THE M & D AND EAST KENT BUS CLUB
The Three Counties - 19th August 2000
Tour report by David Burrin
(first published in Club News Sheet 578 Sep '00)
Photographs by Ken
Lansdowne
For the last trip of the year, we had Tim's
Coaches P119 RSF, with driver Colin. Departing on time from Kent, we passed
through some heavy showers before reaching the sun. At Bracknell Bus Station,
we had a brief stop to see where FirstBus had stamped their mark on the area.
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Our
transport for the day, Tims Travel P119RSF in Bracknell Bus Station |
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During
our short stay in Bracknell, most of this batch of Wright bodied Scanias
appeared. |
Moving on down the M4 towards Swindon, we
parked in the Thamesdown garage, but most of the action was on the roads around
the town centre. Two of the recently-acquired Isle of Man Dennis Darts, with
Irish registrations, were in use, and Stagecoach Swindon & District had
also "imported" vehicles from other parts of their empire.
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A selection of deckers
seen in Thamesdown's depot. Tthe yellow one on the left is ex-Bournemouth |
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Most of
the local services are in the hands of various Dennis Darts. 115 (M115BMR) is
a Plaxton Pointer bodied example. |
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Popular
with the photographers were the Dennis Dominators, the only deckers in
regular weekend use. 72 (H972XHR) has East Lancs bodywork. |
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The other
main operator in Swindon is Stagecoach Swindon & District, whose 906
(P906SMR), an Alexander bodied Dennis Dart SLF. |
Travelling across country, over the
Salisbury Plain, we arrived in Salisbury, and parked in the Wilts & Dorset
depot there, where almost every vehicle was pointing its rear end towards the
sun and potential photographers! However, the city centre provided good
evidence of the development of the still-privately owned W&D fleet, and
there was opportunity for the challenge of photography in the rather cramped
bus station, and the delights of the busy market square.
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Seen in Salisbury depot
is recently acquired ex-Trent Optare Metrorider P241CTV. |
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Most of
the local services are in the hands of a fleet of Optare Solos. 2630 (S630JRU)
is seen heading into the centre. |
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Leyland
Olympian 2903 (A903JPR) operates in the livery of Guide Friday for use on the
Stonehenge tour. |
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Back at
the depot is Optare Spectra 3136 (M136KRU) |
After a protracted departure from Salisbury,
and a minor detour through the New Forest, we moved on to Southampton, once
again in FirstBus territory. Despite the new image being in evidence, the
Atlanteans were still much in use, and just a few VRs of Solent Blueline too.
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It is
difficult to show the variety in Southampton with a few photos, as the fleet
of First Hampshire is very varied with as many liveries as vehicle types. A
recent delivey is 808 (W808EDW), an Alexander bodied Volvo B7TL |
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Solent
Blue Line also have an interesting fleet, including a number of these SCC
bodied Dennis Dart SLFs. |
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One of
the older vehicles in the First Hampshire fleet is 1251 (YRV251V), an East
Lancs bodied Leyland AN68A/1R |
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A recent
arrival in the First Hampshire fleet, MCW Metrobus 529 (JHE150W) |
Our next port of call was the Solent
Blueline depot at Eastleigh, where there was a motley collection of redundant
Leyland-Nationals, an ex-Southdown VR (WUF 537K), and a preserved Southdown
Beadle-Leyland TS8 (MUF 488). We then moved on down the road to Bishops
Waltham, to Brijan's yard, where the very helpful staff moved almost everything
around to enable photography. The Kent connection there was one (out of two)
ex-East Kent Metrobuses - this one in Solent Blueline livery - and an
ex-M&D Mercedes-Benz with a disguised registration.
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preserved
ex-Southdown Leyland TS8 MUF488 inside Solent Blue Line's Eastleigh depot. |
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Despite a diversion away from the A32
because of a fatal accident, we made good time back to Kent, in fact arriving
about ten minutes early - a tribute again to David Cobb's fine organisation,
recovery time, and the ability to provide good weather!