Classic Buses

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Here's a remarkable image of a rare vehicle - so rare in fact, that only one was ever built! Kindly sent from Australia by Peter Caunt, this is a photo he took of the sole Leyland Panda WG 9519 at Salford Races around 1954, when it was working for Trumans Coaches. W.Alexander & Sons of Falkirk acquired three oddball Leylands in the late 1930s / early 1940s, two Gnus and a Panda. The twin-steer Panda had actually been built in 1939, but arrived in the Alexander fleet in September 1941 and was fitted with a unique Alexander 45-seat centre-entrance bus body.

The horizontal 8.6 litre engine was under the floor on the offside, behind the front axles, and it seems likely that Leyland may have intended a spectacular launch of this new design, had the war not intervened. In the event, Alexander acquired it at the height of the hostilities, probably grateful for any chassis they could lay their hands on. One curious aspect of Alexander's bodywork (and clearly visible in Peter's photo) is there was obviously an intent to install a sliding door in the original design, but this feature was never actually fitted.

Numbered P683 it lasted only until 1946, when it was sold via a dealer to W.Truman of Shirebrook, who seem to have used it quite successfully for 10 years, despite its uniqueness. In 1956 it passed to another dealer, after which it spent a year with Aston's Coaches of Marton, and five further years as a contractor's bus with Turriff Construction Co. in Warwick. Not surprisingly after all that, it was finally scrapped in 1963.

Many thanks to Peter for sending me the fine picture.

Renowned Alexander expert Allan T Condie very kindly sent the following additional information;

"The Leyland Panda chassis was a free gift to Walter Alexander from Leyland Motors in compensation for his complaint regarding surcharges to the Leyland TS8 'Special' chassis because of the War. The body was somewhat of a cobble up, the main structure was based on that fitted to the TS8 'Specials' with metal framing whilst the cab area was Timber framed.

It is claimed that the withdrawal of this vehicle was after a fatal accident involving a schoolboy near Stirling in 1945. The boy fell off the platform and under the rear wheels whilst the vehicle was in motion. Despite this, Walter Alexander Jr. told Leyland that the Panda should be adopted for post-war production and a vertical engined twin-steer double decker also considered. The post-war Panda, would have had the entrance ahead of the front wheels though."

John Hellewell also wrote on the subject;

"With reference to the Trumans photograph of the Leyland Panda WG 9519, as a lad I used to travel on this vehicle, and lived near the garage. Trumans also had a Leyland Gnu which also carried a WG registration plate. We called this vehicle "Bluebird" because of the bluebird on the side. This was a front loader with the twin wheels behind the door. They also ordered 3 brand new Daimler double deckers - regs were LNU 211, 212 and 213 I believe. Also ordered were some ex Sheffield City Transport Daimler double deckers and some scrap ex Blackpool double deckers for spare parts. I went to school with Dougie's son. At present I am seeking photographs of Trumans coaches and double deckers."

Thanks John. The Gnu was (I think) WG 6676. Alexander had two Gnus in their colours, the first was a bus (blue livery with white lining) and the second one a coach (white with blue lining, and a 'bluebird' emblem on the side, as John says). Does anyone know about the other vehicles John mentions?

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Last year, Chris Pearce came across this bus about 10 minutes away from Glen of Aherlow, Co.Tipperary in Ireland. My colleague and guru of Irish bus affairs, Shane Conway, says he thinks it's a Willowbrook-bodied Bedford SB or Ford 570E, but he's certain that it is NOT the sole example which was supplied new to the Ulster Transport Authority in 1962.

So, does anyone have any suggestions as to its identity or origins? If you can help, please send me an Email. Thanks.

Traveller Dave (who knows a thing or two about caravan conversions) says "I'd think possibilities include Bedford VAS2 or 3 with Duple Midland bodywork. Though the windscreen doesn't quite match these later chassis, with its opening driver's window. Or else a J4LZ1, but headlights / side lights are not the same ... but the opening windscreen is. Or a Duple Midland Ford 570E, for which this bodystyle matches more closely."

The coach in the accident was a Foden PVSC6 / Plaxton (probably LWA 855) belonging to Brightside & Carbrook Co-operative Society, of Sheffield.

Welcome to the home of classic buses and coaches on the net. I'm Dick Gilbert. This site is all about nostalgia for British passenger transport vehicles from the 1930s to the 1960s, with an unashamed bias towards 'halfcabs'.

Each page has a different colour scheme which is supposed to be reminiscent of some bus or coach company from the era, and this one is meant to represent Western / Southern National. As a result of this arrangement, some of the pages are hard to read, and some will scramble your brain. That's life for you.

My interest in British buses began in the late 1950's and early 1960's, and the buses and coaches that were around then are all 'classics' now. It was an interesting period, when there were still pre-war and wartime 'utility' machines about (although mostly on the point of retirement), and a large number of halfcab vehicles that had been built immediately after the war. At the same time, new products like the Leyland Atlantean, AEC Regent V, and a host of 'modern' coach designs (Plaxton Panorama, Harrington Cavalier, Weymann Fanfare etc.) were appearing. It was a transitional period when vehicles from the 1930's, 40's, 50's and 60's could all be seen in use at the same time.

Having been born in south London, London Transport was the first operator that I lived with, then we moved to Sussex and I grew up with Southdown, Maidstone & District, East Kent, and the municipal fleets of Eastbourne and Brighton, as well as the large number of excursion coaches that used to visit the south coast every summer.

In the early 1960's I used to make trips to London to visit Victoria Coach Station, or see the last of the London Transport trolleybuses, or the last half-cab single deckers (TD's). Unfortunately, although I saw what I went to see, most of the photographs I took are not particularly brilliant, or have been lost. However I do have some black & white pictures taken at Victoria Coach Station, London, and in Sussex between 1960 and 1962 which are barely reasonable, and some of them appear around this site. Here's one;

This was taken at 'The Crumbles', Eastbourne, in the summer of 1962, where Claude Lane was running the narrow gauge Eastbourne Tramway (now moved to Seaton, Devon). He had used this ex Lincolnshire Road Car Leyland KPZ01 Cub as a lorry in the past, and it was left to rot outside his depot. New in May 1937 it was FW 8855, originally fleet number LC502, one of thirty delivered that year with Brush B20F bodies. I guess someone might rescue it these days.

I attend a few rallies around the country, and like to see the old machines that people have restored. Reviews and/or pictures of any shows I attend appear on the pages here, although it can take a while before I get round to it. The whole idea of the site is to entertain the sad souls (like me !) who have a soft spot for old PSV's, and also be a sorting office for information on the subject.

It's all for fun, so relax and have a wistful rummage through the scrapbook. If you weren't around in the 1960's (and they say that, if you were, you won't remember it !) then these pages might provide an insight into the variety of glamorous machines that could be seen on British streets at the time.

Incidentally, this site has no connection whatsoever with Classic Bus magazine, but I thoroughly, absolutely, unreservedly and totally recommend it to anyone with an interest in the subject. It is published 6 times a year, and regular readers all wish it was 12 times a year. Folk in the UK should be able to order it through their newsagents. Those offshore should contact Classic Bus Publishing Ltd., 18 Brunstane Road, Edinburgh, EH15 2QJ, Scotland. When it falls on your doorstep it's like when the delivery guy has brought you a really good pizza.

Please keep in touch, as changes are taking place here all the time, and let me know if you spot a mistake somewhere - I do try to keep things pretty accurate. I know that there are some real boffins out there, and I need you to tell me when something is inaccurate. So welcome to the site, browse around and make yourself at home.

GUIDE TO SITE CONTENTS

SURVIVING BRITISH SINGLE-DECK HALFCABS

Because of my particular interest in this area, I have compiled a list of all known classic British single-deck halfcab buses and coaches that I believe survive in the UK and Ireland. Surprisingly there are over 550, and the list is constantly updated. You can find it HERE, and I invite any passing enthusiast to point out any mistakes or updates (and they do !).

SURVIVING DOUBLE-DECKERS CONVERTED TO SINGLE DECK SERVICE VEHICLES

British double deckers that have been converted to tow-trucks, recovery vehicles, lorries and all sorts of other odd things. I've found quite a few surviving examples, but maybe you know of others. Please let me know.

BUS RALLIES AND SHOWS

Reports of visits (by me and others) to bus rallies and transport shows, with details of vehicles present. Hopelessly biased opinions can be expected, but I hope pictures of the visiting buses make up for this. The page is usually way out of date, but does get sporadic updates, and I hope it provides some enjoyment for those who cannot visit these events.

EVENTS DIARY

Listing the many events and rallies that are scheduled each year. Make a note in your diary of a show near you, or send me details of one that I've missed.

MAIL AND NEWS PAGE

A collection of contributions from readers on all sorts of bus subjects. Photos and items come in all the time, so call in every so often to see what's going on - or send something yourself !

VINTAGE BUS TICKETS

My (sad) little page about bus tickets stirred up a surprising amount of interest. It show samples from tickets I collected all over England and Scotland from 1958 to 1962 (or thereabouts).

BRITISH BUS PRESERVATION GROUP

This site is proud to have been chosen to host the B.B.P.G. homepages. Please visit their pages and see what valuable work they do in saving classic buses from the scrapman's torch - and join the Group to help them in their never-ending task.

AUSTRALIAN BUS PAGES

I've been amazed how much interest there is in classic British-built buses in Australia, and there are a lot of survivors too. So I've created two pages on the subject, using the many contributions I receive from kind enthusiasts over there. Pay a visit and see what's going on in the colonies.

NEW ZEALAND PAGE

Several correspondents have sent me pictures and news about British buses in New Zealand,so here's a place to display them.

SRI LANKAN TRANSPORT

A page about a visit by me to Sri Lanka in October 2003, with details of the buses, trains and other modes of transport that I saw there.

TRANSPORT IN INDIA

Three pages of transport pictures taken during a trip to India in October 2006.

FREE SMALL ADVERTISEMENTS

Need parts for your bus ? Trying to find out what happened to that old Daimler ? Got an AEC Regal radiator grille for sale ? Trying to find a good home for your Atlantean ? Then put a free entry in the Classic Buses Small-ads Page. All comers are welcome, so visit the page, take a look and see if you can solve somebody's problems - maybe your own!

THE LINKS SECTION

Links to Classic British Bus websites only - no Patagonian trolleybuses here, and definitely nothing that mentions words like Volvo or Van Hool. But if you want to visit folk who know about Crossleys and crash gearboxes, browse through the Classic Buses Links Page.

THE CLASSIC IRISH BUSES WEBSITE

I'm delighted to host Shane Conway's Classic Irish Buses Website. Contains comprehensive cover of buses in Ireland (old and new) and pictures from visits to many other areas as well. A vast amount of information and a huge picture resource - well worth a visit.

THE CLASSIC BUSES WEBSITE PHOTO COLLECTION

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of this website, I'm delighted to announce the opening of the Classic Buses Website Photo Collection of contributed pictures, featuring classic British buses and coaches in service, or just withdrawn, or in the early days of preservation. Most of these pictures have never been published before. Enjoy !

This section is a wistful look back at some wonderful classes of vehicle that could once be seen gracing the streets of Britain (and sometimes elsewhere). Here is the present selection;