Issue nr 271
Thursday October 12th, 2023
From the Editor
Bee Network update by Paul Hawkins
Newbury by John Marsh
Oxford Half Marathon 2023
Oxfordshire Bus Enthusiasts Society
Coach Visitors to Oxford
Buses in the Landscape
Fleet News
Oxford fleet pictures by Gavin Francis
First of the additional rube coaches en route
Pictures from Heathrow by Jack Cooper
London operations by Andrew Webb
RM2186 history
Skegness by Gary Seamarks
Say yellow to the Bee
Network | Bee Network | Powered by TfGM
Paul has provided pictures of the latest developments in Manchester and the northern quarter with listings from Gez who edits Trident.
Paul Hawkins
Greater Manchester started up
the local control of the buses under the Bee Network branding initial based
upon Bolton and Wigan
Photos enclosed are from Bolton, Wigan, Bury and Central
Manchester over the last 3 weeks and show the variety of vehicles painted into
Bee Network livery and hired vehicles
Readers will note the wide variety of buses in use, ome from far away in the UK and also the newest buses being signed for TfGM even though the operators are one of the successful operators tendering are not always clearly shown the legals show for example Go North West.
With many thanks to Trident I show below a link to this publication where you wind full details.
North West GA Bee Network.html
Newbury from John Marsh
John recently moved to Newbury and has provided a few pictures from his first days in the town.
Oxford Half Marathon 2023
Sunday, October 15th
Oxford Half Marathon 2023 2023 - Running in Oxford — Let’s Do This (letsdothis.com)
Enjoy this fast and flat Half Marathon through the historic university city of Oxford. Spurred on by the live music and cheering crowds throughout the course, you'll be at the finish line in no time. Feel a sense of achievement like no other and don't miss out on being part of this great atmosphere.
Oxford Half Marathon - Extra P&R Journeys - Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel
Date for your diary
Oxfordshire Bus Enthusiasts Society
Graham Low
John
Hammond: Cooks of Biggleswade - a
Bedfordshire Coach Operator
All meetings will be from 7 to 9
p.m at the Norman Brown Room 2, Rose Hill Community Centre, Carole's Way, Rose
Hill, Oxford, OX4 4HF.
Oxford Bus Co service 3 passes
the centre and services 3A and Thames Travel service X40 pass within five
minutes walk.
A bar is available after the
meetings. There are snacks but no meals are served. Parking is available.
Coach visitors to Oxfordshire
Gavin Francis
P&J Ellis BU18YOY in St Giles on October 11th.
Jack Cooper
... in Oxford on October 11th with the Tom Tower in the background.
Fleet News and developments
Gavin Francis
Arriva 3018 with a 280 in Speedwell St
heading for Thame on October 11th.
Malcolm Crowe
3029 and 5457 at Cressex on October 7th
London RVF
|
Vehicle for First Berkshire (TV) 63304 SN65OLH
has moved within the FirstBus group from First Hampshire and Dorset (HD)
and first recorded on October 3rd |
Luke Marion
On 520 and 521, these are going to have exhausts upgraded to Euro 6 by HJS, once
this is complete they will be transferred to Carousel to release 511 and 512
back to Thames.
531 - 534 are all going to be staying with us for a while and we will be getting
our branding onto all 4 of them.
840 is still in the active fleet currently.
Graham Low
Today I saw a new-looking ADL
double decker in metallic grey on the Ring Road, going eastwards towards Cowley
or Horspath, with "ADL" in the rear destination screen - I saw no more details
as I was driving the other way. I wonder if it was a prototype of the
forthcoming ADL E400 EV? Maybe a reader will know.
Gavin Francis
The two buses on loan from Thames Travel for
the Slough service are seen on September 4th.
Malcolm Crowe
214 is seen in the first picture taken 9n
September 30th sand 241 back from loan to Pulhams on October 7th.
Both buses have been out of service for many weeks.
Variety is the name of the game by Carousel.
Taken on September 30th
533 at the depot on October 7th with all
branding removed.
Quick view inside the depot with 981 and 401
on October 7th.
Gavin Francis
847 in Speedwell Street working a 15 road service when seen on October
11th in Oxford.
356 in Magdalen Street with a 300 road service when seen on October 11th
in Oxford.
23 in Speedwell Street working a Heathrow service when seen on October
11th in Oxford.
219 in Speedwell Street working a 5 road service when seen on October
11th in Oxford.
653 in Speedwell Street working an X1 service when seen on
October 11th in Oxford.
661 in Speedwell Street working a 5 road service when seen on October
11th in Oxford.
252 with all branding removed working a 3 road service on October 11th.
353 in St Aldates working a 35 road service when seen on October 11th in
Oxford.
963 driver trainer when seen on October 11th in Oxford.
975 in St Aldates working a 11X service when seen on October 11th in
Oxford.
Charles Powell
Latest decker to join the fleet ex Lakeside coaches YX69NNB which arrived on 07/10. This is bought not loaned so will eventually gain Pulhams colours. Coach seats and fully seat belted.
Lakeside: YX69 NNB, Drenewydd | A very interesting addition … | Flickr
Gavin Francis
WDD194 working a private hire when seen on October 11th in Oxford.
Gavin Francis
913 working an X32 road service when seen on October 11th in Oxford.
Gavin Francis
Oxford 56 in Speedwell Street working a 737 service when seen on October
11th in Oxford.
Jack Cooper
.... seen during a visit to Heathrow.
Regular services provide much interest at
Heathrow on September 29th.
Gavin Francis
James Freeman
Brand new Yutong OU73RFC seen on Cowley on
October 9th.
including Courtney, Newbury & District &
Thames Valley
Martin Dowling
A couple of bits of news
from Reading Buses that you may be interested in putting in your newsletter.
Four Volvo Plaxton coaches, to be numbered 1422-1425, have been ordered for routes 730 and 731 running from Basingstoke and Frimley to Heathrow which is run by Newbury and District. At present some Reading deckers have been temporarily rebranded to run these services.
The new coaches should take over in a few weeks and the first
two have arrived in Reading (photo attached).
Reading Buses have won the Passenger Transport award at
the CILT Awards for Excellence. This is a real achievement as they were
competing with all transport modes including well-respected companies such as
Lumo and Elizabeth Line (Crossrail). Full details are here:
https://www.reading-buses.co.uk/weve-won-award.
I've just received this in
Robert's monthly newsletter. I assume that these Scania's are a similar
specification to Reading's existing gas buses of this type.
Six second hand Scania / ADL
Enviro300 CBGs have been purchased from Stagecoach North East - YP14
TGE/F/G/J/N/O (28035-40). They will become 436-439 and 309/310 respectively. The
first four are going for retrim prior to delivery to Reading, and the last two
are due imminently in Reading to go for conversion into additional driver
training vehicles (replacing earlier plans to convert a second native vehicle
412).
Gavin Francis
YX12AZN in St Aldates with an X20 service when seen on October 11th in
Oxford.
YX65RGV in Speedwell Street working an X20 service when seen on October
11th in Oxford.
Malcolm Crowe
YX10BFZ with a 130 in West Wycombe Road on
October 7th.
Taj Khan
Select Bus Services (SLB) has acquired Red Rose buses as listed below
GW65 GSW - E19 RRT
JW65 GSW - E20 RRT
Fleet list – Select Bus Services – bustimes.org
Timetables | selectbus (selectbusservices.com)
Gavin Francis
E17RRT with a 40 service when seen on October 7th in Stokenchurch.
No reports or photos in this issue
David Gray
15989 and 15991when seen on October 5th in Oxford.
Gavin Francis
12002 and 12008 in Speedwell Street working the 10 when seen on October
11th in Oxford.
15757 with a number 8 when seen on October 11th in Oxford.
15992 with a 2 service service when seen on October 11th in Oxford.
36448 in Speedwell Street working an 8 service when seen on October 11th
in Oxford.
Jack Cooper
Still in S5 Gold but seen working the 10 on
October 7th.
Gavin Francis
10875 with an X5 when seen on October 11th in Oxford.
Richard Sharman
Stagecoach East's former
Milton Park & Ride purple-liveried E400MMC 10810
is now freshly outshopped in
the current livery and has seen use on the X5 since the end of September.
Former Babraham Road Park & Ride green-liveried 10800 has also been freshly painted and entered service on the X5 from the 4th of October.
The number in the windscreen is the duty or bus
board number, introduced since the supervisory staff were moved from the bus
station to the depot.
These vehicles were released by the introduction of the
Volvo BZLs to the Park & Ride fleet.
oxfordtube.com/OctoberServiceChange.aspx
The first additional coaches for the revised and increased service were collected from Inverness today, October 12th.
50452/50453/50454 (YX21NNP/NNR/NNT)
These are presently in the 6 Cities livery. There is one further coach due which as the identity is unknown. This will allow the departure of Astromegas 50271 and 50272.
Paul Hawkins
Five Oxford tube
Gavin Francis
Prospect's YT71GHD
seen on October 11th in Oxford.
London operations
Andrew Webb
Completing the five Super Mario adverts launched last week are green and blue
versions.
Go Ahead's LT455 carries the green version, seen at Oxford Circus at the start
of route 12 on 7 October.
The blue version is carried by Arriva's LT729 which is at Marble Arch on the
same day.
2023 marks the 75th anniversary of HMT Empire Windrush docking at Tilbury with a large group of West Indians migrating to the UK. The ship has come to symbolise the post war migration of West Indians to the UK, often labelled 'The Windrush Generation'.
To celebrate
the contribution the West Indian diaspora have made to the culture and economy
of the UK Go Ahead have turned out Ee172 in this attractive wrap.
After
being used in the Notting Hill Carnival it remained unused until entering
service on route 40 on 1 October, the start of Black History Month. It is
on this route that it seen on 7 October, with Buses magazine's London
correspondent enjoying the scenery of Elephant and Castle from the front of the
top deck.
Brewdog have launched a stout with a campaign that competes with the trademarks
of the world's most famous stout.
Arriva's LT198 is seen at London Bridge
on 7 October with a strap line referencing the iconic colour contrast.
Meanwhile, Metroline's LT751 subtly mentions the famous bird on it's nearside as
it crosses Oxford Circus on the same day.
LT857, passing Trafalgar Square on 7 October, is one of several buses turned out
in an advert for ELF Cosmetics.
The nearside version is seen on Abellio's
LT710 at Euston.
An exhibition of Gucci designs is advertised on Abellio's LT699 as it hurries
passed Waterloo on 7 October
Jack Cooper
.... seen during a visit to Heathrow.
Dave Allen
Spotted this in Swanage of all places. Rather nice. No
doubt Gavin can supply detailed history!!
Gavin Francis
RM 2186 claim to fame is that in 1979 it was one of those which were selected to be repainted into Shilibeer livery to commemorate 100 years of London Buses.
I have attached my picture taken at West Hampstead on
route 159.
It was subsequently repainted red and when it passed into preservation it was initially painted into Shilibeer livery but was repainted red and past to Romearound in Swanage in 2012.
I have also attached my picture taken in 2011 at the
Dunsfold Aerodrome when the Cobham Bus Museum
held their annual open day that
year showing it in initial preservation livery.
Skegness by Gary Seamarks
Few from a day trip to
Skegness on October 4th, all taken in the town centre.
Think I got all the open tops
that were on the 1, another one was on the service 2 to Parkdean (inland) and
did not encounter it until after dark.
15617 you perhaps remember from its Oxford days !
Nick Ross
Bristol RE 2599 in the colours of Ulsterbus working shuttles from Wirksworth
station up the hill
with much noise! to Wirksworth town centre on October 1st
2023
Sadly Stagecoach Midlands Northampton's once fast fleet of Tridents are in
decline numbers wise,
here's 18403 at Weston Favell on September 29th 2023