Editorial

I started at Turnpike Lane today as I wanted to get pictures of New Routemasters on the 67 route which changes from Go-Ahead to Arriva on 31^st May. Normally the buses transfer operator with the route but this is not always the case.

LT 53 and LT 56 one of the many buses wrapped for Emirates Airlines in West Green Road, Turnpike Lane

Moved back to Turnpike Lane Station to get some pictures of route 217 which was operated by Sullivan buses until they gave the route up and is now operated by Go-Ahead using old WVN class buses which will be replaced by new electric buses when available.

Parked in Grosvenor Gardens was TOOTBUS VXE 728 wrapped for Reese’s Chocolates.

Around the corner I found Edward’s Coaches K700EDW in the company livery
having previously been used on NatEx work as BV67JXW shown outside Victoria Coach Station on 4th October 2018.

Golden Tours are now using Routemasters for their Tea Bus Tours and RML 2454 and RML 2539 are both shown in Buckingham Palace Road.

Flixbus coaches are now a common sight in Victoria as shown by OY23CXZ, PR73EMA and YD73FOP

A new promotion is for Lemon Tea as shown by RATP LT 85 on Rte 148 in Grosvenor Gardens and Go-Ahead LT 507 on Rte 11 in Buckingham Palace Road.

Go-Ahead LT 506 turns from Victoria Street into Buckingham Palace Road promoting Galaxy S25 phones.

Just managed to grab this shot of TOOTBUS YXY 792 wrapped for Egypt Air as it left their Marble Arch stop.

Finally it was a Rte 2 bus back to Marylebone Station and a picture of Go-Ahead LT 881 in Great Central Street with yet another Emirates wrap.

During the 1990s and 2000s the bus and coach scene across the Midlands evolved at a much greater rate than that of the preceding decades. From 1986 the subsidiaries of the National Bus Company were privatised along with several municipally owned companies across the region, the largest of which was the bus operations of West Midlands PTE. Independent companies came to try their hand by setting up new routes or networks and were joined by some established coach operators wishing to exploit new opportunities.

This book looks at numerous coaching operations as they criss-cross this centrally located region, with established National Express services being joined by new ventures such as Stagecoach-owned Megabus. The region largely covers the area once served by Midland Red, with many operators, bus types and liveries to be seen, along with changing road layouts, bus stations and transport infrastructure. During this period tram systems returned to both Nottingham and Birmingham with bus services altered and adapted. Through a wealth of fascinating images and informative captions, Matt Cooper documents the transition from the post-privatisation era to the modern day.

H340 MWL974 1948 AEC Regent II with Weymann H30/26R body, renumbered H874 in 1952. Withdrawn in February 1960 and sold to PVD (dealer) Dunchurch. It was resold to Kearsey, Cheltenham in January 1961 as their fleet number 19A where it lasted in service until January 1965 when it was withdrawn and stayed in their depot yard until derelict by May 1966.It was sold for scrap in December 1966.I have no images of this bus with COMS just a couple attached with Kearsey's.

340 340TJO 1964 AEC Renown 3B3RA with Park Royal H38/27F low height forward entrance body. 340 was one of three of the batch that was converted for OMO operation in late 1971. In March 1976 340 was withdrawn and converted into a driver trainer to replace Regent V 200. 340 was repainted yellow and earned the nickname "yellow peril" even after it was joined by similar bus 360. 340 lasted in this guise until 1985 when it was sold to G.Wareham at the Oxford Bus Museum as a source of spares. It was later cresold to A.Blackman for restoration and continued preservation in March 2004 who repainted it into original COMS livery and resold it for export to Company Bus Passion, Katzernstein, Neresheim and reregistered HDH BJ64H.

RF 525 now ready for Wood Green Running Day on Route 233 and RM 1962 ready for Route 19 Running Day as seen on March 11th.

After visiting The Sydney Transport Museum Nigel moved onto another location for London Buses this time The Red London Bus Company also in Sydney.

The preparation of the bodywork is now well advanced and the bus remains a runner.
Also shown is my picture taken at Morden Station on 11^th May 1974.

LS 13 still wears its Westlink livery and is in very early stages of restoration.

My pictures show it at Golders Green Station on 29^th August 1977, Heathrow on 29^th August 1977 and Wisley Airfield on 4^th April 2004.

Please extend my thanks to Alexander for his correction in respect of City of Oxford giving up operating Service 280 in 1995.

He is quite correct, it was as a result of cutting back on out of city services! I hold my hands up and say I got my facts crossed somewhat, as at the same time they gave up operating Services 323/324 (essentially todays Redline 300), but in that instance took over the whole operation of High Wycombe town service 326 which up to then was jointly operated (The Wycombe Bus Company/Chiltern Rover). About this time LDT the Shires had also purchased the Yellow Bus routes operated by Motts Travel, which had been competing on the Aylesbury- High Wycombe route, no doubt to the confusion of some passengers as some unrepainted Leyland Nationals certainly were in former The BeeLine yellow!, until the got repainted in The Wycombe Bus Company Livery Fronts! So a lot of change happened in I think mid July 1995.

While not certain as to how many journeys, some Service 260 journeys did continue to Oxford, I actually travelled on one, I know once it got to Wheatley after leaving the village centre it turned off the main through road and went under the A40 and past what I think was then Wheatley Campus and onto Worminghall - Ickford - Shabbington and beyond.

The 260 number remained until about just over ten years ago, operated mainly by Arriva, but latterly with some journeys operated by Redline, who later took over the whole operation, the Service was renumbered 110.

Interesting comment by Alexander about Services numbered 281/283, I do not know the answer on that, but a couple of News page's ago I submitted a picture of a fairly pristine Bus Stop flag still with the Arriva name on, though they had not operated through there for more then 10 years! The flag still sported both these Service numbers. I know at some time in the past 30 years there were some journeys that were extended from Thame to Chinnor, what the Service number was or whether the route then extended beyond Thame to Aylesbury or Oxford without needing to change I do not know. It would be great if somebody is able to enlighten all readers with further information.

Well last week I along with another contributor provided information about Service X5 changes, I concluded the Saturday reduction did not bode well, and it indeed has not! As Paul Coley has stated, the incredible news is indeed Arriva are withdrawing the X5 from 18/5/25. The statement on their website states low patronage and a replacement 500 Service will be provided by another operator.

Obviously Arriva know the figures, but the X5/500/501/301 to give it's past numbers too, always seemed quite well used once it left Tring. It is true that between Aylesbury and there passenger traffic has been diluted somewhat with similar timed Red Eagle services. Certainly since the closure of Aylesbury Depot and the transfer of operation back to Hemel Hempstead, it does at times seem to have had operational issues from what I have observed, twice recently the service which is 30 min frequency at present Monday to Saturday daytime has seen 2 Aylesbury bound journeys come along within 5 minutes of each other!

The Uk rail forum website in it's Bus and Coach section has a number of comments on the X5 change under Arriva Beds Bucks and Herts thread.

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80062	BV74LNM	Sca K410CB6 YS2K6X20001927902	Co 243043066	C55FLt	2/2025	City of Oxford
80063	BV74LNN	Sca K410CB6 YS2K6X20001928053	Co 243043067	C55FLt	2/2025	City of Oxford
80064	BV74LNO	Sca K410CB6 YS2K6X20001928056	Co 243043068	C55FLt	2/2025	City of Oxford
80065	BV74LNP	Sca K410CB6 YS2K6X20001928062	Co 243043069	C55FLt	2/2025	City of Oxford