Wheels at a jaunty angle!

Tuesday 1 June 1993 – The Tuesday Market in the small Gloucestershire town of Moreton-in-Marsh attracted scores of coaches from far and wide. Shaws Coaches is based in Maxey, Cambridgeshire. F225 RJX was a Plaxton Paramount 3200 bodied DAF new in April 1999 which featured the low driving position and, as a result, had the style of front windscreen arrangement found on the higher style Paramount 3500 models.

Easter Sunday 16 April 1995 (approx. 1430) - Menchen Reisen of Borken, Germany BOR HM 26, a Neoplan Skyliner, seen pulling out of Chorlton Street Coach Station, Manchester. The sign in the window shows ‘Transline bus’. Transline was a brand used by Eurolines for a range of services linking British and German cities that were tailored for families of the British armed forces. Borken, where Menchen is based, is close to the River Rhine and the border with The Netherlands. Close by are the towns of Münster, Dortmund, Essen etc. In a timetable I have (q.v.) for the date shown the journey time from Manchester to those towns was in the region of 18.5 to 19.5 hours. Services ran from a number of key British cities. There was an Interchange point at one of the Channel ports in order to link with different coaches then operating to different groups of destinations in Germany. In the background is Shearings Holidays 680 (M680 KVU), a Hool Alizée bodied Volvo B10M new in February 1995. Inside the coach station is a GM Buses North vehicle loading for service 184 to Uppermill. Looks like one of the coach seated Northern Counties bodied MCW Metrobuses from the D-LNB batch.

Friday 24 August 1990 (1545) – Eurobus Limited of West Drayton F812 RJF, a Yugoslavian built TAZ Dubrava D3500 new in June 1989, seen leaving the Gare Routiere in Geneva, Switzerland working the 1415 Eurolines service 131 from Chamonix (France) to London (England). It would arrive at 1030 the next day (Saturday 25 August). I saw the coach again two days later when parked in Chamonix, so it had then worked the 1500 departure from London on Saturday 25 August arriving in Chamonix at 1315 on Sunday 26 August. (Unfortunately, on the morning of Tuesday 4 September I saw the coach again just north of Paris where it had broken down and was parked on the hard shoulder of the Autoroute leading to the coastal ports). At the time service 131 operated the through service three times a week all year round supplemented with a fourth trip in the main part of the summer. Other than being a contracted operator I am of the belief that Eurobus and Eurolines were unrelated. Between July 1988 and September 1990 the Yugoslavian (Croatian) bus and coach builder Tvornica Autobusa Zagreb (abbreviated to TAZ) sold around 77 of their Dubrava type coaches to operators in the British Isles. (60 to England/Scotland, 1 to Northern Ireland and 16 to the Irish Republic according to details shown on the ‘Bus Lists on the Web’ website). There was a mixture of the lower height D3200 and the higher D3500 body types - the numbers depicting the heights in millimetres. These vehicles had a lower price tag than contemporary types from other builders but the build quality was inferior. In the ‘Little Red Book 1992/3’ Eurobus Limited was shown as operating a fleet of eight coaches all being TAZ Dubrava models.

Saturday 29 September 2018 (1221) – The Delaine Running Day at Bourne, Lincolnshire. 72 (ACT 540L) is a Northern Counties bodied Leyland Atlantean AN68/2R that was new to Delaine in March 1973 as fleet number 72 and is now part of the Delaine Heritage Trust preserved fleet. It was seen leaving the Delaine garage for Stamford on the heritage service forming part of the Running Day. The service operated every 30 minutes over the day and this was the second of three round trips that 72 covered (from Bourne at 0950, 1220 and 1450 returning from Stamford 40 minutes later).

Saturday 29 September 2018 (1303) - The Delaine Running Day at Bourne, Lincolnshire. KTL 780, a Willowbrook bodied Leyland PD2/20 new to Delaine in April 1956 as fleet number 45. Now part of The Delaine Heritage Trust Collection. It was seen prior to working 1320 heritage service to Stamford. The service operated every 30 minutes over the day and this was the second of three round trips 45 covered (1050, 1320 and 1550 returning from Stamford 40 minutes later). I travelled this (1320) departure back to Ryhall near Stamford.

Saturday 29 September 2018 (1311) - The Delaine Running Day at Bourne, Lincolnshire. Two preserved buses from The Delaine Heritage Trust Collection seen at work on the heritage bus service run between Bourne and Stamford as part of the Running Day. The service operated every 30 minutes from 0920 to 1620. KTL 780, a Willowbrook bodied Leyland PD2/20 new to Delaine in April 1956 as fleet number 45, was about to leave for Stamford on the 1320 service. This was the second of three round trips 45 covered (1050, 1320 and 1550 returning from Stamford 40 minutes later). In the background is RCT 3, a Yeates bodied Leyland PD3/1 new to Delaine in July 1960 as fleet number 50, had arrived back from Stamford. This was the second of three round trips 50 covered (0920, 1150 and 1420 returning from Stamford 40 minutes later). I was fortunate to travel on both these buses today travelling from Ryhall to Bourne on 50 returning on 45.

Friday 3 August 2018 (08056) – Stagecoach South 27869 (GX13 AOO) arriving at The Hard, Portsmouth. It is an Alexander Dennis Enviro300 new in August 2013 with branding for Portsmouth services 20/21.

Wednesday 12 September 2018 (1152) – Trent Barton (trentbarton) 672 (FJ55 AAK) seen in Mansfield bus station working service 141 to Sutton-in-Ashfield. It is a Wright Solar bodied Scania L94UB new in September 2005 and wears Trent Barton fleet livery.

Friday 3 August 2018 (0746) – A broadside view of Stagecoach South 27861 (GX13 ANU) as it turned from Station Street to Commercial Road in Portsmouth city centre. It is an Alexander Dennis Enviro300 new in July 2013 with branding for Portsmouth services 20/21. The background is dominated by Catherine House, a student accommodation complex with a capacity for around 1000 residents.

Thursday 2 August 2018 (1514) – First Hampshire and Dorset 33895 (SN14 TPZ), an Alexander Dennis Enviro400 new in March 2004, seen arriving at The Hard Interchange when operating the Portsmouth Park and Ride service.

Saturday 18 August 2018 (0940) – Richmond’s Coaches of Barley, Hertfordshire 648 EAU seen at the Picnic Area near Fiveways (A1065), Barton Mills heading for the Norfolk resort of Wells-next-the-Sea on a day excursion. It is a Van Hool TX27 Astromega new in May 2017 with the registration that had previously been carried by an earlier vehicle(s) in the Richmond’s fleet.

Thursday 26 March 2009 (1256) – Henry Hulley of Baslow 3 (P273 NRH), an Optare Excel new to East Yorkshire Motor Services in December 1996, seen at Castleton bus station having arrived as the 1130 service 272 from Sheffield (Meadowhall). To the left is bus 17 (M802 PRA), an Optare Vecta new to Trent in October 1994, which had arrived as the 1205 service 173 from Bakewell.

Monday 18 February 2019 (1314) – Stagecoach Midlands 11128 (SK68 LUZ) seen in Peterborough bus station working service X4 to Corby and Northampton. It is an Alexander Dennis Enviro400D MMC new in September 2018.

Monday 18 February 2019 (1313) – Stagecoach East 18347 (AE55 DKU), an Alexander ALX400 bodied Dennis Trident new in November 2005, seen in Peterborough bus station. It carries the legal name of Go West Travel with a label in the first side window stating it is on hire to Cambus.

Friday 29 June 2018 (1106) – Stagecoach East 15201, (YN64 ANV), an Alexander Dennis Enviro400 bodied Scania N230UD new in November 2014, seen turning from Market Road to Station Road in St. Ives. The full lock of the front wheels enables clear sight of the guidewheels used on the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway. Due to depart from the bus stop behind the camera at 1100 the bus was already running late and the parked delivery van was impeding progress. There was quite a load of passengers to take on board before the bus finally got away. A further delay ensued at Histon caused in the attempt to load a giant pushchair on the bus. It was about 17 minutes late by then.

Saturday 23 November 2019 – Felixstowe Travel M30 FXO seen in Honey Hill, Bury St. Edmunds having brought visitors to the annual Christmas Fayre. It is a Berkhof Axial bodied VDL SB4000 that had been new to Golden Tours, London in August 2012 registered YJ12 CHK. It later passed to Prentice Westwood, West Calder, Scotland and later still to Sanders Coaches, Holt, Norfolk.

Saturday 20 June 1987 – London Buses AEC-Park Royal Routemaster RML2488 (JJD 488D) seen turning from Regent Street into Oxford Street at Oxford Circus. Service 15 was a cross city service linking East Ham (East London) with Ladbroke Grove (West London) travelling through the heart of the city passing some key points including the Tower of London shown on the front advertising panels. The bus was allocated to Upton Park (U) garage.

Saturday 14 December 2019 (1006) – Coopers Tours of Killamarsh near Sheffield R777 JCS seen arriving at Peterborough Service Area on the A1 when working a ‘London Winter Wonderland’ day excursion. It is an Irizar Century bodied Scania K340 that carries a select registration plate transferred from a previous vehicle operated by the company.