Long lived Queen Mary's

Surprisingly the rather clever idea of buying convertable open-top double-deckers never really caught on, perhaps seaside operators prefered to store the usual elderly more-or-less time expired conversions instead during winter when the workload fell. But examples from the two best known operations from Southdown with it's Queen Mary Leyland PD3's 400-429 of 1963/5 and Devon General's 1961 'Sea Dog' class MCW bodied Atlanteans 925-933  not only gave sterling service but their novalty value and usefullness gave them interesting extended careers as they could be used not just on the coast but for sightseeing in cities, a VIP platform at sporting events like Ascot, a welcome home platform for triumphant footballers or even of course for the manual-gearbox PD3 an operator's tree-lopper cum training vehicle. Strageley enough former Southdown BUF 425C spent some time with Wallace Arnold which included service work in Torquay before taking on a similar roll with Appleby who had a large share of the Scarborough sea-front service. This restrained livery suited these rather elegant buses well and riding on top with the sounds of seagulls and the cackle of the exhaust the 50p fare was money well spent.

Rail Replacement Blues

Let this be a warning to you, weekend rail travel in Britain, especially Sunday's is not a good idea in snowy conditions as it helps to make the usual cold carriages, long delays longer and irritatingly slow shuttles more unbearable. Still it gives me something to photograph like this rare visitor from Wolverhampton in Stafford awaiting it's unfortunates. In 1985 West Midlands Travel took five of these rather basic but sturdy looking Alexander P-Series Volvo B10M buses and the same number of the new Leyland Lynx for comparison. As much for political reasons I expect the under-developed poorly constructed Lynx won the day winning a large order but had this Anglo-Swedish ugly duckling been chosen instead it might have turned out to be a nice little nest-egg to carry the newly Privatised former PTA through difficult times. Indeed you could call the two types chalk and cheese.

Santarem: RN 4957

Not surprisingly after so many posts I'm starting to get a bit low on Portugal pictures from 1984 and especially your much loved RN buses. However here is one I don't think I've used before and it's a rather nice lazy hot view of the dry and dusty streets of Santarem making a stark contrast to the snowy scene outside.

Nottingham Standards

In Nottingham it is reputed that there are more women than men. It certainly seems to case but even if they don't interest you Nottingham's 'Standards' seemed to add variety as each delivery of buses was different. This was evident when the city built up a fleet of it's own customised Leyland Atlanteans but the unusual Danish built Leyland Lions and these Volvo D10M's saw the end of the characteristic Nottingham raked rounded fronts on double-deckers as rather more conventional buses arrived like Alexander R' Types and of course Lynx single-deckers marked a complete change in direction.

Crewe: A bit of enlightenment

I'm afraid the railway town of Crewe is about as appealing as the name suggests but this fine Victorian frontage to a civic building probably the town library most eye-catching. Also note how the cheerful red and cream livery of the PMT Minilink Ford Transit minbus brightens this rather wet scene taken in about 1990.

Rush Hour: London Bridge

The rush-hour is always a good time to visit the London Embankment as many commuter services pick up here. Regulars on the Kent run were Smith's of I think Sittingbourne who supplied this Plaxton Paramount 3500 bodied Leyland Tiger B46 XKJ in their black grey and white livery.

The Bus Departed

Sadly a favourite of mine the MAN buses in this picture taken at Zoo Station in Berlin have all go but when I go there this Easter no doubt there will still be oppotunities to snap the girls with whatever comes along.