from THE OXFORD BUS PAGE
News & Pictures from:
Oxford, High Wycombe,
The Chilterns &
surrounding areas
Issue 207
Tuesday 16th July 2002
Please note that any comments made in this news page are those of the
Editors' and in no way constitute
any official points of view from the bus companies
mentioned, or indeed any other official body.
As a news page we reserve the right to
make valid comments as seen from an editorial point of view.
Visit the Archive Pages going back to 1998
Your reports are welcome at malcolmhc@aol.com
A Go-Ahead group of Go-Ahead
coaches.
Go-Ahead times 3. - BH&D 512(N512MPN), GoNorthern - 7076-YSU876 and Oxford coach
17.
Welcome to issue 207 My apologies for the delay in posting this issue which as advised was due to pressures of work..
Last week was an interesting one for many reasons including more news on Guide Friday and the takeover of Oxford operations by Tom Tappin of Didcot. More rail replacement work was carried out by Oxford Bus and indeed there is so much replacement work at weekends now, that one can expect to see coaches from many operators, widespread and various, running into Oxford on Saturdays and Sundays. Arriva continues to contract in Wycombe and a surprise arrival at a local private operator was a Lynx from the main Wycombe fleet.
I was also delighted to receive a wide variety of photos and contributions from many of you thereby adding to the quality and interest on the page. Thank you to all those concerned.
The summer season in Oxford is now in full swing and a significant improvement to the weather saw the tour buses full to overflowing with customers enjoying the sights.
Here we see OSF928M, now owned by
Tappins, running out of Oxford Rail Station
last Sunday lunchtime carrying a full upper deck loading. "928" still exhorts
customers to take in the sights of Cambridge.
Brighton & hove feature twice in this issue, an operator which of course we would not normally cover. Our first picture above was taken on Saturday last and Chris Maxfield took the shot of a brand new doubled deck in Brighton, delivered in gold for use in that town.
Well now on to our area happenings.
News of the local companies - 14th July 2002
Arriva serving The Shires & Essex
Arriva 3843 back on old home ground
working the 275 from
Oxford to High Wycombe last Saturday.
Quite a lot of changes are happening at Wycombe with
re-allocations which Nigel Peach thinks sees Darts 3815 and 3817 leaving. from
other information from Steve Warwick it would appear these two are going to
Aylesbury. It is also suggested that Darts 3833 and 3834 are going to
Aylesbury?? - these are ex Oxford 503 and 504.
Matt Wheeler wrote saying "Aylesbury
have now received two more Mercedes Vario minibuses with Plaxton Beaver 2
bodies. They are 2176 (R176VBM) and is in Arriva livery. This is an O.810 Vario
and was previously at Hitchin. The other is 2248 (R758 DUB) and has an Arriva
front, but the rest carries an all over ad for "Bus Bonds" (white with red
circles, in a similar design to their bus bond leaflets). This is also an o.810
Vario, and was also previously at Hitchin."
Steve Warwick wrote saying -
Fri July 12th
Following a tanker overturning on the A413 at Hardwick early this morning and closing the road all day the 66 Buckingham route had to be diverted via Aston Abbots and Cublington. I was on the 11.10 dep 66 Buckingham via the above route.
Dennis Dart 3099 broke down at Granborough this evening when I passed it tonight on the 1745 dep to Buckingham. It had to be towed back to base.
Arriva 5160 in Oxford on High Street near Carfax. I think Steve Warwick was
driving.
Current allocations.
Aylesbury (AYL)
Optare Solo [owned by Bucks CC but operated and maintained and garaged by Arriva] 0446, 0447, 0448, 0449
Merc 709D/Plaxton Beaver 2114, 2127, 2138, 2141, 2142, 2143
Merc 811D/Plaxton Beaver 2108, 2111, 2416 + 2417 delicensed awaiting attention & MOT + 2420 awaiting attention and sale
Merc
Vario 814D/Plaxton Beaver 2176, 2244, 2247, 2248
The remaining manual gearbox Mercs are gradually being swapped for automatic
versions with Varios coming from Hitchin plus others as released from elsewhere.
National Greenway 3044, 3048, 3050, 3053, 3057, 3305
[3305 is the "long version" others short. 3048 is still in Blue & yellow and
3053 and 3057 are Colorbus adverts with blue & yellow fronts. As intimated on
your news page all are to be withdrawn as soon as possible.]
Scania L113/Eat Lancs European 3164, 3165 & 3166 [colorbus with Arriva front]
Scania L113/Northern Counties Paladin 3203, 3204, 3205
Volvo B10M-56/Plaxton Derwent 2 3080
Dennis Dart/Carlyle 3093
Dennis Dart/Reeve Burgess Pointer 3099
Dennis Dart/Wright Handybus 3354, 3374, 3375 plus poss 3815 and 3817 ??
Dennis Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointer MPD 3482, 3484, 3485, 3486, 3487, 3492, 3497
Leyland Olympian/ECW - 5382
Leyland Olympian/Roe - 5071[black + Arriva front]
Leyland Olympian/Alexander - 5083, 5085, 5088, 5097, 5099, 5100, 5101, 5102,
5103, 5104
[5083/5/8/97 remain in blue & yellow], [5099, 5100, 5101, 5102 are refurbished]
Volvo Olympian/Northern Counties Palatine 2 - 5156, 5157, 5158, 5159, 5160, 5161
The Volvo Olympians are branded for service 280, the Scania/NC Paladins for
service X15 and 3165 for service 500.
At any one time three Olympian/Alexander, one short Greenway and two Merc 709s are out-stationed at Leighton Buzzard.
Please note that for your Cressex fleet list add Optare Solo 0442 although when required for maintenance it is covered by the spare Solo at Aylesbury. 3062 and 3063 are sold and 3067 is now a driver trainer in ancillary livery with the central driving school. 2415 is delicensed at Cressex and 2200 in use as a staff bus.
Hope this is helpful to you and your readers.
Thank you indeed Neil, I hope that maybe you can help keep this up to date in the future.
Newlands Bus Station, High Wycombe (NBS)
Lynx:3069,3070,3076,3345,3806,3809,3810.
Dennis Dart SLF:3821,3822,3823,3824,3825,3826,3827
Dennis Dart DW:3811,3812,3813,3814,3816,3818,3819,3820
Dennis Dart DM:3833,3834
Scania:3144,3145,3146,3158,3163,3169
Olympian:5822,5824,5825,5826,5827,5828,5829,5830,5831,5832,5833,5834,5835,5379,5074
Volvo:3841,3842,3843,3844,3853,3854,3855
Total:54
CRESSEX
(CRX) (Think this needs an update!)Optare Solo 0442
Mercs:2200,2196,2197,2198,
Lynx:3068,3069
Volvo B6:3110,3115,3116,3126,3127,3138,3139
Volvo:3242,3243,3244
Volvo B6BLE:3258,3259,3260
Olympian:5075,5076,5081,5108,5109,5110,5134,5135,5167
Carousel/Abbey Coaches, High Wycombe
A big surprise was the sighting of ex Arriva 3808 in the Carousel facility in High Wycombe. It has a red band roughly painted around the mid part of bus with the Arriva titles partially painted out. The bus was under preapration for service elsewhere but as yet lacks any identity. more news follows next week.
Chiltern Queens - Woodcote
Mike Penn once more sent photos and some interesting notes of the fleet of yesterday.
Chiltern Queens DBW 382 was a Dennis Lancet III that had been rebodied by
Plaxton.
It originally had a locally built Vincent body. Photographed at Woodcote on
October 19th 1963.
Chiltern Queens HRU 755 was a Plaxton bodied Dennis Lancet III.
Photographed at Woodcote on October 19th 1963.
Chiltern Queens LPF 250 was a Whitson bodied Maudslay Marathon III.
Photographed at Woodcote on October 19th 1963.
NPA
462 was a Whitson bodied Albion Victor.
Photographed at Woodcote on
October 19th 1963.
What a most interesting selection vehicles CQ had, I must say I am sorry I was not in this area in those days to see such items in the tin!
Thanks once again to Mike, maybe he has some pictures of similar vintage relating to other operators covered by this page?
Oxford Bus (City of Oxford Motor Services) http://www.oxfordbus.co.uk
Grahame Wareham wrote to say "As you know I took 224 to the ECW event at the East Anglia Transport Museum @ Carlton Coalville, Lowestoft over the weekend. Here are two photos I managed to take, some against the strong sun.
224 parked with a nice pair of
Bristols at Carlton Coalville
224 at Lowestoft Bus Station, with
Lowestoft 21, a 1947 AEC Regent II/ECW in the background.
Look at those wheels, smart eh??
The Olympians are now appearing on
most routes including 35 road.
Last Saturday 214 is seen loading in St Aldates and will later work the 1800 to
Didcot.
Ralph Adams wroute to say "Route 35A Abingdon - Didcot reduced to hourly (has been every 30 minutes) as a result of Milton Park support changes, to be effective Monday 22 July. Last bus will be 15 minutes earlier from Oxford (1745) and Didcot (1845).
Three buses on view in this head on shot led by Dart 512. 804 is followed by
656.
Coach 19 pauses in Castle Street having worked a 5 road relief service last
Thursday.
Chris Maxfield sent this picture of
ex Oxford 511 now in service with Metrobus at Crawley.
An interesting shot which emphasises
the kneeling action of the B10BLEs.
Dart 408 works the 6 now routed to include the Rail Station in the evenings and
all day Sundays.
The end of Oxford for this week sees
coaches 38 (Scania/Irizar), 39 (B12M/Plaxton and coach 1
at Gloucester Green. The Irizar has now returned to Scania after a two week
spell with Oxford.
Is this the first time Oxford has had two demonstrators at once?
Guide Friday/City Sightseeing
Ralph Adams
writes to say "I
gather that Tom Tappin Ltd has purchased the Lothian share of Classic Tours
Oxford and is operating a franchise from Ensign, unlike Stratford which is
operated directly by Ensign. The Guide Friday Oxford had now been merged to also
be operated by Tom Tappin Ltd. At present the Osney Mead base and Didcot are
both being used, and any driver when finishing takes his bus back to where he
started. Classic buses therefore stay overnight at Osney Mead and vice versa.
However Osney Mead only do maintenance on the green buses. All Green buses now
have legal lettering for Tom Tappin, except OTO549M which still has GF
Stratford. However new discs have not all been issued so all buses have signs
stating on hire to City Sightseeing.
The Classic buses have signs in the cab, drive very slowly under the bridge as
the top is slightly higher than the Guide Friday style of front arch. The Part
Closed top X Reg Olympian has an uncertain future. It will not go under the
bridge and has no power steering. Two ex
Cambridge
buses have been purchased, OSF928M and STK129T, apparently as they
have both audio recording and live guides. These I am told will be the next
buses to appear in the red livery to join E303MSG.
Oxford GF livery is still carried by MAU614P, JPE236V, BAU676T, KPJ258W,
UTV217S, OTO549M, STK124T
Stagecoach South Midlands Group
Keith Williams writes "New
Liveries - 405 at
Rugby
and 921 at Leamington."
Ralph Adams wrote "It is now goodbye to the London
Tridents. TA431 and TA433 were going back to Stratford (East London, not Route
20/50) on Saturday afternoon. The 4 week loan has lasted about 9 months. With
the student holidays, the last outstanding Olympian is not needed until
September again."
Well the adverts get louder and in the opinion of some detract from the
otherwise
smart appearance of these coach. 35 with ad next 39 without.
Vic Gackowski wrote to say "Chipping Norton Outstation has no booked work on Sundays. A visit at 1050 today produced - 901 902 910 for 20 road workings and WY Minibus 459 for X8 duties.
Then at 1100 a Horspath Road Driver arrived with 903 and took 901 away. As Chippy Vehicles rotate via Horspath Road during their normal day this appears to be an out of course changeover"
Chris Maxfield sent this photo of
Olympian 500 on route 77.
Again Chris Maxfield - this time
trainer 753 in George St.
Thames Travel, Wallingford
Dart 255 seen on the 105 to Science Park in the rush hour last Friday morning.
It is on the Iffley Road.
If you wish to be included on a
mailing list where I will advise of any mid week news please
let me know on
malcolmhc@aol.com
PHOTO CORNER
If you have a digital camera and wish
to submit photos for this page please send them to the me at
malcolmhc@aol.com
.JPG)
BH&D gold liveried Trident at
the Centre in Brighton.
Another new plaxton from yorkshire on the 310. Gloucester Green.
I welcome your
photos for inclusion on this page.
malcolmhc@aol.com
