Burtons Coaches

Thursday 28 April 2005 (approx 1425) - Burtons Coaches S101 VBJ, a Plaxton Beaver bodied Mercedes-Benz Vario new to Burtons in November 1998, seen in Ipswich Street, Stowmarket about to operate the 1425 service 386 to Bury St. Edmunds. At this time the buses travelled through this semi-pedestrianised shopping street and, on market days, between the market stalls.

Thursday 28 April 2005 (approx 1425) - Burtons Coaches S101 VBJ, a Plaxton Beaver bodied Mercedes-Benz Vario new to Burtons in November 1998, seen in Ipswich Street, Stowmarket about to operate the 1425 service 386 to Bury St. Edmunds. At this time the buses travelled through this semi-pedestrianised shopping street and, on market days, between the market stalls.

Thursday 29 December 2005 (approx 1000) - Burtons Coaches S101 VBJ, a Plaxton Beaver bodied Mercedes-Benz Vario new to Burtons in November 1998, seen at West Wratting as it worked the 0855 Cambridge to Haverhill service 16.

Thursday 28 April 2005 (approx 1410) - Burtons Coaches S101 VBJ, a Plaxton Beaver bodied Mercedes-Benz Vario new to Burtons in November 1998, seen at Buxhall Fen Street when working the 1327 service 386 from Bury St. Edmunds to Stowmarket. Rear end advertising for small businesses in the Burtons operating area was carried by a number of buses.

Wednesday 21 December 2005 - A rather misty morning on the road between Balsham and West Wratting where we (almost) see Burtons Coaches S101 VBJ as it worked the 0855 Cambridge to Haverhill service 16. A Plaxton Beaver bodied Mercedes-Benz Vario new to Burtons in November 1998.

Saturday 3 December 2005 - Burtons Coaches S102 VBJ, a Plaxton Beaver bodied Mercedes-Benz Vario new to Burtons in November 1998, seen at St. Mary's Church in Weston Colville when working the 1340 service 16 from Cambridge to Burrough Green.

A Saturday in December 1998 (1007) – King Street Lay-by in Mildenhall. Left is Burtons Coaches S102 VBJ, a Plaxton Beaver bodied Mercedes-Benz Vario O 814D new in November 1998 loading on service 355 to Bury St. Edmunds. Right is Neal’s Travel J832 RNK loading on service 209 to Newmarket. It has similar bodywork to the Burtons vehicle although was new in April 1992 at the time when Reeve Burgess, the original builders of the Beaver model, was being integrated into Plaxton. This vehicle apparently carried body numbers of both concerns. Chassis was Mercedes-Benz Vario O 811D. In the background is Neal’s Travel M373 VER, the regular vehicle on the group of Mildenhall services which included a town circular and runs to the nearby villages of West Row and Beck Row. It was a Mercedes-Benz 709D with locally built bodywork by Cambridge based Marshall SPV new in October 1994.

Saturday 3 December 2005 - Burtons Coaches S102 VBJ, a Plaxton Beaver bodied Mercedes-Benz Vario new to Burtons in November 1998, seen in West Wratting when working the 0925 service 16 from Burrough Green to Cambridge.

Thursday 1 June 2006 (approx 0950) - Burtons Coaches S103 VBJ, a Plaxton Beaver bodied Mercedes-Benz Vario new to Burtons in November 1998, seen in West Wratting when working the 0855 service 16 from Cambridge to Haverhill. Many years earlier the bus service in these parts was provided by Premier Travel, a company based in Cambridge which had a depot in West Wratting acquired with the business of Long's Coaches. I believe the depot was located somewhere behind the house on the left.

Wednesday 20 April 2005 (approx 0700) - Burtons Coaches S103 VBJ, a Plaxton Beaver bodied Mercedes-Benz Vario new to Burtons in November 1998, seen at Lidgate Pond about to work the morning service 314 into Bury St. Edmunds. Rear end advertising for small businesses in the Burtons operating area was carried by a number of buses - this one for the Three Blackbirds pub in Woodditton near Newmarket.

Wednesday 20 April 2005 (approx 0700) - Burtons Coaches S103 VBJ, a Plaxton Beaver bodied Mercedes-Benz Vario new to Burtons in November 1998, seen at Lidgate Pond about to work the morning service 314 into Bury St. Edmunds. At this time of the morning it was very quiet and often the resident heron could be seen wading in the water waiting to catch a fish.

Thursday15 December 2005 - Burtons Coaches T104 KGV, a Plaxton Beaver bodied Mercedes-Benz Vario new to Burtons in May 1999, seen on Rising Sun Hill at Rattlesden when working the 1220 service 386 from Stowmarket to Bury St. Edmunds. This Vario had a manual gearbox - most, if not all of the others, were automatics. Consequently it was regularly assigned to the rota I was on with two other drivers. We three being a dying breed of bus drivers possessing a 'stick licence'. The terrain on this route required plenty of gear changing where a driver would have felt the benefit of an automatic gearbox. A few weeks later effective Monday 30 January 2006, Suffolk County Council assigned Beeston's Coaches of Hadleigh as a new contractor for this service. (To see a photo of a Mulleys Optare Solo photographed in almost the same spot nine years later in December 2014 see: www.ipernity.com/doc/davidslater-spoddendale/36180256/in/album/649445 )

Friday 17 June 2005 - Burtons Coaches T104 KGV, a Plaxton Beaver bodied Mercedes-Benz Vario new to Burtons in May 1999, posed by St. Stephen's Church in Higham. I always like to see the charming little round tower.

Wednesday 23 or Thursday 24 November 2005 - Sugar beet is widely grown in East Anglia and most of the crop in West Suffolk gets processed at the British Sugar plant in Bury St. Edmunds. This view between Harleston and Buxhall Fen Street is typical of the sight found all over the countryside as the piles of beet await transport from the farms. Burtons Coaches T104 KGV, a Plaxton Beaver bodied Mercedes-Benz Vario new to Burtons in May 1999, seen as it worked the 1220 service 386 from Stowmarket to Bury St. Edmunds.

Monday 5 June 2006 - Burtons Coaches Limited P701 LCF, a Plaxton Beaver bodied Mercedes-Benz Vario new to Tellings-Golden Miller in July 1997, seen by the water tower at Wooddittion prior to departing for Newmarket.

Sunday 17 June 2007 (0445) - A blurred photograph of Burtons Coaches Limited P701 LCF seen at Mildenhall bus station in the early morning light. The previous day I had worked the late duty on the Mildenhall outstation rota which normally finished at midnight. However I then went on to work a private hire which didn't get me back to Mildenhall until 0445. The destination blind and photograph time are genuine! P701 LCF was a Plaxton Beaver bodied Mercedes-Benz Vario new to Tellings-Golden Miller in July 1997.

Thursday 8 February 2007 - Burtons Coaches Limited P702 LCF. We had escaped the snow so far this winter but today it arrived. I was driving on duty 203 with P702 LCF, a Plaxton Beaver bodied Mercedes-Benz Vario, which was pictured in Little Thurlow Green whilst I was working the 0735 service 225 from Newmarket to Haverhill. The main roads were clear enough although the 225 travelled via some local roads, like the one here, and I had a slippery time a few moments before I took this picture when a builders van nearly slid into the bus on a narrow bend. The snow didn’t remain however much of it having disappeared by the evening. P702 LCF, a Plaxton Beaver bodied Mercedes-Benz Vario new to Tellings-Golden Miller in July 1997.

Thursday 8 February 2007 - Burtons Coaches P702 LCF seen at Dalham when working the 0735 service 225 from Newmarket to Haverhill. This was the first snow of the winter and I was driving on duty 203 with P702 LCF, a Plaxton Beaver bodied Mercedes-Benz Vario. The snow didn’t remain however much of it having disappeared by the evening.