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LDV Convoy #3753007
18 august 2008 - Redhill, UK - Redstone Manor: This is a Royal Mail Post Bus that suddenly appeared outside my house one morning. These vehicles were used to collect and deliver post in country areas with no conventional bus service. The Post Bus would follow a fixed route around the area once or twice a day, allowing the postman to carry out his normal duties, but passengers were also carried, normally between isolated villages and the local town. So, for little extra cost, a public bus reached places that would otherwise never have one. Post Buses were quite common in rural parts of Scotland and Wales, but I think they have now all died out, victims of cost cutting.
Comments: 2
Commer Shooting Brake #EC 634
2 may 2010 - Redhill, UK - Brighton Road: The fabulous Commer Cars estate bus. Built in 1909 for a wealthy family, it has somehow survived to the present day and still runs regularly down to Brighton on the annual rally. Note the chain drive to the back wheels. There is probably room for this in my garage.....I just need to win the Euro Millions lottery first!
Comments: 1
Leyland Titan PD1 #106
2 may 2010 - Redhill, UK - Brighton Road: Not pictured on TWB before is neither this bus nor the operator - Southport Corporation Transport was a fairly large bus operator (20 routes) in North West England and this Leyland PD2/3 double decker was new to them in 1950. In 1974, Southport Corporation was absorbed into the newly-formed Merseyside PTE and ceased to exist.
AEC Regal IV / Burlingham Seagull #3
2 may 2010 - Redhill, UK - Brighton Road: Driving to Brighton during the 2010 commercial vehicle rally is this nice AEC Regal 4 coach with a 41-seat Burlingham Seagull body, new to Scotts Grey coaches in 1952. This is the identical chassis to the huge London Transport RF class, but looks very different when fitted with this full-front body and a central entrance.
Comments: 1
Bedford OB #EAJ 679
2 may 2010 - Redhill, UK - Brighton Road: Another Bedford OB coach, only slightly different from the one shown in my last photograph, this time with a Plaxton body. I have no idea of its history, except that it is named `Charlie`. These vehicles have always been a popular choice for preservationists, as many still have their original petrol engine and often have beautiful Art Deco interiors - just small enough for one person to restore, garage and repair.
Bedford OB #LDF 833
2 may 2010 - Redhill, UK - Princess Way: The Bedford OB was once a common sight, particularly with the Duple Vista body, as shown here. These little coaches were widespread in the 1940 and 1950s, both as buses in rural areas and for coach excursions, which were extremely popular before private car ownership became more widespread. I don`t know the history of this particular one, except that it was new to Bowles Coaches and was immortalised as a 1:24 scale model
Comments: 5
Leyland Titan PD2 #19992
2 may 2010 - Redhill, UK - Brighton Road: Another open top bus heading for the south coast during the 2010 commercial vehicle rally. This Leyland PD/2 was made by the exact same chassis and body builder as the Southdown `Queen Mary` bus shown in my last photo, but couldn`t look more different, being a more traditional rear-entrance double decker. New to City of Portsmouth Transport, it was converted to open top at some point and latterly served with Stagecoach on sea front services around Torquay in Devon as a member of their heritage fleet. It has just been sold to a preservationist
Leyland Titan PD2 / Northern Counties #19909
2 may 2010 - Redhill, UK - Brighton Road: Just the thing for a very wet trip to Brighton is this "Queen Mary" convertible open-topper from 1964. How odd to see that no-one is sitting upstairs! The roof of these buses is designed to be removed in the summer time, so they can be used on seafront services in Sussex - Southdown had several of these, as well as quite a few `roofed` examples. Underneath the full-fronted body is a Leyland PD2 chassis, which were built in very large numbers for operators throughout the UK.
Leyland Royal Tiger / Plaxton Venturer #NKH 46
2 may 2010 - Redhill, UK - Brighton Road: This pretty Plaxton-bodied Leyland Royal Tiger coach was new to Bluebird Garages of Hull, East Yorkshire, in 1952. It has changed ownership several times since entering preservation in 1978.
Leyland Atlantean / East Lancs #LYF 307 D
2 may 2010 - Redhill, UK - Brighton Road: The preserved 1966 BOAC shuttle coach on its way to Brighton. This was one of fifteen Leyland Atlanteans specially built with bodies by Roe Coachworks for transporting passengers from the West London Air Terminal to Heathrow Airport. There were just 16 high quality seats downstairs and 18 upstairs, the remaining space being taken up by luggage space and a toilet. In these days, air passengers were afforded every luxury and could take as much baggage as they wished. BOAC was one of two UK national airlines, the other being British European Airways, which only served short haul destinations - BOAC went everywhere else.
Dennis Ace #3650
2 may 2010 - Redhill, UK - Princess Way: This 1934 Dennis Ace is a regular performer at rallies in the South of England, having previously worked for the Southern National bus company. The roof boards invite you to send parcels by bus - this was once a common service even in cities, but died out with one person operation, as the driver can`t easily leave the cab. You would wait for a convenient bus to come along, hand your parcel to the conductor and pay a few pence for a special `parcels` ticket. The conductor would then either pass the parcel on to someone meeting the bus, or hand it in to a shop along the route for later collection.
Comments: 1
AEC Regent III RT #RT1
2 may 2010 - Redhill, UK - Brighton Road: The celebrated prototype of the London RT-class, #RT1, runs through on its way to Brighton for the annual rally of commercial vehicles. This bus isn`t quite what it seems, as London Transport policy was to separate bus bodies and chassis on overhaul, so the fleet number, body and chassis numbers all got mixed up every time a bus passed through the central workshops. Although RT1 was kept separate (because it had many non-standard features) it still changed identity several times and enthusiasts will happily spend hours arguing the true fleet number of the bus we now call "RT1"
Comments: 1
Leyland Lioness LTB1 / Burlingham #8
2 may 2010 - Redhill, UK - Brighton Road: The preserved Leyland Lioness of 1929 heads for Brighton on a very wet day - I hope that the canvas roof doesn`t leak! At one time used in the Channel Islands, this bus was hidden away inside a tunnel for five years during the German war occupation and was preserved in the late 1950s, so has been a museum piece longer than it actually ran in service. London Transport inherited a single one of these in 1930 and used it as a country area bus for several years before selling it.
Bedford WLB / Davies #2
2 may 2010 - Redhill, UK - Brighton Road: It looks cosy inside this nice Bedford WLB bus of 1932 seen making its way to Brighton on a very wet day. This bus was new to an operator in Wales, Williams of Blaina, and laid aside for many years until rescued for preservation in the 1970s. There were many small operators in rural Wales, sometimes with only one bus, just enough to provide a service from a small village into the nearest town on market day.
Comments: 1
AEC Regal IV RF #RF433
2 may 2010 - Redhill, UK - Brighton Road: Running to Brighton on a very wet May holiday in 2010 is this member of the very large RF class of London single deckers. Built in 1953, this particular example is one of many in preservation, but is only one of two still surviving that never had doors, being completely open at the front. This was because the Metropolitan Police in London objected to a door being fitted as being unsafe (not nearly as unsafe as not having one at all, I think!) Anyway, like many Central area RFs, it operated like this throughout its long career.
AEC Renown LT #LT165
2 may 2010 - Redhill, UK - Princess Way: Just passing Redhill railway station during the 2010 London - Brighton commercial vehicles rally is this lovely 1930 AEC Renown LT3 double-deck bus with Park Royal bodywork, normally living in the London Transport Museum at Covent Garden and very rarely allowed out on the road, as it is rather fragile. The LT-class bus was an important milestone in the development of a standard London bus, which culminated in the famous RT and RM types. This bus shows the wartime blast netting applied to the windows to protect them from exploding bombs. The little Dennis alongside in the station car park is the more normal bus these days!
Leyland Tiger TS4 #YG 7831
7 may 2018 - An impressive Leyland Tiger of Todmorden Corporation, which was a local bus operator in Lancashire. These were quite advanced buses for their time, but were almost immediately made obsolete by the first rear-engined and underfloor-engined machines, which were introduced just a year or so later.
Author: dvigar
Place: Redhill (South East England)
| Owner: Private London | Transport Authority: Todmorden Corporation
Leyland Tiger PS1 TD #TD95
7 may 2018 - The TD Class single deck bus on its way from London to Brighton in this year`s annual celebration run. This bus has been owned by the London Bus Preservation Trust for some years and is normally displayed in their Brooklands museum. Note the position of the conductor - this was a common place for them to stand in nice weather and probably speeded up the switch to one-person operation, as so many conductors were lost when they fell out onto the road.
Leyland Tiger PS1 TD #AA 8330
7 may 2018 - Is the year 1915 early enough for you? This vehicle is an early FIAT Model 2B with a 14-seat body, built as a station bus to carry railway passengers. Despite its great age, it has a four-speed gearbox. After being rescued for preservation in 1962, it was part of the Banfield Collection of old vehicles - many of them very important survivors (Michael Banfield was wealthy and able to collect several fine buses). After Michael died, it was auctioned in 2014 and sold for just GBP27,600 (EUR 30,000) - Very cheap, really - if I had the chance, I would gladly have paid that amount to buy it for myself.
Comments: 2
TS3A #XL 1204
7 may 2018 - A unique survivor from the early days of bus transport. As its name suggests, this Tilling-Stevens machine uses a petrol engine to power an electric motor, which in turn drives the road wheels. The driver`s controls are similar to those of a tram and the bus was designed to make it easy for tram drivers to master - they were very popular in the 1920s and 1930s. This bus was rescued from a scrapyard in 1971 and took nearly 30 years to fully restore. In 2014, it was sold at auction for GBP214,000 (yes, well over one quarter of a million Euros!)
Comments: 3
AEC Routemaster #CUV 284 C
7 may 2018 - I don`t believe that I have shown you this one before - a single-deck Routemaster! After the roof was badly damaged in an accident, it was sold to a private group from SE London, who converted it into a fully-fitted travelling workshop - very nice inside. 
T31 #UU 6646
7 may 2018 - The lovely old 1929 AEC T-type of the London General company, which was the main constituent of London Transport a couple of years later. AEC supplied most London buses in the 1920s and 1930s. This one has an open rear platform (no Health and Safety in those days) and a petrol engine.
AEC Q / BRC&W #CGJ 188
7 may 2018 - Well, I`m very pleased to be back after several years away from TWB because of health problems (so please let me take a few pictures to learn the rules again). To begin, this is the 2018 London to Brighton commercial vehicles run. Here is the newly restored London Transport Q-type bus of 1935, which I last photographed in red - now, as you see, it has been repainted into Green Line green livery and has gained a radiator grille on the front, which does not do much for its appearance. However, these were among the first underfloor-engined buses ever made and suffered from a lack of cooling - not so critical, perhaps on short city routes with many stops, but obviously a problem on longer runs.
Comments: 2
Bristol LL #1218
5 may 2013 - Redhill, Surrey (UK) - Brighton Road. This bus was built in 1948 with a body by Beadle, but was lengthened and rebodied with a body from Eastern Coachworks in 1958. A BET company, Southern National were only permitted to buy buses from Bristol/ECW, so their fleet was quite standardised by this time. The bus remained in service until 1970 and was then used elsewhere until 1988, when it was preserved in its original colours.
Guy FBB / Vickers #1268
5 may 2013 - Redhill, Surrey (UK) - Brighton Road. Operated by the Great Western Railway, this 1927 Guy bus is the only survivor from over 600 operated by them in country areas, mostly in the far West of England.I don’t know of any other surviving Vickers bus body, either. This was its first trip to Brighton after restoration. Note the oil headlamps.
Leyland Titan PD2 #4031
5 may 2013 - Redhill, Surrey (UK) - Brighton Road. The huge Midland Red bus company (also known as the Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Company, or BMMO) operated throughout the English Midlands and built lots of its own buses to very advanced designs in its own workshops. This particular bus wasn’t home made, however, but came ready-built from Leyland, although to a BMMO design – much as AEC built the LT-designed Routemaster buses for London.
Leyland Comet / Duple #MHY765
5 may 2013 - Redhill, Surrey (UK) - Brighton Road. A 1950 Leyland Comet coach – we call this type of vehicle ‘normal control’, where the driver sits behind a full-width bonnet. The Leyland Comet was introduced in 1947 as an export-only model, but a few were later sold in the UK and this was the first one. New to a coach operator in Bristol, it is now owned by a preservationist in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
Comments: 2
AEC Regent III/Park Royal #RT1702
5 may 2013 - Redhill, Surrey (UK) - Brighton Road. Lots of ex-London Transport RT buses are preserved, but this one has a special claim to fame, as it travelled to Europe for a trade visit when new, visiting Scandinavia and the Low Countries for three months. It was withdrawn from normal service in 1972 and has been a regular rally performer for a number of years.
Comments: 1
Dennis Ace #3650
5 may 2013 - Redhill, Surrey (UK) - Brighton Road. More from the 2013 HCVS London to Brighton rally. Here is a Dennis Ace of 1934, one of several built on small chassis at the time. This bus served on country routes in the west of England until it was sold out of service and converted – to a fish and chip shop! Happily, it was rescued on 1969 and fully restored to the Southern National colours it had worn when new.
Bedford CFL350 / Plaxton Mini Supreme #CNR 274T
5 may 2013 - Redhill, Surrey (GB) – Brighton Road. A delightful 17-seat Bedford coach with Plaxton bodywork – just the thing to keep in your bedroom! This little jewel of a bus must surely be one of the smallest in preservation and is just like a big coach in miniature. It was supplied new to a company in Nottinghamshire and was later used in Devon, but was offered for sale in 2011 and I’m not sure who owns it now.
Comments: 1
Leyland G7 / Short Brothers #135
5 may 2013 - Redhill, Surrey (GB) – Brighton Road. Another ex-Southdown bus, this time from 1922. The Leyland G& chassis was quite popular in the 1920s and this one served with Southdown until 1934, when it was sold to Provincial, another bus company in southern England and was set aside for preservation in 1946, making this one of the earliest preserved buses in the country. Believe it or not, it is now owned by Stagecoach!
Comments: 4
Tilling-Stevens B10A2 / Short Bros #705
5 may 2013 - Redhill, Surrey (GB) – Brighton Road. A rare Tilling-Stevens single deck bus from 1930, which normally lives at the Amberley Chalk Pits Museum in Sussex, where a period Southdown garage has been faithfully recreated. Note the luggage rack on the roof.
NS Type #NS1995
5 may 2013 - Redhill, Surrey (GB) - Brighton Road. The annual Historic Commercial Vehicle Society (HCVS) rally from London to Brighton always produces some interesting buses. This London General NS-type double deck was the first London bus type with a half cab layout and ran successfully for many years. This design was the forerunner of many subsequent London buses, up to the Routemaster of the 1950s and the introduction of one person operation. This bus normally lives in the London Transport Museum at Covent Garden and (like me) doesn’t get out very much.
Dennis Ace #405
1 may 2011 - Redhill, Surrey (GB) – Brighton Road. Another Dennis ‘Flying Pig’, this time from the Southern Vectis company which ran buses on the Isle of Wight. Being short and narrow, these little buses could reach places where larger vehicles couldn’t go. These days, of course, almost everyone in Britain has a car, so there is little demand for bus services away from the larger towns and villages. This bus is currently for sale on eBay, I believe!
Bedford SB / Duple #PPH 698
1 may 2011 - Redhill, Surrey (GB) – Brighton Road. A tidy little Bedford SB coach. This model came after the famous Bedford OB and was the first of their models to feature ‘forward control’, i.e. an engine compartment that wasn’t in front of the driver. In this case, it occupies a position at the front, alongside the driver and inside the body, being hidden underneath a big cover.
Bedford WLB/Davies #2
1 may 2011 - Redhill, Surrey (GB) – Brighton Road. A very pretty little Bedford from 1932, filled to capacity. Provided the weather is fine, the Brighton rally is regarded as a good day out, and many bus owners take their friends along for the ride.
Leyland Lioness LTB1/Burlingham #8
1 may 2011 - Redhill, Surrey (GB) – Brighton Road. Many of you will be pleased to hear that today will be the last set of pictures I’ll post of buses passing my house during this year’s HCVS London to Brighton rally. This is a hugely impressive Leyland Lioness charabanc of 1929, originally supplied to a company in North Wales but later sent to the island of Jersey. When war broke out in 1939, it was hidden in a tunnel for five years, so that the occupying Germans wouldn’t find it. The roof can be removed in good weather.
Leyland Cheetah LZ5/ Harrington #EYA 923
1 may 2011 - Redhill, Surrey (GB) – Brighton Road. A beautiful Leyland Cheetah (not one of the more common Leyland types) of 1939, which carries this equally unusual blue livery. I struggle to think of another company that uses this colour for its buses and coaches – who else knows of one?
Comments: 4
Bedford OB / Duple #CCB 861
1 may 2011 - Redhill, Surrey (GB) – Brighton Road. The Mulleys Motorways company of Ixworth, Suffolk, was renowned for running very interesting old buses which lasted long enough to be bought by enthusiasts when the business finally closed down. This Bedford OB is now owned by a local coach company who keeps it for ‘heritage’ service.
Comments: 3
Leyland Leopard / Harrington Cavalier #1726
1 may 2011 - Redhill, Surrey (GB) – Brighton Road. A 1961 Leyland coach with a distinctive Harrington Cavalier body. There were a common sight on the roads in Sussex throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
Comments: 3
Bristol H #137
1 may 2011 - Redhill, Surrey (GB) – Brighton Road. A few more buses and coaches taking part in this year’s London to Brighton rally. Here is a lovely Bristol dating from 1933. The Bristol company used to build many buses and aircraft, but eventually went out of business because of foreign competition. Western National was a major user of Bristols, partly because they could only be bought by certain nationalised companies and not by other bus concerns.
Comments: 1
Bedford J2/Plaxton Embassy #MUR 200 H
1 may 2011 - Redhill, Surrey (GB) – Brighton Road. A cosy little 16-seater mini-coach built by Bedford with a stylish Plaxton body. These were effectively the replacement for the popular Bedford OB series and the equivalent of a minibus of today.
Comments: 1
AEC Regent III/Park Royal #24
1 may 2011 - Redhill, Surrey (GB) – Brighton Road. Ipswich Corporation Transport only operated trolleybuses until 1956, when this was one of the first motor buses they bought. All their vehicles were quite old-fashioned in appearance.
AEC Regal IV/Burlingham #3
1 may 2011 - Redhill, Surrey (GB) – Brighton Road. An AEC Regal coach with unusual Burlingham bodywork – very modern looking when introduced in 1952.
Comments: 1
Leyland Titan TD5/Park Royal #248
1 may 2011 - Redhill, Surrey (GB) – Brighton Road. More buses on their way to Brighton for the 1 May HCVS rally. This is a fine Leyland TD5 of 1934, rebodied by Park Royal in the early 1950s to give it several years’ more front-line service. The Southdown company, as we know, operated bus and coach services along the whole South coast of England from Kent to Hampshire.
Leyland Lion PLSC1 #1
1 may 2011 - Redhill, Surrey (GB) – Brighton Road. A very fine Leyland Lion of 1927. This one went from Lincoln to the island of Jersey in the late 1930s and so managed to survive. It wasn’t finally withdrawn from service until 1959. Jersey Motor Transport operated some really old buses that had been shipped over from the British mainland, thereby ensuring their survival until they were saved for preservation - similar buses that didn’t leave England had all long been scrapped.
Bedford WTB / Plaxton #EAJ 679
1 may 2011 - Redhill, Surrey (GB) – Brighton Road. A Bedford OB coach of the late 1940s. These little coaches were common in the years after WW2 and there are quite a few in preservation, as they are fairly easy to manage and store. This one has a Plaxton body, rather than the more common Duple version.
AEC Regent I/Park Royal #35
1 may 2011 - Redhill, Surrey (GB) – Brighton Road. The ‘Provincial’ fleet name was used by the Gosport and Fareham Omnibus Company, who ran a mixed fleet of interesting buses in the territory to the west of Southampton. Some of their buses were really old, like this 1936 AEC Regent, which was still being used alongside far newer low-floor, rear engine buses.
Leyland Titan PD3/Northern Counties #294
1 may 2011 - Redhill, Surrey (GB) – Brighton Road. A further selection of buses seen on their way to Brighton on Sunday. This annual rally always brings out a lot of interesting vehicles. Here is a Southdown ‘Queen Mary’ Leyland PD3 of 1966. These were a familiar sight along the south east coast of England, although just why they were called Queen Marys I really don’t know. I remember our Qeen Mary and she wasn’t exactly a bundle of laughs. Anyway, these were very nice buses and very distinctive in appearance.
Titan #SD2102
1 may 2011 - Redhill, Surrey (GB) – Brighton Road. This is a long-lived Leyland of 1946, which served in several companies before being converted to open top in 1958. It then ran in Southend-on-Sea for many years.
Comments: 1
Reo Pullman GE #NG 1109
1 may 2011 - Redhill, Surrey (GB) – Brighton Road. Britain had many of these ‘charabanc’ buses in the 1910s and 1920s. The bodies were often interchangeable with truck bodies and were changed over at the end of a week – becoming a bus at weekends! It was also common to fit out a truck chassis with rows of temporary seats (perhaps borrowed from the local church), just to run trips at weekends. This is a Reo chassis, originally an American design.
Comments: 1
AEC Regent III RT #RT1206
1 may 2011 - Redhill, Surrey (GB) – Brighton Road. A typical London RT – this one bodied by Weymann.
Comments: 3
Dennis Ace #3650
1 may 2011 - Redhill, Surrey (GB) – Brighton Road. More preserved buses from yesterday’s HCVS London to Brighton rally. This small, 20-seat Dennis design was always known as the ‘Flying Pig’ because of its distinctive shape. These little buses were common in the more rural parts of Britain, particularly the south west, where the Western and Southern National companies had their main operations.
Leyland Tiger PS2/ Roe #725
1 may 2011 - Redhill, Surrey (GB) – Brighton Road. This Leyland Tiger was one of the last ‘half-cab’ Leylands placed in service with a major operator, as many had by now discovered the underfloor engine designs which offered more seats within a coach body of the same dimensions.
AEC K-type / LGOC #K424
1 may 2011 - Redhill, Surrey (GB) – Brighton Road. This K Type was the first London bus design to seat the driver next to the engine. It lasted in service until 1932 and is now a prized exhibit at the London Transport Museum. Like me, it doesn’t get out mush, but looks to be in fine condition as it bowls along on the way to Brighton.
Comments: 1
AEC Routemaster/Park Royal #RCL2233
1 may 2011 - Redhill, Surrey (GB) – Brighton Road. The RCL Class were special Routemasters for Green Line coach services round London. These had better seats, heaters and platform doors and wore this special Green Line livery. They were eventually beaten by increasing traffic, which made timetables impossible to keep, and the rise in personal car ownership. When I was young, most people used the Green Line or train for long journeys, as there was no practical alternative.
Tilling-Stevens B10A2 / Short Bros #1205
1 may 2011 - Redhill, Surrey (GB) – Brighton Road. Today was the annual London to Brighton run of the British Historic Commercial Vehicle Society (HCVS), which passes the end of the street where I live. Here are some of this year’s highlights, beginning with this 1930 Tilling Stevens bus from the Chalk Pits museum at Amberley, Sussex. Tilling Stevens were a celebrated bus and lorry manufacturer based in Kent; bought by a bigger company in the 1950s, they soon went broke and disappeared.
AEC Routemaster/Park Royal #RCL2233
3 may 2009 - Redhill (UK) – Brighton Road - HCVS Rally. Later batches of Routemaster were all built as 30 feet long vehicles and were classed as ‘RML’. This is the Green Line coach version, classed as ‘RCL’ or ‘Routemaster Coach Long’. These were luxurious vehicles with platform doors, heaters and coach seating and operated on express services through central London.
Dennis Dart / Duple #TJ 836
3 may 2009 - Redhill (UK) – Brighton Road - HCVS Rally. I showed this bus once before – “it’s a DENNIS DART, Jim - but not as we know it…..” Not a modern tin box Dennis Dart like those seen all over the UK today - this is the real thing.
AEC Regent III/Weymann #RT604
3 may 2009 - Redhill (UK) – Brighton Road - HCVS Rally. RT604 was one of the very last green RT buses to survive in service with London Country Bus Services, as the company had become. It survived long enough in passenger service to be painted into their bright green colour scheme – rather different from the standard London Transport ‘Lincoln green’ that had gone before.