Transport Database and Photogallery

2 august 2009 - Gosport, UK - Stokes Bay: Seen at a large bus rally in Hampshire, this well-loaded Bristol KSW from 1955 was originally with the Brighton, Hove and District company - one of three serving this seaside town. BH&D was a Tilling Group company, so was restricted to buying only Bristol buses, whereas the other two Brighton operators (Southdown and Brighton Corporation) could buy on the open market and had much more varied fleets. All the operators seemed to get along with each other, though, and even shared in working several routes.
Author: dvigar edytor

2 august 2009 - Stokes Bay, Gosport, Hampshire (UK). Looking forwards on #748. On some of the seat backs are cigarette stubbers – most people travelling upstairs would have been smokers in those days and the atmosphere in a full lowbridge bus on a cold, rainy day had to be experienced to be believed! The gangway stops at the front, to give head room for the driver’s cab below – the roof above the front row of seats was even lower because of this. Downstairs, the seats were entirely conventional, just two each side of the central gangway, but the upstairs gangway was just above the outside row of seats, ready to bang you on the head if you stood up without thinking!
Author: dvigar edytor

2 august 2009 - Stokes Bay, Gosport, Hampshire (UK). The KSW Type was the standard double-deck bus built in large numbers by Bristol/Eastern Coach Works for State-owned bus companies in the 1950s – other companies weren’t allowed to buy these. This is the ‘lowbridge’ version, with a total height of around 4 metres – see my next photos to see how this was done. The Thames Valley Traction Company operated to the west of London and, like many bus companies in those days, needed a low height bus to go under several bridges.
Author: dvigar edytor

2 august 2009 - Stokes Bay, Gosport, Hampshire (UK). A view towards the rear of the upper deck, showing the stairs and sunken offside gangway. Note the two bell pushes on the wall, also the conductor’s mirror. The really unusual feature of #748 is that the seats are ‘staggered’ and not just in a straight line (which was the normal arrangement). Even so, you had to ask your neighbours to ring the bell, then move out and stand in the gangway if you wanted to get off the bus! You also had to pass your money along to the end when the conductor arrived to sell tickets.
Author: dvigar edytor

2 august 2009 - Stokes Bay, Gosport, Hampshire (UK). Upstairs on #748 – this was the normal layout of a double-deck lowbridge bus until designs like the Lodekka and Atlantean came along (with a lower floor downstairs, allowing two proper decks). From the top of the stairs, you shuffled along the side gangway to reach the seats, which were in rows of four. Downstairs, this gangway stuck out from the roof, so there were ‘MIND YOUR HEAD’ notices on the back of the seats. A few buses had a gangway like this on both sides, but this has only one. Everyone had to be very friendly to use this type of bus!
Author: dvigar edytor

2 august 2009 - Stokes Bay, Gosport, Hampshire (UK). Another view of the ‘staggered’ seating on #748. This is entirely original and hasn’t been restored at all. You can see from this angle how cosy these buses were, if you were trapped on the inside! I think there are only one or two survivors still fitted with this type of seat - although there are quite a few more lowbridge buses in preservation, they all have straight bench seats upstairs.
Author: dvigar edytor

Comments: 2

2 august 2009 - Gosport, UK - Stokes Bay: This 1955 Bristol KSW5B lowbridge double deck bus is one of many supplied to the huge Thames Valley company, but just look at the unusual layout upstairs - see my next photos!
Author: dvigar edytor

2 august 2018 - Gosport, UK - Stokes Bay: Upstairs on the Thames Valley KSW5B bus shown in my last photo, look at the very unusual seat layout, specially designed to let people come and go in the very restricted top deck.
Author: dvigar edytor

2 august 2009 - Stokes Bay, Gosport, Hampshire (UK). Looking forwards on #748. On some of the seat backs are cigarette stubbers – most people travelling upstairs would have been smokers in those days and the atmosphere in a full lowbridge bus on a cold, rainy day had to be experienced to be believed! The gangway stops at the front, to give head room for the driver’s cab below – the roof above the front row of seats was even lower because of this. Downstairs, the seats were entirely conventional, just two each side of the central gangway, but the upstairs gangway was just above the outside row of seats, ready to bang you on the head if you stood up without thinking!
Author: dvigar edytor

2 august 2009 - Stokes Bay, Gosport, Hampshire (UK). The KSW Type was the standard double-deck bus built in large numbers by Bristol/Eastern Coach Works for State-owned bus companies in the 1950s – other companies weren’t allowed to buy these. This is the ‘lowbridge’ version, with a total height of around 4 metres – see my next photos to see how this was done. The Thames Valley Traction Company operated to the west of London and, like many bus companies in those days, needed a low height bus to go under several bridges.
Author: dvigar edytor

2 august 2009 - Stokes Bay, Gosport, Hampshire (UK). A view towards the rear of the upper deck, showing the stairs and sunken offside gangway. Note the two bell pushes on the wall, also the conductor’s mirror. The really unusual feature of #748 is that the seats are ‘staggered’ and not just in a straight line (which was the normal arrangement). Even so, you had to ask your neighbours to ring the bell, then move out and stand in the gangway if you wanted to get off the bus! You also had to pass your money along to the end when the conductor arrived to sell tickets.
Author: dvigar edytor

2 august 2009 - Stokes Bay, Gosport, Hampshire (UK). Upstairs on #748 – this was the normal layout of a double-deck lowbridge bus until designs like the Lodekka and Atlantean came along (with a lower floor downstairs, allowing two proper decks). From the top of the stairs, you shuffled along the side gangway to reach the seats, which were in rows of four. Downstairs, this gangway stuck out from the roof, so there were ‘MIND YOUR HEAD’ notices on the back of the seats. A few buses had a gangway like this on both sides, but this has only one. Everyone had to be very friendly to use this type of bus!
Author: dvigar edytor

2 august 2009 - Stokes Bay, Gosport, Hampshire (UK). Another view of the ‘staggered’ seating on #748. This is entirely original and hasn’t been restored at all. You can see from this angle how cosy these buses were, if you were trapped on the inside! I think there are only one or two survivors still fitted with this type of seat - although there are quite a few more lowbridge buses in preservation, they all have straight bench seats upstairs.
Author: dvigar edytor

Comments: 2

2 august 2009 - Gosport, UK - Stokes Bay: This 1955 Bristol KSW5B lowbridge double deck bus is one of many supplied to the huge Thames Valley company, but just look at the unusual layout upstairs - see my next photos!
Author: dvigar edytor

2 august 2018 - Gosport, UK - Stokes Bay: Upstairs on the Thames Valley KSW5B bus shown in my last photo, look at the very unusual seat layout, specially designed to let people come and go in the very restricted top deck.
Author: dvigar edytor

Private Owner (preservation)/

Bristol KSW #447

Bristol KSW #748

Bristol KSW #748

Bristol KSW #748

Bristol KSW #748

Phototrans