From the Editor

Over 200 pictures this week with a number of Rallies covered showing what interesting heritage vehicle we have.

Revisions to services are included with Carousel growing by the month.

In this issue

Thames Travel River Rapids gets new buses 

Bournemouth Bus Rally

Silverstone update

Eastbourne Running Day

Midland Interlude

Grahame Wareham remembers 356

Godstone Running Day

South Mimms and  Hertford by Gavin Francis

Derbyshire update by T W W Knowles

Oxford Bus Museum

Readers Write

Buses in the Landscape

Coach Visitors to Oxford

Fleet News & Developments

Travels with Adrian Small

Picture by Graeme Wareham

• The service will be increased to operate up to every 20 minutes on weekdays and every 30 minutes on Saturdays and Sundays.
• Buses will return to operate via the Abingdon Road in Oxford, offering faster journeys into the City Centre for passengers, stopping only at Redbridge Park&Ride, Canning Crescent, St Aldates Police Station and Westgate.
• Night bus NX40 will continue to operate via the Iffley Road but will now extend beyond Wallingford to Reading, with support from Reading Borough Council. The last buses will be 03:30 from Oxford and 03:05 from Reading, both operating as far as Wallingford.
• Brand new high-specification buses will be introduced on the route, offering greater capacity and smoother journeys for passengers.

For the new timetable, valid from 3rd August 2025, please click here. You can also find a new route map here.   

by Andrew Webb

The Bournemouth Bus Rally returned to the towns King's Park for the 7^th time on Sunday 6 July.  Sponsored by Go Ahead's More, the dominant local operator, it featured a wide range of vehicles on display and on three services radiating from the site. 

As key sponsor More had a large contingent of vehicles present illustrating the diversity of their fleet. 

1777 is a modern Enviro 400 MMC branded for the flagship routes M1 and M2 which provide high frequency links
between Pool and Bournemouth before splitting to serve Royal Bournemouth Hospital (M1) and Southbourne (M2) 

6906 started life with Go Ahead London as WVL257 before migrating to Go Ahead North East whose livery it still wears. 
When First withdrew from Southampton it migrated to the Bluestar operation, gaining a blue front.   

Another London exile is 1259 which started life with First London as DN33502, passing to Go Ahead when First divested of some London garages.
  Now with More subsidiary Damory, it retains First London interior and the centre door which is now only for wheelchairs and emergency access. 

The M1 and M2 routes launched the 'More' name in December 2004, using Wright bodied Volvos which introduced new levels of comfort to the town.  Notable at the time for the use of 2+1 seating in the low floor area some of these vehicles still operate in service with Sanders in Norfolk. 

105 is, however, now preserved and restored to the condition it ran in when the More brand was extended to routes in Poole. 
At the rally it was operating trips on route T1 which linked the site with the town's railway station and pier.

Days after the staging of the 2022 rally, Bournemouth's former municipal operation ended when Yellow Buses ceased trading after 120 years. 

The operation is remembered with preserved vehicles, several of which appeared at the rally. 

The oldest vehicle at the rally was FEL 218, a 1939 Bedford WTB with Burlingham bodywork 

Ten years younger is JLJ402, a Leyland Tiger PS2/3 with a Burlingham coach body. 

  
East Lancs was a popular choice of bodywork for early low floor vehicles. 
278 is mounted on a Dennis Trident chassis, whilst 426 is on the Volvo B7TL chassis. 

In an era when many independent coach companies are either selling to larger groups or closing as the next generation does not wish to take over the business, the Bournemouth area has several relatively new start ups which appear to be prospering. 

Eastleigh based Xelabus have just marked 15 years of operation and steadily expanded since 2010. 
An operation in Poole is branded 'Freedom-Poole' and includes this high spec Enviro 400MMC in the fleet. 

Tomorrow's Travel started operation in 2023 and recently ordered two brand new Enviro 400MMCs. 
Until these arrive in September the company has this demonstrator on loan. 

Heathside Travel has recently marked a decade of business and acquired this brand new Irizar i6S with impressive vinyls. 
Although not apparent in the photo, they change colour according to the angle they are viewed at. 
It is used on the company's programme of day trips and tours. 

Burrows Coaches of Blandford Forum has traded since 2020.  Their fleet includes
this Plaxton Paramount Leyland Tiger which was new to Cheltenham & Gloucester in 1986 for National Express work. 
Despite being just a year short of its fortieth birthday it has a Class 6 MOT and is pressed into service when required.

Clocking up more years of business than the combined total of the four previous operators is Bluebird of Weymouth
which has traded for 101 years.  To mark the centenary during 2024 this specially liveried Neoplan Tourliner joined the fleet. 

Coastal towns are synonymous with open top buses and More continue this tradition with a network of services in the area. 

Several preserved open top buses also proved popular with visitors to the rally. 

R471XRV was the most modern, recalling the days it operated Island Breezer routes on the Isle of Wight. 

Sir Humphry Davy was a British chemist and inventor who invented the Davy lamp was born in Penzance. 
It is, therefore, fitting he is commemorated on this Bristol Lodekka which saw service in the area 

One county east in Devon was familiar territory for this preserved Metro Cammell Atlantean which worked for Devon General. 

Ciaran Bird

I have a few photos for you from my weekend at Silverstone. I took various buses from various Oxfordshire depots, as well as seeing a few from Go Ahead.

     
   
   

Grahame Wareham with the Go Ahead contribution

As I hinted in my email last week I was given prior knowledge that there was going to be a huge logistical operation based around the north Oxford area by the Go-Ahead Group to transport thousands of people to and from the British Grand Prix at Silverstone between 3rd to 6th July and living a stones throw away from the main logistics centre based at Oxford Parkway Park & Ride and Railway Station I decided that it would be prudent to record some of the many bus movements taking place over these four days. Go Ahead buses from many parts the country provided a colourful spectacle of a well managed operation which to me was faultless and fairly slick, thanks to the dedication of the local OBC Group supervisory staff and the many drivers from the Go Ahead Groups resources who liaised well with each other to provide a continuous flow of buses to cover the short journey to the event. Buses were departing from other points around Oxford including the main railway station, car parking sites at Bicester Heritage site, Hinton in the Hedges and possibly other sires that I wasn't aware of.

During my daily visits to Oxford Parkway I recorded and photographed many of the bus movements of the buses allocated to work from that site so probably missed quite a lot from elsewhere but only really stayed until around lunch time as most people had departed by then. I did not record any return journeys as in most cases it would have been the same vehicles.

British Grand Prix Silverstone

The following vehicles were noted and photographed but there were probably many more than this.

   
     
Brighton & Hove : 434 BF12KXK; 436 BF12KXO, 437 BF12KXM  Volvo B9/Wright Gemini 2;  
745 YY25HZD, 749 YY25HZH; 750 YY25HZJ; 751 YY25HZK; 752 YY25HZL  ADL Enviro 400 MMC

     
   
Go North East : 6315 NK67GMG; 6321 NK67GMZ; 6323 NK67GNK; 6356 NK20ELV; 6360 NK20EMV
 Wright Streetdeck Ultroliner (6356/60 of the same batch that got diverted to Thames Travel  as 80901-9)

     
     
Go South Coast Swindon :  375 YN55NHJ; 376 YN55NHK; 379 YN55NHO; 1013 YN06JWG; 1015 YN06JWM;
1018 YN06JWV; Scania N94UD Omnidekka; 1280 BX09PHA ; 1572 HW62FGN  ADL E400

 
Go South West Plymouth : 554 WA17FSZ; 555 WA17FTC; ADL E400City

Go South West Transport for Cornwall : 5022 WA70DZX  ADL E400MMC

Go South West Dartline : 76023 N900DLC (YN55NLM) Scania N94UD Omnidekka

Konect Buses Norfolk :  627 SN65OAG; 628 SN65OAH;  ADL E400

   
Konect Buses Suffolk : 629 SN65OAJ;  632 SN65OAO;  633 SN65OAP;  ADL E400

   
     
Oxford Bus Company : 80656 SL15ZGH; 80658 SL15ZGK; 80677 SK66HVB, Wright Streetdeck Ultroliner;  
80729 BJ73WXS; 80730 BJ73WXT; 80736 BJ73WXZ; 80737 BJ73WYA; 80758 BN24ZXC Wright Electroliner.

   
OBC Carousel : 80208 HF09OXF Scania N230UD Enviro 400; 80612 GA64OXF; 80614 GH64OXF ADL E400MMC

     
     
 
OBC Thames Travel : 80603 GO14OXF; 80604 SU14OXF; 80607 SB64OXF ADL E400MMC;  
80653 SL15ZGE; 80661 SL15ZGO; 80903 NK20EKX; 80904 NK20EKO; 80905 NK20EKP;
80906 NK20EKR; 80907 NK20EKY; 80909 NK20ENJ  Wright Streetdeck Ultroliner

                        
   
80987 (81007) BU25ZHK; 80988 (81008) BU25ZHL; 80989 (81009) BU25ZHM;
80990 (81010) BU25ZHN; 80991 BU25ZHO  Volvo B8L MCV eVoSeti

   
 
OBC Pulhams : 80070 R70PUL  Volvo B11RT Plaxton Elite i; 80615 YX69NNB;
80616 YX74OFN  ADL E400MMC; 80985 GL25BUS; 80986 GB25BUS Volvo B8L MCV eVoSeti

 This is one of the most comprehensive article I've ever published, than you Grahame.Ed.

Newman Morgan with more on Silverstone

I read online on route-one.net magazine at the weekend that the Silverstone park and ride shuttle services were delivered by First Group’s First Travel Solutions.  

The shuttles carried 83,000 passengers over the period of the Grand Prix and First received a lot of positive comments from clients . One couple even said the shuttle to and from Milton Keynes was the highlight of their day!  

Drivers, support and supervisory staff were from many First Bus subsidiaries along with many First vehicles supported by other operators and drivers from large and smaller operators.  

First management reported that it was the most complex and challenging contract they had ever had but also rewarding as everything went smoothly 

Frequency and flexibility were key to the operation. With advanced ticket sales and controllers at every site it was possible to make last minute route changes to each departure as deemed necessary. 

A neighbour of mine mentioned that on the Friday he and his wife went visiting friends in a village called Water Stratford. They followed two buses from Bicester Heritage along the A4421 Buckingham Road to Finmere and then through the villages of Tingewick and Lower Tingewick where the buses turned left along a narrow country road through Water Stratford. This would allow the buses to join the A422 opposite the entrance to Stowe School. By taking this route the buses would be able to pick up passengers at the Turweston Airfield P&R before joining the A43 at Brackley and head to Silverstone.  

The shuttles from Banbury station would have been able to divert to the Hinton in the Hedges Airfield P&R if required as this is a short distance off the A422 between Banbury and Brackley.  

Eastbourne Running Day on 6th July from Nigel Eadon-Clarke

     
     
     
   

Midland Interlude by Keith Briant

Orbit Coaches are based in Peckleton, near Hinckley, a family business celebrating their 30th anniversary this year. Their immaculate fleet contains a variety of coaches, Scania/East Lancs Omnidekkas and the open top Atlantean and Olympian pictured in last week's edition.  

 

Spotting Van-Hool Astromega B14 ORB in my rear view mirror, I pulled over on the A47 at Hinckley to grab a quick photo. Having been unable to identify it on-line, an email to Orbit met with a quick reply along with an invite to their depot! It is former Oxford Tube 50235 (CN61 FNK) latterly added to the Tube fleet from Stagecoach West Scotland in 2020. It still carries the livery of its previous owner, South Staffs. At last I've managed to get a vehicle with an Oxford link! 

Orbit's fleet of Omnidekkas are used on schools, private hire and rail replacement.
CNZ 1541 is one of 6 in the fleet. Formerly registered YN53 RZB, it was new to Metrobus.  

Over the last few weekends Criss Country Trains services between Leicester and Nuneaton have been replaced by buses. These are often seen on layover in Nuneaton bus station.

By far the most unusual has been BX60 CKL a 37 seat BMC Condor 225 owned by First Choice Coach Hire of Brierley Hill. It was previously used as a cruise ship shuttle bus at Portsmouth Harbour and still carries the livery worn then.  

A more usual coach is BV19 YJJ a Mercedes-Benz Tourismo owned by Eminence Travel of Walsall.  

Last week I mentioned that Arriva Midlands had 4 Wright StreetLites transferred to Barwell (Hinckley) from Luton.

Here is 2318 (LK15 FSS) at the depot alongside Enviro400 MMC 4565 (YX72 OEJ).

Thanks to Toby France for his kind comments and additional infomation last week. 

I rather like this Midland interlude. Ed. 

Grahame Wareham for O&CBP Issue 356 

L356 MWL990  1948 AEC Regent III with NCB L27/26R low-bridge body, renumbered L132 in 1952. Withdrawn May 1961 and sold to TPE (dealer) Macclesfield in February 1963 and resold to Wallace, Nottingham as a non-psv driver trainer in August 1963.. 

   

356 CFC356C  1965 AEC Renown 3B3RA with Park Royal H37/28F low-height forward entrance body. 356 was allocated to Oxford depot from new for country routes.It was converted to OMO in 1970 . It was transferred to Witney depot in 1975 and was withdrawn in July 1978 being sold Ensign Bus (dealer) Grays being sold on to Dekaworld Travel, Liphook, Hants in August 1978. 

     
     
   

356 R6OXF (OE62ZRK) 2013 Volvo B5LH / Wright H45/27F low height body. Part of a batch of 19 parallel electric hybrids delivered during 2013 in City red livery which it carried without repaint for its entire life at OBC. Upon the influx of the electric fleet in 2024 356 was to be cascaded to Go North West Manchester fleet but this was changed to Stagecoach TfM depot in Manchester in a swap which took 356, now renumbered 13179 and reregistered upon leaving Oxford as OE62ZRK into the suburbs of North Manchester from 8th March 2024. 13179 has since been repainted into canary yellow TfM livery. The registration number R6OXF originally adorned  1998 Volvo B10M / Plaxton Excalibur coach 6 and upon its withdrawal was transferred to Dennis Dart SLF / Wright Crusader 406 in November 2003.It was then transferred to 906 a Dennis Trident / Plaxton President registered NK51UCV originally delivered to Go Ahead North East in 2001 lasting with OBC from July 2007 until October