Heritage buses and other vehicles
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
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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
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
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
Scammell Mechanical Horse ELH 490
The concept of the Mechanical Horse tractor unit, with an easily detached articulated trailer, was conceived in the early 1930s by Napier & Son. The London and North Eastern Railway had approached Napier's, the quality car and aero-engine makers, for an answer to the problem of replacing horses for local haulage purposes, while retaining the flexibility of changing the wagons and the manoeuvrability of the horse and wagon.[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.
Lister Auto-Trucks
The Lister Auto-Truck was a small monowheel tractor built for moving light loads around factories, railway yards and similar sites. They were built by R A Lister and Company of Dursley, Gloucestershire, well known for their range of small stationary engines.
Ex-Great Western Railway Lister Auto-Truck HWO 51 (743 UXF) was purchased new by the GWRGreat Western Railway in about 1938 for use at Newport Station, and The truck is a type SS3 fitted with a single cylinder 600cc JAP petrol engine. It was subsequently sold to a Caduggan’s flour mill at Usk who registered the Auto-Truck (reg. HWO 51) in 1949 to allow it to cross a public road. In 2003 it turned up in the hands of a farmer at Usk in a derelict state and was bought for restoration and re-registered as 743 UXF. It was then sold, unrestored, to Alex Thorpe who restored the truck. It was purchased by The Friends of Kidderminster Town Station in about 2007.[8]
An SVRSevern Valley Railway member is also restoring an Auto-Truck at Bridgnorth.
On the Buses events
In 2009 the SVRSevern Valley Railway ran a trial event to see if there was there was an appetite for a 'busfest' type event. From 2010 the SVRSevern Valley Railway has held annual 'On the Buses' events from Bewdley and Kidderminster. Typically it features visiting heritage or celebrity buses on display or offering rides between stations or around the local area, together with sales and information stands selling a range of bus related items and memorabilia.
Prior event
Early events took the form of a 'Classic Vehicle Day' or 'Vintage Vehicle Day' at Kidderminster which included cars and commercial vehicles as well as buses. In 1988 the SVRSevern Valley Railway ran a separate 'Classic Vehicle Day' for the first time, it having previously been combined with the autumn diesel gala.[10] A number of these early events were held under the auspices of The Erlestoke Manor Fund.
By 1992 the event was being organised jointly by the SVRSevern Valley Railway and the Worcester Bus Preservation Society. That year's 'Vintage Vehicle Rally' on 11 October at Kidderminster was attended by more than 100 classic vehicles including some seventy buses, thirty cars and a dozen commercial vehicles. Eight single decker and four double decker buses provided a shuttle between Kidderminster and Bewdley.[11]
The event continued in the same format until the twelfth and final 'Classic Vehicle Day' organised in conjunction with the Worcester Bus Preservation Society which was held on 14 October 2001. It included "...the usual 'Bewdley Shuttle' and Green Street 'Park & Ride' services".[12] The latter service allowed the SVRSevern Valley Railway public to park in a hired car park in the town and catch a classic bus to the Railway, while the classic vehicle event took place on the station car park. In early 2002 the agreement to use the town car park was withdrawn and the October 2002 event was reduced in scope, becoming a "Classic Car & Bike Day" with no buses.[13] Shortly before that time, a passenger was injured after falling from the platform of a bus as it was pulling away, caused by them doing something unexpected and that they should not have been doing or even considering. This uncovered an issue about the responsibility of insurance cover for the buses and other vehicles attending the festival, which contributed to its demise[14].
See also
References
- ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway News 18
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 SVRSevern Valley Railway News 19
- ↑ Alan Thwaites (retrieved 15 July 2020)
- ↑ Science Museum Group (retrieved 15 July 2020)
- ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway News 20
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Information provided by Peter Share
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 SVRA (retrieved 15 July 2020)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Friends of Kidderminster Town Station website via Internet Archive Wayback Machine
- ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway Facebook, 3 June 2018
- ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway News 86
- ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway News 106
- ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway News 139
- ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway News 142
- ↑ SVR Forum thread (Retrieved 18 July 2020)
