Latest Additions;

• A new Mystery Picture for you to figure out.
• A new Star Picture from our roving reporter Ken Jones.
• Loads of 2013 rallies now appearing on the Events Diary page.
• A brief review of the buses and other Transport in Tanzania.

....and don't forget to check the constantly-updated Free Small-ads Page for something that might be of interest to YOU !

For a complete list of the contents of this website, click here, or scroll down the page.

?? MYSTERY PICTURE ??

John Wakefield kindly sent me this picture. He says "this rare 1952 petrol-engined Bedford SB bus/coach with Dorset registration FFX 97, has been found in a former car breaker's yard in Crewkerne, Somerset. The current owner, Graham Parsons, who has it for sale says";

"This model is very rare and we haven't seen another which is exactly like it. It was used as a school bus in Lyme Regis all its working life as far as I know. It came off the road in 1969 (tax disc still in the window) when my father bought it. In 1970 my father made up a galvanised roof to go over the bus, removed all the seats - bar the drivers seat and the front passenger seat - and built shelves all down through it. From then until now it has been used as a store. The picture was taken in 1985"

The chassis number of the Bedford is SB 6269 and the old buff logbook shows its first registered to Dorset County Council, County Hall, Dorchester on 12th March 1952. So the question is, what is the body make? If anyone is interested in buying it they should contact Graham on 01460-74600. The photo (an old Polaroid print) is the best Graham can find and it is difficult to get an up to date picture, owning to the bus being hemmed in by other vehicles.

So, any ideas? As always, please Email me here with your thoughts.

LAST MYSTERY PICTURE The Blue Cars coach in Switzerland was never identified.

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 1920s 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. I'm sure you'll manage.

My interest in British buses began in the late 1950s and early 1960s, 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 1930s, 40s, 50s and 60s 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 1960s I used to make trips to London to visit Victoria Coach Station, or see the last of the London Transport trolleybuses, or the last halfcab single deckers (TDs). 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 some of the 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 PSVs, 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 1960s (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

• The HOMEPAGE
• Classified Adverts
• Links to Classic Bus Websites
• Events List (your rally diary)
• Rally reports
• News and Mail Page 1 and Page 2 and Page 3
• Surviving Single-deck Halfcabs list
• Surviving Double-deckers converted to single-deck service vehicles
• Surviving single-deck halfcabs abroad, based on an exported British chassis
• Surviving double-deck halfcabs abroad, based on an exported British chassis
• Surviving trolleybuses abroad, based on an exported British chassis
• Vintage bus tickets
• Free downloadable classic bus & coach paper models
• Argentinean Transport pages start here
• Australian pages start here
• Indian Transport pages start here
• New Zealand pages start here
• Peruvian Transport pages start here
• Sri Lankan Transport
• Tanzanian Transport
• The Preservation scene in 1961
• British Bus Preservation Group (hosted page)
• Shane Conway's Classic Irish Buses Website (hosted page)

THE CLASSIC BUSES PROFILE PAGES

• Aldershot & District; Aldershot & District Dennis Lancets
• Alexander; Alexander single deckers from the 1930s, and from the 1940s , and from the 1950s .
• Australia; Melbourne Tramways Leyland OPS4/1 Tigers
• Birmingham; Birmingham Leyland Tigers
• Crosville; Crosville Bristol Ls
• Dundee; Dundee Corporation photo collection, Dundee Pre-war Double Deckers, Dundee Post-war Double Deckers, Dundee Single Deckers, Dundee Miscellaneous Pictures
• East Kent; East Kent Leyland Tigers, East Kent Dennis Lancets
• Eastbourne; Eastbourne Corporation double deckers, Eastbourne single deckers, Eastbourne Seafront Buses
• London Transport; London LTL class AEC Renowns, London TD class Leyland Tigers, London T class AEC Regals, Trolleybus / Routemaster conversion programme, The last full day of Routemaster operation
• Maidstone & District; Maidstone & District Leyland Tigers, Maidstone & District AEC Regals
• Midland General; Midland General AEC Regals
• Oxford; City of Oxford AEC Regals
• Potteries; Potteries post-war Leyland Tigers
• Southdown; Open-top utility Guy Arabs, Leyland Tigers (1) - pre-war coaches, Leyland Tigers (2) - pre-war buses, Leyland Tigers (3) - all post-war vehicles, Underfloor-engined coaches 1951-1961
• Special Vintage Galleries; Wray bodywork Part 1, Wray bodywork Part 2, Hall Lewis and Park Royal.
• Thames Valley; Thames Valley Bristol Ls
• Trent; Trent Motor Traction AEC Regals
• Victoria Coach Station; Victoria Coach Station photos from 1960-61

You can Email me here.

SOME QUICK LINKS WITHIN THIS SITE;  Email me   Events Diary   CLASSIC BUSES WEBSITE SHOP   Halfcab survivors   Links   Small ads   Classic Irish Buses

OR CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE WEBSITE MENU

Internet Content Rating Association