From the Editor

An issue which ends up with a focus west of Oxford and full of new vehicles.

Also included is the London 38 event.

I am taking a break next week  and the next issue will be by April 5th.

In this issue

Cornwall comes to Wycombe

Cheltenham Gold Cup 2026

EVs gathering pace in Cheltenham

Remembering COMS 384 by Grahame Wareham

LBM ran a complimentary service 38

Coach visitors to Oxford

Fleet News & Developments

Focus on Pulhams

Red Roe forthcoming new buses

London operations

 

Cornwall comes to High Wycombe Peter Edgar

Photographs taken in Wycombe today of three ex First Kernow vehicles now based at Slough since their demise from Cornwall

With the demise of First Kernow from Cornwall recently vehicles have been allocated to other divisions of the First group. The following photos show three such vehicles still retaining their Cornish branding amongst others,  that have been transferred to Slough Depot.

33450 in Eastern Street, High Wycombe.

33307 in Eastern Street, High Wycombe.

33306 in Oxford Street, High Wycombe.

Gavin Francis travelled on the new M40service and sent some interior pictures which are most interesting.

 
     

Paui Hawkins also was able to provide photograph of the buses at home in Cornwall before the demise of First in the county.

     

 

Cheltenham Gold Cup 2026

Dave & Deric

The Annual Cheltenham Gold Cup Festival took place at Cheltenham Racecourse 10^th to 13^th March and many buses were on loan from Stagecoach companies around the country to operate the shuttle services to the Racecourse. These were from Stagecoach East: 10463 (SN65 NZW), 10800 (SN66 VZY), 10878/9/81 (YX67 VDP/R/V), Stagecoach East Midlands: 10665 (SN16 OZG), 10747 (SN66 VXR), 10912 (SN67 XAD), 10978 (SN18 KTP) (Coronation livery), 11693/735 (YX73 OXG/P), Stagecoach London: 11027 (YX68 UKM), 11036/7 (SN18 KUC/D), 11066 (YX68 UTJ) (“Selkent Diplomat” livery), 11076/7/9/80 (YX19 OMC/D/F/G), Stagecoach North East: 11720-2 (SK23 CPV/X/Y), 11780 (YX73 PBZ), Stagecoach West (Oxford): 10670 (SN16 OYS), 15753 (OU61 AVG) (these may have varied on a day to day basis), plus an additional two ADL Enviro EV400 sent from Oxford each evening, Stagecoach South: 11228 (SN69 ZDJ), 11599 (YX23 ORF) (Coastliner livery), Stagecoach South East: 10585 (SN16 OUA), 11604 (SK23 COU), 11818 (SK24 CKP), 15289 (YN16 WWF), Stagecoach South Wales (Bristol): 11236/7 (SN69 ZDT/U) (11236 11-13/03/2026 only), 15766 (VX61 FJY) (10/03/2026 only), Stagecoach South West: 18376 (KX55 KRG), 19267/79/82 (MX08 GOU, GRU, GSU), 19398 (MX58 FSO), Stagecoach Yorkshire: 11648 (YX73 PGK), 11707/10/14 (YX73 PDV, PEO, PFF). In addition, Marchants Coaches of Cheltenham supplied up to four double deckers each evening as required. There were also many of West’s own vehicles in use as well.

Tony Gaze

   
   
A selection of photos from the race shuttles in Cheltenham taken various days.

David Gray

Cheltenham Race shuttles - I had a couple of hours in Cheltenham yesterday for the shuttle buses to the Cheltenham Gold Cup race meeting.- The weather, on arrival, was dreadful and the traffic grid-locked so it started unpromisingly but I managed to do reasonably well. I think the bonus was the appearance of the Dennis Tridents. One shot I didn't quite accomplish was one of the Tridents (new 3/06) passing one of Pulham's GB Kite Electroliners, new this month. 

     
     
     
 
The variety is excellent and includes vintage Tridents ! 

EVs in Cheltenham from Robert Homan

There has been a flurry of activity regarding EVs in Cheltenham. 

1 - Stagecoach West Yutong E10, YH75RTX, 63158, on the 42/43 route to Tewkesbury on 10 March 

   
2 - 3 photographs of Pulhams Wright Electroliner,   LX75ZKM, 80499, on the R route around Cheltenham on 9 March.
The rear end is vaguely reminiscent of the rear with luggage storage on old Royal Blue coaches.  

4 - "Short" Pulhams Wright Electroliner, GJ26MRO, 80571, on the K town service in Hatherley on 11 March.

 I must comment on the superb colour scheme both inside and out of the new Pulham's EVs. Ed. 

Remembering COMS 384 over the years by Grahame Wareham

H384  OFC384 1949 AEC Regent III 9612A with Weymann H30/26R high-bridge body.  In 1952 H384 was renumbered to H883. H883 was sold to Passenger Vehicle Disposals (dealer), Dunchurch  in August1960 passing to Taylors of Bicester the following month. It was withdrawn in October 1965 finally being sold to G.Holder, Charlton on Otmoo r Motor Services in April 1967. After six years operating in and out of Oxford on their village service to Arncott via Islip, Oddington, Charlton, Merton, Ambrosden and Bicester 384 was finally withdrawn in May 1973 and sold to the embryonic Oxford Bus Preservation Syndicate the same month. With no where to keep it 384 was "hidden away" at the back of Chipping Norton depot until it was discovered by COMS management then finding a temporary home at the back of Blenheim Service Station in Yarnton, and joining 727 for a while. During the course of the next year OFC was used as a rally support vehicle and made the journey to Harrogate on the 1973 Trans-Pennine Rally where the fuel system started to cause issues ending in fuel starvation needing several stops to bleed out the filter. It was later found out that this batch of vehicles had an extra filter under the front nearsde chassis member which was normally only fitted to export Regent III chassis. This was examined and was found to be blocked by a leaf in the outlet pipe to the main fuel filter and was restricting the free flow of diesel. Once this was rectified the bus ran without a problem. At the beginning in 1974 the OBPS were offered the chance to purchase ex. COMS L166 PWL413 which was a low-bridge version of OFC. The consensus was at the time to sell OFC to fund the purchase and by chance there was a buyer interesting in acquiring OFC. We had to make a probably regretful choice as OFC had stayed local and PWL was as far away as you can get in North Wales, but we had nowhere to keep one bus let alone two and 727 was kept in the back yard of my workplace in Yarnton whilst I was employed there!  So we sold OFC to Nansen International Childrens Centre where it was exported to France touring Europe and eventually ended up as a caravan in Southern France, albeit much modified with a concrete lower deck floor so I was informed! As an aside one of the reasons to sell it was the amount of water it was letting in through the rotten steel window pans which also affected PWL and most Weymann bodies of that period. I hope OFC still exists but have no wish for another vehicle myself. The Oxford Bus Museum have two of this batch now anyway, OFC393 and OFC395 but both have body rot issues.

     
     
    

(Notice a young Andrew Dyer seen through the offside front lower deck window in an offside picture taken by me at Charlton's depot on collection day in May 73)!
Christ was it really 53 years ago!  Andrew may be sending you his own contribution towards this story

384 MJO384H 1969 Daimler Fleetline CRG6LX  with Northern Counties H41/28D low-height body. Part of an initial batch of  fifteen these were used on newly converted OMO operated duties, mainly 2 road for the first few months of their lives and then spread out to most City routes with some migrating to Witney and Wantage to operate into the City on cross City services. 384 was allocated to Cowley depot for the majority of its first seven years then finding its way out to Watlington depot. Because of window supply problems there were two types of window fitted, some with slider units, as in the 1968 batch, and some with full length hoppers. the vehicles were delivered as follows: Slider windows  382,385,387-389,395,396. Hopper windows:  383,384,386,390,391-394. Also 383,385,387,389,393-396 had a ventilator in the front dome as per the previous batch, but the remaining vehicles were not fitted.383-385,388,389,391,393-395 all received the simplified two colour red and green livery from 1971 onwards, the first being treated 394 in 8/71. The remainder were repainted into NBC corporate poppy red which eventually covered the whole batch during overhaul in 1976/7. The overhaul of this batch was completed at Midland Red Carlyle Works and the vehicles had their rear engine shrouds removed at the same time.384 lasted in the COMS fleet until November 1981 when it was sold to Ensign Bus (dealer), Grays, Essex and was still there a year sold unsold so it ended up going for scrap at M.Meynell, Carlton (dealer) in November 1982.

   
   

Andrew Dyer

Further to my previous email, by complete coincidence this picture of 384 appeared
on a Bicester memories Facebook page this week. She was with Taylor’s of Bicester at that time! 

  

https://www.londonbusmuseum.com/route-38-heritage-day-2/

The London Bus Museum ran a supplementary service along route 38 on 14 March

from Andrew Webb

The London Bus Museum ran a supplementary service along route 38 on 14 March as part of their programme to operate historic vehicles on the duties they were designed for.  Over 30 vehicles operated, mostly from the RT and Routemaster classes, turning heads as they pounded the streets.  Several other vehicles added some variety as this selection taken near Clapton Pond illustrates. 

STL2377 was the oldest vehicle in use. 

London Bus Company's RT2799 has recently been repainted into Blue Triangle livery - a forerunner to today's company. 

40 years ago the Sunday service on route 38 was handed over to the Leyland Titan
to enable one person operation, a situation which lasted until 2001.  T961 recreates the era. 

MRT9P, a Roe-bodied Leyland Atlantean delivered new to Ipswich Buses,
has no connection with London apart from a previous visit to a running day on route 19. 
Nevertheless, the sunny weather meant its lack of roof was a popular novelty for passengers.

from David Allen

Yesterday’s Service 38 running day.

   

from Nigel Eadon-Clarke via Gavin Francis

RTL 554 38

from Tony Gaze

Took these two in Victoria yesterday morning and as you can see the sun wasn't playing ball!

   
 

Thank you to contributors, I have been spoilt for choice. What a lovely day. Ed. 

Irizar also supplied by Bayliss Executive Travel