Welcome to issue no.141 of the Supplement (March 2004)

Welcome to the first edition of the Model Bus Supplement of 2004.

The march of the fully accessible low floor bus, both single and double deck, continues into most Supplement fleets. This is possibly aided by what could be the best range of current prototypes in both die-cast and kit form for some years. A large number of ALX, President and especially East Lancs low floor double deckers seem to have found their way into our fleets in recent months, and the same could well happen when the Wright double decker is released soon.

In the ‘real world’, the low floor double decker seems to be most prevalent in the London region, with only a few areas showing any great numbers outside London, and some areas still not seeing many at all. It could possibly be that there is a much higher number of these buses in model fleets in some areas than real ones!

With the target date for full conversion to low floor operation on stage carriage services approximately 12 years away (I’m not sure of the precise date), will our model fleets be able to meet it? Maybe some will find a way round it, or possibly ignore it altogether? Possibly a ‘period fleet’ or ‘Heritage’ type of operation might seem more appealing, or a fictitious location away from such restrictions!

There are also fewer and fewer gaps in the model ranges for past periods also, it now being quite possible to create ‘period’ fleets for almost any decade with a reasonable number of bus types. At the time, we only had the Dinky or Corgi Routemasters/ Atlanteans in any great number – imagine if we had the ranges of then current models available then, comparable to the number we have now!

Anyway, that should be enough to think about for now.

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. The deadline for inclusion in issue #142

(June 2004) is 25th April 2004

www.model-bus-federation.org.uk

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1A1 LIMITED T/A GREAT NORTHERN

A1 road between London and Edinburgh

Two services are now operated viz. 217 Ferryhill to Sunderland (PCV 2 minibus), and 723 Darlington to Newcastle (PVR 8 double-deck).

A+ TRAVEL GROUP (Consortium)

East Midlands/ Southern & Eastern Counties/ London & South East/ Scotland/ Ireland/ France/ Greece

W ALEXANDER & SONS LTD

New Year night services were once again operated in Stirling, Falkirk, Kirkcaldy and Aberdeen commencing at 2200, with the last buses leaving the town centres at 0430. Two additional services were operating from Stirling, picking up passengers at Falkirk and Kirkcaldy to the street party in Edinburgh. However, it was reported that the Edinburgh festivities had to be cancelled at the last minute due to high winds.

In October, the Inverness – Glasgow and Oban – Glasgow services were taken over from the Cygnal Group. These now operate as Bluebird Coaches routes 703/4. Summer only services are also to be introduced from Glasgow – Stranraer (701), Glasgow – Bournemouth (also listed as 701), and Glasgow – Dover (702). Stirling town services now operate as Stirling City Transport now that Stirling has been designated as a City. Stirling City service 140 has been extended from Bridge of Allan to Dunblane.

New vehicles added to the fleet include the following; Volvo B10B ‘Panther’ Coach, VC104 (SC53ALC); Transbus Enviro 300 12.4m B51F, TEL101/2 (SC53ALB/ANC); and Transbus Enviro 200H (Hybrid), TEL103 (SC53ALD). Secondhand acquisitions are, VB314/7 (M314PKS, N317VMS) Volvo B10/ Alexander PS types.

Leyland Leopard/ Alexander Y type B53F LL297 (GMS297S) has been withdrawn and sold to Anforth (Dealer), Bolton.

W ALEXANDER (COACHBUILDERS)

Postal disruption prevented a progress report from being submitted for the last issue. However, the following deliveries have been made since the previous report: 5x DAF/ ALX400 10.2m dual door to Countrybus, 1x Transbus Enviro 300 11.8m, 1x Transbus Enviro 300 11.8m, plus one 12m, 5x Transbus Enviro 300 11.8m, and 1x Transbus Enviro 300 12m, 1x Transbus Enviro 200H (Hybrid), plus 1x Volvo B10B/ Panther for W Alexander & Sons.

New orders to report are: 5x Transbus Enviro 300 11.8m, plus 2x 12m for Capital & Provincial Busways, 1x Transbus Enviro 300 11.8m, 2x MAN/ ALX300, 2x DAF/ ALX400 10.2m for Blue Bus, and 2x Transbus Enviro 300 11.8m for Durham District.

Vehicles in build during January were 5x DAF/ ALX400 10.2m dual door for East Kilbride (N Dawson-Smith).

BARNET BUS

The last of the Transbus Trident/ H69D Presidents for route 125 arrived in January as LDT634/5 (LT53FOD/E).

On the Routemaster front, RM120 (CUV160C) has been scrapped, but on a more positive note former Northern General RMF107 (RCN696), ex LT RML100 (WLT900), and RM111 (183CLT) are to be overhauled ready for use on a new West London Transport controlled Routemaster Heritage service around Central London from March. The RML and RMF will retain the two tone blue livery they gained when with Vectis Blueline, whilst RM111 retains its Barnet Bus blue livery with white band. They are likely to be joined in appropriate conditions by open top ORM925, and there may also be guest appearances from the red RMs leased from TfL for route 13. Full routeing details for this service can be found under the WLT heading.

Six dual door DAF Optare Spectras, fewer than originally envisaged, were transferred to City Transport in December (qv).

CAPITAL & PROVINCIAL BUSWAYS

Restructuring of the company has taken place in order to streamline operations following further expansion of the business. Operations are now divided into five areas viz: Coach, Eastern, Midland, Southern and Support Divisions. This expansion has seen Parkgate Motor Services and the associated Albion Coachways business join the fleet, a new coach subsidiary registered in Ireland, and new garages opened in the Midlands at Newark (Midland Blue Line) and Retford (North Notts Buses).

The inclusion of PMS and Albion Coachways brought approximately 100 additional vehicles under C&P Busways control. The Irish operation was set up in response to an appeal in the last Supplement from the ADT Travel Group (D Fryer) to operate tendered coach services on 10 year contracts in Ireland. 23 coaches are currently allocated to Roadrunner Eire for these services, with nine coaches being acquired from ADT as part of the agreement. As well as the coaches employed in Eire, vehicles in use on Eurorunner services to Ireland also now carry Irish registrations. In a similar vein, it is likely that Eurorunner coaches serving French destinations will be re-registered with French plates and ‘allocated’ to Roadrunner France.

It is not proposed to give full details of the vehicles acquired with the additional subsidiaries, as many of them are returning to the fleet for a second time and are already recorded elsewhere. A new fleet list for the whole A+ Travel Group is planned for the near future and will include details of all C&P vehicles.

However, new vehicles continue to be added: LDD751-5 (AG53GEA-E) DAF DB250RSLF/ East Lancs Lowlander DPH71F, similar LDD812-4 (AT53GKB-D) but DPH72F, LDT400 (AL53XOO) Transbus Trident/ ALX400 H69D, LDT445-50 (AP53DDE-J/DEX) Trident/ ALX400 DPH76F, LDT741-3 (NN53GDA-C) Trident/ ALX500 CH87F, LDT912-5 Transbus Trident/ President DPH76F, LMD202 (RR53BXB) MAN 24.350/ Berkhof DPH94D, DLF719 (AD53GAJ) Transbus Dart SLF/ Pointer 2 DP38D, EMC112-5 (2115-8DN22) Mercedes 0404/ Hispano C49Ft, HS500 (ACW531) Hino Selega/ Hino C43Ft, MMS703 (MB53GYC) Mercedes Benz Sprinter/ Mercedes B7F, MSL906-10 (YO53XZF-K) Mercedes Benz Citaro/ Mercedes B45F, NC143 (04D1143) Neoplan Cityliner/ Neoplan C48Ft, SC901-4 (RR53ROA-D) Scania K113/ Irizar Century C49Ft, SLF821-7 (AX53HBA-G) Scania L961/ Wright Axcess Floline DP44F, and VC951/2 (RR53ROK/L) Volvo B12M/ Plaxton Paragon C49Ft.

New auxilliary vehicles are: 1555 (MB53EEE) Mercedes Benz Sprinter recovery unit, 1771 (MA53MDL) MAN F2000 dropside lorry, 1772 (MA53LDM) MAN 2000 fuel tanker, 1791/2/9/800 (WE53GJA/B, SC53JAZ, WE53HOO) Scania L144 box van, and lastly 1855/6 (LR53HEE/F) Range Rover Discovery 4.1 HSE.

Used vehicles acquired from outside sources are: V874/5 (V14GRA, V15ORS) Volvo Olympian/ NCME Palatine 2 DPH77F, V943 (V943XBW) Volvo Olympian/ Alexander RL DPH96D, DL611 (N911PFC) Dennis Lance/ Alexander PS B51F, DSL101 (W471MKU) DAF SB220/ East Lancs Myllenium B36F, JC714 (01D714) Dennis Javelin/ Plaxton Premier C49F, RNS116 (F116JTO) Renault Dodge S56/ Beaver B25F, SL640/1 (X30/1VHH) Optare Solo B31F, VC810/3/7-23 (various Irish registrations) Volvo B10M/ Plaxton Premier C46Ft. As this report went to press, a further 17 coaches had been acquired from a dealer comprising 5x Bova Futura, 3x Neoplan Cityliner, 3x Van Hool Alizee, 2x Plaxton Excalibur, 2x Plaxton Paramount, and 2x Plaxton Panorama – no further details are available at present.

Due to space limitations, there are too many service alterations to list here. Full details will appear in the new A+ Travel Group route list due out soon. However, highlights include new coach services 811 (Great Yarmouth – Dundee), 869 (Isle Of Wight – Brighton), 821 (Dublin – Galway), 822 (Dublin – Waterford), 823 (Dublin – Cork), 824 (Dublin – Belfast), 825 (Galway – Belfast) (these all being the ADT contracts mentioned earlier), plus X41 (Stansted – Milford Haven) operated by Albion Coachways, X67 (Lincoln – Birmingham) operated by Roadrunner Express (replacing Arden Forests’ X15 service between Birmingham and Nottingham), and finally route 508 (Sprowston Park & Ride) operated by Network Norwich. In Europe, new services are 851 (St Malo – Berlin) and 852 (St Malo – Paris), both operated by Roadrunner France in conjunction with ADT Travel Group subsidiaries.

Finally, a number of vehicles are expected to a carry a gold livery with special lettering to commemorate 35 years of operation in East Anglia (1969-2004) by Anglia Travel and its predecessors.

CITY TRANSPORT

The order for eight Volvo B7TL/ East Lancs H68D commenced delivery slightly earlier than anticipated with first bus arriving in December; LV636-9 (LV53TUY/Z, LW53UVA, LX04AXD) will have arrived by the time these notes are read. These buses are intended for use on Capital Express route 802 (Baker Street – Bromley), displacing 10.2m DAF/ ALXs for the low floor conversion of route 612 (Elephant & Castle – Bromley). However, despite route trials being carried out earlier, their slight extra length (they are 10.4m) has caused some problems and initially the buses appeared on other services at Bellingham Garage until the issues were resolved.

A further addition is the first Volvo B7TL/ Wright Gemini 10.2m (H64D) in the A+ Travel Group, LV601 (A13SHA). This bus entered service at Bellingham in February and is to be followed by 12 more later in 2004, delivery to follow on after completion of the current order for East Lancs Vykings.

Six DAF Optare Spectras H68D were transferred from Barnet Bus in December, viz DD185-90 (P485-90UGW). These were to cover, either directly or indirectly, PVR increases on Southsider services 205 & 305 which took place from 24th January. From the same date, a new Capital Express service, 820 (Bromley, Lewisham, Barking, Romford) commenced operation operated by LondonLinker under contract to CT.

As part of the events to mark the 50th anniversary of the AEC Routemaster, City Transport liveried Routemaster Coach RCL300 (CUV218C) is to be loaned from Enjays for use on route 608 (Baker Street – Lewisham) for six months from March 14th.

Out to tender: The following services are now being offered for re-tender: 603 (Hammersmith, Earls Court, Battersea, Westminster, London Bridge/ City Hall) currently operated by Capital Busways; 826 (Croydon, Penge, Bromley, Bexleyheath, Bluewater), including Nightline service 926 currently operated by LondonLinker; and 894 (Orpington, Bromley, Blackheath, North Greenwich) also currently operated by LondonLinker. Interested operators should write to or e-mail the Supplement Editor (addresses on the front page) for further details. The deadline for applications is 1st June 2004 for a start date in September.

COUNTRYBUS

Route news: Budget cuts in Surrey resulted in the withdrawal of the evening and Sunday services on routes 218 (Kingston – Staines) and 420 (Sutton – Redhill) from 10th January 2004. Route 84 (New Barnet – St Albans) at Barnet depot was also the victim of cutbacks, albeit limited to axing of the weekday evening New Barnet – Potters Bar short workings, leaving just a basic hourly service.

TfL service 164 (Wimbledon – Sutton) was converted to low floor operation with the arrival of seven Volvo B7TLs with East Lancs Vyking bodies over the New Year period. A timetable change connected with the successful retention of TfL service 292 (Colindale – Borehamwood) was implemented on 12th December. The existing Olympians were replaced during the following week by eight new Transbus President bodied Tridents. This influx of new low floor double deckers has resulted in several surplus Volvo Olympians being transferred to Thurrock & District to allow most of its mk2 Metrobuses to be withdrawn. Further Metrobuses were displaced when a second batch of ALX400 bodied DAF DB250s arrived for route 397 (Edgware – Potters Bar) on 20th December, the service being renumbered 497 from the same date.

A new route to be added to the Countrybus portfolio is TfL route 317 (Waltham Cross – Enfield Town) which is due to be taken over from 27th March. Further East Lancs bodied Volvo B7TLs are expected to operate this service.

The Kingston Park & Ride service K50 proved extremely popular over the Christmas & New Year period, so much so that the 39 seat low floor Darts usually employed were a little overwhelmed at times. Therefore, DAF DB250s with East Lancs Myllenium Lowlander bodywork have been ordered to convert the route to double deck in two phases. The Dart SLFs displaced will be transferred to Crawley & District to allow step entrance darts to be replaced.

Limited stop 772 (Romford – Bluewater) jointly operated with Fleetway Buses duly received its three DAF double deckers during December.

Vehicle news: The aforementioned large intake of new low floor double deckers here means that apart from a few ‘heritage’ Summer Sunday diagrams, all routes at Sutton depot are now low floor. Additionally, apart from three vehicles on route 263, all Countrybus TfL contracts are low floor operated.

Acquisitions are MCW Metrobus mk2 H70D (F619/22/5BOX), ex West London Transport and now refurbished, whilst new vehicles to record are as follows: LDD408-11/5 (SP53AEE-H/J) DAF DB250RSLF/ Transbus ALX400 H64D, LDD412-4/6-3 (LT53PRS-V, RS53BTA-C) DAF DB250RSLF/ East Lancs Myllenium Lowlander DPH71F or H74F, LDT827-34 (LN53ANA-H) Transbus Trident/ President H66D, and LV226-38 (LS53ANA-H/J-N) Volvo B7TL/ East Lancs Myllenium Vyking H70D.

ENJAYS

The major news here is the transfer of the services in Essex mentioned in the last report to four other operators: Fellow A+ subsidiary Countrybus has taken routes 265/7/73/8 (PVR 10 buses), Pilgrim Travel routes 204/33/51/63 (PVR 12), Provincial Omnibus routes 230/41/5/92 (PVR 6), and finally Tylers Travel routes 202/3/9/21/43/7/8/80 (PVR 14). The transfer date is set for 14th March 2004, and agreement has been reached for continued acceptance of A+ Passes on the affected routes.

The vehicles employed by Enjays in the region are set to transfer back to London, where most will be put to work on contract and rail replacement duties. It is possible that some vehicles, those in poor condition, may well be withdrawn altogether.

Whilst RCL300 is to be loaned to City Transport during the Summer months, the rest of Enjays Routemasters will be allocated to West London Transports Routemaster Heritage service from March 14th. These are, RM104 (VLT4) in original CT livery, Watford Transport liveried RM210 (ALM104B), and ex Eastern Transport RML189 (KCE89F).

HANTS & SUSSEX

New Vehicles: LDT103 [HM53BCA] Transbus Trident/ Alexander CH91F and LDT671/2 [HM53BCB/C] Transbus Trident/ East Lancs Lolyne DPH69F. LDT103 has been allocated to Havant for use on the London X1 service, with LDT671/2 going to Chichester to partially convert services 119/160 to low floor operation. However, in early January, LDT671/2 spent one week with Wessexbus at Alton and were used on limited stop service 131 [Guildford to Southampton] at the request of Hampshire County Council. This route is scheduled to be worked by low floor double and single deckers later in the year.

Withdrawals: Saturday 30th November 2003 saw the end of an era, when the last Leyland AN68 Atlantean in regular service [AN132] was finally withdrawn. Its final duty was a tour of former routes from Chichester depot including the 151/2/5/60 and 163. A special farewell blind was made up. AN132 was immediately sent to H & S Engineering to be fully restored as a 'Heritage' vehicle in the Three Counties Travel fleet of preserved vehicles. Until the arrival of the Leyland Olympian in the early 1980's, the Leyland AN68 and Bristol VR were the mainstay of the double deck fleet, although there are no plans at present to withdraw the latter type.

Other withdrawals include Leyland Olympian/ ECW coaches L406-8. These coaches dating from the early 1980's had been allocated to Horsham and used until last December on rail replacement services. They were put into store at A+ Bus & Coach Sales [Southern Division] to await sale. They have been replaced by former City Transport Alexander RL bodied Leyland Olympians L290-2 on rail replacement and contract work.

Miscellaneous. A number of Routemasters were being partially refurbished and received mechanical checks in early January at H & S Engineering. They are to be allocated to Capital Busways Central London depot in connection with a new operation to be launched in the spring. Further details will appear in the next Supplement.

Service Developments: A new service which started on 5/1/04 is 110 [Pulborough - Storrington - Henfield - Burgess Hill] operating hourly [Mon-Sat] and two hourly [Sundays/BH's]. Connections are provided at Pulborough with service 121 to Arundel and Horsham with through ticketing availabiity. Financial support comes from West Sussex County Council and the service is worked by DAF Optare Delta's from Horsham depot and 'step entrance' Dennis Darts from Midhurst depot.

A correction concerning new Countrywide Express service 403 reported in MBS140: The commencement date was 19/10/03, not 12/10/03 and operation is between Southsea/Portsmouth and Birmingham via Fareham - Southampton - Basingstoke - Calcot Coachway and Oxford.

ABACUS GROUP

North East England

Abacus Bus Sales & Leasing

A Dennis Dart SDA 3060/ Plaxton B39F with air-conditioning was evaluated, but was traded with West London Transport without being registered.

Contract Bus Services

Vehicles added to stock are: Leyland Leopard/ Alexander Y type D45F (TSJ58S), Daimler ‘DMS’ Fleetline H71F (JGU258K), Leyland Olympian/ Leyland H78F (L701WPT), all purchased at auction, whilst Leyland Olympian/ Leyland H78F (L211/2MLH) are ex West London Transport L392/3 (acquired via Perpetua Group), and MCW Metrobus mk2 H71D (C229DYE, E233NMY) ex West London Transport M229/33.

The contract bus market in the area continues to be in a state of uncertainty. While new Supermarket services for Tesco’s at Durham City and Newton Aycliffe have been won, it has just been announced that the Samsung factory at Wynard is to close in three months time.

On the brighter side, night services from Durham City requiring five vehicles, seven nights a week have been taken over from the Go-Ahead Group.

Interlink

An additional Saturdays only service is operated jointly with Scottish District Transport from Gateshead Metro Centre to Braehead Shopping Centre, Glasgow.

Heritage Road & Rail

Preserved vehicles are being prepared for exhibition at Shildon Rail Museum. Four additional AEC ‘RT’/ Park Royal H56R are being converted to open top for 2004 Summer services.

Solar Travel (UK)

New transfer vehicles are: 071-3 (NU53XAA-C) Volkswagen C8F, 074-6 (NU53XAD-F) BMW 355I Estate Car, and 077-8 (NU53XAG/H) Mercedes 300T Estate Car.

Summer services will commence on 1st March 2004.

ADT TRAVEL GROUP

A rather quiet quarter for ADT for a change - however exciting plans for Electric traction are coming up!!

Acquired vehicles: L114 (ZH4538) Leyland Titan PD2 Leyland H56R, LV9 (A109GES) Leyland Victory Mk2 Alexander AV H86D, DB183 (B-ADT86) Mercedes-Benz O302 MB DP43D, plus Tram 109, St Louis Car Co PCC. Two more trams were nearing completion as these notes were being prepared, but are not yet ready details will appear in the next report!

The following vehicles have left the fleet via Dundee Bus & Coach sales, the groups PSV dealership:- DA88, DP3/6/11/12/26/28/29/40/57/89, CJ1, LT15, V16/20/25/29, SD8.

Service News: A new service is the 42 Blackpool - Lancaster & Morecambe. Also from start of new term, a number of school contracts have been taken on in the Pouleton/ Clevelys/ Knott End area.

Tramways: Extensions in Dundee were approved late last year, the first will see the conversion of bus routes 11 and 11A to tram operation.

Brighton Tramlink has been operating at half service since the winding up of S&F. However, hopefully an operator at the Horsham end will be joining the service.

In a new joint venture with Perpetua, a new Tramline is to be built along Scarborough seafront. Unlike the existing Scarborough - Whitby line which is built to 3ft 6" gauge, the new one will be built to standard gauge.

Coach Services

Two new coach services jointly operated with A+ are 851 (Berlin - St Malo) and 852 (Paris - St Malo).

The results of the coach service tenders are as follows: 804-6 awarded to Perpetua, 811/21-4/6/69 to A+, 803 to Southern Omnibus - {N.B. No changes to route 803, it continues to serve Gatwick and Heathrow}. Coaches carry operators owns liveries.

ANTONINE MOTORS

As reported previously, the fleet of Antonine has been offered for sale. The preferred bidder is Tiger Coaches and Kelvin Central 2003 which form the consortium. As a result, Irizar bodied Volvo B10M (A7KCB) and ECW bodied Tiger (A103FPL) have returned to the Kelvin fleet. Metrobuses (A441UUV, C456MCW, G390/1OGD) have been sold to Mackay of Hillingron, as have all ancilliary vehicles.

Routes now operated are; 78 (Allandale, Greenhill, Bonnybridge, Camelon, Falkirk), and SU1 (Stirling University Contract). Route 78 has subsequently been extended to serve Cumbernauld Town Centre from 2nd February, whilst a new route from 16th February is 35 (Cumbernauld Town Centre – Bal’loch) running in direct competition with Hills Coaches.

Vehicles acquired are; Volvo B10M/ Duple Dominant DP53F (E555UHS), Volvo B10M/ Plaxton Derwent DP53F (J455/6MCW), Mercedes 709D/ Reeves Burgess B23F (H625PMS), and Mercedes 0.810D/ Plaxton Beaver B33F (T511GTG, Y481DMS).

All vehicles will wear Tangerine and Appliance White livery with Tiger fleetnames. This company will shortly bid for new local authority contracts.

ARDEN FOREST

West Midlands/Warwickshire

Arden Forest starts the year 2004 in better shape than it has ever been. Development over the past four years has meant a move into new premises and an ongoing investment programme in the vehicles and the company.

The low floor bus programme has made steady progress, with all but three AF routes now being fully low floor. 2003 saw the acquisition of the PHM garage at Lodge Lane and the expansion of operations with four routes from that garage. The previous owner of PHM is believed to have spent some of the sale money on buying a luxury yacht , which is moored close his villa in the south of France.

The Coleshill to Tamworth service (45) is being operated by Lance/ Verde P855OVC, and the Coventry to Coleshill service (44) by S549CWK, a DP seated Optare Vecta. Tendered service 46, Arley to Atherstone via Baxterley and Grendon is now being worked by Y568HDU, a Pointer Dart SLF which has been moved to Lodge Lane for this purpose. Dart/ NCME R557AVC remains at Lodge Lane for the time being as spare vehicle cover, as does P204FEY, a step entrance Pointer Dart.

The new private hire office at Lodge Lane has been set up and has settled into its new role very well, all private hire work is now being controlled and carried out here.

Buses new into service during 2003 were 48/9 (V148/9KVC) ex PHM Optare Excels. 48 operates routes 1 and 2 to Balsall Common and Kenilworth, whilst 49 converted route 25 to Nuneaton to low floor operation.

Into service in 2004 are; 22 (BE53SEL) a short East Lancs Myllenium bodied DAFSB220LF, 50 (BE53SEM) a 12 Metre East Lancs Myllenium/ DAF SB220LF. The latter vehicle is a special build of the Myllenium, being to DP specification with luxury seats on raised footstools, and access from the gangway which is ramped from the front of the bus to the rear. To keep the bus wheelchair accessible, there is a flat floor area at the front and a wheelchair space at the front offside, the main seats being raised up above this area. The vehicle has been specifically designed to suit operation of route X18, Solihull to Cirencester which is largely a long distance high speed route. This route is now low floor.

Another new bus is 96 (BL53RLL), a dual door Mercedes Citaro. This is working route 23 (Solihull to Robin Hood via Shirley). Earlier single door Citaro (BU51LUV) is now on route 15 to Monkspath and Blossomfield and has displaced dual door Dart SLF (W866ERW) which is now a spare bus.

All three Vectas are now spare cover vehicles at Solihull. Short Myllenium BC02FHY, has moved onto route 13 to Stratford, thus converting the service to low floor, whilst DAF/ Ikarus R148AVC, has moved from Lodge Lane to Solihull garage where it acts as a spare bus. Y474HDU, a Mini Pointer Dart has been off road for a repaint and is the first MPD to receive the new colour scheme and as an experiment. Its place on route 11 to Earlswood was covered by spare Vecta 41 as a temporary measure.

Route 4 (Acocks Green to Dorridge) is now operated by 3 dual door ALX 400s, 2 from AF stock and one which was acquired with the PHM business in August 2003. Route 10 (Solihull to Birmingham airport) is being operated by a single door ALX 400 and T57PRW an Olympian/ Palatine 1, moved off route 4. Palatine 2s S915HVC and S576MWK are now used as spare vehicle cover. Optare Spectra M720PCS is working on routes W2 and S2, these being a works service and a schools service respectively. T58PRW, an Olympian / Palatine 1 is displaced from route 4 and is now working S1 schools service and contract C4.

The above double deck route allocation changes are seen as temporary measures until further low floor deckers arrive, when allocations will be further rationalised.

Olympian/ Palatine 2, R214RWK, was involved in an accident on the Warwick Road in November 2003. It was stored for a while, pending a decision on its future. It has since been decided to withdraw the bus from use, rather than repair the extensive damage.

Bus number 68, a dual door Pointer Dart SLF with airport luggage racks has been into the workshops and has been repainted in the latest livery style with the latest fleetnames and logos. It is now back operating the airport staff car park shuttle service at Birmingham airport.

Orders are to be placed for some new buses. Four of these will be double deckers, needed to fulfil the low floor requirements. They will include further Volvo/ Presidents. Arden Forest has acquired another Bova Futura, ex PHM Travel, registered PH02CDW. This vehicle has not yet been allocated a fleet number, but is used on private hire work form Lodge Lane.

THE BULMAR GROUP

London/South East/Scotland

The major news here is the successful award of City Transport route 820 (Bromley – Romford) to London Linker for a period of three years using existing standard single deck vehicles, starting from 24 January 2004.

Accordingly, the single deck vehicles previously used on route 894 moved over to route 820 from 24 January, while route 894 went over to new low floor double deck vehicles from the same date. Therefore, the order for new vehicles was increased and is as follows: eight dual-door Transbus Trident/ President (LK53EYN/S/FCB/H/R/S/T/W), plus six dual-door Volvo B7TL/ East Lancs (LJ53BFH/J/P/R-T). These will, therefore be allocated to route 894, together with Dennis Trident/ Alexander ALX400 (ex-route 898); however, the last three Transbus Trident/ Transbus President vehicles had not been delivered by 24 January, which resulted in Dennis Dart SLFs (W438-40GUW) making regular appearances. A dual-door Volvo B7TL/ Wright Eclipse Gemini is due in early March for evaluation.

In a surprise move, Volvo Olympian/ Northern Counties (V104CUL) moved to the London Explorer tour at the end of January.

London Explorer:

Later night tours operated during December and January, which proved to be fairly successful; but, expectations for tourists during 2004 are not looking too promising.

AEC Routemaster/ Park Royal [RML] (JJD448D) is due to receive London Country (1970’s) livery by March 2004, as part of celebrations to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Routemaster bus. In fact, the five closed top Routemasters [3 RMLs, 1 RCL, 1 RM] in this fleet – and [RML] JJD436D from the London linker fleet – are due to participate on a special Routemaster service during 2004.

Edinburgh Tour:

Following the introduction of newer vehicles, three vehicles were withdrawn at the end of October and had arrived at Nunhead garage for storage by the end of December: Daimler Fleetline/ Roe (PDT497E) - unlicensed for over a year, and Leyland Fleetline/ NCME (WWH40L, EBN88V). The latter had been due to replace an older Leyland Atlantean used on the Berwick tour, but has itself been plagued with mechanical problems.

There had been a number of special events planned for New Years Eve, which had to be cancelled - across Scotland - due to appalling weather conditions. On this basis, vehicles due to take people home in the early hours of New Years Day were not required.

Hastings Explorer:

As mentioned in the last report, Leyland Olympian/ ECW (XWY476X) was involved in a nasty smash with a stolen car. Accordingly, it was officially withdrawn by the end of October 2003.

Wight Way:

Following the successful restoration of Bristol K5G/ ECW (FDL983), restoration work is now underway on Bristol MW6G/ ECW (FDL928D). It is hoped that this will be complete by the Summer.

Db BUSES

Bishopston

Fleet News: To date all vehicles which carry the head office phone number on the rear, have had the same alteration to the company’s new phone number applied, along with the depots codes nearside front and offside rear where necessary.

New to the fleet, since the last supplement are, Wright bodied Volvo B10BLE’s WV14/6 (Y367/70DOC, Y226EJW), plus East Lancs Myllennium bodied Volvo B7TL’s EV1/4 (DB53RVA/D). All vehicles were supplied by D&F (Dealers) of Glasgow, and all seven reported vehicles entered service on Monday 5th January 2004.

Withdrawn since last report Plaxton Pointer bodied Dennis Darts PD4/7/9/22/9/30 (L627KKW, M447/8/51NHJ, L275CYJ, L821/2 WUS) sold to Blackheart Buses of Paisley, plus mk2 MCW Metrobuses MM13/4 (A440/1UUV) initially intended for conversion for City Sightseeing tour work, but since scrapped. Withdrawn too is Bristol VR VR4 (DBT 216), its future undecided.

Vehicles on order through Scottish District Transport (Dealers) Renfrew are five Dennis Dart MPDs with Plaxton bodywork. These vehicles will replace five ‘step entrance’ Dennis Darts. Initial thoughts are that the vehicles being replaced will be PD12/6 (M701/5KTH) with interest to buy already being made by Blackheart Buses of Paisley. It is also the intention to order two Wright Gemini bodied Volvo B7L’s to replace the last two remaining MCW Metrobuses. This will maintain the company’s fleet renewal programme.

To date the company has 50 low floor service vehicles compared with 96 conventional vehicles. This represents just over a third of the company’s service fleet allocation.

Vehicles converted for work on the company’s new City Sightseeing Greenock tour are Northern Counties Palatine 2 bodied Volvo Olympians NV16/9 (P443FHP, P618/8XSU). With the exception of NV16, the others were bought second hand from Bongobus of Dumbarton last summer. They worked on db service routes until early December and although they carried db fleet names never received full db fleet livery (retaining their original owner’s livery of red and grey). NV16 during conversion work was found to have water damage to the front dome and by way of a replacement for its new open top form has received the front dome from MM14, one of two Mk2 MCW Metrobuses being scrapped in house at the time.

Current depot allocations are as follows: Drymen Road (DR) and Kingswood Road (KR) with 67 each and Glen Park (GP) with 48.

Service News: The new routes and revamped route numbers for existing services were introduced on Sunday 4th January 2004. The decision was also made to reintroduce certain late night journeys from the same date, which had previously been cancelled due to vandalism. It was felt that the situation had been addressed by the authorities concerned. It has been suggested that a couple of night bus routes be introduced, if at first only on a trial basis.

FILERS CITY & COUNTRY BUS

Bristol & Avon Areas

Two new companys set up here are Hanham & District, and Cheltenham Town/ Country Bus.

The Hanham & District fleet comprises: 201-4, 1251/93/4 (M201-4VWW, L51ONW, M923/4TEV) Dennis Dart/ Plaxton B40F, 1314/5 (LUA314/5V) Leyland National 2 10.6m B44F, 1615/6 (PEX615/6W) Leyland National 2 11/6m, 1673/4 (LHT173/4L) Bristol RELL/ ECW B53F, 2001/2 (H1/2FBT) DAF SB220/ Optare B48F, 2106/7 (N106/7GVS) Volvo B10B/ Wright B48F, 7407-10 (S407-10GUB) Mercedes Vario/ Plaxton B27F, 5531-3/60 (CVT31/2T, UTO833S, RAH260W) Bristol VRT3/ ECW H74F, plus two Bristol Lodekkas for service 87.

Services operated are as follows: 44 (Cherry Gardens – Centre; x20 mins Mon-Sat, x60 mins eves/Sun), 45 (Cherry Gardens – Centre; x15 mins Mon-Sat, x60 eves/Sun), 83 (Kingswood – Cheltenham Road; Daily x60 mins), 87 (Park Estate – Centre; Mon-Sat x60), 380 (Cribbs Causeway – Keynsham; Daily, not eves, x30), 380 (UWE – Longwell Green Aspects; Evenings x60), 381 (Cribbs Causeway – Longwell Green Aspects; x60 mins), 382 (Mangotsfield – Staples Hill – Keynsham; Mon-Sat x60), 383 (Mangotsfield – Downend – Keynsham; Mon-Sat x60), and 385 (Siston Common – Keynsham; 3 journeys Daily).

The Cheltenham services are: A (Prestbury – Benhall), B (Centre – Beeches Estate), C (Centre – Hesters Way), D (Hatherley – Bishops Cleeve), E (Warden Hill – Cleeve Estate), F (Centre – Leckhampton), G (Centre – Coronation Square), H (Centre – Wymans Brook), 10 (Cheltenham – Lower Tuffley), 46 (Cheltenham – Forest Green), X51 (Cheltenham – Swindon), 165 (Cheltenham – Evesham), X26 (Cheltenham – Bath), and X40 (Cheltenham – Bristol).

Recent acquisitions include 9 Darts from the ADT Travel Group; DP3/6/11/2/26/8/9/40/57 (N211MSP, P214NSR, K106BUS, N28BUS, M73/7/8CYJ, N218NPN, P15KOK), and 5 Leyland Atlantean/ NCME H77F or H73F from Town & Country; 591-3/7/8 (A321-3/7/8TYS).

FLEETWAY BUS COMPANY

North & West Kent/ Shropshire

Fleetway Buses

A new fleet numbering system has now been adopted, with double deckers being numbered from one to ten, minibuses eleven to twenty, and single deck buses & coaches from 21 upwards.

Three new double deckers to report are; 1-3 (LT53PRO/P/R) DAF/ East Lancs Lowlander DPH71F. These are for operation on new route 772 (Romford Market – Lakeside – Bluewater) which is jointly operated with Thurrock & District, six buses being required for the limited stop service running every 30 minutes Mon-Sat daytime, hourly evenings. Initially, three Volvo B10BLEs with Wright Renown B44F bodies, 25-6 (R461/2GHS, R714HYG) were used from 20th September until the arrival of the new vehicles in late November.

Other new vehicles are; 61-3 (LN53BCA-C) Transbus Dart/ East Lancs Spryte B49F, for new commercially operated route 26 (Gravesend – Swanley – Otford), two vehicles being allocated for service, the third bus acting as a spare; and 53 (LN53FBC) Scania K124-1B/ Irizar Century C49Ft tri-axle coach.

Fleet way Buses has expressed gratitude to Arden Forest for the loan of their number 68 (Y568HDU) Dennis Dart SLF 10.7m Plaxton Pointer, which was used on TfL route 233 (Swanley – Eltham – Woolwich) fot two weeks prior to its transfer to Eagle Coachways for a weeks evaluation.

Eagle Coachways

Vehicles transferred from Fleetway Buses, until new ones arrive here are 25-8 (R461/2GHS, R714HYG, S398RNA). These are used on the new Park & Ride contract won from Shropshire County Council operating between Harlscott and Shrewsbury Town Centre. This service started on 1st December, with the four buses providing a 15 minute frequency Mon-Sat, x30 minutes on Sundays.

The new Transbus Super Darts for the Park & Ride contract arrived at the end of January as (DU53BHS-U) and operate in the blue and yellow colours of Shropshire County Council. Three of the loaned Scania/ Renowns have now returned to Fleetway Buses, with number 28 remaining to provide cover until the new buses settle in.

GIPPING VALLEY BUSES LTD

Ipswich

More buses acquired from West London Transport are three MCW Metrobus mk2s, 317-9 (F266/9/81SMK). These are employed exclusively on school and contract duties, retaining their WLT colours, under the banner of ‘Student Travel’. Also ex WLT are four DAF Optare Deltas, 177-80 (J347-50EGP), now repainted into GV livery.

New buses to be ordered this year are Transbus Super Pointer Darts (11.3m) and Scania OmniCitys for Park & Ride replacements.

One withdrawal to report is Bristol VRT 312, now stored in the yard at George Street Garage, fate unknown.

LONDON TRANSPORT COUNTRY AREA, HARTLEY GARAGE (1965-70)

North West Kent

Vehicles currently allocated to Hartley Garage (code HY) comprise; AEC Routemaster CH65RD RCL2237 (CUV237C), AEC Regal IV B39F RF69/202/61 (LYF420, MLL589/798), AEC Routemaster H72R RML2309/45 (CUV309/45C), Leyland Atlantean/ PRV H72F XA47 (JLA47D), and Daimler Fleetline/ PRV H72F XF2 (CUV52C). Bristol LS demonstrator (PHW918) is also here but is out of use and is to be replaced by RF25, due to be transferred from the private hire fleet.

Central area RML2296 (CUV296C) is on loan and currently works route 411.

PERPETUA

Teesside/Yorkshire/East Coast

Some of the black cabs acquired ex-Abacus Group are now in use on a new contract between Perpetua and rail freight operator - EWS - to provide a dedicated "taxi" service for train crew between stations and yards/ depots in the north-east.

Scheduled flights between Teesside International Airport and Paris via Luton commenced on 8 December. Coach Vernouillet is providing connections from the airport to Paris City Centre and Vernouilllet.

An increase in sales of the "PerpetuaMax" Travelcard has been noted. The travelcard can be used on any bus, coach, train or plane service operated by Perpetua in UK, Europe, Canada, South Atlantic and Hong Kong!

A new joint venture is the "Pilgrim Perpetua Partnership", which aims to provide training and masterclass courses to fleet operators on various aspects of model fleet operation from timetabling to customer presentation and marketing

Gus Honeybun, a one-time popular celebrity on ITV in the South-West has been recruited to promote the Moorsbus network of bus services and Esk Valley rail services.

Central Services: Newly acquired is Range Rover W30 (LB3011) on permanent allocation to Langdon Beck outstation. Similarly, W21-22 (CC2003/6120) Mercedes Benz recovery vehicles have also been acquired for respective use in Doncaster and Huddersfield.

Coach Vernouillet:

An allover metallic grey livery is being applied with a tricolour in a diamond motif.

East Coast:

The overnight sleeper coach service between Inverness and London will, from 1 June 2004 be operated by Sprinter as route 810 under a 10-year contract to ADT.

Huddersfield Rider:

W62 (YA04CDE), Mercedes Vito is the new staff transport vehicle. East Lancs Daimler CVG6, 472 (HVH472D) is now in use as part of National Heritage Bus & Coach on services between Huddersfield and Holmfirth.

Network Tees Valley:

W64 (NL04NTV) is a Mercedes Vito for use as staff transport.

Former ThamesLine Optare MCW Metrorider’s 8100-2 (F151AHA, D117 AVT, E137 HHA) that were originally transferred to SuperSprinter are now at Boathouse Lane garage on new service 192 (Ingleby Barwick to Thornaby Town Centre).

2011-6 (TV2011-6) are recently acquired tri-axle Volvo Olympian’s, ex-KMB. They are to be deployed on new-look 170 service Middlesbrough - Parkway Shopping and Leisure Centre later in the new year, but are for the moment are on hire to PilgrimBus.

Peninsula Travel Services Ltd.:

Gibraltar Buses: 8513 (G61203) "Road Champ" single-deck ex-CTA, United States is in use on service 9 Frontier - Winston Churchill Avenue - Glacis Road - Market Place (Grand Casemetes Gates). PTS Cleansing: Peninsula Travel Services has recently won the contract to provide refuse collection and street cleaning in the colony in association with the colonial government. Operating as "PTS Cleansing", 2 drain-cleaners and 1 refuse vehicle in an allover orange livery are in the process of being acquired.

Perpetua Railways:

Commercial Department: From February 18 2004, ADT Travel has the rail replacement contract for the company’s new Intercity service "The North Briton" running between Leeds and Glasgow via North East and Edinburgh. 1 Class 90 electric loco + 6 coaches + DVT set is used.

Also starting on same date is the "Thames-Clyde Express" which runs from Glasgow and London St Pancras via Leeds, Settle and Carlisle Line, Doncaster and Midland Main Line. 4 HST sets are used. Network Tees Valley is considering extending its Alston-Darlington service to connect with the Thames-Clyde Express at Carlisle using 3200-3201 (X200-1 GYN), Mercedes Vario Plaxton Cheetah C33F mini-coaches.

A Wright Liberator is expected to be acquired to operate a connecting service between Darlington station and Catterick Garrison.

South Atlantic Travel Services Ltd.

St. Helena: 2 Plaxton Pointer Dennis Darts with air-conditioning are en route to the island.

Sprinter Transport Network:

The future of Loftus depot is under review. The only use of it at the moment is as a stabling point for 904 Loftus to Leeds, 906 Loftus to Kendal and 960 Loftus to Middlesbrough. It might be that all vehicles are switched to Stokesley garage or on premises on an industrial estate at Brotton. Possible sale to another operator is being discussed.

The Scarborough Seafront Tramway Company (2004) Ltd.:

A new joint venture between Perpetua and ADT, the Seafront Tramway will begin next year and comprise a tram service along the Promenade at Scarborough.

PILGRIM TRAVEL LTD

Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire

Further route growth for PilgrimBus came with Stagecoach East's November 30th timetable change. This saw new low floor Transbus Darts revolutionize Bedford town services and a new express service between Biggleswade and Milton Keynes, doubling the frequency between Bedford and MK. Part of the changes involved cleaning up the network and removing some odd services plus most evening services after 8pm which were little used. Of course, the media focussed on this bit, and thanks to Stagecoach East's inability to provide any information early on, saw the company take a constant battering from local newspapers, councillors and passengers throughout October and November.

From 1st December, PilgrimBus commenced operation of routes 185-7 (Biggleswade town services), 191 (Biggleswade - Stevenage) and 314 (Hitchin - Welwyn Garden City). The company PVR now stands at fourteen, with further new services under development.

Vehicles acquired during this period were Volvo Olympians 700/1 (P700SDC, P101TDC) H77F with Northern Counties Palatine 2 bodywork from Perpetua Tees Valley (J Halliday), and East Lancs bodied Dennis Dominators 886/7 (ANG886/7Y) H73F or H72F respectively, from Perpetua's SuperSprinter subsidiary. The Dominators are working school runs to Samuel Whitbread Community College in Clifton, while the Olympians mostly cover X46, 191, and 314 services alongside mk2 Metrobuses. Placed into reserve are Metrobuses 501/9, and 1978 Bristol VRT3 878 (again!).

The five Caetano Touro bodied Mercedes coaches delivered in September entered traffic in mid-October. They have 49 seats and a central offside toilet compartment, but are otherwise to an interurban specification. They are numbered 120-4, and registered KC53APA-E.

The new school term started on Tuesday 6th January, and with the new year Pilgrim has taken the opportunity to recast its school bus services. Resources have been concentrated in serving several of the County's key schools, withdrawing from some that are accessible through other services, and running out to Stratton Upper in Biggleswade for the first time. The result is a net increase in services and a simplified network that it is hoped will bring further passenger growth.

PROVINCIAL OMNIBUS PLC

East Anglia

This has been a busy period for Provincial with new routes and a significant influx of new vehicles. A tender for several former Enjays services was rewarded with the allocation of four routes, each of which enhances the companys East Anglian route network.

To boost ridership, it has been decided to deploy the companys best vehicles on these routes which are as follows: 230 (Colchester – Hedingham), 241 (Colchester – Sudbury), 245 (Colchester – Halstead), and 292 (Colchester – Dedham). The proposed transfer date is 13th March 2004 and all four routes will receive DAF DB250/ East Lancs Myllenium Lowlanders with Anglian Pride ‘Bronzeway’ branding. LF12/4 (P12/4XBN) are already in stock, with LF15/6 (P15/6XBN) expected at the end of February. Already delivered but not yet repainted is dual door Volvo/ East Lancs Vyking (P17XBN). Finally, ex-Quicksilver Trident/ ALX400 (AF02ALX) is due to receive ‘Bronzeway’ colours and join its fellow LFDDs on these routes.

For the Summer months the traditional Borley Ghost Tour operated by a former First Provincial open top Bristol VR/ ECW, will be augmented by a ‘Constable Country’ open-top tour from Manningtree to Sudbury via Dedham, Leavenheath and Stoke-by-Nayland. It is hoped to obtain three former London Sightseeing Routemasters from Perpetua. Two ex-Perpetua former HK Olympian/ Alexander tri-axle buses have been taken into stock but not yet re-registered for service.

Other recent additions include five secondhand Plaxton Paramounts from East London Coaches, one of these being Volvo powered, the remainder using Mercedes Benz units. They have initially been allocated to schools services and still carry their original maroon livery. As usual, the paint shop is working flat-out to cope with all of the new stock, so it may be some while before these coaches receive Provincial colours and a refurbishment.

Leyland Lynx (E270WUB) now carries all-over advertising for the Sudbury branch of McDonalds. Sadly, the two rather tired ECW/ Bristol VRs (32/3) have failed to find a home despite extensive advertising. If no preservationist comes forward they will have to be scrapped.

Cerbydau Jones Coaches (Angelsey)

Provincial has augmented this compact fleet with Mercedes/ Hispano Vita C49Ft (L347MKU) which carries the name ‘Patrick McGoohan’ in memory of the cult TV series ‘The Prisoner’. Interest in tours around Harlech and the ‘Prisoner’ village in Portmerion, North Wales has been strong and further vehicles may be leased if demand warrants it. Former Midland Fox ‘DMS’ Fleetline (KUC247P) has been acquired for stage service 52 (Holyhead – Llangefni).

QUICKSILVER COACHES

Acquired in November from East Yorkshire was PPH462R Phil Collins, a former London Country 14ft 6in Bristol VR. It has replaced Atlantean SIL4320, now in use as a static rest room during the construction of the Tinglewick Transport Museum.

The beginning of the new year saw the acquisition of former Eastern Counties Leyland National 2 UVF625X, now fitted with a DAF engine, re-registered EKZ2639 and in use on route 1 alongside Lynx H580YKT. At the same time came Leyland Tiger/Duple Laser 2 B220WEU from Butler Brothers of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, not yet in service.

Mercedes Vitos BU51GMJ/MDG/YGN have been re-registered MBZ7208-10 and have lost their names, as has Mitsubishi KAZ9862.

Former Nene Valley Leopard/ Harrington wrecker JHV495D is now back in use after a period in store, apparently fitted with a new engine; rumours abound as to what now powers it, but it is clearly not a Leyland unit!

Withdrawals comprise two minibuses, Iveco D604MKH and Optare CityPacer F374AJT; Volvo/ Plaxton J494GRT and Toyota Optimo KRY278, none of which have yet been sold.

RAMSDEN TRANSPORT

Lancashire & North West

A tempting offer for the group’s existing headquarters building was received last year and the decision was made to transfer all administrative activities for the whole group to Guisborough, close to the operating base of subsidiary company High Moors Buses. The work involved in the move led to the deadline for the last two Supplements being missed so some parts of this report may be less topical than would normally be the case. A fair amount of work is necessary to bring the new HQ up to scratch so any new developments will be slow to materialise for the next few months.

Ramsden Transport

During June, a miscreant attempted to steal Premier bodied Javelin 119. In the process, 119 was driven into three withdrawn Atlanteans (202, 203 and 206). Damage to the Atlanteans was superficial and repairs were effected before they were collected by their new owners. Damage to 119 was more serious and came at a particularly bad time just as the coaching season was getting into gear. High Moors’ Van Hool bodied DAF was quickly dispatched to Lancashire to cover for 119’s loss until repairs were completed late in July. Further second hand Olympians have arrived including some former London vehicles and the number of Atlanteans left in the fleet is now dwindling rapidly. One ex-LT Titan has also been acquired for evaluation but has not been as well received as the Olympians and is likely to remain unique, if it remains at all. An Optare Soroco has joined the coach fleet and is proving to be very useful. The maroon used for both bus and coach liveries is not wearing well and is being phased out with buses being red and cream and coaches plain red.

High Moors Buses

Two further small capacity vehicles have been acquired in the shape of two Beaver bodied Mercedes 709’s. They came from a dealer and both had been re-registered with Irish marks which were retained by their previous owner. They have been refurbished and have received registrations L94/125TEY. Some new services are under consideration and Quicksilver’s network of routes is being examined to avoid duplication, which would benefit neither operator. A new school contract has been secured and two of Ramsden’s Atlanteans have migrated north to cover the requirement. Further development was put on hold for a while as High Moors’ MD broke his arm. (Again!)

Evans of Tremadog

A quiet time here with just one addition to the fleet in the form of VVV949W, an ex-United Counties VRT 3 for schools work.

Tilleys Coaches

Tilleys Coaches has been sold to Nene Valley Transport (Ray Turley). The company was sold as a going concern and the sale included the fleet of six vehicles and the depot in Takeley in Essex. It is understood that the undertaking was sold on almost immediately with just one vehicle, the Derwent bodied Bedford, being retained by Nene Valley. Nene Valley’s MD arranged the deal from his hospital bed, showing real dedication to the business!

RELIANCE MOTOR SERVICES

South Coast

New arrivals here are; 746/7 (HG53TDL/M) Transbus Dart SLF/ Caetano Nimbus B39F (air-conditioned) carrying Solent Citylink contract livery and allocated to North Baddesley, plus 830/1 (WN53DJD/E) Bova Futura FHD12-340XE C48Ft in Countrywide livery and allocated to Trowbridge and North Baddesley respectively.

Withdrawals reported are; 186 (KHO860W) a 1981 Bristol VRT/ ECW, 236 (F522UEL) a 1988 Leyland Lynx, 363 (E830MLJ) a 1987 Leyland Tiger/ Plaxton Paramount, 374/801 (ECG8S, H955YFB) 1990 Volvo B10M/ Plaxton Paramounts, and 582 (F203TRU) a 1988 Leyland Tiger/ Plaxton Paramount.

Overhauls have been carried out on Dennis Dart/ Carlyle Dartline 705/6, along with Dennis Javelin GLX/ Van Hool Alizee 809-11. The Javelins are now in Transfoss livery for new service 260 (London, Devizes, Salisbury, Shepton Mallet, Yeovil, Exeter) which replaces Transcounty service 702 from London to Yeovil, and interworks with service 26 between Salisbury and Yeovil.

SAMUEL SMITH (COACH PROPRIETOR) 1948

Spennymore, County Durham

Davies Brothers (Ferryhill) have ceased PSV operations. Their works services from Ferryhill to Aycliffe Trading Estate for the Board Of Trade has been taken over together with a Bristol L5G/ ECW B35R (HW8359).

SEAVIEW SERVICES

"Garden Isle"

Fleet additions here are as follows; 35-8 (03G35-8) Mercedes Benz 0404/ Hispano C49Ft, 59/60 (03G59/60) Transbus Trident/ ALX400 DPH75F, 117/8 (70G117/8) Leyland Atlantean PDR1/ MCW O75F, 119/20 (77G119/20) Daimler Fleetline ‘DMS’/ PRV O71F, 121/2 (86G121/2) Bristol VRTSL3/ ECW O74F, 275/6 (93G275/6) Dennis Dart/ Marshall Dartline B40F, and 277/8 (95G277/8) Dennis Dart/ Plaxton Pointer B40F.

To make way for the arrivals, some of the fleet has been re-numbered and some vehicles withdrawn. Those re-numbered (and re-registered to match) are Neoplan Cityliners 33/4 (now 3/4), and Bova Futuras 35/6 (now 33/4), whilst the withdrawals comprise Volvo Olympian/ Alexander Royales 3/4 (98G3/4) sold to a private buyer, Volvo B10M/ Plaxton Premier 350s 37/8 (02G37/8) returned ex-lease, and Dennis Dart/ Plaxton Pointers 275/6 (97G275/6) currently awaiting a buyer.

SONNENREISEN A.G. (SOLAR TRAVEL)

Frankfurt/Oder, Germany

The partnership with ‘Oder Reisen’ Travel Services is being developed with their director Gerhard Zier.

The first new all Mercedes 0404 C49Ft has been delivered in ‘Oder Reisen’ white and green livery, fleet number 151 (FF.OR.151).

SOUTHERN GENERAL OMNIBUS COMPANY

Devon, Torbay, Exeter

New acquisitions include the delivery of three further Mercedes 0404/ Hispano C49Ft, (WH53ACA-C) for the AutoCar’s coach division.

Twenty further examples of the East Lancs Myllenium Lowlander VDL DB250 H73F are expected in future orders as the company moves toward the Lowlander as the "core" vehicle in its double deck fleet. This shifts the Southern General traditional chassis supplier from Volvo toward VDL.

The East Lancs order includes three Volvo B7TL Myllenium Vyking convertible open top examples, the arrival of which will mean the 2004 season will be the last for the remaining ECW/ Bristol VRT3 CO74F examples (FDV830/1/4V) which have been in continuous service since delivery in 1981.

Mercedes Sprinter (BY03TXT) with ‘accessibility’ access equipment is now in stock operating under the branding "Mini-Link" around the village communities of the South Hams.

Recent arrivals, Dennis Trident/ Alexander ALX400’s (WG53ADV/BDV) used on the joint service with Town & Country "CoastRunner132" - Exeter to Weymouth are joined by four further examples viz (WD04ATT/BTT/CTT/DTT). Two of the four are allocated to a new Exeter to Barnstaple/ Bideford service and the remaining pair expected to be allocated to the "Transmoor Link" cross Dartmoor service between Exeter and Plymouth via Princetown.

Restored 55 year old Guy ArabII Park Royal O56R (GNN703) was withdrawn at the end of the 2003 season and has been sold to a local preservationist. Routemaster Scania/ Park Royal O64R (LDS337A, RSK254) are stored, de-licensed at Totnes; they are expected to be scrapped.

The six Auwaerter Neoplan Centroliners (W425/6FTA , Y18-20STA and WB51SFF) – are currently being internally refurbished and repainted, but not as previously reported into the revised Devon Cream/Grass Green livery. These 104 seat capacity buses are to operate a new "no frills" high frequency service between Plymouth, Exeter and Bristol. The new service - and it’s livery - are a closely guarded secret until the service launches in Spring. Sister vehicle, three axle Duple Metsec Dennis Trident W525GTT remains for sale at Totnes.

Joint operation with West Cornwall on Service X10 (Newquay to Exeter), is due to commence in the Spring – an allocation of vehicles from Southern General is undecided.

An order for two MAN 24.350/ Volgren CR221LD has been subject to delay caused by the supplier. The pair being manufactured in Australia, had been due for delivery in early 2004, but this is now not expected to be until mid Summer.

Southern General are to re-brand local Torbay services "METRO – Coastlines" to ease public, particularly tourist, perception of routes. Each route – a "CoastLine" - has a dedicated version of a new yellow based livery and forms part of an overall "METRO" bus network in the Torbay area. The revised network of services for the area launches in early Summer.

SOUTHERN OMNIBUS GROUP

South East

Southern Bus & Coach Co:

Eight used double deckers were acquired from a dealer and prepared for service in December, these being 401-8 (S722-9VOM) DAF Optare Spectra H77F. These had been purchased for use on the rail replacement service between Gravesend, Higham and Strood from 17th January for a year due to major repair work being carried out in Strood tunnel.

However, due to an administrative error it was thought that double deckers would be the most suitable vehicles for this work. After the vehicles had been purchased, it was found that 9 metre single deckers were required due to complaints from some residents about the use of double decks. So, for the duration of the rail replacement work, the double deckers have released appropriate single deckers from other services. The company has thus decided to use eight of the Carlyle bodied Darts, 102-9. Some of the work has been sub-contracted to Pickwick Coaches of Strood and Pilcher of Chatham.

The Strood Garage of Classic Ominibus Co is being used to house part of the allocation for this service in order to cut down on dead mileage and possible delays in traffic running to and from Chatham.

Optare Solo 331 (W331YKJ) is on loan to South Coast Transport (see below).

South Coast Transport:

A fairly busy time here with the arrival of five, albeit small, new vehicles; 3181-4 (GT53BUF/CHC/JK/DY) are Mercedes Benz Vito M8s, whilst slightly larger is 3120 (GR53BCD) a Mercedes Benz Vario 0814/ Optare Nouvelle C33F.

Vehicles withdrawn are, 3007 (M107EDY) Mercedes Benz 307D/ Devon Conversions B12F, 3011 (M811EDY) Volkswagen Caravelle M7, 3012 (M112EDY) Volkswagen LT28/ Devon Conversions B12F, and 3095 (K588RKP) Leyland Swift/ ELME Orion DP39F. All of these vehicles have been transferred to the service fleet for crew transfers (3007/11/2) and driver training (3095), now being numbered 9918/9/20/17 respectively.

On loan from Southern Bus & Coach Co is Optare Solo 331 (W331YKJ). This is being trialled in rural areas to test the suitability of the low floor midibus. It is thought that it may not be possible to operate such vehicles in all areas and that Mercedes midis and Metroriders may have to be used on some routes.

The continuing need for Mercedes mini buses has seen Varios 3114-6 (W114-6DJK) being given a mid-life refurbishment. The company is considering the purchase of further Mercedes Varios for rural work including school duties.

Thames Coast Links:

A new arrival here is 4038 (GL53DJG), a Mercedes Benz Vario 0814/ Plaxton Cheetah C33F.

The company was asked by Essex County Council to cover some school work in the south of the County as the incumbent operator had suddenly ceased trading. Unfortunately, Thames Coast had to decline the offer due to insufficient vehicles and staff. As a result, the company is now keeping a close eye on the secondhand market with a view to acquiring further buses for contract work.

Classic Omnibus Co:

Strood Garage has been re-opened for operational service by Southern Bus & Coach Co to house vehicles for the Strood tunnel rail replacement service.

Service Vehicles:

The service vehicles for all four companies are numbered in a common 99xx series. The first news of this fleet for three years is the transfer in of four vehicles from South Coast Transport (qv). Six vehicles have been withdrawn; 9908-10 (K395-7UKE) Renault Traffic T1000/ Dormobile B11F (ex crew ferry vehicles/ driver trainers), and 9113-5 (AFB597V, YAE511V, AFB595V) Bristol LH6L/ ECW driver trainers.

TYLER’S TRAVEL

South Manchester & Cheshire

New additions here are 551 (MC53TYL) VDL DB250/ East Lancs Myllenium Lowlander H74F, 557 (MA53TYL) Transbus Trident/ President O76F, and 560/1 (MA53MYL/M) Transbus Trident/ East Lancs Lolyne H74F. A used acquisition is 176 (P580HBA) an air-conditioned Plaxton Pointer B39F bodied Dennis Dart. With the acquisition of the VDL DB250 listed above, the previous 551 (MC52TAL) was re-numbered 559 in order to keep the ALX400s together, and the four VDL250s together.

At the start of November, Countrywide service changes saw service 712 curtailed to operate between Rochdale/ Manchester and Gatwick Airport only, but gain a late night journey between Manchester and Coventry. Recently introduced service 451 was extended from Cambridge to Clacton On Sea, although another Manchester to Cambridge journey was also added to the timetable.

During late November, service 247 (Altrincham – Eccles) operated by Urmston Garage was subject to numerous attacks by vandals, resulting in between one and seven broken windows per vehicle over a two week period. Also during the same period, a couple of drivers were subjected to threatening and violent behaviour. These incidents have been occurring in the Partington area of the service. After a warning was issued by the company, there was no improvement in the situation, so all services through Partington were given up.

The services affected are, the 252 (Manchester – Partington) which operated on Sundays only, withdrawn without replacement, route 267 (Altrincham – Partington) now curtailed at Sale, and the aforementioned service 247 is split into two separate services, with the 247 now running between Eccles and Flixton only, and new route 282 taking over the remaining section between Altrincham and Sinderland Estate. The section of route from Sinderland to Flixton has therefore been withdrawn. The company is not prepared to risk the safety of its staff or vehicles, so unfortunately took the decision to withdraw its affected services.

Due to the above changes to route 247, the Darts previously employed on the service have been transferred to Wythenshawe and replaced by a lesser number of Leyland Nationals.

On 6th December, a new service was started numbered 555 operating from the Trafford Centre to Little Hulton via the M60 Motorway, Worsley and Walkeden; this has replaced a similar (but free) service numbered 293 which previously ran between these points and uses two Leyland Nationals based at Urmston Garage.

Special timetables over the Christmas period included; Saturday services on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve, but with services finishing around 7pm; on Boxing Day & New Years Day, a Sunday timetable on routes 42, 555 and M1 (Metrolink Shuttle) only; a Sunday service on December 28th; and a Saturday service on all other days over the festive period, with normal services resuming from January 4th.

Monday 18th January saw the following services commence operation from the garage at Rusholme; 41X (Manchester – Sale), 48 (Manchester – Northenden), and 140 (Manchester – West Didsbury), along with evening journeys on routes 41 (Manchester – Altrincham), and 192 (Manchester – Hazel Grove).

Late news is that Tylers Travel have gained a number of services in the Essex area. A new subsidiary is to be set up to start operations based on Chelmsford and Colchester following the transfer of services from the A+ Travel Group. Operations are due to commence from 13th March with the following services being taken over: 202 (Chelmsford – Burnham), 203 (Chelmsford – Bradwell), 209 (Chelmsford – Baddow), 221 (Chelmsford – Pleshey), 243 (Colchester – Fordham), 247/8 (Colchester – Brightlingsea) and 280 (Colchester – Layer de la Haye). The services have a combined peak vehicle requirement of 14 vehicles. As part of the deal for the take over of these services, all A+ Passes will continue to be accepted on all of the acquired routes.

Finally, some amendments to the previous report are as follows: Vehicle 535 is registered MR03CHR, whilst service 17 is Altrincham – Trafford Centre, 17A Altrincham – Trafford Park, 18 Wythenshawe – Trafford Centre, 18A Wythenshawe – Altrincham, and finally 245 Altrincham – Flixton. Lastly, the withdrawal of route 268 instead of 266.

UNITY TRAVEL GROUP

Unity Diamond Tours

Two new vehicles arriving during October were: Leyland Atlantean/ NCME (ANA629Y/ A716LNC), the former being part open-top.

Open-top Leyland Atlantean/ Alexander (NGB116M) and closed-top Daimler Fleetline/ MCW (GHM832N) were withdrawn at the end of November 2003.

Medway Explorer

As predicted, former Maidstone & District MCW Metrobus (A206OKJ) was withdrawn at the end of December. As a result, from 1 January 2004, the tour in the Medway tours will now be operated as one of the Unity Diamond Tours - with vehicles drawn from one main fleet. The exception will be the dedicated use of AEC Routemaster/ PRV (52CLT) which operated several special ‘Christmas Season’ tours and will continue to operate special services in the Medway Towns.

VIKING MOTOR SERVICES

New into service is 223 (NL53VMS) a Volvo B7TL/ Wright Eclipse Gemini. Acquired from West London Transport is V183, an early Volvo Citybus/ Alexander which has been converted to single door and re-registered B183GNL. Other secondhand arrivals are ex Blackpool Borough Transport Optare Delta 20 (H120CHG), acquired at Showbus in a badly damaged condition, plus an Alexander T-type bodied Leyland Tiger (ex Ray Turley) which has been totally rebuilt and re-registered UNL100Y, and finally, a Scania/ Alexander RH (H187CJR) from Derek High.

Bristol LH/ ECW B43F (VTY14T) is now for sale, having last appeared at the 2003 MBF AGM Special Class competition.

Service 34 (Alnwick, Bamburgh, Berwick) is now 50% low floor operated, the following low floor vehicles currently being allocated – DAF/ Optare 201/2, Trident/ East Lancs 213/4/7/8, Trident/ ALX 211/2/5/6, Volvo/ President 221/2, and Volvo/ Gemini 223.

There are now 14 low floor double deckers in service in this fleet as follows: DAF DB250/ Optare 201/2 (S201NNL, T202TJR), DAF DB250/ ALX400 203 (V203EJR), Trident/ ALX 211/2/5/6 (W211/2PNL, Y215KTY, NL51VMS), Trident/ East Lancs 213/4/7/8 (X213/4BJR, NL02VMS, NL52VMS), Volvo B7TL/ President 221/2 (NL03VMS/T), and Volvo B7TL/ Wright 223 (NL53VMS).

A Metroline dual door Trident/ ALX has been running on the Bamburgh Town Service network. Safety concerns with the remoteness of the exit from the driver have lead to the company persuading Bamburgh Council to bring forward bus priority measures so that these services can be worked by single door buses. This will lead to the gradual withdrawal of elderly dual door Titans and Metrobuses from the Bamburgh Town Service fleet. A Volvo B7TL/ President (224) will start this process early next year.

On order for 2004 are another three Volvo B7TLs, one bodied by Transbus Wigan, the other two by East Lancs. The latter pair would thus be Vikings Vykings!

WARDONIAN BUSES LTD

As mentioned in the last report, WBL took over the ailing fleet of Graham Maltby Coaches of Mexborough at the end of October and had to transfer a number of its own vehicles and staff in to maintain services. Once staff who had left saw that the situation was beginning to stabilise, some (but by no means all) started to return by the end of the year. The depot at Mexborough is to be retained for now, but no decision has yet been taken on future livery.

As from the start of the New Year, it was decided to axe the GMC name in favour of Wardonian East, whilst at the same time the Derbyshire depot at Alport became Wardonian North, and the main part of the company Central. However, all buses are only expected to show the single Wardonian transfer on the sides.

New arrivals at the end of the year were two Transbus Enviro 300s, 12m 474 (SW53WBA) & 11.8m 475 (SW53WBB), and three Transbus Darts, 466 (GP53TLH) being an MPD, 468 (GP53TLF) with Caetano 10.8m dual door bodywork, and similar 469 (GP53TLG) but with 9.8m single door body. These were followed at the start of the New Year by, 480 (GP53RBC) a Mercedes Citaro – the fifth of this type here, and 41/2 (GP53RBA/B) Volvo B7TLs with Wright Eclipse Gemini bodywork, the first examples of this type of bodywork for the company, 41 being single door, 42 dual door.

WELLAND

South Leicestershire and Rutland

Low floor conversion of this fleet continues at a pace with the purchase of several new vehicles.

The first three Optare Solo’s from an order for ten are (KW53AWB/BWB/CWB). All sport a new livery of Dark Green body with Silver skirt separated by a red stripe – further vinyl’s are to be applied before these buses enter service. Wellands first new Low Floor double deck buses to enter service are Trident/ ALX400’s (FB04ABZ/BBZ/CBZ/DBZ) which are used on the limited stop service X61 Market Harborough to Leicester. The Tridents have a similar livery to the Solo’s, but with a cream upper deck.

Welland has secured the contract from Rutland County Council to provide the Nottingham, Melton, Oakham, Stamford trunk service, which had been abandoned by Trent Barton; displaced Scania L961 Wright Axcess FH02A/BRY from service X62 (Leicester – Kettering) are allocated here, their duties replaced on the X62 by the new Solo’s.

Withdrawn are Dennis Plaxton Pointer Dart 9.8SDL N1617PBC and P655/6ERY, now awaiting disposal at Market Harborough.

The Rutland and Stamford Tour enjoyed a successful season in 2003, and will return for the 2004 season with some alterations to the route to include Uppingham in some journeys. The tour is operated by MCW Metrobus’s DR101/9 VLT71 and sister DR102/18 GOG99W; both are City Sightseeing franchise branded.

WEST LONDON PASSENGER TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION

Vehicle news

Changes to the vehicle orders, has led to an increase in the number of Plaxton bodied Dennis Tridents arriving at the Smith’s division. So far PD804-11 (LT53WLH/G/F/EB/A, LT04WLA/B) have been delivered to Southall garage, replacing MkII Metrobuses.

Nearby Evelyn Grove (Airline division) has received Neoplan Centroliners NC801-3 (LT53WLL/K/J). These have since been allocated to Fulham garage, along with NC800, ready for the start of the summer schedule. Older buses, that have also appeared at the Airline division are Plaxton bodied Dennis Darts DA441-3, now based at Evelyn Grove. These have replace the DAF Optare Deltas that were based here.

Delivery of the East Lancs bodied Volvo B7TLs was delayed until February 2004 when the first, VM816 arrived with WLT after a spell as a demonstrator. It will be noted that this vehicle was numbered 814 in the previous report, but with the increase in Tridents for the Smith’s division, a renumbering of the first Volvos was needed. VM816/7 retained their booked registration numbers, but VM818-25 are now to be registered LT04WLG/H/J-O. All ten have H69D bodies.

More details have been given of the vehicle orders mentioned last time. Four Duple Metsec bodied Dennis Tridents are on order for delivery late in 2004. A single Volvo-Super Olympian with Wrights Gemini Explorer bodywork is expected to arrive in early March. This will be a demonstration vehicle for Aldenham Bus Sales. Divisional allocations for these buses has yet to be decided.

The two new coaches delivered are Mercedes Benz 0404s with C49Ft Hispano bodies. These are numbered C9740/1 with registrations LT53CMB/KMB. These are the first left hand drive coaches WLT has operated with UK registrations; they are expected to spend most of their time on the continent on Solar Travel work. They have replaced the oldest vehicles on this work, Van Hool bodied Volvos C9698/9700. These two coaches are to be used on other work.

Aldenham Bus Sales has acquired four 72 seat Routemasters from Ensign. These will be owned, unlike the RMLs used on route 19, which are leased from Transport for London

A number of buses have been sold; accident damaged mk1 Metrobus M90, plus mk2 Metrobuses M229/33/66/9/81, 419/22/3/5 along with the remaining DAF Optare Deltas DS347-50 which have all now departed from the fleet. Redundant Smith’s division Metrobuses are presently being stored at Southall WLT Railway depot, prior to moving on to Aldenham in due course to await sale.

Route News and changes.

The 205X, a contract service operated for A+ City Transport sees the last regular use of Metrobuses, with three remaining in daily use. The remainder of the allocation of 16 buses uses Aldenham bodied Olympians.

A new route has been put into operation by the WLPTA; the 11A/C is a circular service in central London, operated using Routemaster type buses provided by a number of operators who will be familiar to Supplement readers, including WLT itself. The service operates on a daily basis and is aimed at the regular passenger, as well as the tourist market: 11C - Tower Hill, St Pauls, Trafalgar Sq, Westminster, Victoria, Baker Street Bus Station, Oxford Circus, Trafalgar Sq, St Pauls, Tower Hill (11A reverse direction).

The introduction of this service has been prompted by the indecent haste that Transport for London has taken in downgrading Routemaster routes to one man operation or ‘free’ bendy buses. The peak vehicle requirement for new services 11A (anticlockwise) and 11C (clockwise) is fifty buses! Operation started on March 13th, with the WLT allocation being based at Battersea garage. WLT vehicles will be intermixed with the buses on TfL route 19, meaning that both RM and RML types could appear. Reports on other operator’s vehicles and contributions to these services will be found under the relevant operator’s headings.

A recent change to service 805 (Heathrow Airport-Northolt) has seen this become part of the TfL network, rather than a route operated on a permit.

The arrival of more Dennis Tridents at the Smiths division has seen routes 211/74 converted from Olympian to Tridents, with the 82 and A40 converting from Metrobus to Olympian. At the Airline division the Terminal four transfer service has seen the DAF Optare Deltas replaced by step entrance Plaxton bodied Dennis Darts.

Plans for a new Speedlink route G are now well advanced - it will come into operation during the summer linking Harrow Weald with Central London

WLTs’ high quality Oxford - London route 790 has suffered some competition in recent months from the ultra cheap "Megabus" operation. WLT has been monitoring this and is looking into what can be done to counter this attempt to poach it’s passengers.

WLT-China Motor Bus (1999) Limited.

The three Plaxton bodied Dennis Darts (DP101-3) have been withdrawn from service. They have been replaced by two Volvo Olympians, hired from New World First bus along with a Leyland Olympian from Citybus. New vehicles will be ordered later this year.

A new sightseeing tour has started, centred on Kowloon, starting from the Ferry terminal at Tsim Sha Tsui. An open top bus (hired from the Tuen Mun bus co) is usually used on the service, the regular vehicle being Super Metrobus (ex WLT-CMB) ML70.

WESTERN CLIPPER GROUP

New vehicles bought towards the end of 2003 were 340 (CLI340), an Optare Solo/ B31F and Transbus Trident 3/ Transbus H87D 4619 (CLI619), with Duple Metsec style bodywork. 4617/8 mentioned last time, should also be recorded as Transbus products rather than Dennis/ Alexander. A third Volvo B12M with Transbus (ex-Plaxton) Paragon coachwork is on order, and will become 1472 (CLI472).

Daimler Fleetlines 4110/9, which were reinstated by Cheshirelink a few months ago, have been withdrawn again as tri-axle Olympians 4598/9 are now in service. The Olympians have a single-leaf front entrance door (half width), but the two tri-axle Metrobuses will now be rebuilt with four-leaf doors, 4350 with components sourced in the UK, and 4351 with door parts salvaged from 4350. Other withdrawals, again not for the first time, are of Bristol RELH 1017 and AEC Swift/ Alexander 1709, while Metro-Scania 1600, the very first vehicle owned by Western Clipper, has been transferred to Western Clipper’s ‘Landmark’ preserved fleet. It had been restored to its original condition some time ago, but until now had been available for normal service. Inter-fleet transfers have taken Bristol RELH 1025 to Western Clipper (WSM), Leyland National 1530 and one-time Metro-Scania demonstrator 1609 from Cheshirelink to Western Clipper, and Bristol VR 4512 from Cheshirelink to Western Clipper (Clevedon).

MKE Mercedes O405 8263 has been rebuilt from B38D to B45D.

Several years ago, four two-axle trucks were purchased from Dave Cole, Bromsgrove (dealer), and were progressively rebuilt as breakdown trucks for the Clipper Continental fleets (Roche 8099, Zuid-Holland 8199 - now with MKE - and MKE 8248/99). They had been built in the former Communist bloc, and came without documentation or even manufacturer’s plates, and at the time it was assumed that they were Skodas. It has now been established that they were made by IFA in East Germany, model W 50 [also known as VEB Ludwigsfelde, this company was based on a one-time Daimler-Benz factory which was lost after the postwar division of Germany]. The four trucks, which appropriately all now have Mercedes engines, have been relicensed accordingly.

YORKSHIRE BUSES GROUP

Fleet Additions

Yorkshire Woollen/ Yorkshire Buses, 721 (YD02PYW) DAF Optare Spectra DPH74F; Stanley Gath/ Glenway, 657 (M657KVU) Volvo B10M/ Van Hool Alizee C46Ft (ex Shearings); Anglo Travel, 221 (HK03ATB) Fuso Mitsubishi/ Asia C45F, 222/3 (HK03ATC/D) Hino/ Selega C45F, 224/5 (WG03ATE/F) Mercedes 0404/ Hispano C49Ft, 485/6 (AT53ATF/G) Mercedes 0404/ Hispano DP53F, 509 (HK03ATA) Fuso Mitsubishi B31D, 671/2 (AT53ATM/N) Optare Solo B31F, 835/6 (AT53ATH/J) Volvo B7TL/ Plaxton President DPH76F, 837/8 (AT53ATK/L) DAF DB250/ East Lancs Myllenium DPH75F, 918 (LBA918) Dennis Dartic/ Plaxton Pointer AB69D; Todmorden JOC, 23 (BWU693H) Leyland Leopard PSU4/ Pennine B45F, 1004-6 (4-6TCL) Volvo B10M/ Plaxton Premier 350 C49Ft, 1007 (YG53TCL) Mercedes 0404/ Hispano C49Ft, 1052/3 (YG53TOA/B) DAF SB220/ East Lancs B44F, 1087/8 (YG53TOC/D) DAF DB250/ East Lancs Myllenium DPH74F; West Riding Automobile/ West Riding Buses, 970 (WHL970) Guy Arab Wulfrunian/ Roe H75F; Museum Collection, 155 (CNW155C) Bedford VAL14. Harrington Legionaire C53F, 377 (AJP377C) Bedford VAL14/ Duple Vega Major C52F, 674 (BRB674G) Bedford VAL70/ Willowbrook DP54F, 742 (TNW742) AEC Regent 3/ Roe H58R; E South (Dealer & Dismantler) 51404/5 (VHK177/8L) Bristol RELL6G/ ECW C47F.

It is very rare that vehicles are withdrawn and sold from the Group as most vehicles upon withdrawal are transferred into the Museum Fleet. However, some vehicles have now departed from the Group fleets this time, viz: 69 (L69LHD) Volvo B10M/ Van Hool Astron CH55Ft (sold to an Anglesy dealer), 970 (COR970C) Bedford VAL14/ Duple Vega Major C52F (to E South for scrapping), and 1005 (MWG945X) Bristol VRT/ ECW DPH74F (to United Motor Services).

A few Todmorden JOC vehicles have been re-numbered to make way for new acquisitions, especially coaches, due to the fact that Todmorden has bought the diary, goodwill and three coaches from Blackburn Coach Lines. All of Todmordens coaches are now being renamed Todmorden Coach Lines and the Blackburn livery retained due to its similarity to the coaches already in the fleet.

ZYWO SLONECY PODROZ (SOLAR TRAVEL)

Slubice, Poland

It is not yet known what the practical effects will be of Poland joining the EU in May 2004, but as an interim move an operating base is being established at Terespol on the Polish/ Ukrainian border, about 200km east of Warsaw. This will give the company greater access to Eastern Europe.

An additional heavy recovery vehicle is being rebuilt from a Russian built ex Polish army ZIL157 6x6 truck.

__________________________________________________________________

THE DEADLINE FOR REPORTS FOR

SUPPLEMENT ISSUE 142

IS 25TH APRIL 2004

Please note, reports received after this date will not be considered for publication.

Please submit only one report per issue.

AND Please don’t leave it until the last minute, your report might not make it!

Copyright Model Bus Federation 2004