Nottingham PAU 205R: A Leyland or a Daimler?

Although Nottingham seemed to favour the Atlantean there was always a decent fleet of Daimler Fleetlines buses too. From the front though it was difficult to tell which was which but numerically the Daimlers never went beyond 224 whilst the first Atlantean was 401 in 1964. One of each can be seen here with Leyland No.593 in the background.

Signs of the Time

I'm afraid many of our towns are starting to look a bit like the Amazon Jungle as the advertising and brand names reach out trying to grab more of the available light. Add to these the mass of often confusing road signs and other bits of street furniture that make pedestrians feel like second rate citizens compared to the much more important car. So the bus home is a bit of a Diamond like YT51 EAO in Bilston when it takes the more sensible shoppers home for a welcome cup of tea and to reflect on all the things we forgot to get because they couldn't remember the name.

The Bexleybus Bexley Hoppa in Bexley E929 KYR

The Bexleybus Bexley Hoppa for LT. As well as these they also had some Northern Counties Leyland Olympians in this livery which could be also be found on some similar Eastbourne buses but I'm not sure why. Some designs start to look better with age but like all the vehicles in this shot none of them have exactly become classics including the MCW Metrorider.

Stevenson's Atlantean JKE 339E at Pitcher Bank in Stafford

After buying some former Portsmouth MCW bodied Atlanteans Stevenson's of Uttoxeter bought some similar but much more unusual Massey bodied buses from Maidstone. As a bus enthusiast over the years I've been amazed at the number of times I've enjoyed a kind of deja-vu for how could I have imagined that this bus from Kent which used to spend it's days going up and down the Tonbridge Road just outside my window when I was art college should turn up at Pitcher Bank in Stafford.

Southampton Olympian with R. Bullock at Stockport

In the same way that the Leyland Tiger was not as good as the tried and tested Leopard so was the Atlantean replacement the Olympian not so popular. Some like Southampton and Plymouth who bought a few unsuccessful trial buses like East Lancs bodied C285 BBP quickly sold them on leaving the many still highly regarded later generation AN68 Atlantean to soldier on.

BXI 2599: Girls can snap buses too

There is no reason why they shouldn't but rather than just tag along and say "That's a nice one." some women are really into buses too but maybe because it's not so common it does still raise a few eyebrows. Modest as I am I quite enjoy it when people look at me and not only wonder about it but how I know so much about the Fifties and Sixties. This Ulsterbus Bristol RE seems to be attending a lot of everts as here at Alton is not the only time I have seen it this year as it was also at Gaydon.

Hodson's of Penkridge on the Move

The car dealer hasn't ceased trading but they have moved to new premises next to their workshops further out of the village. But sadly it is another once familiar landmark that has gone and no doubt the centre of Penkridge will no longer look quite the same when it is replaced I expect as usual by a boring block of retirement apartments. Of course the Arriva Wright bodied VDL's are still on the 76 which from today reverts back to it's old route missing out Brewood and all other diversions apart from Coven and the i54.