From the Editor

Contributions this past week or so were excellent but limited time available for preparation has resulted in my having to hold several items over for future editions.

This issue has details of a number of interesting arrivals in local fleets.

In this issue

Met Rail Replacement - Amersham by Gavin Francis

COMS 389 by Grahame Wareham

Readers Write

Fleet News & Developments

Oxford tube news

London operations

Adrian Small visited West of England

John Marsh was in Sheffield

Gordon Scott from north of the border

 

 

Metropolitan Line Rail Replacement
with Gavin Francis

 

 

Over the Bank Holiday Weekend the Metropolitan Line was closed between Amersham and Harrow-on-the-Hill as well as The Chiltern Line between Aylesbury and Marylebone via Amersham.

 

There was a Rail Replacement Bus Service and I took a look at Amersham Station on both Saturday and Monday.

 

The main supplier of buses on Saturday was Transport UK using E400 and MMC hybrids along with a number of New Routemasters. A combined effort by Oxford Bus and Carousel supplied 4 more and Stagecoach, Vale, Cardinal and Aldermaston 1 each.

 

Not so many buses on Monday with Transport UK being the main supplier again using LTs and Hybrids but this time also 2 Wright Electroliners. Stagecoach supplied 2 buses, Chasesside 1, Cardinal 1 and again Vale 1.

 

     
     

      \

Buses from Transport UK, LT 710, LT 20, LT 787, LT 707, LT 627, LT 603, 2427. 2428, 2524, 2541, 2547, 3041 and 3062

 

     
Oxford and Carousel supplied a colourful fleet, 80656 in City Rte 5 livery, 80673 in X1/X15 livery, 80678 in Park and Ride livery and finally 2 day old 80632 in Oxford City livery.

 

 
Stagecoach supplied 2 MMCs 11666 and 11667

 

 
Cardinal supplied 2 E200s DE 665 and DE 121

 

 
Local operator Vale Travel also supplied 2 E200s rather confusingly with registrations YX12AEO and YX12AED which from a distance look the same.

 

Aldermaston supplied one of their Evoseti Volvo B8L triaxle coaches.

 

Finally coming a long distance on Sunday was Chasesside 104.

 

Overall a good variety of buses and liveries from a range of operators.

A most interesting article which I am readers will enjoy. Ed. 

COMS 389 from Grahame Wareham 

H389  OFC389 1949 AEC Regent III 9612A with Weymann H30/26R high-bridge body.  From new H389 was allocated to Chipping Norton depot spending its entire COMS operational life there. In 1952 H389 was renumbered to H888. H888 was sold to J.Deacon (dealer), Dorcheaster on Thames in November1960 passing to Greatrex Stafford the same month as their D6. It was withdrawn and scrapped in August 1967.

     

389 MJO389H 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. 389 was allocated to Cowley depot initially then finding its way to  Bicester  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.389 lasted in the COMS fleet until July 1982 when it was withdrawn and stored at Shipton storage facility and finally sold to Ensign bus in November 1982. No further information as to its disposal was recorded. 

    
   

389  GUW482W  Leyland National 2 NL10AL11/2R  B41F. Originally new to London Buses as B36D Red Arrow LS482 in 1981, it was transferred to London General as LS482 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 LS482 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 donated to Thames valley Police at their Upper Heyford Support base where it was in use as an Incident Practice Unit for bus related incidents in May 2000.

 

Pictures from Malcolm Crowe taken in 2000