Had a most enjoyable day at Showbus, sporting my specially made "Southbus" t-shirt, which attracted no attention whatsoever.
Maidstone & District were thin on the ground this year, giving me the opportunity to feature more pictures of other operators in and around south east England.
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The one M&D vehicle I did photograph was 2816, a 1968 Leyland Leopard with Willowbrook body. The bus is wearing coach livery. |
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Also from the county town is Boro'line 240, an ex Southdown (278) 1965 Queen Mary used on Christmas park and ride services |
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Reading Transport 76, a Dennis Loline with East Lancs bodywork |
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Southdown 1141, a 1960 Leyland Tiger Cub with Weymann coachwork |
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C164 SPB, a Leyland Tiger with Duple bodywork in the livery of Safeguard, Guildford. |
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Eastern National 2383, a 1953 Bristol KSW with Eastern Coachworks open top body. |
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Stretching the definition of south east England a bit is Great Yarmouth 40, a 1967 Leyland Atlantean with unusual Marshall single deck body. |
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One of my favourite single deckers is the AEC Regal, represented here by 1952 MCW bodied RF457 showing blinds for route 210 |
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First Eastern Counties 265, a Bristol VRT/SL3 with ECW bodywork |
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Brighton & Hove 864, a Dennis Trident with Plaxton President bodywork |
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Nu Venture Leyland Titan NUW 614Y displaying blinds for a service in the Medway Towns. The company also operate services in Maidstone in competition with Arriva Kent & Sussex (see Maidstone Buses Today). |
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Stagecoach East London T1, recently restored to its original livery. I was fortunate enough to see this bus at Chiswick Works in 1978 prior to its entry into service - it looked better then! T1 is still in service at Romford, although its days are probably numbered. |
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The future? Marshall of Cambridge presented RM848 (WLT848), one of several being refurbished for service in London in an initiative by the Mayor, Ken Livingstone. This particular bus is destined for Metroline. |
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Autocar Scania N113 with East Lancs bodywork registration OSJ 1X. The bus is displaying the destination Cornwallis School, a large secondary school in Linton near Maidstone where I misspent many hours during my so-called education. |
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Eastern Counties LKD 229, a Bristol "Lodekka" LD5G with ECW H33/25RD bodywork. This double decker was the third LD type to be operated by Eastern Counties in 1954 and features the early 'apron' front. LKD 229 was purchased from the company in 1971 by the Eastern Counties Omnibus Society (now the Eastern Transport Collection) and has since undergone extensive restoration. |
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Sister bus to 2383, Eastern National Bristol KSW registration WNO 478 with ECW open top bodywork |
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RT2293 displaying blinds for Sidcup garage route 21 (Moorgate & Foots Cray) |
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Hedingham Omnibuses L84, a 1974 Leyland Leopard with Willowbrook body |
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