From the Editor

Another interesting issue with some interesting fleet additions. 

In this issue

The Bus & Coach Expo 2026

Berkshires Big Red Bus Company RMC 1462

O&CBP Issue 388 by Grahame Wareham

Dorchester from David Gray

Salisbury & Swanage from Graham Low

Fleet News and developments

London Operations

West Midlands by Andy Millwood

The Bus & Coach Expo 2026 took place at the NEC between 21 and 23 April.  Billed as the UK’s new dedicated event for the bus and coach industry, it was co-located with the Commercial Vehicle Show allowing visitors to move freely between both shows.

Indicative of current manufacturing trends, only Chinese companies took the opportunity to show off their bus ranges.  Wrightbus and ADL were notable with their absence.  BYD took a key spot adjacent to the visitor entrance to show off a B12 single decker destined for Uno and a BD11 to Arriva's provincial specification.

Ireland based Harris Group import an increasing range from Higer.  On display in the Bus & Coach Expo was a Steed XL.

Harris Group had a much larger presence in the adjacent Commercial Vehicle Show, displaying the full range of vehicles they sell, including 4 wheel drive pick up trucks.  Examples of each of the new coach models (V10, V12 and V14) were on display inside, with an additional V10 offering short rides around the NEC site.  It is seen parked up between trips.  Photography of the V12 was impossible, with the V14 positioned so that only a head on shot was possible. 

Also parked outside was a Higer Azure which aims to capture part of the city bus market.

British built buses were not entirely absent from the show, with two on display. 

Zenobe specialise in the infrastructure required to operate electric vehicles, including buses.  To illustrate this the company borrowed one of National Express Travel West Midlands ADL bodied BYD deckers. 

  
   

Famous around the world, the iconic Routemaster was represented by RM125.  Now operated by The Bus Business at Banbury, it has been extensively rebuilt to include a lower deck coffee bar and extendable upper deck. 

 
Mediafleet used it to promote their branding business.

 
The NEC offers a free car park shuttle operated by Skills with a fleet of Mercedes Citaros.

Birmingham Airport is currently the 7th busiest airport in the UK, handling over 13 million passengers in 2025.

 Despite being adjacent to Birmingham International station there are still frequent National Express coach services from the on site bus terminal. 

National Express also operate most local buses from the airport through the Travel West Midlands operation.

For passengers not tempted by public transport there are several car parks close from which shuttle services operate to the terminal.  The 'official' car parks are served by a fleet of relatively rare Volvo 9700E buses which can 'opportunity charge' via roof mounted pantographs at the terminal.  Each carries a cherished registration. 

   

Airparks offer competition for motorists leaving their car at the airport.  A fleet of MCV Evora bodied Volvo B8RLE buses operate the shuttle.

Peter Edgar

Berkshires Big Red Bus Company RMC 1462. 

 
Photographed on wedding duties at Oxford Town Hall RMC 1462 from Berkshires Big Red Bus Company 

O&CBP Issue 388 by Grahame Wareham

H388  OFC388 1949 AEC Regent III 9612A with Weymann H30/26R high-bridge body. 

From new H388 was allocated to Chipping Norton depot spending its entire COMS operational life there. In 1952 H388 was renumbered to H887. H887 was sold to J.Deacon (dealer), Dorchester on Thames in November1960 passing to Smiths of Reading the same month, where it was fitted with platform doors. It was withdrawn in January 1969 finally being scrapped during  February 1969. 

388 MJO388H 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. 388 was allocated to Cowley depot for its entire operational career. 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.387 lasted in the COMS fleet until August 1982 when it was transferred to Midland Red Engineering and dismantled for spares. 

388  GUW453W  Leyland National 2 NL10AL11/2R  B41F. Originally new to London Buses as B36D Red Arrow LS453 in 1981, it was transferred to London General as LS453 when privatisation forced a split in the operations of services in London. It was converted  to B41F by OBC and was eventually transferred through the Go-Ahead Group to Oxford for Wycombe Bus duties in April 1996. By then LS453 had received a TL11 engine in place of its naturally asprirated L11 (Leyland 690) unit and it ran in High Wycombe until the advent of low floor bus replacement in February 1999. It was withdrawn and sold to Nash (dealer), Thames Valley Bus Sales at Chertsey in April 2000 and resold to Dumfries area operator McEwan, Amisfield in January 2001. It was later sold to PVS (dealer) Carlton for scrap in February 2002.

( I have no images of 388 or LS453)

 Matt Cooper 

Following on from yesterday I have found some pictures of the Wycombe Bus Leyland National 2s that should correspond with the OCBP edition numbers. From a personal perspective I remember the two ex Brighton & Hove vehicles (385 and 386) arriving in April 1996 shortly before we moved to Northampton. The attached pictures were taken during 1997 when I visited HW on several occasions. If I remember correctly the ex London National 2s were not too bad, their engines certainly making some distinctive sounds! A good comparison could be made to the Leyland National Greenways which The Shires were using in the town at that time. 

 

 Ex WBC 386 - Kimes of Folkingham were good customers for former OBC & WBC vehicles taking a number of Leyland Titans (new to LT) and the Brighton & Hove Leyland Nationals.

All were re-registered with Northern Irish YAZ & TAZ xxxx plates the example pictured YAZ 4143 was JWV 128W (386) and exhibited at the Duxford Showbus rally in 2000. 

 
WBC 388 - One of the trio from London General, converted to single door by OBC and fitted with bus seats.

 New to LT as LS 453. It was working the free bus service to Sainsbury's at Dovecot which ran Monday to Friday off peak with any vehicle potentially allocated to it. The store was later rebuilt to front Oxford Road and today passengers requiring Eden bus station must walk an equivalent distance to that once provided by the free service. 

Malcolm Crowe

   
Pictures from 1999 and  2000 showing 388 at work in Wycombe. 

Dorchester
from David Gray

I visited Dorchester yesterday and have sent a selection of the photos for your interest.. 

Dorchester is a place I often visited when they had an annual bus rally, sadly no longer on the rally calendar. I found a variety of service buses in distinctive liveries, together with some interesting visiting coaches. Certainly well worth a visit. 

 
   
     
   
   

From bygone times

On a non-bus related matter you may be interested in the attached photo of an Austin A55 van seen in town.