Heritage buses and other vehicles

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The SVRSevern Valley Railway in preservation has been home to or associated with a number of heritage buses and other road vehicles.

Heritage buses

Leyland Titan KPT 909

KPT 909 is a double deck Leyland Titan PD2 model, chassis No. 494078, seating 26 downstairs and 27 upstairs. The upstairs seating uses long seats with a side sunken gangway, allowing the bodywork to be one foot lower than the conventional type to cater for low bridges.

The vehicle was first registered on 31 August 1949 by its original owner, the late Mr. Oliver Gibson, of "Weardale Motor Services", Frosterley, County Durham, where it was used until 1969. It was then stored before being acquired by Dr. Michael Taylor and driven down from County Durham to Bewdley by Don Wilcox on 19 August 1970. The vehicle was sufficiently roadworthy to pass its MOT and convey a party of SVRSevern Valley Railway members to Didcot for the GWSGreat Western Society open day on 19 September 1970.[1]

It was later repainted in original livery and advertising panels produced advertising the SVRSevern Valley Railway services in 1971. It made a number of trips to other heritage railways and elsewhere[2]. This included a trip to the Crich Museum in 1977.[3]

The vehicle is now preserved as part of the Science Museum Group collection[4].

Midland Red UHA 255

UHA 255 at Wythall (Wikimedia Commons

UHA 255 is a single deck Midland Red S14 built in 1955, fleet number 4255. It was based at the Worcester Garage.

The vehicle was acquired by Bob Sim in 1971, the bus company agreeing to the sale on the understanding that the bus would not be used for "private hire or gain" and would be well preserved in its original colour. The vehicle was based at Bewdley where it was used for railway maintenance work and from time to time as a general transport vehicle for company workers.[2] It was also used in conjunction with KPT 909 to bring private parties from BRBritish Rail or British Railways railheads to Bridgnorth for trips on the SVRSevern Valley Railway[5].

UHA 255 is now at the Transport Museum, Wythall.

Leyland Tiger JOJ 255

JOJ 255 is a Leyland PS2/1 single deck bus, ex-Birmingham Corporation Transport no 2255[6].

Daimler JOJ 707

2707 is seen in the background of this 1975 photograph

JOJ 707 is a Daimler double deck bus ex-Birmingham Corporation Transport no 2707. It was under the custodianship of the late Maurice Newman[6].

Guy Arab 1293 RE

1294 RE, a similar Harper Bros. Guy Arab with Burlingham Seagull body
1293 RE is a Guy Arab coach with Burlingham Seagull body, ex-Harper Bros. (Heath Hayes) number 59. After Harper Bros. were taken over by the National Bus Company, the coach was sold to the Wolverhampton Branch of the SVRA in 1975 for £150. It was used for three years, mainly on local outings, and was also taken to the National Tramway Museum at Crich and to shows at Bromyard and Bishop's Castle.[7]

In 1978 the coach was placed on loan to the Leyland Commercial Vehicle Museum. It 1994 it was then moved to Inskip for undercover storage and restoration[7]. It is now owned by Bernard Rogers[6].

Other heritage buses

Bernard Rogers has owned at least 2 others which have been used by other members of the SVRSevern Valley Railway, in particular the SVR Junior Club. Other SVRSevern Valley Railway members have also owned heritage buses, including former London Transport buses[6].

Other vehicles

Thornycroft 'Nippy' lorry

Thornycroft 'Nippy' information poster
A Thornycroft 'Nippy' lorry came into the possession of the Friends of Kidderminster Town Station in 2003.[8] The information poster shown was displayed by the Friends in 2014, at which time it was still in the course of restoration.


Scammell Mechanical Horse

Thornycroft 'Nippy' information poster
Scammell Mechanical Horse ELH 490 is maintained by the Friends of Kidderminster Town Station. This type of three-wheeled tractor unit was used with a detachable open trailer. They were a common sight at main line stations such as Kidderminster where they were used to move goods around the station yard and to make deliveries to local customers.[9]

It was first restored in 1974. The information poster shown was displayed by the Friends in 2014, at which time it was receiving a major overhaul.

See also

References

  1. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 18
  2. 2.0 2.1 SVRSevern Valley Railway News 19
  3. Alan Thwaites (retrieved 15 July 2020)
  4. Science Museum Group (retrieved 15 July 2020)
  5. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 20
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Information provided by Peter Share
  7. 7.0 7.1 SVRA (retrieved 15 July 2020)
  8. FoKTS website via Internet Archive Wayback Machine
  9. FoKTS website via Internet Archive Wayback Machine

External links