The Classic Buses Website homepage
Website launched in August 1996, and this page was last updated on 29 January 2012.
SOME QUICK LINKS WITHIN THIS SITE; Email me Events Diary CLASSIC BUSES WEBSITE SHOP Halfcab survivors Links Small ads Classic Irish Buses
*** STAR PICTURE ***
Oh my goodness - what's going on here? Could it be a 'preservation prospect'? Jonathan at the Lincolnshire Vintage
Vehicle Society sent me this picture of a rather sad Leyland PLSC1 Lion.
TY 3673 (chassis number 46035) was new in September 1927 to Amos Proud of Choppington, Northumberland, with a
Leyland B31F body. It was acquired by United Automobile in 1928 as No.B282, and then to Lincolnshire Road Car in
1931, for whom it worked out of Boston, Lincs as No.132.
Exported in the 1950s it became a caravan, and (and here's the snag for any UK-based potential preservationists)
it is now in Tasmania! But if anyone wants to restore it, it's looking for a good home. Thanks to Jonathan and the
LVVS for the info, and see here for more information. Photo by R.C.Barnes.
Visit the Classic Buses Website shop
Please use the correct email address!
Just to confirm that my ancient email address
skyline@enterprise.net is now stone dead. Please use dick@classicbuses.co.uk. Many thanks!
*** TO HIRE A WEDDING OR PROM BUS,
CLICK HERE FOR MY BIG LIST OF SUPPLIERS
***
....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 ??
Vic Brumby never fails to provide a fascinating photo or two, mostly taken during his extensive world
travels over the years. This time he has come up with three pictures of what appear to be Bristol L saloons
in Macau, the former Portuguese colony in 1977. The other two are on my
Mail & News page.
Assuming that's what it is, I wasn't aware that Macau had bought any. Can someone fill in the details please?
As usual, please Email me here with your thoughts.
In fact, Shane Conway of the Classic Irish Buses Website has figured it out very quickly. For details go to the
Mail & News page. Well done Shane.
LAST MYSTERY PICTURE
John Wakefield and Geoff Mills revealed that the abandoned Dennis Lancet was was a 1935 example from
Eastern National (No.3545, BTW 482).
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 CLASSIC BUSES PROFILE PAGES
SOME QUICK LINKS WITHIN THIS SITE;
Email me
Events Diary
CLASSIC BUSES WEBSITE SHOP
Halfcab survivors
Links
Small ads
Classic Irish Buses
Internet Content Rating Association
for bus books, models, videos & DVDs.
A new MYSTERY PICTURE for you to solve - a Bristol (or three) in Macau.
A vast number of 2012 rallies and transport shows now listed on my
Events Diary page
My new Argentinean Transport pages start here.
And a collection of Peruvian Transport pages start here.
Take a look - you'll like 'em !
Argentinean Transport pages start here
Peruvian Transport pages start here
