GP F1 buses from Milton Keynes 

Grahame Wareham remembers 308

A date for your diary

Redline and the closure of Arriva in Aylesbury

Cambridge with Gary Seamarks

Local operators' again by Matt Bullock

Mauritius by David Ive

Readers Write

Buses in the Landscape

Coach visitors to Oxford

Fleet News and Developments

Gordon Scott from Edinburgh

Latest from Oxford Mail

Botley Road Bridge will NOT reopen as planned in October

Oxford Botley Road will not reopen as planned

Third Wythall BusFest @ Gaydon on July 6th 2024

https://www.wythall.org.uk/busfest.asp

Pictures from Jack Cooper

Wythall BusFest at the British Motor Museum with some pictures this week from Wythall BusFest at the British Motor Museum yesterday where we had taken 659. It was a good event, just a shame about the typically British summer weather! 

An interesting selection to view and a clear record of the poor weather. Ed. 

Bournemouth Bus Rally

Report and pictures from Andrew Webb 

The Bournemouth bus rally took place in the town's Kings Park on 7 July, attracting a selection of buses from current local operators and recalling those no longer in business. 

For just over 120 years Bournemouth was synonymous with Yellow Buses and preserved examples were well represented, including this immaculate Bedford WTB which is seen resting on the rally field between trips out on local routes. 

Buses from the operator's more recent history were also well represented.  At the turn of the century East Lancs bodywork was popular in Bournemouth, with a batch of Dennis Darts receiving a wide version of the EL2000 body. 

This example is now preserved and is seen about to take on service on local route 19 which ran from the rally site.   

East Lancs also bodied the Trident double decker, number 278 is preserved in the attractive yellow livery with blue trim from an era when low floor was a novelty and widely promoted on buses. 

It has just returned to the rally after a trip out on route 19. 

At first glance 426 is identical to 278, but is mounted on a Volvo B7TL chassis.  Delivered new in 2003 it lasted in service until the company ceased trading in July 2022. It carries the '8 ribbons' livery applied when the network was revamped into colour coded 'lines', an initiative that was not popular with the travelling public and soon dropped.

For many years Yellow Buses operated urban routes whilst Wilts and Dorset ran routes in Poole and into Bournemouth's rural hinterland.  When Yellow Buses ceased trading the latter operator, by now trading as 'More' rapidly took over most of the network and integrated into their own. 

Wilts and Dorset was one of the last major operators of the Bristol VR, refurbishing several during the 1990s which went on to outlive several Olympians. 

4413 is preserved in the post privatisation livery, arguably one of the most attractive liveries ever seen on a bus. 

Wilts and Dorset were enthusiastic operators of Optare products, taking large fleets of the double deck Spectra and the ground breaking Solo, for which they were the first customer. 

 
Both types were on display at the rally. 

Now trading as More, the town is seeing an influx of new Enviro 400MMC deckers,
including this example which is branded for the high profile X3 linking Bournemouth with the cathedral city of Salisbury.

Go Ahead also trade as Damory, one of several Dorset coach operators acquired. 

This Scania started life with Reading Buses in 2006, but now carries the attractive blue livery used for the brand. 

Local independent operators also supported the rally. 

Burrows Coaches is based in the attractive town of Blandford Forum, more famous as the home of Badger Beer. 
This Wright bodied Volvo started life with Go Ahead London as WVL28. 

Tomorrow's Travel is another operator to use former London buses, in this case former Centrewest VN37874.

Route 24 Buses have long used RM24 on private hires around Bournemouth. 
At the rally it was part of a  London themed line up alongside RF421, RM1654 and RT4777. 

 
As well as branding for the X3, other new Enviro 400MMCs also carry branding for routes
M1&M2 and a more generic general purpose livery as these examples at Bournemouth railway station  show

A great record of this event which as ever Andrew provides excellent text. Ed. 

https://www.transportpostcards.co.uk/ecb/index.html (eastbourne-classicbus.co.uk)

Pictures from Nigel Eadon-Clarke

The first Eastbourne Running Day took place in July 2006. Organised jointly by Steven Wood of Country Bus Rallies and Clive Wilkin of the Eastbourne Regent Preservation Group.

Since then the event has been held annually as part of the Country Bus Rallies programme of events, with the exception of 2016 when uncertainty of when roadworks at the station would be carried out led to the early cancellation of the event.

The 2018 event was organised by Steven Wood with support from the local team and with those from its group support at Country Bus Rallies. During 2019 the Covid pandemic again knocked the event from taking place yet again, along with more works in the cab road meant the event still couldn't go ahead again in 2022.

This established running day returned in 2023, with its continued aim to recreate the local services that operated from Eastbourne in the 1950’s and 60’s using preserved, cherished vehicles and liveries from that era and later before all the big group takeovers of local bus services came along. This obviously includes Southdown Motor Services in traditional and NBC colours along with Maidstone & District not forgetting Eastbourne Corporation buses itself.

Buses on local routes

One has to marvel at the variety seen at these shows on the same day. Ed. 

by Thomas Walker-Werth on July 6th

Last weekend provided residents of Milton Keynes a glimpse into an alternate timeline—one in which modern double deckers frequently arrive and depart from our purpose-built bus station! In reality, it was First and Stagecoach operating Silverstone shuttles, but it was easy to imagine what it'd be like if our local services looked like this. First brought in some Wright StreetDecks from Leicester and Stoke-on-Trent while Stagecoach brought some Enviro 400 MMCs from Liverpool. First's subsidiary EnsignBus also brought a selection of vehicles including a very rare tri-axle BCI Enterprise.

Fleet number 308 by Grahame Wareham

H308 was an AEC Regent II with Park Royal H30/26R body delivered in 1956 and registered LWL303. In 1953 it was renumbered H842 lasting until April 1958 when it was withdrawn and sold to Deacon (dealer) Dorchester and then resold to Buckmaster of Leighton Buzzard in May 1958. In August 1960 it passed to Holder, Charlton -on- Otmoor for spares and was scrapped in August1961.

H308 LWL303 in Gloucester Green in 1951 

In 1961 the second 308 emerged in the form of AEC Bridgemaster 308MFC with Park Royal H43/29F forward entrance bodywork.  308 was mainly based at Cowley Road Garage for use on country routes but later in life was to be seen in the City on non omo routes such as 1,2 and 8 until withdrawl in April 1973 and sold to TPE(dealer) Macclesfield . It was resold the same month to Tor Coaches, Street, Somerset for use as a schools bus and stayed with them for six years, then presumably scrapped.

308MFC in CRG.

   
308 in St. Aldates, Pullens Lane and Headley Way Oxford.

308MFC with Tor Coaches, Street.

The last 308 was HH11OXF, an ADL E400H diesel electric hybrid with ADL H47/31F bodywork, part of a batch of seventeen newly introduced to replace the original Dennis Tridents on Park & Ride services. These buses featured a Cummins ibs4 4 cyl engine couple to a BAE Systems electric motor generating power to battery storage. From 2016 a new era of Wright StreetDecks replaced the hybrids on Park & Ride and 308 along with the rest of the batch were repainted into various liveries depicting their preferred route operation, 308 being allocated City 35 Abingdon via Kennington & Radley, and duly appeared in a burgundy red livery , which it carried until withdrawal in 2024. In 2018 it was despatched to East Yorkshire Motor Services at Hull to be converted into straight diesel power as the cost of battery pack renewal exceeded the residual value of the bus and the cheaper option was to fit a ZF Auto gearbox which were becoming plentiful as reconditioned units. In 2024 the large influx of Wright Streetdeck Electroliner's for City routes meant that a transfer to fellow Go-Ahead subsidiary Plymouth City Bus was on the cards and 308 lost its cherished registration number in favour of  OE11YNM  ad was despatched to Go South-West/Plymouth City Bus May 2024 where it has received fleet number 5031.

    
 
From new to the end of its career with OBC 308 from Gavin Francis.

GW of 308 at Unipart.

I am always grateful to this weekly contribution by Grahame Wareham supported by Gavin Francis. Ed.

Click on the image for full size.

Aylesbury bus company assures customers its ready for Arriva closure with frequency increase confirmed

For full details click on the link above. 

Cambridge visit by Gary Seamarks

Few from Cambridge on Wednesday, July 3rd taken at Addenbrookes, or Rail Station, usual Summer 2024 weather !

    
13809 21301 86022  WG112/5 at the Station. 

SN04AEP is at Trumpington P&R, its a Greys of Ely vehicle, 

UN55 same place now with A2B and on the Royston service. 

10465 is one of the recent batch of 4 (10463-6)  ex Manchester

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Last Saturday's 'Western Wizzo' railtour, East Midlands Parkway -Westbury

Close up taken at 07.48 on its outward trip, second one 21.00 on its return at Stewartby Station, on Bedford - Bletchley branch line, 

Loco D1015, which would have run between 1961-77 on the  Paddington line, they also did run tis route in latter years on Stone trains. 

So lucky this location is a 2 minute drive from my house.

An interesting update from Gary. Ed.