John Goodwin writes "I've created a snapshot of Thames Transit at the link below ": 

https://johngodwin.smugmug.com/UK/Themed-Galleries/Focus-on-/Stagecoach-in-Oxfordshire-2104/

Jack Cooper writes "Last night while I was waiting for the beacon to be lit I cause a few pictures with the town hall and a hybrid and an eviro400 they are not that good because I forgot to pick up my camera."

This is the first picture I've received from Jack and look forward to further submissions.

Jack then adds "Carouse 120 (branded in Blue Bus livery) was on lone to TT and was operating the 114 and has a yellow board fitted displaying that is a school bus. Also TT 106 was also fitted with a yellow board and it displays that it is a school bus every morning but it is a public bus that has lots of school kids on."

I do find these Citaros rather attractive in  their grey livery. 866 works the X1 from St Aldates on April 30th by Gavin Francis.

 
Wantage competition.
Mercedes873 r X32 with Tube 50267 on route 31 St Aldates at 0608 on April 26th by Malcolm Crowe.

The Weavaway E400MMCs SN16 OHA-OHH/OHJ-OHL/OHO are H49/37F - 86 seaters (standard build for the 11.3m model), not H41/35F.

Had a couple of hours in Manchester waiting for a train and managed to catch some of the First Manchester Busway services marketed as Vantage using Volvo B5LH Hybrids with Wright Streetdeck bodywork I believe.

SC Manchester's 19328 in Chinese livery in April 2016 by Paul Hawkins.

 
First Manchester have a new Vantage route operated by Wright Streetdeck Hybrids as seen above taken by Paul Hawkins.

I was also in Hong Kong from 4th to 13th April and enclose photographs taken during my visit.

(More details of each vehicle can be found by putting the registration and HKG buses in your web browser. Ed.)

Citybus

 
Citybus 603 HM3980, 970 HR8002 and 8283 RS7728 - April 2016

 
Citybus 1582 TV2703 and 1817 RR5725 - April 2016

 
Citybus 2257 HZ7065 and 6304 - April 2016

   
Citybus 8278 RS3394, 9123 SF4867 and 9537 TZ2389 - April 2016

Kowloon Motor Bus

   
KMB ATENU434 TE8082, DENNIS DRAGON 9-9m with Duple Metsec-JC3752 and JS7257 - April 2016

      
KMB JZ3403, LR8403, PV7278 and KMB SH8653 - April 2016

     
KMB Super Olympian HS9585, TV4012, RH3664 and RK4247 - April 2016

   
KMB 3ASV246 KG4410, AVBE57 NA4013 and AVBWU226 RE1291 - April 2016

New World First Bus

   
NWFB 5540 PV8086, 5618 TN1550 and 6011 JV3169 - April 2016

(The foregoing show the great variety in Hong Kong, making it a really excellent location to visit for UK enthusiasts. Ed.)

Have just spent a few days in Gibraltar where the top temperature was 23c and came back to 3c here! There are two principal bus companies in Gibraltar with the Government operating nearly all routes with 20 Euro 6 Caetano MAN Lion’s City midi single deckers. These appear to be very well cared for and they have to have short wheel based buses for there are very narrow roads and lots of parking, causing it to be a tight squeeze for the buses to get around. These buses seem to have a fairly high failure rate which seems to be solely due to problems with the doors. Gibraltar has numerous bus stops and the opening doors therefore take quite a hammering being operated every 3 or 4 minutes.

   
MAN midibus 9504 120416, MAN midibus 9516 route 2 at Europa Point 120416 and 9517 all taken on 12th April.

   
Lion City 5146, 872 and 8992 all taken on April 13th.

The other operator is Calypso Transport Ltd trading as Citibus and they operate route 5 between the airport/Spanish frontier and the city centre. This route operates a high frequency service which runs right across the airport runway! When a plane is about to land or take off, the road is closed by barriers and traffic lights and ‘stingers’ are placed on the edge of the runway to prevent vehicles from driving through the barriers and onto the runway.

They own a 1980 ECW bodied Leyland B45 former Baghdad demonstrator, which is currently awaiting a new MOT certificate, having been overhauled. Two employees (father & son) have had to make replacement parts for the engine which now runs very sweetly.

Citibus also own  a 1981 Willowbrook bodied Leyland Atlantean, which had been built for Baghdad, but never operated there. This is out of service and has been for some time now. 

Another job for the mechanics is to work on former Gibraltar Bus Co Caetano Nimbus Darts. They purchased 14 and are endeavouring to make 10 of these roadworthy, with the rest going for scrap. 

Citibus also operate 2 ex Berlin MAN deckers plus air conditioned (lovely!) MAN low floor single deckers from Germany, Lichtenstein, Austria and Switzerland.

To end I thought that this was a real classic for buses in Gib!

Gibraltar is a nice place to visit with a very relaxed atmosphere about it. 

Check out the routes and the island at: 

Thought I would share some of my work from a recent trip to Oxford - click on the link below:

It's well over a decade since I last drove a bus or coach in passenger service -- nowadays I drive even larger, heavier vehicles, namely 8-car Metropolitan Line trains, and will shortly be a driver-instructor too -- but it's great to catch up from time to time.  Your website is invaluable.

During a 12-minute layover at Baker Street a while ago I popped upstairs and was able to capture X90 Interdecker no.72 negotiating the turn into Baker Street on its way to Victoria.  I made that turn hundreds of times, but never in a 15-metre behemoth like that one!

On Sunday 1 May my brother Rupert and I attended the Abingdon air & country fair, better known as the Abingdon Airshow.  Among many ground-based attractions there were a couple of OBC vehicles;  one was a modern low-floor red double-decker I didn't pay much attention to -- sorry -- but the other was an old friend!  I knew her as Coach 16 (V16 OXF, re-delivered to Cowley Road Bus Garage ex refurbishment in partial "espress" livery in February 2004, see photo).  Coach 16 was even my steed for my morning X90 trip on my last-ever shift at OBC back in November 2004 (see photo).

Your pages show that she became became an OBC training vehicle back in mid-2007, direct out of front-line X90 service.  I seem to recall there was some legislation introduced around then that required the training vehicles to be of a particular standard, but I forget the details (tachographs possibly), does anyone recall?

Anyway, V284SBW was at Abingdon Airshow with an instructor, and for a small donation to charity members of the public could have a drive round a short loop of somewhat lumpy tarmac.  Of course I did!  I was wondering if I should let about on my experience... when I got in the seat the instructor's first question was "Have you driven a large vehicle before?"

so I had to admit "Yes, this actual coach, I was an X90 driver for 4 years!" to which he smirked and said "I'd better keep quiet and let you get on with it then!".

I must confess it was a thrill to get back into the seat and turn the key, and feel the solid clunk of the starter-solenoid and the understated growl as the Volvo B10M stirred beneath me.  The air-brakes took a bit of getting used to once again, but on my last lap I even applied kick-down on the short straight section of old runway:  it felt like I'd never been away. :)  My brother then had a go too -- he would undoubtedly have commuted on this coach in the early 2000s -- and despite zero experience he soon got the hang of it.

Afterwards I had a look round the coach.  Only the front 4 (right) and 5(left) rows of minty-green "espress" seats have been retained, so behind them there's an empty saloon with just scuff-marks and power-points indicating where the seats used to be;  a window has been replaced with a non-tinted version, and the toilet door has been plated shut presumably to avoid having to maintain the facility.

Not to be missed was the Thames Valley Air Ambulance which does such good work four our community.

A fine trip down memory lane, and top marks to Oxford Bus for providing this opportunity to the community.

Your Editor goes to Yorkshire

An Astromega of Oxford tube needed to be collected from Plaxton at Anston near Sheffield and I was asked to go to get it. The coach was 50266 and it had been there for repair work after following accident damage some weeks ago. The journey northbound was on Cross Country from Oxford to Sheffield and then on First Bus's X5 service to the Plaxton site. A pleasant journey (on Time) was taken and then about 40 minutes at Sheffield Interchange. Plaxton's proved very interesting as there we several coaches on site of interest to our area. A large batch of coaches from Weavaway Group were of especial; interest.

   
Stagecoach variety in the Interchange with Gold 15194 branded for the X17 service to Chesterfield.
Stagecoach has a fleet of Hybrids for use on the joint with First 120.

My steed for the journey to Anston was a 58 plate Volvo nr 37516 seen loading for the journey to Dinnington.

My first glimpse of Plaxtons with 50266 ready for collection. The yard of second hand coaches can be seen in the background.

A left hand drive E500 in the yard, I know not wherefore.

Three of the four Scan ia/Levante tri-axles from Megabus and once the pride of SC Gloucester for 444 National Express service.
I spent a pleasant two days at Gloucester working the 444 with 59301 seen in the middle of the line above.

Yet another coach I have driven was this ex Noah Vale Scania once the pride of Oxford Bus on the X90 as their nr 3.
This was new when I was working for OBC and they were very fine coaches.

An interesting line up of ex Weavaway Group coaches including some of the ex National Express(Parks) Skyliners.

Finally a few new buses for Go Ahead and Stagecoach London.

A most enjoyable day and a return journey with 50266 in just under four hours, including long delays through Birmingham on the M42. And... 50266 ran like a dream, a lovely coach indeed.

History 

British Buses in Florida February 2016 

By Paul Bateson and Gavin Francis.

RTL 129.

Entered service at Barking in February 1949 and spent most of its working life in East London before being withdrawn in April 1962.
It was then exported to New York City and is now located at McGuires Irish Pub in Pensacola.

 RT 3983

Entered service at Brixton in December 1950 and withdrawn from service in May 1971.
Exported to Houston, Texas in January 1972 like the RTL it is now with McGuires Irish Pub.
It is also pictured in London service at Clare Hall Hospital on 5^th October 1970. 

Western Welsh 977

This is a 1951 Leyland PD2/1 with Leyland L27/26RD bodywork. Photographed whilst on hire with Southend Transport and now resides in Destin. 

United Counties 967

New in May 1953 it is Bristol KSW6B with E.C.W. L27/26RD bodywork. Withdrawn in 1973 it is now located in Pensacola. 

Southern Vectis 604

This E.C.W. bodied Bristol FLF now belongs to Capt’n Jacks in Tarpon Springs, Florida. It is Fleet Number 604 but the registration is incorrect for this bus. 

Alexander Northern NRA 96

This bus was new to Sutherland, Peterhead as fleet number 111. It is a Leyland PD1A with Leyland L27/26RD bodywork.
It subsequently became Alexander Northern NRA 96. It was exported to Nashville, Tennessee in 1973 and now is resident at McGuires Irish Bar in Pensacola, Florida. 

Here are further details of DSA 848.

It was new in 1948

To J. Sutherland, Peterhead 111

W. Alexander & Sons, Falkirk RA 96 1/3/50

W. Alexander & Sons (Northern), Aberdeen NRA 96 5/61

Telefilms (dealer), Preston 10/70

Harrison, Tunstall date not known as staff bus

Omnibus Promotions, London 7/73 and exported to USA.

At last I have run to earth the guy who edits the Fylde Bus Blog on the web. He is quite happy for you to reproduce his photographs of the Blackpool Titans as is grateful that we took the trouble to ask him. A suggested acknowledgement would be:- 

The centre loaders still looked smart in their latter days, 277 and 293 stand in the depot yard in 1965 (Brian Turner)

In 1967 300 displays the graceful lines of the Centre Entrance PD2 - especially set against the upright profile of the bus infront (Brian Turner)

300 visited Fleetwood for the first tram Sunday in 1985. It is being passed by Dreadnought 59 - withdrawn in Luff's modernisation plan,
but hidden away in store until dusted off for restoration in 1960;(Brian Turner)

“Photographs by Brian Turner reproduced from the Fylde Bus Blog, http://fyldebus.blogspot.co.uk/ courtesy of Paul Turner” 

During the 1950s the streamliners were found across the Blackpool network but with the onset of the rear entrance buses introduced by Luff's successor Joe Franklin, they became restricted to the quieter routes. Withdrawals commenced in 1963 with accident victim 217, followed by 281 in 1964. Routine withdrawals commenced in 1965 with 16 replaced and another 13 left in 1966, 42 in 1967 and 23 in 1968. 1969 dawned with just 291, 294, 295, 298 and 300 in service - and all were withdrawn by the spring.
300 became a driver trainer on withdrawal, renumbered 8 and then joined sister 246 as PW Mess bus numbered 298 in 1973. Withdrawn in 1976 it was purchased by John Hinchliffe of Huddersfield. Initially moved to Marsh near Huddersfield but was later stored at Sandtoft Trolleybus museum and later still Slaithwaite where it suffered damage from falling masonry. In the early 1980s it moved to the railway arches in Huddersfield until moving to the Wakefield area in 2014.

Some local readers may remember one of these buses parked near junction 3 of the M40 behind a garage on the A40. Did anyone get a picture? 

Gavin Francis visited Brooklands for the Spring Running Day an d Rally. A selection of his pictures are shown below.

A general view of the site.

The weather was much better than forecast and a fine selection of vehicles graced the day. 

Red Arrow remembered by Gavin Francis

MBA444 is seen with MEC50 at Horseferry Road 

   
To remember the livery MEC50 gained a similar livery in April 2016.

   
MBA444 seen at the celebration launch and in picture three Leon Daniels is seen.

 
Doom wraps from Abellio and Metroline. Note these are some of the few wraps not on LT class vehicles.

 
Abellio LT708 on the 3 at Westminster con 18th April and LT771 on delivery on 11th May. I wonder how many intending passengers were left behind???

       
A variety of LT wraps. Not surprisingly, new London Mayor, Sadiq Kahn has announced no more LTs will be puircahsed.

One of the very latest wraps on LT501.

Abellio 8861 comes of a Thames bridge on its way to Victoria on the C10.

Metroline DE1593 LK08FLF at Hillingdon on the U2 28th April.

Go London EB1 route 521 near London Bridge on 18th April by Gavin Francis

SC London 25308 route 62 on 18th Arpil by Gavin Francis

LUL ADE41 route 81 on the Colnbrook By-Pass April 6th by Malcolm Crowe

Other buses and coaches in London.

A surprise survivor is RATP Original Sightseeing MXT179 - a 1983 MCW Super Metrobus new to Hong Kong operator China Motor Bus
 as their fleet no ML16 - reg. CY 9368 060516 Malcolm Crowe

The old and the new in VICTORIA on 5th May by Gavin Francis.

 
Elizabeth out of water and in the Thames near Westminster by Gavin Francis on 18th April

Coach UK UK06MTT ex Motts on Buckingham Palace Road - 11th May by Gavin Francis.

Edward Thomas have a large fleet of Premiers and here ex STAGECOACH GLASGOW 112 R112OPS is seen by Westminster
18th April by Gavin Francis.

Kings Ferry YJ64AVK on LONDON BRIDGE 28th April by Gavin Francis