Editorial

Issue nr 310
Thursday July 25th, 2024

Past Issues : https://www.oxford-chiltern-bus-page.co.uk/

From the Editor

This week sees some interesting events and a major change in the Aylesbury and High Wycombe areas

Significant numbers of picutres from contributors with over 250 pictures this week.

In this issue

Routemaster celebrates 70 years

Chiswick's skid pan

Grahame Wareham remembers 310

Northampton vintage

From an overbridge on the A34

Celebrating the first year of the X34

Carousel prepares for the weeks after Arriva

Arriva remembered from 2004-2024 from Gavin Francis

Last Arriva week in High Wycombe

Readers Write

Overseas Interlude from Luxemburg

Fleet News and Developments

London operations from Gavin and Gary

A Readers Visit to the West Midlands

Chiswick set to host largest-ever gatheting of Routemaster buses - Chiswick Calendar News

from Gavin Francis on Sunday, July 21st.

Last Saturday and Sunday the Routemaster Association organized an event to mark the 70^th anniversary of the introduction of the Routemaster.

This event has been held 3 times previously marking the 40, 50 and 60 year milestones. On these occasions the event was held at Finsbury Park but this was not possible this year and a very suitable replacement venue was found at Chiswick Business Park which was the site of the old London Transport Chiswick works.

Each day about 80 buses were expected and between them they covered all the many different versions that were produced of the Routemaster.

There were plenty of sales stands selling everything from models to bus parts.

The site is slightly isolated but food and drink was available from a Routemaster Bar Bus and also from a bus from The Afternoon Tea Bus fleet.

Overall a very well organized event which was enjoyed by the large crowds which attended.

A fascinating display for a well loved bus. Ed.

Saturday, July 20th at Chiswick by Tony Bungay

I attended the RM 70 event on Saturday at Chiswick Park, unlike the previous day which was boiling hot, cloud cover in the main made for a much more pleasant day.

It is highly likely you have been soaked with contributions for this, so as is always i enclose a few which you may or may not be able to use.

Not all those buses present on both days. Ed.

RT 1530 CHISWICK SKID BUS by Gavin Francis & Nigel Eadon Clarke

Whilst I was at RM 70 on Sunday I had noticed an RT on the site which at the time I thought was a bit odd. Later Nigel Eadon-Clarke informed me this was RT 1530 which was the Chiswick Skid Bus from 1980-1985 so after 40 years it had returned to Chiswick.

Back in July 1983 Chiswick Works held an Open Day and Nigel was there to record RT 1530 on the skid pan

and he has also supplied a picture from RM 70.

An interesting diversion from RM70 Ed.

310 from Grahame Wareham

H310 LWL305 was a 1946 AEC Regent II with Park Royal H30/26R semi-utility body and is picture here by Ray Simpson in Aylesbury Market Place which was the then terminus for the 82 service from Oxford. In 1953 H310 was renumbered to H844, the reasoning was to keep the high-bridge and low-bridges vehicles in separate series to avoid bridge problems...............which still didn't always work! H844 was withdrawn in April1958 and sold to Deacon (dealer) Dorchester and thereon to Miller, Calderbank in May 1958, it lasting there only until March 1959 when it was presumed scrapped.

Copyright R H G Simpson

310 310MFC was an AEC Bridgemaster with Park Royal H43/29F bodywork delivered in 1961. These 72 seaters were subject to a union dispute regarding their use in the City Centre when first delivered so they were used on country routes out of the City whilst still based at Cowley Road Garage. From 1968 when the City and Country services were amalgamated the dispute was settled and in any case more 72 seat vehicles in the shape of Daimler Fleetline's equipped for OMO were on the cards, but that is another chapter. 310 received the then new two colour red and duck egg green livery upon recertification in 1970 310 was withdrawn in June 1973 and sold to TPE (dealer) of Macclesfield and in July 1973 found a home with Sherriff of Gainsborough but by September 73 had been sold back to TPE. In December 73 it was sold to Wilson of Stainforth (Premier Coaches) and lasted there until 1980 when it was dispatched to Jamieson at Dunscroft for scrap.

310 HK11OXF was an ADL E400H Hybrid with ADL E400 H47/31F bodywork incorporating BAE electric technology based in a Dennis Trident frame. The concept involved a Cummins IBS4 4 cyl diesel engine driving a BAE generator storing battery banks which were then used to provide power to a traction motor in place of a conventional automatic gearbox. When the batch of seventeen buses were delivered in 2011 the hybrid system was still quite innovative with NC battery technology still under development, however the battery life was the main cost factor of the exercise and expensive investment in replacing these after mid-life of the vehicle was not considered cost effective for the rest of the batch remaining. When new these vehicles with their smart metallic green two tone livery were used on the Park & Ride flagship routes for around five years until replaced by a similar number of Wright Streetdeck micro hybrids during fleet upgrading in 2016. Thus the ADL Hybrids were relegated to City routes and repainted and branded for City 4 purple (301-304), City 35 burgundy red (305-309) and generic red (310-317). As mentioned the high cost of traction battery replacement was a determining factor for the future of these vehicles so as East Yorkshire had already converted some similar vehicles back to conventional diesel mechanical power for other operators, from 2018 one by one the surviving vehicles 300, 301-3, 305-6, 308-14, 316-7 were dealt with with the cost of the conversion being divided into the remaining life of the vehicles. In 2024 the vehicles were due for natural replacement but the opportunity arose to transfer these to fellow Go-Ahead company Go-South West/Plymouth City Bus and during May/June 2024 the vehicles have made they way to sunny Devon/Cornwall. 310 was re-registered from its cherished mark before going south to OE11YNB and received Plymouth fleet number 5036.

3x colour images supplied by Gavin Francis

2 of OE11YNB by GW

As ever a unique insight into the number 310. Ed.

Northampton history returns by Thomas Walker-Werth

I have two contributions for this week's issue. In both cases I have more photos in my gallery which readers can check out by following the link (you're welcome to download and use any of those in the issue too if you want to, but I've tried to choose the best for the site).

On Sunday, the Northampton Transport Heritage group put on a running day to mark the 130^th anniversary of the start of electric tram services in Northampton using 1946-built Roe bodied Crossley VV9146 146 and Northern Coachbuilders bodied Daimler ANH154 154. Readers can see more photos at

https://mktom.smugmug.com/2024/July-2024/UK-Bus--Other-Transport-July-2024/i-CPs7xkm

Observations from an overbridge on the A34 by Derek Dawson
on July 15th and 16th

Friday was very busy with over 140 coaches logged although due to heat left earlier than I would have wished Also a mass exodus from the EU meeting with 14 minibuses from Kent, Hampshire, Devon & Cornwall and Welsh forces noted.

Aldermaston Cs GO02OMC with Queen Mary 6th form College wrap.

Another Flixbus Loch Lomond SJ23 HVW

Couple of visitors Gimmler (D) WZ-WV533 & Voyages Robin (f) GE-080-ZX

Oxford Tube (NIS) 50438

MCV on delivery for Warrington it appears that another four came through in the afternoon.

Saturday was also another busy Morning with 135 logged

Ex NatEx Levante 3 starting to get sold on BF68LDX ex Lucketts now with IQ Coaches

Five Excelsior's heading North including Yutong YD23 FNA

German visitor DO-RL1017 Rieisedienst Lange

Being a FHD2 fan it was nice to see Bay Travel, Cowdenbeath P888BAY

Three Xela passed through including Xela Coach G13XEL and Xela Bus PB72XEL

Just shows how interesting the view can be from an overbridge. Ed.

The X34 has been running to Newbury a year today, July 24th by Lewis Anthony

Here’s a few (most) of what has appeared on the route to date:

First there is a list of the acquired buses which are the first to carry five figure fleet numbers.

Thus it would appear that 80 may be added to all the current OBC Group numbers. Ed

The three blue Ensign E200MMCs that are with us are on loan from Ensign due to delays in obtaining the last of the 12 x ex First Scotland E200MMCs that we have purchased from Ensign as permanent members of the fleet. As these are delivered, the loan buses will be returned.

We won't be moving to the Arriva depot for go-live but are still actively considering this in the medium term. We are seeking to arrange a site visit with Arriva to move this forward, but this won't happen until after their operation cease on 27^th July.

With the wider fleet numbering, this is being planned to take place in batches as it is too large a change for us to carry out on one day.

The five figure fleet numbers have arrived with an ex First and NXWM early recipients on July 22nd - 80823 and 80954.

In addition to the Sprinters the three Ensign E200 MMCs were there on July 13th. 708-710.

974 and 972 are among those doing driver training. I have also seen 531 in Daws Hill Lane and 532 in Bourne End
doing Driver Familiarisation, before they take over Arriva's routes at the end of this week.

243 and 244 have not moved for a while. My guess is that they will not see further service. 401 also looks rather poorly!

MB51, one of Carousel's original Citaros, and now over 20 years old, looks very smart now.
Very often its sister MB53 is parked in this space!

514, previously black for Bicester Village, is now in Carousel livery.
Later on Friday I noticed on bustimes that 513 has also returned and is now in a smart Carousel Country livery.
There is a picture of it in the yard with two Ensignbus vehicles. They must have all arrived at the depot soon after I left!

One can imagine the work entailed at all levels preparing for this weekend from just the above. Ed.

As it was the last week of Arriva operation in High Wycombe I thought instead of taking my pictures in the town centre as I normally do I would go to some of the termini used.

The picture was taken at the exact spot where 47 years ago in 1977 I took a picture of RML 2440. I don’t think this bus was ever painted NBC green unlike 2 years earlier in 1975 I found RML 2346 at the same spot which had received the new livery. RML 2440 lives on in local preservation.

Again this terminus has been in use for as long as I can remember, indeed my picture shows RML 2416 on stand on 24^th April 1976. Today it was the turn of Optare Versa 2951 and Citaro 3012 to use the space.

Finally it was a trip down Memory Lane to Micklefield where I lived for the first 24 years of my life.

Over 50 years ago in 1973 I took pictures of RT 4744 and RT 4783. The RT family should have been long gone but with spares for the RMLs difficult to obtain some were retained as cover. HE was probably struggling for sets of blinds as RT 4783 shows an incorrect one in the front destination. Today it was the turn of Arriva 4210 to stand on the same spot.

In all three cases the route number has changed by the terminus has remained the same.

“It is great to have the MyBus ticket operational across all of Oxfordshire. Just a reminder that a one-day ticket is £6.50. As is always the case with new systems, very occasionally messages go astray – so if buying from the Oxford Bus Company, and in the unlikely event of a query on availability, on the ticket machine it is “NETWORK > MORE1/2”, and the top right-hand green ticket. As mentioned last week, this is like a TravelCard but for Oxfordshire, so great value and a feeling of total freedom when using it”

I have been back in Oxford, doing some more photography, while in Oxford on a few days holiday break. A case of Silent, but deadly, no, not the new Electric Buses from Oxford Bus, but the Tourists and Locals ! Nearly get run over by them, and not the buses.

On Wednesday last week (17th) I had the pleasure of trying out one of the new Bicester Bee services, operated by Ability CIC using a 16-seat Mercedes and serving a number of Oxfordshire villages which have little or no other public transport. Although designed to enable residents to reach Bicester for shopping etc., my object on that sunny afternoon was a family history photography trip from Bicester to Finmere. With three scheduled round trips during the day, despite travelling 'against the flow', it's possible both to reach Finmere (or other villages), and get back. Full marks to Oxfordshire County Council for sponsoring the service. Although not overwhelmed with users as yet, I hope to see a few more in the coming weeks when I have some further trips planned.

A surprising find in Maidenhead yesterday - at the Maidenhead Festival in Kidwells Park - I spotted this ex First bus Mercedes Citaro LK08FMC, fleet number 64043.

This vehicle started life in Slough, in a blue livery and branded for the 7 series routes to / from Heathrow Airport. In around 2018, this bus along with several others from the Slough allocation were refurbished, repainted predominantly purple, and put into service in Worcester.

The bus is now owned by a locally based charity group, still in its later Worcester based 'Nimrod' livery, including some of the route branding on the cove panels.

Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me, so the pictures are from my phone, and the best I could get, given the overhanging trees and passing festival goers!

In your pictures of 308 why is it operating the 2A service when branded for P&R and City 35?

I wonder if someone or anybody knows what will happen to the Arriva Buses Base at Aylesbury and High Wycombe once Arriva leaves Aylesbury and High Wycombe from 28th July 2024 does anyone have any information about this to where the Buses be going or what Depot ?

A line-up of buses in Luxembourg. 2nd one is a Bendi-bus,3rd is rear of electric bus. 4th one is a battery bus.

The new Arriva The Shires service X1 between Luton and Milton Keynes started this week. There are already a number of services between these two towns. Unlike the Stagecoach service MK1 it uses the A5, not the M1 and unlike the F70 and F77 it doesn’t use the busway between Luton and Dunstable and it doesn’t serve Leighton Buzzard.

The X1 is run using three Temsa Safaris – 7100/1/5 (YJ 69 AAO/U/Z). These were part of a batch of six purchased by Arriva The Shires for use on the 758 Greenline route between Hemel Hempstead and London (7100-5 – YJ 69 AAO/U/V/X/Y/Z). This route didn’t last long and some of the coaches were then transferred to Arriva Kent Thameside at Harlow for use on school services. After one term they returned to Luon in January 2021, again mainly for school services. In April of that year four of them (7101-4) were transferred to Arriva Midlands at Hinckley for use on route X6 (Leicester to Coventry). Meanwhile 7105 went to Arriva Midlands North at Telford for use on a particular service although this ended by September 2022. Nothing more seems to be known of this since then. Similarly, nothing seems to be known about 7100 for the last three years.

On Monday I went out for the launch day of Arriva's new X1 coach service between Milton Keynes and Luton. The service uses a dedicated fleet of Temsa Safari coaches and runs mostly along the former X31 route via Hockliffe and Dunstable. Arriva were giving out goodie bags to passengers with a route leaflet, a croissant, and some orange juice inside! More photos are at

Arriva’s 3030 passing by Redline Buses BV73 MLX at Westgate on July 18th, soon to be the X7’s replacer!

Ashwood Coaches now have at least 4 Levantes, 3 in the yard and I saw another on the road.
AT10AWT K10AWT AT07AWT AT61AWT depot on July 19th.

608, RW64 OXF seen in Amersham on the 41 on its first service with Carousel.
608 just seen on its first service with Carousel on the 41 to Amersham

245, YN55 NFO Seen on the route 4 at the High Wycombe Coachway bound for the bus station.

The entry into service seems to have paused this week with nothing new joining the fleet.

A shortage of serviceable branded 280 buses has seen others like 660 and 661 in Thame on July 24th.

On July 25th, 715 seen at Thornhill working the 400 which sometimes goes to Wheatley.

With the transfer of Arriva services to Carousel in a little over a week, it appears that there will be another transfer on 2nd September. Route 143 is currently run by Thames Travel from Reading to Upper Basildon via Pangbourne.

43 appears to be the same route as 143. 93 is in a series of numbers used for school bus routes, so presumably that is a morning and evening service to and from local secondary schools.

The application mentions Oxfordshire, Reading and West Berkshire councils. I'm not sure how Oxfordshire is involved as the bus runs south of the Thames for its entire route through RBC and WBC areas.

Sprinter E12RRT is the regular allocation for the 121 seen in Thame on July 24th.

I am currently on loan from Stagecoach South Wales to Manchester and have some pics of the vehicles I have been driving based at Queens Road Depot I thought you might like for inclusion on your page. Some of which are ex Oxford Hybrids which I have found are a pleasure to drive.

We have just received the Stagecoach West Fleet Card for Period 3 dated 19/07/2024.

These are the changes that we have found, the changes affecting Oxford depots being shown in yellow.

On the morning of Tuesday 23^rd July, Gloucestershire County Council invited operators and stakeholders to view the new Arle Court Transport Hub, ahead of it’s opening to the public on Monday 29^th July. Stagecoach West attended with three buses, these being Ancillary Fleet Bristol VR 19950 (JOU160P), Cheltenham depot’s Enviro200 36735 (SF62CWP), and Oxford depot’s Enviro400EV 80039 (SK24CZC). Pulhams Coaches also attended with StreetDeck HEV 374 (N99NHS), and a private owner came along in preserved Bristol RE 1003 (KHW309E). Both Bristols started their careers in Cheltenham.

This new site is a 3-story car park adjoining a 5-bay bus station, located on the A40 near M5 junction 11. On opening it will provide park and ride facilities to Cheltenham Town Centre, using Stagecoach Service 100, and Cheltenham General Hospital, Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, and Gloucester Transport Hub, using Pulhams Coaches Service 99. Initially timetables for both services will remain unchanged, but both are expected to expand before the end of the year. GCC are also in talks with coach operators such as National Express, Megabus and FlixBus to divert their M5 motorway services into the site.

The first two floors of the car park are fitted with EV charging points which do not require pre-booking and do not have a time limit, so customers can just turn up, plug in, and jump on a bus without having to worry about returning to free up a charger for someone else. There is also an indoor waiting room, café, and information desk. Bus and Coach drivers get a private rest room with basic kitchen facilities and access to staff toilets. Once the new site is open, GCC plan to redevelop adjacent land (the current park and ride site) to have additional car parking spaces (bringing to total to over 900) and add tourist coach parking facilities with EV charging.

If anyone is wondering why Oxford’s EV was in attendance, it is because Stagecoach Service 94/94X (that runs past Arle Court site between Cheltenham and Gloucester) will be converted to EV operation in late 2025 or early 2026, and the vehicles ordered are the same specification as the Oxford ones, just in a different livery. This was a chance to show people what they can expect.

Attached are a selection of photographs taken by myself. These are copyright Stagecoach West and are not to be reproduced without permission. Some photographs show 80039 displaying route number 100, this was staged for the camera and this vehicle has not yet been used in service.

New vs Old, 80001 loads on St. Aldates whilst operating a 10 service as 10671 passes on the 1.
The lower windscreen on the ENVIRO400ev, allowing better vision, is obvious in this image.

54208 SF62CTU has transferred to Stagecoach Oxford for the Oxford Tube. This was moved last Friday. A Tube manager and it will be used predominantly for training, unless vehicle shortages require it in service. 50274 won’t see the road again.

A good example of three ways you can get to West Oxfordshire! The S1, S2 and the Oxfordshire County Council-funded S2X are seen all departing for the west of the county at 1718hrs.

Although not scheduled to depart together, a bit of traffic or loading passengers can result in this situation.

Whilst the SX2 is limited stop, its first stop after Magdalen Street is the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter,
where the 1718hrs departure did pick up a few passengers, operated by 50446.

Another weeks offerings, this time a day trip to London, not bus based so only took a few, ST812 was a nice surprise at London Bridge, its noticeable how many Scania's are now on the tour, hoping to get back mid-late August for a decent hit.

Seems they are operating older buses than those joining Go Ahead in Oxford. Ed.

708	YY18 THV	Purfleet	Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC	Ensignbus
709	YY18 THX	Purfleet	Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC	Ensignbus
710	YY18 THZ	Purfleet	Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC	Ensignbus

Out of Reserve	50424	Reserve (RTA)	To	Oxford

For Disposal	50274	Oxford	To	Disposal

Gone	12012	Disposal	To	Gone
	15648	Disposal	To	Gone
	34841	Disposal	To	Gone