Tag: Dennis Dart

Prince of Wales Tours – Dennis Dart – TJ 836

Prince Of Wales Tours - Dennis Dart - TJ 836
Prince Of Wales Tours - Dennis Dart - TJ 836

Prince of Wales Tours
1933
Dennis Dart
Duple C20R

So far as I am aware, Entwhistle & Sons of Morecambe, trading as Prince of Wales tours, only ever had two vehicles. I offered a view of ETC 760B a while ago. Here are two views of their first, a 1933 Dennis Dart with Duple C20R body, with door. After thirty years of regular service, it was retired – ETC 760B being the replacement – and it has now returned to its birthplace, Guildford. It is now in the care of Alexander Dennis and we see it at Wisley on 5 April 2009. Quite why it has a White Heather illuminated rear panel I do not know. It carried it in her normal working life, too!

Photograph and Copy contributed by Pete Davies

13/10/16 – 15:30

Sorry, Pete, I think you’ve got one or two things wrong, there.
TJ 836 was new to Entwistle (no ‘h’) of Morecambe, but later operated for Jardine (t/a ‘White Heather’) also of Morecambe. I would imagine that the transfer took place in 1949/50 since that is the year in which Entwistle took delivery of a new Pearson-bodied Bedford OB – the registration was something like LTD 986, although that possibly isn’t quite right. It was this OB which was in turn replaced by ETC 760B in 1964.
‘LTD 986’ went for further service with Hay, of Kintore, Aberdeenshire.
Frank Entwistle died in the late 1970s (I think) and ETC 760B passed to the partnership of Gerry Lamb and Neville Lacey (of Morecambe) who were already operating a coach of their own (a Bedford VAM, I think), under the name ‘Regent Travel’. IIRC correctly ETC 760B continued to be operated under the name ‘Prince of Wales’ for several years.
‘White Heather’ ceased operation when Mr Jardine died (I think this was the late 1950s). TJ 836 was sold shortly afterwards, but still stored in the Jardine depot at this time was TE 8318, a Chevrolet new to Jardine in 1929. I have read (on a Flickr caption) that TE 8318 and TJ 836 were operated by Jardine concurrently, but I didn’t think that that had been the case, although I don’t know for sure.
In addition to TJ 836, TE 8318 and ETC 760B are, I think, still preserved. There is a nice shot of TJ 836 in service with Jardine on Flickr.

David Call

13/10/16 – 15:31

Can anyone explain, please, what the chimney-like protuberance is, at the nearside rear corner of the roof, above the fold-down steps? Such steps would normally lead to a roof-mounted luggage carrier of some sort (as found on, say, 50s Royal Blue coaches), but I can’t see any way you could keep luggage in place on this one.

Graham Woods

14/10/16 – 05:15

David, You are indeed correct as regards the spelling with or without the ‘H’. My schooldays were spent in Lancaster and Morecambe and I distinctly remember TJ running in the livery shown in the early 1960’s, and then ETC. I have no recollection of the OB. The Chevrolet has appeared on these pages in the past it can been here. I didn’t know that TJ had been with Jardine.

Pete Davies

14/10/16 – 05:16

TJ 836_03

With regards to the luggage rack, I think this would have been a recess in the roof with a waterproof cover that could be pulled back over the luggage (see attached pic) where you can see the cover rolled up on roof. I think the roof has since been panelled over. I don’t know what the square ‘chimney’ protrusion is, being in line with the steps it must have got in the way of the driver when putting cases up on roof. One thought would it have been a vent of some sort?

John Wakefield

14/10/16 – 05:17

It’s the smoke outlet from the boiler Graham. The fireman’s door is just next to it. The coal is stored just next to the number plate. The luggage locker is at the front.

Joe

14/10/16 – 08:47

Nearly right, Joe, the vehicle was actually powered by peat!
That’s a lovely photo, John W, which made me wonder if the roofbox had a winding handle inside for the luggage cover, perhaps.

Chris Hebbron

13/12/16 – 14:10

TJ 836_2

Frank Entwistle was my second cousin and his father, Harry, my great uncle.
TJ 836 originally had a roof box for luggage, see attached photo. The coach which followed the Dart was indeed a Pearson-bodied Bedford OB reg LTD 986. There were previous coaches to TJ 836 and before them horse-drawn Landaus.

Dave Shaw

13/12/16 – 14:10

LTD 986

The Bedford OB which followed the Dart was LTD 986, as shown in the attached photo.

Dave Shaw

10/02/17 – 06:53

If you look at You Tube – Coach Travel in the Fifties www.youtube.com/watch
I think that you see a few frames of this bus, or one looking like it running right to left across the picture at about 19mins and 56secs in.

Roland Harmer

15/10/18 – 07:28

TG 836_3

In this picture, taken at South Croydon in May 1972, the folding roof was still fitted.

Roger Cox

The Dennis Dart

The Dennis Dart was a sophisticated little machine that was a great advance upon its forebears, the 36 bhp 2.72 litre four cylinder side valve powered G, and the slightly longer GL which had a 42 bhp ohv version of the same engine design (see OBP Llandudno UDC – Dennis GL – CC 8671). The Dart was introduced in 1929 and was propelled by a wet liner, six cylinder pushrod ohv engine of 4.086 litres that could develop up to 70 bhp. Coupled with a four speed gearbox, road speeds in excess of 50 mph were attainable. Fuel consumption was claimed to be 15 mpg on main roads and 11 mpg in urban conditions. Most Dart production was bodied for bus and coach work, but some were used as lorries. Unusually for Dennis, only three were equipped with fire engine bodies, and all of them went to New Zealand :- www.fire-engine-photos.com
The earliest examples of the Dart had a radiator grille similar in shape to the EV model as seen on the fire engine, but this was soon replaced by the Arrow/ Lance style of grille shown on TJ 836. From 1930, The London General Omnibus Company adopted the Dart as its standard small bus for OMO duties, taking a total of 42.
Like the six cylinder 100 bhp Arrow, the Dart came on the scene at a difficult time when the economy was in the severe doldrums following the 1929 financial crash. The Arrow was quickly replaced in 1931 by the more utilitarian four cylinder Lancet, and the Dart was followed in 1933 by the rugged and reliable ‘Flying Pig’ Ace model which had the utterly dependable 60 bhp four cylinder 3.77 litre side valve motor, an engine that remained in production up to the 1960s. When the London Transport Passenger Board came into existence in 1933 it deliberated for some time in its choice of a new 20 seater bus for OMO duties before finally coming down in favour of the Leyland Cub in 1935. The influencing factor seems to have been Leyland’s introduction of the 4.4 litre six cylinder diesel engine for the Cub. Other models from Thornycroft and Dennis were considered by the LPTB, but the only diesel options from those manufacturers were the Gardner 4LK or the temperamental and barely developed Perkins Wolf, both of which were four cylinder designs. In service, the Cub’s original direct injection Leyland unit proved to be troublesome, and it was superseded by an indirect injection version. All the London Darts remained in service until 1939, when they were due to be ousted by the revolutionary new rear engined version of the Cub, the CR, the sad tale of which may be found elsewhere on OBP :- www.old-bus-photos.co.uk

Roger Cox
11/2016