The page for enthusiasts in the Oxford Chilterns Area - News from you and news for you - pictures too ~~~~ The page for enthusiasts in the Oxford Chilterns Area - News from you and news for you - pictures too ~~~~ The page for enthusiasts in the Oxford Chilterns Area - News from you and news for you - pictures too

Issue 143
(OBP-358)
Monday 5th September 2005
next update week ending 16th September 2005

Visit the "OXFORD BUS PAGE" Archive 1998 - 2002

Please note that any comments made in this news page are those of the Editors' and in no way constitute
any official points of view from the bus companies mentioned, or indeed any other official body.
As a news page we reserve the right to make valid comments as seen from an editorial point of view.

If you wish to be included on a mailing list where I will advise of any mid-week news please let me know
malcolmhc@aol.com

Following a week off I now have a bumper news page this week which includes two supplements for my visit to Berlin and the new Wycombe Park & Ride. This means that those interested in the normal news will not need to scroll through items which may not be of such great interest.

I visited Berlin for three days last weekend and some of the results of my visit can be found on the link below.

If you click on the logo below you can visit my special launch report on the new Park & ride site in High Wycombe. This began this morning, Monday, September 5th 2005.

CSS took delivery of their long awaited new bus this last week and it is now being prepared for service. Kevin Stevens writes "Attached are the first photographs of our new bus taken earlier this evening at the Osney Depot. My apologies for the poor quality but none of us were brave enough to take it out in the open !!!!!!

As you can see it still requires livery vinyls and a lot of work is still to be done on the commentary system by AVT. Hopefully next week I will be able to send you some pictures of the bus with its vinyls.

Reg No: PO 55 NXU Volvo B7TL with East Lancs PO49/35F for City Sightseeing in Oxford - not on the road until mid September.

We had a problem with the partition initially as the Ministry were not happy with the way things were laid out however a compromise was reached and a second door was placed at the bottom of the stairs.

Ken MacKenzie of the PSV Circle writes "The seating is to allow the covered area to be used as a school bus with three seats and seatbelts and the open air area is normal seating. A partition separates the 'school bus' area to the open area.

The above pictures were taken by Kevin Stevens and give us a good idea of what this new bus looks like.

I noticed that last week the signs on the M40 after leaving Hillingdon reminded drivers not to use mobile phones whilst driving. I then noticed an awful lot of people using their mobiles, including the driver of one continental lorry which was wandering all over the road.

I noticed that in this weeks Bucks Free Press, Tesco had placed a full page advert relating to the Gerrards Cross issue.

More pictures have been forthcoming on the matter of Sentinel Steam Buses. Thanks to Mike Penn who wrote "Following your mention of a Sentinel steam bus you may be interested in the attached photographs of two of them at the Llandudno Transport Festival, one in 1998 and one in 2002. I don't know much about them but I assume they were built as lorries and the bus bodies are relatively recent. There may be a third as when I was in Whitby earlier this year there was publicity for a service using what was described as the world's only six-wheeled Sentinel steam bus. The photograph was of a lorry so whether the bus body had actually been built by then I don't know. I certainly didn't see it."

Warren Blackston of Burnley writes "Hi, I saw you mentioned the Sentinel Steam Bus on this weeks page. There is a press release on the Optare website with a few pictures on it. I think this is the same bus you mentioned?

Keep up the good work with the site, I've been a regular visitor for years now and love it!

Finally Nigel Butchers came up with the photo of the bus which started it all, well done Nigel.

Steve writes "Please find enclosed a couple of photos I took outside Rickmansworth Tesco last weekend. They are Sullivan Buses P729RYL, a former London General Dart on the R21 and Red Rose of Aylesbury MetroRider V108LVH waiting time before it returns on the R4. The MetroRider is a very late model with only 10 chassis being produced after it. It was new to Red Rose in late 1999." I seem to be missing the Metrorider pictures Ed.)

Mike Penn writes to say "Here is some news of Luton area service changes due to take effect on Saturday 3rd September.

Arriva service 11 to Stopsley is withdrawn. Lutonian service 17 is extended to cover it and becomes a circular route, also replacing Lutonian service 18.

Some LQT X31 peak hour journeys will be extended from Dunstable to Studham, replacing equivalent journeys on service 43.

Arriva journeys between Stevenage and Hitchin on service 301 (inherited from Sovereign) are withdrawn. They will be replaced by new Centrebus service 80.

The future of Lutonian service 6 is in the balance again. The emergency contract expired on August 31st and although negotiations with Bedfordshire County Council have been in progress I am not yet aware of any result.

Details of these changes are on the Centrebus website at http://www.centrebus.co.uk"

Mike goes on to say "the three Bristol VRs have been active throughout the school holidays. Here is a photograph of 5033 (SNV933W) parked in the town centre today (Wednesday). This is the last remaining vehicle acquired from United Counties when Luton & District was formed in 1986."

I understand that the first two of nineteen Scania/Wright Solar buses have been received at Luton for service 38.

OCC have revealed plans for improving various road links around Oxford. This includes bus priority lanes on the A34 northbound from lodge Hill to Hinksey Hill, an area of great congestion every week day morning, and from the M40 at junction 9 to Kidlington. However it seems that it could be 2016 beforte such improvements are in place.

A network of frequent express premium route bus services is proposed linking Oxford with surrounding towns with improvements to the A423 at Hinksey Hill and Peartree Interchanges. Park & Ride sites are also envisaged on the outskirts of towns such as Abingdon and Bicester.

All the foregoing is in the ideas stage at present but present some interesting developments, especially for local public transport.

On an editorial note I would suggest that the current bus lane from Thornhill to the Green road roundabout could be extended back towards Wheatley, at least to the pull in around 1 mile before Thornhill. This would assist greatly at peak times.

Last Tuesday afternoon a lorry over turned on the M25 south of Heathrow and closed the M25. Congestion spread for miles and traffic was greatly affected.

When I landed back from Berlin I snapped part of this congestion from the air.
The long tail backs of traffic can be seen passing the road works on the M25 relating to the Terminal 5 project.

I took some interesting photos in the past 20 years and from time to time have posted them on this page.

Chiltern Queens operated a service from Watlington to Reading often using this AEC Reliance, TYD122G.

Green Line via London Country North West used Leyland tigers on the services via Stokenchurch
to Oxford in the late 80s Here we see TPL92 picking up in the village. This is an interesting coach as it had been used
on National Holidays work but now carried London Express livery for this 291 working.

Peter Cartwright, Cllr for High Wycombe writes "Coming soon an evening and Sunday service for Stokenchurch and other places - watch this space."

Stop press is that a service will operate between Stokenchurch and Great Missenden, linking the 340 and 345 to provide a two hourly evening and day time Sunday service. The service will be operated by Arriva.

Curly wrote in the last page to remind us of the various diversions caused by these two annual events. please refer to the following web page for full details.

Don't forget Duxford on the 18th September. Amongst the many vehicles to be seen at this year's Showbus will be Oxford Tube 50124 and Brookes Trident 18052.

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Now on to this week's News and photos. Thank you to everyone who has contributed this week.

Still hard at work in High Wycombe and seen here climbing out of the town on route 326 is Volvo B10M 3080

Seen on the 340 rushing out of Stokenchurch last Saturday was a Vario. It was going so fast I missed the registration.

The new garage at Lincoln road, Cressex is nearly ready for occupation. The egineering will move in on 19th September and one week later the whole fleet will transfer in from Newlands Bus Station. Work can then start on the new bus station.

A company not featured recently is Charlton Services who operate this Mercedes mini coach, seen here on their Bicester service.
Picture by Gavin Francis.

Nigel Eggleton, the Commercial Director writes regarding the changes to their coach services saying "The X70/80 changes are the introduction of the winter timetable, exactly as last winter. The X90 timetable changes to a 15 minute throughout most of the day, 7 days per week."

This refers to the item above under Oxfordshire County Council. The X70 will revert to half hourly therefore instead of at certain times of the day in Summer when it runs a 20 minute schedule.

The X90 as it now becomes a 15 minute schedule is a reduction from peak of a 12 minute service.

Nigel goes on to say "We are about to complete discussions with Oxfordshire County Council to provide an evening and Sunday hourly facility between Cumnor and Abingdon, as an extension of the existing route 4. Section 106 funding from the developer of housing in Wootton enables this to happen and is initially for a three year period starting on Sept 26^th."

A nice picture of Volvo 617 on the 35A to Didcot taken by Gavin Francis last week.

A picture taken in the 80s in Victoria Coach Station showing 33 and 103, both on the 290.

Matt Cooper writes "This is somewhat overdue! The pictures of MK Metro 266 (PAX 266F). There are 3 pictures, two in its early life with original owner Bedwas & Machen, and one shortly after being repainted and retrimmed at MK Metro. Unfortunately at the moment she isn't taxed and hasn't seen use for over a year, being sat at the Wolverton yard. Her last role as a driver trainer kept her up to scratch, but we now use an ex Thames Transit Dennis Dart, so PAX has fallen by the wayside!

Mullanys of Watford

Kevin Crawford writes

Fleet list update.

Dispersed

G760 VRT

Acquired

R258 LGH Volvo Olympian

T957 ABF Mercedes 16 Seater

Dennis Condors X3 94 Seaters

Mullanys Starline R901YBA and R914YBA Kevin Crawford

Mullanys Starline YN05UUV Prisma School Bus Kevin Crawford

Mullanys YN05UUV Interior Kevin Crawford

Vehicle Profile

We currently operate a fleet of 30 vehicles however this does tend to fluctuate. At the beginning of 2004 we were operating 24 vehicles and at the end of 2005 we have projected that it will be nearer 35.

Our vehicles are one of the best adverts we can have so I am constantly on the look out for new replacement vehicles to update our fleet and in the last year alone we have purchased 4 coaches.

If you are a new customer who is looking to use our services we would welcome you to come along to our operating centre and view a selection of our vehicles in order for you to decide if or not we meet your criteria, I believe it is important to know what standard of coach you are booking and I think viewing them is an ideal way.

At the present time we are operating vehicles with the following seating configuration.

· 16 Seater Mercedes Minibuses.

· 33 Seater Mercedes Minibuses with 3 point belts.

· 48 and 49 Seater Volvo Coaches with Toilet, Video, Air Conditioning and servery.

· 53 Seater Volvo Coaches with or without Air Conditioning.

· 57 Seater Volvo Coaches.

· 70 Seater Dennis Coaches with 3 point belts.

· 64 and 70 Seater Double Decker Buses with seat belts.

· London Routemaster Bus RML 2743 with 72 Seats.

From my library of the past, a DAF on National Express route 882 enters Gloucester Green.

Another ex Speedlink coach used last week was T206AUA seen here at Oxpens and caught in the lens by Gavin Francis.

The latest allocation list has only one change and that is the return of 40150 to Warwickshire.

Tue 23rd
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20006, 34466 on 1

Wed 24th
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34466 on 1

Wed 31st
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22209 on 7/7C (route 1 branded)

I also noted 18052 on the 7's last Friday evening. It also appears that up to three Brookes buses were on Bicester's on Friday evening.

Taken at Magdalen St East by Gavin Francis Trident 18197 waits time for its next trip to Bicester.

M A N 22931, recently repainted, shows a difference in livery with a blue skirt on the engine compartment. Picture by Gavin Francis.

Sister bus 22932, also recently rtepainted, works at Charlbury service out of Gloucester Green last week. Picture by Gavin Francis.

Unbranded Dart 34466 tis now seen on a 25A working normally the haunt of a Vario. Picture by Gavin Francis.

Following last picture below Marcus Lapthorn writes "Chris Maxfield's picture of 407 in Horspath Yard is of interest as I have not seen this particular bus on route 66 for a long time. This was due to have been the second of the batch (after 401) to be refurbished at Gloucester. It would seem from the photo that this has not happened."

I responded that I thought it was probably en route for refurbishment and Marcus replies "You were absolutely right! I saw 407 today for the first time with its new seats and new destination display in service on the 66 route. I thought that Gloucester depot were doing the refurbs but as it was seen at Horspath it suggests refurbs are now being done elsewhere maybe? Any ideas where?"

Chris Maxfield sent this picture of a Swindon depot Volvo in the Horspath yard last week.