Tag: Bedford

Vics Tours (Isles of Scilly) – Bedford OB


Copyright Richard Leaman

Vics Tours (Isles of Scilly)
1946
Bedford OB
Santus ???F

As several enthusiasts have said on these pages, the Bedford OB was a very special model and has a place in many a bus spotters heart. I took this picture of an early version operated by Vics Tours of St. Marys Isles of Scilly whilst my parents and I were on a day trip from St. Ives Cornwall. It was a boiling hot day with temperatures up in the 90’s on Wednesday 29th June 1966 and I can even tell you it was 1.20pm! You will see that it is unregistered, was not taxed and did not have insurance as confirmed by the driver but he explained that as it never got above 20mph, it didn’t need any! It was a fine example of the famous gearbox whine and may well have had a busy life before going to the Islands. It boiled whenever we stopped and the wet patch under the radiator shows the last top up! Also it had a 1920’s Klaxon horn used vigorously at all junctions..this stop was called “Motorway Services”! I have no details of any previous owners but would guess it to have been a very early build and maybe even a 1939 version with a body rather different from the Duple normally fitted.
The day was one of the best we ever had! It was a day trip operated by Steven’s Coaches of St. Ives harbour from their garage which was later destroyed by fire when a nearby shop caught alight. Our coach (SB?) took us to Penzance and we sailed on the Scillionian I, arrived in St. Mary’s, had our Vic’s Tour ride around the island, then a boat trip to Tresco. We left at 8am and got back about 8.30pm and all for 29/6d each! Two other elements of the day were hearing the Mamas and Papas singing “Monday, Monday” which was a big hit at the time and also the gentle, fruity aroma of one of the passenger’s pipe as he puffed it at times during the day…imagine that now!
As regards the Bedford, I have tried to see if it survived but fear it did not. An Austin coach from Vic’s fleet is or was preserved at Manchester Bus Museum but I think it may now be in Scotland. Sadly, the OB may have been pushed over a cliff when it reached the end of it’s useful life because the driver told us that was what happened to anything old so if any restorers fancy a dive beneath the cliff to the left hand side of the beach behind Hugh Town they may find an engine block to start the rebuild with!

Over to you experts who maybe be able to fill in details and just possibly even the whereabouts if it escaped the watery depths!

Photograph and Copy contributed by Richard Leaman

12/07/11 – 14:44

Are we sure that this is an OB? Some late model WTBs had the same radiator grille. It’s hard to tell from this angle, but it looks a little too short for an OB. I’m also perplexed about the lack of registration etc. As far as I’m aware the Isles of Scilly are part of Cornwall and obey the same laws as the rest of the UK (ie The 1930 Road Traffic Act!) Am I missing something?

Neville Mercer

12/07/11 – 15:48

You might be correct, Neville, but I took this photo of EFJ 92 in a similarly unregistered state in 1968. //www.sct61.org.uk/

Paul Haywood

12/07/11 – 16:14

I think it looks as if this bus as an exposed radiator cap the WTB with the Bullnose grill had a concealed cap and the OWB and OB had an exposed radiator cap from “The Bedford OB and OWB” book by J Woodhams. Mind you it does look to only have four windows plus the two driver windows which could make it a little on the short side. There is something about the headlamp mountings that help distinguish the model, so that”s my bedtime reading sorted for tonight. 

Spencer

13/07/11 – 07:29

This photo pre-dates 1971 when the Scilly Isles were first drawn into the UK’s vehicle excise duty requirements. Prior to that the display of a registration plate was not compulsory and the costs of the roads on St Mary’s were charged to the rates.

Mike Grant

13/07/11 – 07:30

I am told that there is a certain area on the west coast of Scotland, accessible only by boat, which has several miles of road completely isolated from the rest of the world. And I hear tell that, (ahem!), certain aspects of normal traffic laws are interpreted in, shall we say, a somewhat relaxed fashion. There is little crime (in the normal sense of that word!) and therefore little incentive for law enforcement authorities to poke their noses in…

Stephen Ford

13/07/11 – 07:35

Neville and Paul..On that day, we saw several vehicles also without registration plates and I recall my father asking and being told that there were so few cars on the Islands that they didn’t worry. On the other hand, I saw that someone had imported a 1965 Ford Zodiac which did display DCV ???C ‘plate so maybe that was the start of formal registration?

Spencer..I just wish that I had more pictures to show you but that is the only one. I can tell you that it was indeed rather shorter than any OB/Duple and so I’m in the hands of the experts here. I would guess it to be no more than a 22 seat configuration. The front entrance was by a narrow sliding door and the seating was in a dark autumn leaf pattern, brown leather on the top, chrome aisle side handles.
Oh if only I could go back and take more images and get the full details…that’s the trouble when young, you never think ahead!

Richard Leaman

14/07/11 – 06:38

Richard, could the Bedford actually have a lorry chassis? MacBraynes operated quite a few service buses in the Scottish highlands that looked like OBs, but were in fact based on OL (OLAZ) lorry chassis. They were shorter in length than the OB, and many I believe had mail and luggage compartments accessed from a pair of doors at the rear. Passengers boarded in the usual manner towards the front. The melodious mechanical tones would have been the same for OB and OL too. Just a thought…..

Brendan Smith

14/07/11 – 18:55

Brendan I think you could be onto something there. I have on looking back and at the pictures always wondered if it was a lorry chassis because the length was “wrong” for any normal OB. As regards the rear doors..again I’m going totally from memory but I think it might well have had a door or doors for luggage. Now I have just discovered this website which shows plenty of pictures of the MacBrayne  Bedfords and the length looks right but the windows and doors do not match up..but..was the Vic’s bus an early version? Thinking about it, the short length would be perfect for Island use and clearly a good choice for “Vic’s”.
Have a look through the massive picture file on that website (there are lovely images!) and compare the two bodies. The link is not conclusive but very interesting!

Richard Leaman

14/07/11 – 18:56

Useless information:
Road Tax was not introduced in Scilly until April 1st 1971. Prior to that, no number plates were needed, only the log book as identification for insurance purposes.

Glynne

15/07/11 – 07:33

Richard, thank you so much for pointing out the MacBraynes website. They are indeed lovely images. Unfortunately my family never ventured as far north as the Scottish highlands when I was young, so that beautiful livery in such settings is left very much to the imagination. It always seemed to fit perfectly with the breath taking scenery of the highlands, and MacBraynes was such an important part of highland life, transporting as it did local folk, tourists, parcels, mail and luggage in an efficient and friendly manner, from what I have read. Why politicians have to meddle quite so much with things that work so well beggars belief, but such co-ordination between bus, ferry, train and the Royal Mail was amazing given the geography of the region. Sadly such co-operation is no longer allowed in todays world of competition for competition’s sake, regardless of how inefficient it all now seems to be to many of us! It is pleasing to note however, that the spirit of ‘MacBraynes for the Highlands’ still lives on in those magnificently preserved vehicles.

Brendan Smith

15/07/11 – 13:58

The “Passenger Chassis” differed from the “Goods Chassis”  in that the differential was offset from the centre of the axel to the nearside by 11 inch to allow for a lower central gangway. This meant that the engine was at an angle and not straight on the centre line as the “Goods Chassis” . This resulted in a slightly different radiator grill for the “Passenger Chassis”  than the “Goods Chassis” . The “Goods Chassis”  had a small circular aperture in the centre of the grill for the starting handle but the “Passenger Chassis” had a small access door to the left of the centre. A closeup of Vics bus shows the aperture for the starting handle to be off centre it must of also lost it”s little door. So this must of been a “Passenger Chassis”.
It is a shame we can not see the steering wheel apparently early “OBs” and “OWBs” had a four spoke wheel and later “OBs” had a 3 spoke wheel although not sure of the exact date for the change. All the above information was gleaned from J Woodhams excellent “Bedford OB and OWB” book

Spencer

16/07/11 – 07:09

Spencer thank you for the information and indeed you are correct regarding the grille aperture. As the Caledonian MacBrayne Bedfords were known to be lorry specification chassis,. The picture of Vic’s bus is actually cropped slightly and a little dark but looking at the original, you can see the top of the steering wheel and a single, vertical spoke but that doesn’t really help re the number of spokes. It does look to be a simple plain bar and not a sprung version. So..it’s a short wheelbase or short bodied passenger chassis Bedford but it is keeping it’s history hidden!

Richard Leaman

17/08/11 – 14:43

I notice that the firm appeared in Little Red Books regularly. I’ve copies for 1956/7 and 1970/1 which list the fleet by chassis and bodymaker.
These don’t solve the query for this particular vehicle – but anyone with a 1966 edition might be able to shed some new light.

Mike Grant

18/08/11 – 07:57

I’ve got the 1967 edition of the “LRB” and Vic’s Tours appears not to be listed at all unless concealed by a surname. The only two operators listed for the islands in that edition are PC Trenwith and RC Perry of St Marys, operating six vehicles (3 Bedford and 2 Austin bodied by Duple, Heaver, “Sanctus”, and two by Whitson, plus an all-Commer minibus) and Williams Bus Service, also of St Marys, with 1 Dennis and 1 Bedford (no bodywork details given).
It is worth noting, however, that the “LRB” was notoriously inaccurate. It frequently omitted very well-known operators and in the case of others gave fleet details that were up to a decade out of date. If the operator didn’t update their own listing nobody at Passenger Transport made any effort to do it for them.
As a teenage bus enthusiast in the 1960s the “LRB” was the cause of many a disappointment. I would travel miles to see rare types of chassis or bodywork only to discover (in most cases) that the vehicles had been disposed of ten years previously and all that remained were Bedfords with Duple Super Vega bodywork.

Neville Mercer

18/08/11 – 10:09

Vics Tours is the P V Trenwith & R C Perry which shows in later Little Red Books.
The 1967 and 1970/1 editions differ by one vehicle – a Bedford with Sanctus body – so we’re one step further forward in the identification.
An article in Buses Illustrated February 1959 suggests the firm had a pattern of acquisitions from an Exeter dealer, Beale’s and directly from mainland Cornish operators. There can’t have been too many Sanctus bodied Bedfords in Devon or Cornwall pre-1966. This may well have been one of them.

Just realised why the quotation marks were shown in Neville’s post. As the Leon thread has mentioned, the bodybuilder is Santus of Wigan.

Mike Grant

18/08/11 – 15:47

Mike and Neville..Thank you for the further research. I have done some detective work about Santus and found that it was an old coach building firm run by the Santus family who are very well known in Wigan but now as confectionery manufacturers..”Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls” apparently! Thomas Santus is listed as a Director of “Santus’s Motor Body Works Ltd of Greenough St, Wigan. He died on 6th April 1939 and it appears that the Company was taken over or absorbed by Northern Counties and/or Massey Bros. both of Wigan and well known coach and bus body builders.
I’m trying to trace any pictures but no luck yet. In one of those odd coincidences, this links with the Santus bodied Lion JP42 on the Leon thread! Fascinating!
What we now need is a picture of a Santus bodied vehicle to try to see if the general design features match up in any way. Back to the search button and I’ll see if I get any luck!

Richard Leaman

19/08/11 – 06:58

Well..via information on the “Leon” thread I now have found a Santus bodied Seddon coach which is here at this flicker link I have managed to put both pictures side by side and believe that I can see enough similarities in the design detail to think that the Vic’s Bedford is indeed the Santus bodied coach mentioned in the LRB as above. It is the fall of the side windows, the style of decorative body beading, the panel joints on the roof, the shape of the drivers door handle and the general proportions of the cab pillars that lead me to think that.

Richard Leaman

19/08/11 – 07:26

Richard, Santus didn’t give up coachbuilding until (at the earliest) 1951 – see my comment under the JP 42 thread. Also, according to a recent edition of Classic Bus, there is documentary evidence (birth certificates!) that the coachbuilding Santuses and the mint balls Santuses are not in fact related to each other despite the claims to the contrary by various Santus family members repeating what they’ve been told by their forbears. There were apparently two entirely different “William Santuses” in Wigan, alive at the same time, but entirely unrelated. Having dealt with the slapdash claims of various “family” and “local” historians over the years (with not a history degree between them) I tend to give credence to the birth certificates!

Neville Mercer

20/08/11 – 07:02

Neville.. thank you for correcting this “Santus” information. I obtained mine from a website called WiganWorld where there seems to be a wealth of local information which included the coach building/mint balls link! I did think it seemed an odd career move.
It shows how easily “history” can be rewritten with such confusion!
Re my above posting and trying to see if the Bedford was Santus bodied, I just wish that I had another picture to help. The picture I sent in has been cropped a little but further to the right is a lady who was on holiday from Manchester and she took some pictures but trying to trace her would be some job!

Richard Leaman

24/10/11 – 07:55

From a list I compiled some years ago Trenwith & Perry (t/a Vic’s Island Tours) had the following
Bedfords:
EFJ 92 WTB/Heaver C25F 1938 new 1952 acq 10/71 sold (P)
BDL 92 WTB/Duple C25F 1937 new 1953 acq c-/65 scrapped
DBU 78 OB/Plaxton C25F 1946 new 1954 acq c-/67 scrapped
CUW 82 WTB/Duple C25F 1936 new 1955 acq –/61 scrapped
FDL 782 OB/Duple C29F 1949 new 6/63 acq –/?? sold (P)
DBU 78 was recorded as Plaxton, but was probably Santus
Therefore in 1996 the fleet should have contained:
EFJ 92 WTB/Heaver,
DBU 78 OB/Plaxton or Santus,
FDL 782 OB/Duple, plus
GDL 25 Austin K4SL/Whitson C29F
MRL 865 Austin CXB/Whitson C27F
833 HCV Commer 1500LB/Commer M12 (re-reg SCY 39J)
U/R Morris J2/BMC M11 (re-reg SCY 8J)
Hope this helps!!

Clive Williams

25/10/11 – 07:23

I note that FDL 782 & GDL 25 bore IoW registrations.
The second one (Austin K4SL) would have been a rare chassis in the bus world, very rare with its Whitson body! The CXB was a newer version of the primarily wartime K4.

Chris Hebbron

26/10/11 – 05:59

Clive..thank you! So it looks near enough certain that “my” Bedford was DBU 78 first registered in Oldham during May 1946. My picture was taken in June 1966 so the poor bus seems to have probably been on it’s final year of service before being scrapped and, if the driver was being serious, was destined to be pushed over the cliff into the sea which he said was the way they dealt with all scrap vehicles. It sounds horrendously incorrect on every level these days but there were very few cars on St. Mary’s then and so the frequency must have been low thank goodness. Sad though because the Bedford had a particularly musical gearbox even for that model.

Regarding the other coaches that Clive has listed, the current operator and successor to Vic’s Tours has a number of pictures on their website…scroll down for the older vehicles. //www.islandrover.co.uk/photos.htm 

Richard Leaman

13/02/12 – 07:23

Just for the record, it is still the case that a vehicle operating on any island which has no tunnel, bridge or regular vehicular ferry service to the UK mainland does not require an MoT!

David Jones

11/03/12 – 15:26

I can confirm from the Oldham registration records that DBU 78 did indeed have Santus bodywork and was initially registered to Shearings Tours of Oldham in July 1946. It was on the Isles of Scilly from June 1954 after operating with Coombes of Torquay from August 1947 and Beale of Exeter for a short time in 1954.

Phil Thoms

12/03/12 – 16:14

Phil..thank you so much for at last completing the story of “my” Bedford. An interesting history to read and it appears to have had a 13 year life of service on the tiny island roads so no doubt was getting very tired when I took the picture. I believe it lasted until 1967 but no doubt met it’s breaker very soon after that…or had an rather watery end off that cliff!

Richard Leaman

17/08/12 – 07:16

I vividly recall a trip on the Vic’s Coaches Bedford – August 1964. I can still almost hear that gearbox!! To a 13 year old with a love of all things mechanical it was a wonderful trip. Really sorry I never had my camera (Kodak Brownie 127) with me that day.
Correct about old vehicles being pushed over the cliff – a later visit (1975) saw me wandering around amongst numerous engine blocks and bits and pieces – many were the mortal remains of pre-war Austins.

Robin Lawton

20/09/13 – 18:06

The fleet listing does not mention a Bedford SB Coach with Vic’s fleet 1980 to 1990 era 870 VAR

Peter Adams

19/01/15 – 07:32

It is wonderful to read the above comments about Vics tours, and the fleet list.
I was the driver of the bus when the photograph above was taken. I can be seen standing at the back of the group in the larger version of the photo.
I drove all the buses in the fleet list and had many hours of fun as a driver and tour guide. It has to be said that the buses were very tired at that time but they very rarely broke down.
Happy days!

David Rowley

01/10/18 – 06:04

There is an article on the Scilly Isles in Classic Bus 155, which says DBU 78 had a prewar Plaxton body (new coach bodywork being difficult to come by in 1946), though it doesn’t say anything about the body’s previous life. There must be a Santus connection somewhere, and the suggestion is made that perhaps it was Santus who altered and fitted the body for Shearings. If so, the alteration probably included the exterior trim, which looks very 1946 Santus to me.

Peter Williamson

02/10/18 – 06:59

According to the PSVC Bedford OB chassis list book C1252 DBU 78 was new with a Santus C25F body in 7/46. There is no mention of a pre war Plaxton body.

John Wakefield

05/10/18 – 07:45

John, the author of the CB article is aware that some sources say it was a Santus body, but disagrees, and so do I now. Please ignore what I said about Santus altering the trim – that was just ignorance of what prewar Plaxton bodies looked like, together with the fact that a piece of the original trim seems to have gone missing by the time the above photo was taken. I’ve now compared photos in the article with one of a 1939 WTB in Alan Townsin’s Plaxton book, and there is no doubt that it was a late 1930s Plaxton body.

Peter Williamson

06/10/18 – 07:06

DBU 78_2

Here is a pic of the rear end of DBU 78, it does appear to look like a Plaxton body, the most likely answer is that it was probably modified and fitted to the OB chassis by Santus for Shearings. It would have required quite a bit of modification as presumably it would have been originally fitted to a WTB chassis which is much different and shorter than the OB.

John Wakefield

09/10/18 – 07:41

vics

Looking through my collection of OB/WTB photos I came across this one of a Vics Tours Bedford WTB with what looks like a Duple body, again no front number plate so does anyone know its id.

John Wakefield

18/10/18 – 07:33

Apparently BDL 92 is a Duple C25F

John Wakefield

01/12/18 – 06:52

Is this the bus that was given to two Enfold teachers, then went to Dunlopillo Rochdale, then to Manchester Transport museum and now in Devon at WHOTT?

Donald Williams

02/12/18 – 07:38

Donald, no the WTB that”s with WHOTT is EFJ 92 with Heaver body.

John Wakefield

09/08/21 – 06:09

My Son has just sent me a photo of a Bedford OB for sale in Norfolk for preservation FDL 842, this being an Isle of Wight registration, I looked it up on the I.W. Bus and Coach regs; [a listing by Don Vincent from the old I. W. Vehicle vehicle taxation records] and found it was new to Pearces [White Heather] of Ryde, 17th January 1949, they sold it to Moss Motors of Sandown in March 1963 who sold it straight on to Vics Tours, it later returned to the mainland, the current seller has had it since 1994.
I cannot find FDL 782 in any of my I.W.Records so was it FDL 842?

David Jolliffe

26/08/21 – 05:56

Looking in the PSVC Bedford OB Chassis Lists book there is no FDL782 so it must be an error by Clive Williams in his listing above.

John Wakefield

Vehicle reminder shot for this posting

26/05/22 – 05:50

This may interest..

EFJ 92

Vic Brumby

28/05/22 – 06:23

EFJ 92 is a 1938 Bedford WTB with Heaver C25F body.
It was delivered new to Taylors’ Central Garage (Exeter) Ltd in June 1938. It was sold for further service in February 1952, to Vic’s Tours of St. Mary’s on the Scilly Isles, and operated with Vic’s for a further 19 years until October 1971 when it entered preservation. It had been with The Greater Manchester Transport Society since 1985, but was purchased by WHOTT in January 2009 and is their current restoration project.
Info courtesy of the West Country Historic Omnibus & Transport Trust website.

Petras409

J Amos & Son – Bedford OB – JAF 832


Copyright Nigel Turner

J Amos & Son (Belchamp St. Paul)
19??
Bedford OB
Strachans C27F – C26F (1953)

Photos on this site have four main characteristics to be discussed – the location, the operator, the chassis and the body. With this one, I have no problem with three of them but the last is more tricky.
Firstly the location, it is the Suffolk town of Sudbury where, during the last war, the Borough Council erected a sign showing the allocation of the fifteen operators to the fourteen stands dotted around the Market Hill. The “Black Boy Hotel” in the background is little changed today but the grocery shop of E. W. King closed in November 2006 after 89 years. Their coffee was advertised on the tickets issued by Corona Coaches as shown over on “Old Bus Tickets”.
Next the operator, it is William George Amos trading as J.Amos & Son, indeed I think it may be Billy himself in the driving seat. Amos was one of those rural operators who gave their full address on legal documents as simply the name of their village, in this case Belchamp St. Paul, just over the border in Essex. After all, if your depot was one side of the village green and your residence was the other side, you could be fairly certain that the postman would find you, especially if your family had been there since the 1700s.
Thirdly, the chassis and if you are not totally familiar with the Bedford OB then this may not be the right web site for you.   
Finally we come to the body builder and this is where it gets more difficult. It is in fact Strachans and I think you can award yourself a bonus point if you knew that. The only reference where I can find to a similar combination is Roselyn Coaches (Ede) of Cornwall who had JCV 645 and KAF 992 which were fitted with a canvas sunshine roof. As Amos’ example was, I think, new to the Newquay Motor Co, I wonder if it was so fitted as well.
JAF 832 lasted with Amos from 1952 to 1964, but like the operator is no more. Billy Amos made his last run to Sudbury at the age of 80 on December 31st 2002, crew operation and punch tickets remaining a feature to the end. He then got a job as a part time driver with another operator but passed away in October 2009.

Photograph and Copy contributed by Nigel Turner

01/03/12 – 07:59

Nice photo of a very rare combination, Nigel. It was summer, by the look of the girl lurking under the Boots awning. Nice, also, to see the Ford 100E parked behind the coach. I suppose that Strachans made a reasonable fist of bodying the OB, but it doesn’t have the flow of the Duple version, and I’m trying hard to be objective here. What a wonderfully long career Bill Amos had.

Chris Hebbron

01/03/12 – 07:59

The feature of “paired” windows, with each pair having radiused corners, was very much a Strachans coach (though not bus) styling characteristic up to the early 1950s.

Roger Cox

01/03/12 – 08:00

I’m very pleased to see this posted and no, I couldn’t have awarded myself a bonus point for knowing the bodywork! Some time ago, I bought a copy of the book ‘Aspects of Buses’ by D D Gladwin, Oakwood Press and it contains a picture of this very vehicle but no details are given. When the picture of the Vic’s Tours Bedford was posted on here last year, I thought there were one or two similarities in the bodywork and I’ve wondered about the Amos one ever since. Not the same bodywork apparently but a mystery solved!

Chris Barker

02/03/12 – 15:21

The body on KAF 992 is referred in the John Woodhams book The Bedford OB & OWB as being by Mashford.

John Wakefield

Leather’s Coaches – Bedford OB – GWV 101


Copyright Michael Wadman

Leather’s Coaches of Maiden Bradley
1951
Bedford OB
Duple C29F

The ubiquitous Bedford OB / Duple Vista of course, but GWV 101 is interesting in that it spent its entire operational life with Leather’s Coaches of Maiden Bradley, Wiltshire. Leather’s was one of the last surviving traditional village bus operators with origins as horse-drawn hauliers. Basil Leather was still the proprietor when he bought GWV 101 new in 1951. He sold the business to Donald Newbury, one of his drivers, in 1962, and it subsequently passed to Don’s son-in-law and daughter, Len and Sylvia Cooper, but the fleetname of Leather’s Coaches was retained throughout. In latter years GWV 101 was only used on special occasions. On 17th October 1992 it operated, by prior arrangement, on the small bus duty on Leather’s bus service between Gillingham, Frome, and Warminster. Len and Sylvia were driver and conductress for the day, and are seen here with the coach after arrival in Warminster.
Len and Sylvia retired in January 1998 but kept GWV 101 as a preserved vehicle.

Photograph and Copy contributed by Michael Wadman

29/07/12 – 16:31

Yet another pristine example of this most legendary model. I absolutely loved them for their utter honesty – economical, gutsy beyond belief, handsome, and the providers of some of the finest acoustic delights one could wish for. I’m sure many, like me, simply drooled over the pure but sharp “top of the scale” whining and howling in the lower three gears – occasionally including a forgivable “back fire” – before settling into the trolleybus like top gear. Thereafter one would sail along with a bit of timpani, not annoying in the least, from the twittering rear springs that very one of these little gems displayed. Oh, for a trip to the seaside in one right now, or perhaps a ride to Town in one of the utility service bus variants whose unbelievable performance when often grossly overloaded was yet another legend.
I make no apology for this glowing accolade – our little heroes richly deserve it.

Chris Youhill

30/07/12 – 07:02

Still in a lovely condition. I saw it on Wednesday 25th July at a gathering at Longbridge Deverill, Wiltshire.

Paragon

30/07/12 – 07:03

Chris, I’ll ‘second’ every word you’ve said. The OB sound still sends shivers up my spine. The only other things to do that are the sounds of a straight cut geared manual AEC box and a fly past by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight!

Eric Bawden

30/07/12 – 11:07

I have a special soft spot Eric for one little Bedford in particular – this was in the RAF and was 00 AC 62. It was stationed, like me, at RAF Patrington and for some odd reason, especially at a top secret establishment, was driven usually by a civilian driver, Sam, who lived nearby in the Village. Our daily journeys to and from shifts at the radar site, some five miles away at Holmpton, were on board Bedford QL lorries (acoustic divas in their own right), or brand new Bedford SB petrol/Mulliner buses (coach, service, convertible to ambulance, Bedford 4 x 2, Mulliners Ltd.) or the little star of the Station. Sam drove it exceptionally well with skill and affection and, as in many other cases, why on Earth didn’t I take some pictures. I can though still picture those well worn light green canvas type seats.
To avoid any confusion, our living quarters at Patrington Haven are now a rather fine holiday home village, and the Radar site at Holmpton is now the National Defence Archive and is open to the Public – but you will have to just imagine those glorious Bedford sounds as you make you way there by car !!

Chris Youhill

30/07/12 – 11:08

And for those such as myself who live a long way from the nearest active OB there’s always EFE’s 1/76 scale model of this very vehicle. Haven’t bought it yet due to financial constraints – I also want one of EFE’s Silver Star double-deckers to go with it!
Looking at the picture I suddenly realised that it’s been 45 years since I last rode on one of these lovely machines in ordinary everyday service – during a two week holiday in Cornwall in 1967 I rode on them at least twice each day on Hawkey of Wadebridge’s services to the coast. Good times.

Neville Mercer

30/07/12 – 15:59

I’ve never seen a bus empty so fast as when stationed in Nicosia in 1957 the driver of our Mulliner SB admitted he hadn’t done a bomb check that morning!

Jim Hepburn

30/07/12 – 16:00

I can still remember the ride I made with my Dad to go on holiday in 1951 to Bridlington from Bradford. The coach was a Bedford OB on a private hire trip from a local textile mill. My sister, who suffered travel sickness and my Mum went by train but I jumped at the idea of going by coach. As Chris Y says the music from the Bedford transmission was something never to forget. Happy days.

Richard Fieldhouse

Booth & Fisher – Bedford OB – MNU 80

Booth & Fisher - Bedford OB - MNU 80

Booth & Fisher
1948
Bedford OB
Allsop C29F

Boothies ran a wonderful eclectic collection of O type Bedfords built by a range of different firms. MNU 80 is an example of less common Allsop bodywork, and is seen, I think, outside Sheffield’s Midland Station.

Photograph and Copy contributed by Les Dickinson

30/11/12 – 07:49

MNU is a Derbyshire registration from 1948. I suppose it would have been new to B&F.

Geoff Kerr

30/11/12 – 13:32

According to the Booth and Fisher fleet history on the Peter Gould site, this vehicle is described as C29F. The vehicle was new in 1948 and withdrawn in 1968. The location is Sheffield Midland Station and the vehicle would probably be operating on hire to British Railways to ferry train crew etc to Tinsley or other locations in the Sheffield area.

Stephen Bloomfield

Thanks Stephen ?s corrected

01/12/12 – 07:33

Greyhound (Alexander) used to have that contract I think, but not sure if that was before, or after, Boothies. Thanks for the info.

Les Dickinson

01/12/12 – 11:49

East Midland and Sheffield United Tours also operated this contract. For a time in late 1968 BR ran ex Mansfield District AEC Regal KRR 261 operated the service. It was still in green and cream but carried the BR double arrow symbol. See previous discussion on this site re this operation

Stephen Bloomfield

02/12/12 – 07:26

Fascinating stuff! Does anyone have details of who had contract year by year? It obviously got shared around a bit over the years.

Les Dickinson

13/07/13 – 08:00

Where were Allsop bodies built and what was the full title of the company, any one please?

Mike Holloway

03/10/13 – 08:44

The following site gives a tiny amount of information about Allsop (about two thirds of the way down):- //nonsequitur.freeforums.org  
Thomas Allsop Ltd., Penistone Road North, Sheffield, Yorks., active from 1926 to 1949.

Roger Cox

03/10/13 – 14:32

It would be interesting to know what their production amounted to during their active years. They bodied two Daimler CVD6 coaches for Trumans of Shirebrook in 1947 (LRA 558/9) which were quite attractive and I seem to recall a former employee of Naylors of South Normanton telling me that Allsop’s carried out some refurbishment work for them on their pre-war coaches after WW2.

Chris Barker

04/10/13 – 15:07

Booth & Fisher used to run to Coal Aston via Brammall Lane. They went to Meadowhead, took a left then right down Dyche lane to Coal Aston. All very countrified in the 50s & early 60s. I remember this coach. They sometimes ran a bus type bodywork, with the emergency door at the rear. I do not know where their stand was in town, but maybe it was just outside the main bus station, being a small operator.

Andy Fisher

04/10/13 – 17:16

Whilst ever Halfway was in Derbyshire and Booth & Fisher were independent, they were condemned to outer darkness. Their stop was on Ellin Street, off Eyre Street, off the bottom of the Moor. Nowhere near Pond Street bus station.

David Oldfield

08/10/13 – 07:46

Just searching through views on the Stilltime Collection recently referred to on this site, I found a picture of sister Booth & Fisher Bedford, MNU 79 together with Royal Tiger SNU 435. I just entered Derby and Bus and it was on the last page of thumbnails.

Chris Barker

03/02/14 – 07:27

It’s Thomas Allsop Ltd (only one P)! I should know as it was my great grandads business! I don’t know a great deal about it, but my uncle knows a bit. I have a picture of an old vehicle (pick up truck with solid rear wheels) that was sign written at Matthew Street Sheffield. They then started at Penistone Road and was in partnership with a guy called Kitson?

Neil Allsop

03/02/14 – 08:24

Great to hear from a direct descendant Neil. I have seen in some of the PSV Circle listings that historically, many vehicles went to Allsop, Sheffield for scrapping. Do you know if that is the same business, or a related business, as your Great-Grandad as an operator? Would really like to know more about the company if you learn any more from your uncle. I wonder if the Kitson was the one that was a founder-member of the firm that eventually became Sheffield United Tours?

Les Dickinson

Jersey Motor Transport – Bedford OB – J 6986 – 57

Jersey Motor Transport - Bedford OB - J 6986 - 57

Jersey Motor Transport
1947
Bedford OB
Mulliner B28F

J 6986 was new to Jersey Motor Transport in 1947. She is a Bedford OB with Mulliner B28F bodywork and fleet number 57. She’s seen passing Beaulieu while taking part in a vintage vehicle run through the New Forest on 20 August 1978. The registration shown is LTR 336R but she is noted in the PSVC listing for 2012 as being LSU 857.

Photograph and Copy contributed by Pete Davies

05/10/13 – 17:05

J 6986_2

Here is a shot of J 6986 – 57 when in service with JMT it is seen here at the St Helier – Weighbridge Bus Station.
As with all of JMT vehicles of that era, it has adverts for ‘Jersey’s own Brew’ Mary Ann. It is waiting to depart on Route 22 to BEL ROYAL via (Victoria Ave).
A 5 day Rover Ticket was 25/-, JCT (Jersey Coach Tours) All Day Tour 12/3 with meals 19/6. The window bill is advertising ‘The Sound of Music’, whether this was the film or a stage production is not known.
No.70 behind is displaying notices for ‘Flat Fare please pay 6d in the SLOT – Children 4d’.

Stephen Howarth

06/10/13 – 08:08

Thanks for the response, Stephen.
Certainly when I visited the island in the mid 1970’s, the buses were still advertising that brand. The cars in my posting are waiting to visit the oversize garage which Lord Montagu has in his garden!

Pete Davies

06/10/13 – 08:08

No. 70 is a 1948 Morris Commercial CVF 13/5 with Wadham FB27F body.

Chris Hebbron

08/10/13 – 07:50

This is a lovely little bus, the Mulliner body makes a change from Duple bodies on OB chassis. I have always thought it a great shame that so many enthusiasts tended to ignore Bedfords and Fords. To me they were fascinating vehicles which kept many small independent stage operators using them on rural stage services.

Don McKeown

08/10/13 – 11:24

I agree with you entirely Don. Not only were the OBs (and even more so their “War Effort” OWB siblings) fascinating but their performance from a 28hp petrol engine was unbelievably impressive. They were often in addition subjected to the most abominable overloading which they handled without a whimper. As far as their aural talents were concerned they were unique and magnificent – the lusty tuneful roar in the first three gears was classical music to the ears, followed by calm and quiet in top gear when their gentle rear spring twittering was most enjoyable. They were also very comfortable indeed, considering that the suspension was completely basic, and economical to run and simple to maintain – well, we’re talking legends now and legends they were for me.

Chris Youhill

08/10/13 – 12:53

More than once, Chris, I’ve heard folk, unacquainted with the gearbox crescendo, associating this with the engine noise and make comments such as, ‘If he keeps flogging the engine like that, he’ll have the big ends go!’ I agree with the unbustability of the mechanicals of these little gems so affectionately held in high regard. I sometimes went out of my way to travel on the Portsmouth Corp’n OWB’s, not so satisfying, because in their latter years they were on short routes, some only 10-15 mins long! But a kind driver would let me do a return journey or two if nicely spoken to! Fortunately, no inspector ever came aboard, perhaps because it was an unrewarding pastime on fringe routes! Route 13, Milton (White House) to Locksway Road was the usual one, busy solely for the mental hospital it served.

Chris Hebbron

12/10/13 – 08:05

J 6986_3

I have found a near side view of J 6986.

Stephen Howarth

24/11/13 – 07:42

The nearside view of J.M.T. Bedford OB with Mulliner bodywork was taken at the Snow hill bus station in the early 1960’s just after a re-paint loosing its characteristic cream stripe below the windows which was bordered with a green stripe. originally she had a cream bonnet top and the cream on the front ran down to the mudguard level.She entered service in June 1947 and withdrawn in July 1969. Originally used as a coach from new until March 1951 and there after as a bus.
She ran from 1947 to 1951 in the B.E.A. livery of grey and red before being painted in the green and cream bus livery. She came from S.C.S ( Safety Coach Service) as a chassis and new in 1946, she was going to be bodied by Jersey Motor Panels for S.C.S but the company was taken over by the J.M.T in November 1946.
The chassis was sent up to Mulliner for the bodywork to be fitted. The first vehicle in Jersey to have Mulliner bodywork.

John Luce

10/03/17 – 07:30

My dad used to own what was J 6986 or LTR 336R. He bought her from a man called Sandy in New Milton Hampshire early 70s. She was in rather a sorry state, as it was being used as a green house. Dad brought her back to Breamore near Fordingbridge, where he was curator of the countryside museum there. He completely stripped her down to rolling chassis, repaired and renewed timber frame where needed. He managed to save the panels and beading on the body, took some straightening. Gradually she came back to life. He put her back in her Jersey colour green and cream and named her Maralyn. We used to do Bournemouth to Bath road run with her. Great fun, have to see if I can find some photos. Dad retired about 1979 and moved down to Tiverton Devon with me. Then in 1981 we all moved to Wellington Somerset needless to say the bus came to. Unfortunately dad had to sell her, can’t remember where she went, but not long after we heard she was sold on again, I think she went up to the Kent area,. Dads name was Pat Wale if anyone has the logbook to her. Lost dad 2003, Hope this is of some interest.
Does anyone know where she is now?

Shirley Williams

10/03/17 – 08:40

Thanks for your contribution, Shirley. I lived in Blackfield at the time of my original posting. I see you mention Tiverton. My wife’s side of the family has a branch there, in sight of the canal. Small world!

Pete Davies

10/03/17 – 17:31

Hi Peter my family came from Blackfield my aunt still lives there. We used to live at the Mazery at the top of canal hill Tiverton. We had the bus parked out the back of the house.
Any relation to Richard Davis from New Milton Hampshire.

Shirley Williams

10/03/17 – 17:35

LSU 857 passed to Dr Mark Sleep t/a Ages Past of Eversley 8/08 and is now part of his wedding hire fleet. Now painted Green & White there are numerous pics of it on Flickr.
Previous owners in reverse order are:
John Yonge, Kew 4/07
J M Poultney, Minster 11/89
Thorpe, Herne Bay 6/83 (re regd LSU 857 5/88)
Legg, Bishops Lydeard by 11/82
Pat Wale (Countryside Museum) Fordingbridge -/78 (regd LTR 336R)
New to JMT as J 6986 3/47

John Wakefield

11/03/17 – 07:25

No relation at all to the one you mention in New Milton. I have the Welsh spelling (IES) where he has the English spelling (IS). My grandfather was actually a Welshman!

Pete Davies

11/03/17 – 07:26

Chris Y correctly gives the stated output of the OBs petrol engine as 28 hp, but this was the RAC rating, an absurdly inaccurate and outdated method of measurement from the early years of the 20th century that some manufacturers seemed reluctant to ditch. The 3519 cc engine actually developed 72 bhp, not that far short of the 85 bhp of the Gardner 5LW in many 1940s/1950s double deckers. In the early post war years, a Bedford OB with the Mulliner body could be bought for £1290, which compared well with the £1415 that was asked for one with a Duple Vista coach body.

Roger Cox

12/03/17 – 07:42

Despite the obvious price advantage in having the attractive OB Mulliner coach body, it remained relatively rare, compared with the Duple ones.

Chris Hebbron

12/03/17 – 08:06

j 6986

I took this photo of the delightful J 6986 at the end of the Bournemouth to Bath Rally in about 1977.

John Stringer

12/03/17 – 17:35

Thanks to all its lovely to know the old girls still going strong dad would be very proud. I see in the photo she still has her lucky heather in the grill mum put that there when we took her across the New Forest. Now I will have to find those photos won’t I.

Shirley Williams

13/03/17 – 16:29

Roger, the RAC formula was used to determine vehicle tax until 1947. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_horsepower

Stephen Allcroft

14/03/17 – 06:48

Stephen, I confess to being astonished that the RAC engine formula was still being used for vehicle taxation purposes as late as 1947. I suppose in the early years of the 20th century using the cylinder bore measurement was a roughly consistent method of assessing horsepower when long stroke engines were the norm, but the RAC formula very soon became hopelessly inaccurate as engine design was refined. Its retention until 1947 in official taxation circles seems barely credible. It just goes to show how remote from reality are our politicians cocooned in their Neo Gothic ivory tower at Westminster.

Roger Cox

15/03/17 – 07:04

DVLA still get engine capacity wrong. They often get Cubic Centimetres mixed up with Cubic Inches which of course engines of most buses & commercials are quoted in. So we get 330cc in the case of a 330 cubic inch Bedford engine.

John Wakefield

29/03/21 – 07:03

3 muls

During my research on Daimler Freelines I was pointed to this page in regard to Mulliner bodies. No less than 22 Gardner-engined Freelines with Mulliner B56D bodies were supplied to JN Zarpas, in Lagos, Nigeria in 1957/8.
I have only recently found a low-res scan of 3 of them, which I will try to attach.
Would I be correct in thinking that these bodies would have been built on the Daimler chassis in Birmingham and exported as complete vehicles, or would the bodies have been supplied CKD like the Saro bodies for New Zealand?

Jim Neale

East Ham Borough Council – Bedford OB – EHV 65

East Ham Borough Council - Bedford OB - EHV 65

East Ham Borough Council
1951
Bedford OB
Duple B29F

Here is a view of EHV 65. This Bedford OB was new in 1951 to the Education Department of East Ham Borough Council. She has Duple B29F and is seen here in Hants & Sussex livery during the King Alfred Running Day in Winchester on 1 January 1996. So far as I can gather, she was never a PSV and never operated for Hants & Sussex, but others may know something I’m missing!

Photograph and Copy contributed by Pete Davies

30/01/14 – 06:35

But whatever the history, she looks rather splendid in your photo, Pete.

David Oldfield

30/01/14 – 06:35

Hants and Sussex in all its many company guises certainly operated a great many 29 seat Duple bodied Bedford OBs, but this was not one of them. As I recall, the front wings and rear mudguards should be maroon to be an accurate representation of the Hants and Sussex livery, unless my high mileage memory is (yet again) playing tricks.

Roger Cox

30/01/14 – 15:40

Thanks, gents!

Pete Davies

02/02/14 – 15:59

EHV 65 was as you say new to East Ham BC, and when bought for preservation by Cliff Burgess and Clive Wilkin the decision was taken to present it as a Hants & Sussex bus as none survived from the original H & S fleet. It is kept at the City of Portsmouth Preserved Transport Depot, either at Portchester or East Meon.

Mr Anon

Priory Coaches – Bedford OB – ?? – 47

Bedford OBs

Priory Coaches of North Shields
194?
Bedford OB
Duple C27F

My thanks to the management of Priory Coaches North Shields, for allowing me to use this photo.
An impressive line up of Duple bodied Bedford OB’s from the late 40’s (exact year unknown) In the background is Tynemouth Castle, which overlooks the mouth of the river Tyne. To the extreme left, the white building at the top of the cliffs is the Coast Guard Station.

Bedford OBs cu

Above the roof line of the buildings you can see the medieval monument of Tynemouth Priory, which the company is named after, at one time a gold image of the Priory was displayed on the rear of their vehicles. The livery was two shades of green and cream, with gold leaf lettering and logo, the seats were upholstered in a dark rich red moquette material. Around 1953, the layout was altered and cream became the predominant colour. On the OB’s, the bulk of the body became cream, the roof, front and rear wings, lower skirt, radiator and bonnet tops were dark green, the wheels and the side flash below the window line was the lighter green. The present day fleet is mainly Volvo, and the livery is white with two shades of blue. The Priory logo is still used, but is no longer displayed on their vehicles, the lettering is now blue, but same shaded style font is still used.

Photograph and Copy contributed by Ronnie Hoye

12/05/14 – 08:42

Only a small number of Bedford OB coaches were produced late 1945 after the war with production increasing in 1946 a Bedford PSV circle listing would give you exact year. This listing provides date to 1st owner. Which may help you to date photograph. Sorry I do not have access to listing.

Alan Coulson

12/05/14 – 14:03

T. G. Chapman (Priory Coaches) of South Shields had the following OB/Vistas:
FT 5666: 04/46
FT 5679: 06/46
FT 5680: 06/46
FT 5884: 10/46
FT 5885: 02/47
FT 5892: 10/46
FT 5893: 01/47
FT 5894: 10/46
FT 5895: 11/47
FT 5896: 10/46
FT 6102: 11/47 (SMT body)
FT 6281: 01/48
FT 6358: 06/48
FT 6642: 05/49
FT 6795: ?
FT 6905: 1950
FT 7009: 1951
There were also 12 OB’s (6 Duple, 6 Plaxton FC30F) with FT registrations delivered between 7/46 and 12/48 to Taylor Bros. of North Shields. Some of the registration numbers of Taylor’s vehicles were in the same batches as the Priory (Chapman) ones, so I assume there was a connection between the two. This is according to the PSV Circle book on the OB.

John Stringer

13/05/14 – 06:37

John, I’m not aware of any connection between Taylor Brothers of North Shields and Priory Coaches, but that’s not to say there wasn’t one. Around 1960 ‘ish’ Taylor Bros became a subsidiary of Hall Brothers of South Shields, who subsequently became part of the Barton Group

Ronnie Hoye

13/05/14 – 13:08

Sorry Ronnie, an unfortunate typo crept into my comment above, the listed OB’s being those of G. Chapman (Priory Coaches), not Taylor Bros.

John Stringer

13/05/14 – 17:20

John, I note that one of the numbers listed is for the OB’s is FT 6905, as I said, I am not aware of any connection between Taylor Bros and Priory Coaches, however, Taylor Bros had a Daimler CVD6SD with C33F Burlingham body, registration FT 6909, only four away. The vehicle is pictured elsewhere on this site, and was last heard of tucked away in a corner of Wright Brothers depot in Nenthead, and awaiting restoration. The two depots were very close to each other, Priory was in Queen Street, and I think Taylor’s were literally just round the corner in Hudson Street. Another thing that I had quite forgotten, I don’t know when the business started, or if there was any connection between the two, but certainly from the end of the war until about the mid to late 60’s, the main Vauxhall / Bedford dealership in North Shields was also called Taylor Brothers, and they were on Tynemouth Road, which was only a stones throw from both the Priory and Taylor Bros depots. This is only speculation on my part, but the dealership changed hands at roughly the same time the coaches were taken over by Hall Brothers. death duties perhaps?

Ronnie Hoye

19/05/14 – 07:14

It was interesting to see the list of OB registrations from John Stringer, and they had me reaching for my Glass’s Index of registration numbers.
FT was the mark of the ‘County Borough Council of Tynemouth’, and was the mark allocated to it, when it became a County Borough, and commenced issuing registrations as and from 1st October 1904.
FT ran from then until January 1957.
John shows TF 5666 being registered on April 1946, and must have been only the 2nd vehicle licensed that year, because the year started at FT 5665.
Similarly in 1948 the year started at 6276, with FT 6281 being only the 6th licensed. It can be seen therefore that it was a very slow moving mark.
So it took 53 years to issue 10,000 marks, (an average of less than 200 a year), it must have been an easy job working in the Motor Vehicle Taxation Office in Tynemouth

Stephen Howarth

19/05/14 – 15:35

The DVLA seem to have stumbled upon a nice little earner in unused Tynemouth FT registrations. The BBC George Gently series is set in the early 70’s, in a recent episode I noticed an Austin with a numbers first LFT registration. Tynemouth did get as far as three letters followed by the numbers, but never with the numbers first. Incidentally, the 1 numbers, AFT 1 – BFT 1 Etc, were all Tynemouth Police vehicles.

Ronnie Hoye

20/05/14 – 16:33

The county borough of Tynemouth got as far as the start of the KFT series before it changed to AFT —B! It must have been getting a little busier in Tynemouths motor taxation office…

Tom Carr

20/05/14 – 17:20

I think we may have our wires crossed here, Tom. The first three letter FT registrations delivered to Tynemouth and District were the 1957 Willowbrook bodied Leyland PD2/12’s, they were AFT 49/53, but AFT 1 was an Austin Westminster for Tynemouth Police, and the first of every issue up to KFT were also Police vehicles. The fist issue with a suffix was in 1965 ‘C’ but the letters reverted to AFT. Under the local boundary changes of 1974, FT became a Tyne and Wear registration.

Ronnie Hoye

21/05/14 – 08:08

It wouldn’t have required a great deal of intelligence for the local villains to spot the unmarked police cars, then, Ronnie.

Roger Cox

15/06/14 – 07:57

Tom is quite right – Tynemouth got as far as KFT 333 before starting the year suffixes with AFT 1B in August 1964.
And he’s not wrong to say that it must have been getting busier in Tynemouth’s motor taxation office – by October 1974, they had reached the VFT-N series whereas Gateshead, which had made it as far as SCN 56 before adopting the year suffixes in July 1964, had only reached the RCN-N series…

Des Elmes

18/03/15 – 07:05

AFT 1 was also on a Humber Super Snipe which came chauffeur driven when I was a lad to pick Chief Constable J. J. Scott up who lived diagonally opposite my grandmothers.

Eddie Hill

Mid-Wales Motorways – Bedford OB – BEP 882

Mid-Wales Motorways - Bedford OB - BEP 882

Mid-Wales Motorways
1951
Bedford OB
Duple B29F

BEP 882 is a Bedford OB from the Mid-Wales Motorways fleet. She is seen at Dunsfold, on one of the occasions the “Wisley” rally wasn’t held at Wisley, on 10 April, 2011. She has a Duple B29F body and dates from 1951.

Photograph and Copy contributed by Pete Davies

United Oxford Hospitals – Bedford OB – NWL 804


Copyright Unknown

United Oxford Hospitals
1948
Bedford OB
Mulliner B31F

Bedford OB NWL 804 chassis 91874, with Mulliner B31F body number T324 was new in November 1948 to United Oxford Hospitals and is thought to have been attached to Churchill Hospital at Headington. In this view, it appears to have bars at some windows in the same fashion as sometimes applied to similar buses for service with the police. Ironically, for a hospital bus, it is carrying a healthy load. Photo purchased five decades ago, copyright unknown.

Photograph and Copy contributed by Les Dickinson

05/02/15 – 06:32

Les, are you sure the bars are not just the frames of two half-drop windows ?
A nice little bus though.

John Stringer

05/02/15 – 06:32

Are they bars, or just half-drop windows?

Stephen Ford

05/02/15 – 16:27

Yes I’m sure they’re half drop windows as the metal tops to the fixed lower panes can clearly be seen level with each other. Considering that Mulliner bodies were usually for unpretentious working vehicles they turned out some very pleasing designs indeed – the hordes of Military buses, all three services, were grand looking vehicles.

Chris Youhill

06/02/15 – 06:44

This particular design of bus body for the OB was designed by Duple, being a development of the OWB utility body, and known as the Mk.II. After building a few, Duple found their production lines overwhelmed with building Vista coaches, and so in 1947 sub-contracted a batch of Mk.II’s to Mulliner’s of Birmingham. Two bodies are known to have been sent to Mulliners to assist in producing jigs. Following the sub-contracted batch, further orders were passed by the Vauxhall dealers directly to Mulliner’s, who continued to supply the design until 1950, very many of which were exported – especially to oil companies in the Middle East or South America. Dealers are believed to have referred to the Mulliner-built bodies as Mk. III. In 1949 Duple came up with a new, more stylish bus body known as the Mk. IV, and recommenced production of bus bodies for OB’s, being produced simultaneously with the older style Mulliners.

John Stringer

Tanner’s Services – Bedford OB – HOT 339

Tanner’s Services - Bedford OB - HOT 339

Tanner’s Services (Banbury)
1950
Bedford OB
Duple C27F

Here is another example of the Bedford OB with Duple C27F bodywork. Seen here in the livery of Tanner’s Services of Banbury, she was new in 1950 to the fleet of Grace, Alresford – the town at the ‘country’ end of the Mid Hants line. She’s seen here in the St Catherine’s park and ride car park in Winchester for the King Alfred Running Day on 1 January 2009.

Photograph and Copy contributed by Pete Davies

14/04/17 – 07:46

HOT 339, was owned by a couple of old friends of mine in Sutton Surrey. We took seats out so when we went on holiday in it we could sleep on the floor! That was in late 60s/early 70s. Coach was in Brown Motor Services livery!

Alan

15/04/17 – 07:49

The Mid Hants line between Alton and Winchester was regrettably and foolishly closed by British Rail in 1972, by which time it was worked by the SR “Thumper” DEMUs. I travelled on it very many times. The Alton -Alresford section is now the preserved Watercress Line. This OB was new to Grace in 1950, but, in 1952, it was purchased by A. T. Brady of Forest Green, t/a Brown Motor Services. When Brady retired in October 1970, the entire Brown Motor Services fleet and route network passed to J. D. Wylde’s North Downs Rural Transport. I worked for this operator at weekends away from my LCBS desk, in the course of which I drove HOT 339 a number of times. North Downs collapsed in the Spring of 1972, the fleet, by then consisting mostly of Albion Nimbus and Bristol LS types, was dispersed far and wide.

Roger Cox

29/09/17 – 07:45

Just happened across this thread. Travelled home from school (Holmbury-Guildford) on HOT in 1966 when she substituted for the regular Brady/Brown Bedford VAS 3255 PJ. Glad she’s still going strong. Wonder if Brady’s Nimbus is still around?

Macintosh

30/09/17 – 05:25

To fill in some more history of HOT 339. On dispersal from J D Wylde it went to Odd of Cheam (believed to be Dennis Odd) c/72, an early bus preservationist/collector.
Then to Whitehead of Tooting (date & use unknown) & to Andy Stopford, Tunbridge Wells for a caravan circa 9/85.
It was acquired by current owners, Bill & Connie Barton of Banbury in -/01 who restored it back to a coach. The Tanners livery was a company who Connie drove an OB for in her earlier life.

John Wakefield

02/10/17 – 07:23

The original operator of this coach, D G Grace of Alresford, trading as Grace Line, took over the local bus services of Blue Bus Services (also of Alresford) between that town and Winchester in 1949. This service operated until 14th August 1953, when Grace Line ceased to trade. After that date, Aldershot & District assumed the monopoly of services between Alresford and Winchester.
HOT 339 had operated on the service between the two towns when it was brand new, so its appearance at the King Alfred running day in Winchester in 2009 represented a welcome return to the city for this much travelled coach.

petras409

09/11/17 – 07:06

Brady’s Albion Nimbus is still about. Owned by travellers I believe.

Trevor

01/01/19 – 08:41

Hot 339 was owned, in the 70’s, by Alan Whitehart, booking clerk at West Sutton railway station and was mostly parked outside the station, which has since been demolished. I used to go to various bus rallies on HOT 339 in her Browns Motor Services livery and Alan would even fire her up to do an all stations run to Wimbledon if a train was cancelled…proper old school railwayman!

Shane