced from the Tamworth 110 Service like 4203 seen here on the Weston Road.

BVG 3006 with overall advertising for Bosse at Steglitz

In the same way the red London Transport area contains towns completely surrounded by urban sprawl and suburbia like Croydon and Romford, the same was true of the old West Berlin. The biggest of these is  bustling Steglitz and here I photographed one of the better designed of the then prevalent advertising liveries for Bosse on otherwise ubiquitous MAN Wagon-Union 3006 with the bus behind having wrap-round between decks advertising acting like a modified livery..

Wood of Mirfield KTD 551C at Wakefield

Canny Independents have always managed to take advantage of buying newish time-expired demonstrators not only being able to modernise their often elderly fleets but whether they like it or not putting them on the enthusiast trail. I remember seeing this Park Royal bodied Atlantean when it was on trial with Brighton Corporation in January 1967 where it's mostly white Sheffield inspired livery made up stand against the familiar town's local reds and greens.

Eastern Scottish Volvo Ailsa Alexander VV 782

Edinburgh had some splendid buses to match the imposing scenery for as you can see I'm something of a fan for the Volvo Ailsa like CSG 782S.

Metro Shuttle Bus Manchester Piccadilly

Manchester Piccadilly Station, one last photo before catching my train. I presume this Optare Versa belongs to Stagecoach.

333: Italian Fiat bus in Trieste

When I'm out of Britain on holiday when I see fleet numbers I often think of others with the same number from my past and instantant 333 reminds me of a Coventry MCW/Daimler CVG or a Southampton St Helens bonnet PD2 with one of the ugly horribly proportioned Park Royal bodies.

Strange Objects of Desire BG 9225 & AHF 850

Some bus rallies have a much more local flavour than others and a good example of that is this museum tram and bus running day at Birkenhead which not only features iconic Wirral buses but much of the old dockland scenery still has enough bones to take us back too to the Sixties. The pre-Orion Metro-Cammell body on the Wallesey bus was a very different and much more interesting beast. Massey bodies on the other hand for me were always lovely even the more squared later ones, but Birkenhead BG 9225 might just as well be better described as historic exotic rather than simply elegant..

Midland Red South B72 OKV

Very typical of it's time for work with National Express was this Plaxton Paramount 3200 Leyland Tiger belonging to Midland Red South which was seen one busy Saturday at Bath. Traditionally they had tried to avoid issuing vehicles like this with a letter 'O' which might be mistaken for a 'zero' but always a few slipped through.

Eastern Scottish Fleetline OSG 75V

The Scottish Bus Group differed from the likes of the BTC and BET Group as they were not only able to buy Leylands, AEC's and as here Fleetlines it was also bought large numbers of Bristol ECW products which not only made for a strange mix the whole lot looked even more remarkable in the rich local liveries. By the time I took this view in Edinburgh in the Eighties like the NBC companies in the England and Wales once great companies were about to be broken up ready for Privatisation and that interesting bus scene might go through a fascinating new chapter but sadly little would remain the same within the former SBG.