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[Lizzie_Zoom]

On this day in 1996 a London Bus was blown up by an IRA (yes they were 'active' only a short while ago)  bomb, so buses have often been in the forefront of conflict:



http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/18/newsid_4165000/4165719.stm

This was a precursor to the next London Bus bombing of 7/7/2005




.....................and of course previously in WW2






 

[Vamps]

On this day in 1996 a London Bus was blown up by an IRA (yes they were 'active' only a short while ago)  bomb, so buses have often been in the forefront of conflict:



http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/18/newsid_4165000/4165719.stm

This was a precursor to the next London Bus bombing of 7/7/2005




.....................and of course previously in WW2






 

iirc that is the bomb I heard from about 20 miles away, I was mini cabbing, as an extra Job, in Hertfordshire, I was near Hoddeston at the time...

[Lizzie_Zoom]

Here is a right Bedford cuttie from 1967, which Byron has sent to me for posting.

From 1967 I remember them well as their reduced seating capacity from the full sized Bedford's of that time made them ideal for school trips and social group outings.  I always thought of them as "baby Bedford's", and now I always think they must be fun to drive, being right cutties!
8-) 8-) 8-)

No Doubt Byron will be along to add further detail.



 

[Seth]

  - "Cuties" indeed Ms Zoom ......

Here's a Bedford J2 which was a regular attendee at the Welland Steam Rally, where this view was taken a few years ago.

Production of the J2 model began in 1958, and spanned around ten years.
This example is powered by the noisy, though very economical little 4-cylinder '220' diesel unit of 3.6 litres capacity. Mounted up-front alongside the driver, it drove through a 4-speed all-synchromesh gearbox. Vacuum-assisted hydraulic brakes provided the necessary stopping power.

The 20-seat 8-foot wide body is by Plaxtons of Scarborough, and is of composite contruction.
It's essentially a scaled-down version of their very successful contemporary 41-seat 'Embassy' model for the bigger 'SB' chassis.




Big changes were afoot across the range of Bedford PSV chassis during this era.
"Bedfords - You see 'em everywhere" would certainly ring true, as we'll soon see here ............ 

 

[Lizzie_Zoom]

When I think of my childhood and into my adulthood, all I can remember is seeing Bedford / Duple coaches everywhere carrying out coaching duties across the country.  Bedford vans and lorries were also the mainstay of the commercial transport world.

What was the Bedford range that I saw from the 1950s to 1980s, and why did the European coach manufacturers take over?  There seems to me to have been a tremendous change in the supply and demand of coaches, almost on a par with the change on the railways away from "in house" produced MK1, 2 & 3 units to fully Japanese built coaches.

I take it 'the market' has dictated??

[Seth]

When I think of my childhood and into my adulthood, all I can remember is seeing Bedford / Duple coaches everywhere carrying out coaching duties across the country.  Bedford vans and lorries were also the mainstay of the commercial transport world.

What was the Bedford range that I saw from the 1950s to 1980s, and why did the European coach manufacturers take over?  There seems to me to have been a tremendous change in the supply and demand of coaches, almost on a par with the change on the railways away from "in house" produced MK1, 2 & 3 units to fully Japanese built coaches.

I take it 'the market' has dictated??

Specifically regarding the Bedford marque:

At that point in time, the motorway network was expanding at quite a rate, and more and more operators opted for the 'heavyweight' chassis such as AEC and Leyland. The 'lightweight' Bedfords were quite fine poodling around on A roads, and simply could not take the punishment of constant 70 mph thrashing for hours on end. 'Horses for courses' and all that!

The later underfloor-engined Y-series went some way towards solving these issues, though even these weren't man enough for this type of duty. Bedford (and GM) were volume producers, and with dwindling orders, decided to cease PSV chassis production some years back.

The long-distance work also called for better on-board facilities, such as WCs and video facilities, which in turn needed heavier bodies. Bedford introduced the YNV (aka "Venturer") to accomodate this, though in reality, the writing was on the wall. A pity this, as several operators whom I knew were very pleased with the Venturer - it even had air suspension!

And let's not forget, the likes of DAF and Volvo were rapidly becoming accepted in this fair land at this time.


And Duple bodies: The least said the better ........... 

[Lizzie_Zoom]

When I think of my childhood and into my adulthood, all I can remember is seeing Bedford / Duple coaches everywhere carrying out coaching duties across the country.  Bedford vans and lorries were also the mainstay of the commercial transport world.

What was the Bedford range that I saw from the 1950s to 1980s, and why did the European coach manufacturers take over?  There seems to me to have been a tremendous change in the supply and demand of coaches, almost on a par with the change on the railways away from "in house" produced MK1, 2 & 3 units to fully Japanese built coaches.

I take it 'the market' has dictated??

Specifically regarding the Bedford marque:

At that point in time, the motorway network was expanding at quite a rate, and more and more operators opted for the 'heavyweight' chassis such as AEC and Leyland. The 'lightweight' Bedfords were quite fine poodling around on A roads, and simply could not take the punishment of constant 70 mph thrashing for hours on end. 'Horses for courses' and all that!

The later underfloor-engined Y-series went some way towards solving these issues, though even these weren't man enough for this type of duty. Bedford (and GM) were volume producers, and with dwindling orders, decided to cease PSV chassis production some years back.

The long-distance work also called for better on-board facilities, such as WCs and video facilities, which in turn needed heavier bodies. Bedford introduced the YNV (aka "Venturer") to accomodate this, though in reality, the writing was on the wall. A pity this, as several operators whom I knew were very pleased with the Venturer - it even had air suspension!

And let's not forget, the likes of DAF and Volvo were rapidly becoming accepted in this fair land at this time.


And Duple bodies: The least said the better ........... 

Thanks Byron for that great info!!

[cem_devecioglu]

this is not nostalgic but I like it really
http://www.splashtours.nl/index.php?taal=en

[Lizzie_Zoom]

this is not nostalgic but I like it really
http://www.splashtours.nl/index.php?taal=en

That looks real fun Cem!!

[Lizzie_Zoom]

How about this other mini Bedford from 1973:



A common sight workhorse in those days

Do you know Byron the history and specifications of these particular coaches?

Where did they all go? :-? :-?

[Seth]

During the 1960s, Bedford introduced a new range of PSV chassis.

The three variants were designated thus:
'VAS' for around 30-seat bodies
'VAM' for 40/45 seats
'VAL' for 50/53 seaters

Shown above is a VAS (actually a VAS5 model), with nicely-built Plaxton 29-seat coach body.

It has the sweet little Bedford '330' diesel mounted up-front, and would be a simplistic and very economical vehicle to run, with air-assisted hydraulic brakes. Many components were common to the contemporary 'TK' truck range - in fact, the perfect choice for the small independent operator!

Model variants were the VAS1 (with '300' diesel) and VAS3 (with '300' petrol unit).

I took this photo a few years back at the Welland Steam Rally (again!), against the backdrop of the beautiful Malvern Hills.

I'd dearly love to acquire one of these exact coaches, though by the time I realised it, this particular one had been sold on - bugger!



Sorry Lizzie, I nearly forgot to add this one's history:
It spent it's working life in Herefordshire with Bengry's Primrose Motors of Leominster.
There you have it!

[Vamps]

  - "Cuties" indeed Ms Zoom ......

Here's a Bedford J2 which was a regular attendee at the Welland Steam Rally, where this view was taken a few years ago.

Production of the J2 model began in 1958, and spanned around ten years.
This example is powered by the noisy, though very economical little 4-cylinder '220' diesel unit of 3.6 litres capacity. Mounted up-front alongside the driver, it drove through a 4-speed all-synchromesh gearbox. Vacuum-assisted hydraulic brakes provided the necessary stopping power.

The 20-seat 8-foot wide body is by Plaxtons of Scarborough, and is of composite contruction.
It's essentially a scaled-down version of their very successful contemporary 41-seat 'Embassy' model for the bigger 'SB' chassis.




Big changes were afoot across the range of Bedford PSV chassis during this era.
"Bedfords - You see 'em everywhere" would certainly ring true, as we'll soon see here ............ 

 

I used to drive one of these, same year, many years ago, though I seem to remember that it was a 29 seater...... :-/

[Seth]

If it was a 29-seater Vamps, it would've been a 'VAS' - deffo!

[Vamps]

If it was a 29-seater Vamps, it would've been a 'VAS' - deffo!

Would that still have been an 'F' reg though? sure it was as 'K' reg was the newest at the time, but that was a Ford, Plaxton 45 seater....

[Seth]

If it was a 29-seater Vamps, it would've been a 'VAS' - deffo!

Would that still have been an 'F' reg though? sure it was as 'K' reg was the newest at the time, but that was a Ford, Plaxton 45 seater....

Both the 'J2' and 'VAS' were in production on 'F' reg's Vamps!