From the Editor
A quieter week but with much of interest.
The Go-Ahead Oxford group is making many changes
in the coming months.
A new SC ev entered service, the first for many
weeks.
There much to read and more news next week.
In this issue
Developments at Oxford Bus
and Developments at Carousel with routes
Grahame Wareham remembers COMS 333
80 years of your Editor's memories - part 2
A different day with Charles Powell
Lisbon again with Michael Penn
Readers Write
Buses in the Landscape
Coach visitors to Oxford
Fleet News & Developments
London operations
Andy Millwood from the Midlands
are making some changes to services in
Oxford City and South Oxfordshire from 23rd February 2025.
These changes are to improve
connectivity and increase the reliability of our bus network.
3 & 3A
Service 3A will be increased to operate up to every 15 minutes between
Oxford City and the Kassam Stadium, combining with service 3 to offer a
bus every 7-8 minutes along the Iffley Road. Service 3 will have a minor
timetable change to accommodate the revised 3A timetable.
To view the new 3 & 3A timetable, as well as
an Iffley Road summary containing both services valid from 23rd February
2025, please click here.
To view the new 3 & 3A timetable, as well as
an Iffley Road summary containing both services valid from 23rd February
2025, please click here.
5A
Service 5A will be revised to operate via the bus gate on Crowell Road
instead of Bartholomew Road. This will speed up journeys between
Minchery Farm and Templars Square. Buses will serve different stops at
Templars Square - stop C towards Oxford City and stop A towards Minchery
Farm, both on Between Towns Road.
Additionally, following the emergency weight limit imposed on Herschel
Crescent in August 2024, the timetable has been revised to reflect the
quicker journey times now experienced as a result of not serving
Herschel Crescent.
To view the new 5A timetable, effective 23rd
February 2025, please click here.
6
Service 6 will be retimed to improve punctuality on weekdays. The
general level of service will remain the same.
For the new timetable, valid from 23rd
February 2025, please click here.
11
Service 11 will be retimed to improve punctuality and offer a more
similar service between weekdays and Saturdays. Whilst the timings of
most journeys will change, the general level of service will remain the
same.
For the new timetable, valid from 23rd
February 2025, please click here.
11X
Service 11X will be replaced by new service 500, providing better
connectivity from Car Factory Gate and Cowley to the City Centre -
please see below.
45
We will be making some changes to the 45 timetable to improve
punctuality on school journeys.
For the new timetable, valid from 23rd
February 2025, please click here.
280 & N280
Service 280 will be replaced by an improved timetable on services 400 &
N400 - please see below.
300
Due to increasing congestion along the Abingdon Road and Woodstock Road,
service 300 will be retimed to improve punctuality.
For the new timetable, valid from 23rd
February 2025, please click here.
400 & N400
Following the introduction of service 280 in July 2024, we have now been
able to get a better understanding of demand since another operator has
withdrawn from the corridor. We will be taking the opportunity to
simplify the customer offering, and services 400 and N400 will replace
services 280 and N280, maintaining the half hourly service to Thame, and
providing more buses between Oxford City and Wheatley Services on
weekdays.
Buses will operate up to every 10 minutes between Oxford Rail Station
and Wheatley Services on weekdays, continuing to Thame up to every 30
minutes. On Saturdays, buses will operate up to every 10 minutes between
Oxford Rail Station and Thornhill Park&Ride, continuing up to every 30
minutes to Wheatley and Thame. On Sundays, as now, buses will operate up
to every 15 minutes between Oxford Rail Station and Thornhill Park&Ride,
continuing up to every 30 minutes to Wheatley and Thame.
Buses will operate via a more consistent route in Wheatley, will all
journeys running via London Road in both directions instead of Old
London Road. Stopping arrangements in Oxford City Centre will also be
simplified. All service 400 journeys towards Thornhill Park&Ride
Wheatley and Thame will serve Stop G6 on St Aldates, instead of Turl
Street.
To view the new 400 & N400 timetable,
effective 23rd February 2025, please click here.
Services to the west of Botley Road Bridge to Seacourt and Harcourt Hill
will not change.
500
We are introducing a new frequent service
between BWM Car Factory Gate and the city centre, limited stop via the
Cowley Road.
Service 500 will call at the following stops:
- BMW Car Factory Gate
- The Longwall (Garsington Road) in both
directions
- The Original Swan in both directions
(towards Oxford buses will serve the stop after the junction with
Between Towns Road)
- Manzil Way in both directions
- The Plain (Cowley Road) in both directions
- Queen's Lane in both directions (stop K1
towards BMW)
- Carfax
- Speedwell Street (set-down)
- Westgate stop E5
- Turl Street stop T2
Service 500 will operate up to every 10 minutes on weekdays, up to every
12 minutes on Saturdays and up to every 15 minutes on Sundays and Public
Holidays.
To view the new 500 timetable and route map,
effective 23rd February 2025, please click here.
BB1, BB1A, BB2, BB4 & BB5
We will be making some changes to the timetables to improve punctuality,
and these will be available here soon.
Pulhams 67
Following customer feedback, service 67 will be retimed to provide a
better service for students at King Alfred's School.
For the new timetable, valid from 23rd
February 2025, please click here.
Pulhams H2
From 23rd February 2025, Pulhams will be operating service H2 currently
run by Stagecoach, with support from Oxfordshire County Council. Buses
will operate up to every 30 minutes Mondays to Saturdays between Witney,
Eynsham, Summertown and the JR Hospital, with early morning and late
evening journeys extending to and from Carterton. Weekday journeys will
also serve Oxford Brookes University's Headington Campus, with stops on
Gipsy Lane.
For the new timetable, valid from 23rd
February 2025, please click here,
and for a route map, click here.
will be making several
improvements to the Carousel Buses network from 23rd February 2025,
with more crosstown buses,
a new service from Penn
to Beaconsfield, more buses to Marlow and Henley and a new route
from Reading to Maidenhead.
27, 27A & 29
As part of a review of supported services in the High Wycombe area,
current services 27 and 39A will become services 27, 27A and 29.
Services 27 and 27A will operate 3-4 trips per weekday serving Bowerdean
Road, Totteridge, Hatters Lane and Robinson Road. Service 27A will also
serve Walton Drive and Totteridge Drive currently served by service 39A
on one trip per day.
Service 29 will directly replace the current western section of service
27, operating from High Wycombe Bus Station to Pheasant Drive, Cotswold
Way and Middlebrook Road.
To view the new 27 and 27A timetable,
effective 23rd February 2025, please click here,
and for a route map click here.
To view the new 29 timetable, effective 23rd
February 2025, please click here,
and for a route map click here.
30
We are pleased to be making frequency improvements to service 30,
following our takeover of the local High Wycombe bus network in July
2024. Buses will run up to every 20 minutes Monday to Friday, with the
Sunday frequency doubled to operate up to every 30 minutes.
Saturdays will remain at up to every 30 minutes, although times will
change throughout.
For the new timetable, valid from 23rd
February 2025, please click here.
31 31S
Service 31 will be extended from Penn to Beaconsfield, operating up to
every 30 minutes Mondays to Saturdays via Knotty Green. This offers new
direct connectivity from Hazlemere, Tylers Green and Penn to
Beaconsfield New Town and Old Town throughout the day - perfect for easy
connections to trains to London, for school, or for a day out. At school
times, certain journeys will operate directly to and from Beaconsfield
High School.
Service 31S will be revised to operate between Penn and Flackwell Heath.
To view the new 31 & 31S timetable, effective
23rd February 2025, please click here,
and for a route map click here.
32 32A
Since restoring crosstown connections in July 2024, we are pleased to
see more and more people making use of service 32. Therefore, we will be
increasing the frequency on Monday to Saturday daytimes to operate up to
every 15 minutes, with journeys retimed throughout to better reflect
traffic conditions. The evening and Sunday 32A service will remain
unchanged.
For the new timetable, valid from 23rd
February 2025, please click here.
34
Building on the success of crosstown connections introduced in July
2024, we are pleased to introduce more direct journey opportunies on
service 34, in partnership with Buckinghamshire Council. Journeys will
extend across town from Lane End and Cressex to Bowerdean, Hicks Farm
RIse and Olympic Way (Cock Lane), partly replacing service 39. Buses
will operate an improved timetable up to every 30 minutes Mondays to
Saturdays, and a new Sunday service will operate hourly between Lane End
and High Wycombe.
For the new timetable, valid from 23rd
February 2025, please click here,
and for a route map, click here.
38
As part of a review of supported services in the High Wycombe area,
service 38 will be revised to operate 4 trips on weekdays only.
Passengers on service 38 can also use PickMeUp on weekdays to get around
High Wycombe.
For the new timetable, valid from 23rd
February 2025, please click here.
39 39A
Services 39 and 39A will be replaced by services 34 (Hicks Farm Rise)
and 27A (Walton Drive). Please see above for more information.
41S
Service 41S will no longer serve Quill Hall Estate to improve
reliability of the service, instead operating direct from Hyde Heath to
Oakfield Corner and Amersham Station.
For the new timetable, valid from 23rd
February 2025, please click here.
Flightline 102
Service 102 will be retimed to accommodate the new timetable on service
103. The general level of service will remain the same.
For the new timetable, valid from 23rd
February 2025, please click here.
103 X103
We will be introducing new later journeys on service 103. The new late
evening journeys will run every hour with the last buses Monday to
Saturday leaving High Wycombe at 2300 and Slough at 2355. New late buses
on Sundays will also operate as service 103, offering new Sunday
connections to Beaconsfield New Town after 1930, with the last buses
leaving High Wycombe at 2200 and Slough at 2255.
For the new timetable, valid from 23rd
February 2025, please click here.
104
Service 104 will be retimed to accommodate the new timetable on service
103. The general level of service will remain the same, with an
additional evening journey introduced on Sundays.
For the new timetable, valid from 23rd
February 2025, please click here.
106 107
We are pleased to be introducing a new evening and Sunday service on the
106 between Slough, Upton Lea and the Wexham Court area.
For the new timetable, valid from 23rd
February 2025, please click here.
127
We will be introducing new route 127, operating up to every hour on
weekdays between Maidenhead, Highway Avenue, Knowl Hill, Twyford and
Reading. This will reinstate weekday links lost many years ago, offering
a regular service to communities along the A4 corridor as well as direct
connections to St Mark's Hospital and Maidenhead Railway Station.
The timetable is coordinated with service 850, providing up to 3 buses
an hour on weekdays between Twyford and Reading..
To view the new 127 timetable and route map,
effective 23rd February 2025, please click here.
275
Service 275 will be retimed to improve punctuality. The general level of
service will remain the same.
For the new timetable, valid from 23rd
February 2025, please click here.
850
We will be making further improvements to service 850. Buses will now
operate up to every 15 minutes on weekdays between High Wycombe, Marlow
and Henley-on-Thames, continuing up to every 30 minutes to Twyford and
Reading. In partnership with Buckinghamshire Council, Oxfordshire County
Council and Wokingham Borough Council, we will be making improvements to
the evening and Sunday services, with the 850 operating up to every 30
minutes throughout.
New route 127 above will maintain the third bus per hour on weekdays
between Twyford and Reading alongside service 850.
For the new timetable, valid from 23rd
February 2025, please click here.
New Maidenhead to Reading bus service set to
launch
Carousel Buses has announced a
series of improvements across its network, including the introduction of
a new route and increased frequency on existing services.
The new route will operate between High Wycombe
and Maidenhead via St Mark’s Hospital, Knowl Hill, and Twyford.
The 127 service will run hourly from
Monday to Friday, complementing the existing Saturday-only service
provided by Thames Valley Buses.
The 850 service, which runs between
High Wycombe and Reading via Marlow, Henley, Wargrave, and Twyford, will
see an increase in buses along the busiest sections of the route.
On weekdays, it will operate every 15 minutes
between High Wycombe, Marlow, and Henley, continuing every 30 minutes to
Wargrave, Twyford, and Reading.
The evening and Sunday frequency will
also double to run every half hour.
Other improvements include new evening journeys
on the 103 service between High Wycombe and Slough via Beaconsfield and
Farnham Common, seven days a week.
New evening and Sunday journeys will
also run between Slough and Wexham Court on service 106.
Service 31 will extend beyond Penn to
Beaconsfield from Monday to Saturday, providing new links, while service
34 will extend crosstown from Lane End, Cressex, and High Wycombe to
Hicks Farm Rise and Olympic Way up to every 30 minutes, in place of
service 39.
New Sunday
services will also be introduced on services 34
and 41, providing better connectivity for
residents throughout the week.
Luke Marion,
Carousel Buses managing director, said:
"This is excellent news for bus users and
communities across our network. It is the next
step in our exciting development plans, building
on the fantastic progress we’ve made in
stabilising and growing the bus network after
taking over more of the bus network in and
around High Wycombe. We’re proud to be able to
expand the network further to help improve
connectivity for people to more towns and
villages across the counties we serve. These new
routes and service improvements will further
make bus travel an attractive option for people
to travel sustainably for work, education, and
leisure purposes. There are a lot of
improvements launching on February 23 and I’d
encourage people to visit our website for full
details."
Carousel Buses, a
subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group, operates buses
in High Wycombe and the wider South
Buckinghamshire area.
It also serves
Maidenhead, Reading, Slough, Windsor, Hemel
Hempstead, and Uxbridge, and carries more than
five million passengers each year.
Grahame Wareham for
OCBP Issue 333
H333 MWL967 1948 AEC Regent II with Weymann
H30/26R body. In 1952 it was renumbered H867 lasting in the fleet until January
1960. It was withdrawn and sold to PVD (dealer) Dunchurch and resold in August
1960 to Gibson, Barlestone and fitted with platform doors, becoming H30/26RD. It
lasted there until 1966 when it was scrapped on site.
333 333RJO 1963 AEC Renown 3B3RA with Park Royal
H38/27F forward entrance body. In March 1974 333 was withdrawn and sold to W. North (dealer), Sherburn in Elmet and immediately resold in April 1974 to
Bedlington & District, Ashington where it lasted until 1979.
The story of an COMS Ford Willowbrook 653
In response to Steve Moore,
from my records I note that the 1974 Oxford South
Midland timetable quote Letcombe Regis Service 26 Wantage-Uffington (Mondays
Tuesdays Thursdays) , Service 26A (Wednesdays Fridays Saturdays) combined 5
journeys per day, prior to this it had been 3 journeys per day.
By 1975 these services had been renumbered 360 and
had up to 8 journeys per day. I'm not sure what South Midland did with these
services from 1984 but Letcombe Regis is now served by Pulhams Service 68
Wantage-Faringdon.
The Willowbrook Fords 641-665 had all gone by the
end of 1980 and the Duple Fords 666-673 maintained these services until the end
of 1984 when South Midland introduced minibuses to the area.
My involvement with Wantage depot during this
period was mostly to do with engineering and I think I only went out there a
couple of times driving on service, apart from my Saturday duties on the 380
Oxford-Bristol-Weston service which served Abingdon, Marcham, Wantage, Faringdon
and Swindon
As regards to the Ford buses
that were allocated to Wantage one of our Cherwell Bus Preservation Group
members is currently rebuilding (yes rebuilding!) former COMS 653 NWL653M at the
minute, this includes new chassis sections and a complete
renewal of the main body structure.
A few images attach of 653 and the current progress. It is still a long way away
from being completed!
Many thanks to Grahame for a most interesting response. Ed.
80 years of
buses!
A lifetime
of bus enthusiasm by your Editor.
Part 2 to 1945
The nearest bus to us was the MCTD 50 which
ran from Piccadilly to Sale operated mainly by Leyland TD5s with Leyland
bodywork These were to Manchester Streamline specification.
The Blitz of 1940/1 changed the look of the city.The pictures
below give some indication of those unhappy days!
Manchester buses during the early ’40s
Bomb damage to the Manchester Buses
By mid 1941, much of the damage had been removed leaving large gaps in
the original skyline
Manchester was able to lend buses to London during the blitz of
1940-41
One of those buses is seen now whilst working a London route, the 38.
This is a Crossley Condor with a “re-con car works” body from 1939
Whilst only a young boy in those wartime days, I do remember that on a
winter's evening if travelling by bus, the lighting was dimmed and it
always seemed gloomy. The bright white rooves were painted grey and some
streamliners even gained a "grey" repaint over their bright white part
of the livery.
Many times when going shopping with mother we walked the two or three
miles to Sale shops as the buses were infrequent and often full. Private
cars were few and far between and farher's Ford 8 was on block in the
garage, he serving with the 8th Army in Egypt.
I do remember even as a one year old, being taken under the stairs
during a bombing raid on Trafford Par, Manchester and being given a
pillow to put of my head to try an d stifle the noise of bambs and
anti-aircraft guns. I am told that we even had an incendiary bomb land
on our roof and bounce into the front garden without exploding.
The day time seemed so much nicer and rge buses so much nicer than the
dark nights.
A different day with Charles Powell
There are some good days to be had, this was one last year. Love helping
out of Oxford bus services and jobs.
Thank you again for a most interesting "Page". The
growth of Carousel is remarkable. It looks like a renaissance of Thames Valley
in High Wycombe and Maidenhead and Windsor.
Go Ahead to get an update on the livery situation there.
It all seems a bit haphazard at the moment. An example being 682 into
X2/X3 livery and then no sign of any others following?
The developments in HW are interesting and I hope that Carousel will succeed
in the long run. For some decades the town has been a challenging place to
run buses.
Following Gavin's photographs on route 275 in last weeks newsletter here is on
taken at Old Kiln Lakes Estate, Chinnor of one of the ex First vehicles drafted
in to increase Carousel’s fleet in 2024 and still retaining its First livery.
For those interested the Chinnor and Princes Railway ( C&PRRA) workshops are on
the other side of the hedge.
I have noticed Stagecoach East are transferring ex
Busway Scania E400s to Bedford for the X5. The first Scania I had noticed
working the X5 was on Wednesday 22nd January. They are a much needed upgrade to
the route, with the gold style seating. Certainly a lot better than the low back
seats on some of the E400s & E400mmc's!
Aiming to maintain its dominance in the lucrative mobile phone market is
Samsung with the launch of the Galaxy S25.
