Alder Valley VCG 600H in Farnborough - 20 Aug 1972

Sunday 20 August 1972 - Alder Valley 53 (VCG 600H) seen on Farnborough Road in Farnborough close to Farnborough Main railway station. With the road layout changes I would say that the house behind is one that is now accessed from Clock House Road and from this location is shrouded in trees and barely visible. The Duple Commander bodied AEC Reliance which was new to Aldershot and District (as their 600 in June 1970) working the Farnham to London express service. When new it would have sported the company’s coach livery of cream with green relief. In the early 1970s the National Bus Company formed National Travel and introduced the white based coach livery which was applied to the vehicles on this service. However, it was considered that this shorter haul service fell outside the remit of the National Travel network and it became more of a local express service employing vehicles carrying the NBC ‘local coach’ livery. (Alder Valley was the trading name of The Thames Valley and Aldershot Omnibus Company Limited which was created when the NBC merged Thames Valley and A&D).