History

History

I much enjoy the fact that many of the items on my monthly page prompt responses which add to the overall success of the OCBP. This has been particularly so from the February issue.

Andrew Dyer writes from New Zealand saying "Nigel Lukowski's piece about RAF Bicester has prompted me to send you this contribution. LUC 104 is in a sorry state at the end of its life as a glider winch at Weston on the Green Airfield in the 80s. It is of course ex London Transport RT3945 which spent seven years at Charlton-on-Otmoor Services after it left London. It is seen here still in Charlton blue and the man in the picture is the late John Hudson who was LUC's regular driver at Charlton. Photo credit needs to go to Steve Vallance who was a colleague of John's at Oxford South Midland's Bicester depot."

Indeed we are once again entreated to a contribution from Nigel Lukowski who writes to send the following contribution.

Four Charlton Services views at their depot from August 1980:-

5588 TR is an AEC Reliance with classic Harrington Cavalier coachwork, albeit with some modification to the lower front grill.
TR is a Southampton mark of course but I'm not sure who the vehicle was new to.

CDK 854C is another AEC Reliance/Harrington, but this one a Cavalier 36.
The Rochdale 'DK' registration mark and the glasses above the nearside windows show this is a former Yelloway coach.
I always like the side destination screens on Yelloway coaches. Ed.

8650 WY - not that the registration is visible, is again an AEC Reliance but this time with Duple Britannia coachwork.
Withdrawn and in use as a seat store by the look of things. WY would have been issued in York in the days this coach was new.

MLH 402L and if I'm honest the main reason for visiting, then then new former LT DMS then running on the service into Oxford.
The small window where the centre doors were shows this to be one of the earlier Ensign conversions.

And from the Oxford fleet, if my memory serves me this is Kidlington.
HUD 495W is a pretty standard Oxford dual-door Bristol VR while UFC 430K is one of the 14 Daimler Fleetlines with Northern Counties bodywork dating from 1971.

Heyfordian Home & Away

Several homes in fact, a selection of Heyfordian views from August 1980 and May 1982, taken at various locations including Bicester, Kidlington and of course Upper Heyford.

I have to confess to a bias towards ex Southdown vehicles, due to my Sussex origins. A fair number are in plain white, but some splendid variety too.

The 'away' views are from my home town, Brighton, taken in April 1980 and February 1981.

Home:-

NUF 437G Bristol RELL with Marshall body, ex Southdown (taken May 1982)

KXS 715K Daimler Fleetline/Alexander, I have this one down as ex Grahams of Paisley (May 1982)

GHA 430D / NUF 449G Another Daimler Fleetline/Alexander, ex Midland Red and another ex Southdown Bristol RELL/Marshall (May 1982)

112 CUF Ex Southdown again, but this one is a Leyland Leopard/Marshall (May1982)

NUF 434G Another ex Southdown Bristol RELL/Marshall, enough said? (May 1982)

XVB 467G A Leyland Leopard/Duple, ex Midland Red? (August 1980)

CHA 79C Leyland Leopard/Duple again, definitely ex Midland Red (August 1980)

DDG 259C Leyland Leopard/Duple, this one ex Black & White (August 1980)

107 CUF Back to ex Southdown, another Leyland Leopard, Weymann bodywork this time (August 1980)

Away:-

XWL 803R This is an AEC Reliance/Plaxton Supreme, about to pass Brighton Pavilion, February 1981.

Gavin Francis writes "Not sure if Mike Walker sent you this picture taken at The South Devon Railway. Might well have been one of the last standard RMs in service as my picture shows it on the 159 in 2004 a year before the final day."

Mick Payne writes "Always a pleasure to see the Oxford and Chiltern bus pages. Like Bill J I'm old enough to remember the 387 from Tring Town to the Station being worked by London Transport GS and T types and it's sad to see that most other local bus route numbers have passed into history for in many cases no particular good reason. Anyway I did a bit of research on the 387. In the early 1930s the road between Tring town and the station was covered by buses of the London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSR) supplemented by Aylesbury and District route 10 which ran between Thame, Princes Risborough, Wendover, Tring and Aldbury. There may well have been other operators that I haven't traced. The London General Omnibus Company acquired the LMSR service on 12 April 1933 and by 1 July had extended the service to Aldbury running as route 317. From that date the Thame service was truncated at Tring Station and withdrawn in its entirety from 1 December 1933. The 317 appears to have been renumbered by London Transport 387/387A from 3 October 1934 (387A being reserved for Aldbury journeys) but by 31 August 1939 all journeys were numbered 387. So after 83 years the 387 is very much a survivor."

I have included some links to memories and pictures of the LT in Tring. Ed.

http://40yearsonthebuses.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/chapter-8-tring-garage-once-more-ritual.html

The link below includes "Tring’s first petrol-powered station omnibus, 1914."

http://gerald-massey.org.uk/Railway_local/index.htm#08

An ex Oxford Bus Volvo B10B has been acquired by The Oxford Bus Museum. It had been with Sun Fun of Erith for a number of years. Gavin Francis took the picture below when it is suggested by OBM that it was on its way for an M O T.

Taken in Beaumont Street, Oxford on March 13th by Gavin Francis.
(New to City of Oxford Motor Services in 1995 as 605.)

Jonathan Radley tells me she was purchased by the Museum last August.

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