Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Lizzie_Zoom]

There is a big Bus museum being built at Brooklands.
Huge great shed, don't know any details but I am sure it would be of interest to the followers of this thread.
Brooklands is near Weybridge, Surrey. The whole place is full of old stuff, cars, aeroplanes and the like, well worth a visit.

Right, that is interesting

The old Brooklands site was of course the home of British motor racing in the early days with parts of the elevated, slanted, track still in place.  It was also the site of the BAC factory that produced the wings for Concorde

[Lizzie_Zoom]

.................and then we have a 1974 Bedford coach which could have taken people on trips to Brooklands!

A lovely looking example, which we lack full details of; no doubt Byron will display his wonderful knowledge again, as usually I can do with steam railway engines!! 8-) 8-)

[Lizzie_Zoom]

...............and after talking about so many road coaches, I must post about some glorious Railway camping coaches.



 A marvellous internet site gives a wonderful short description of some Southern Railway Camping Coaches of the pre WW2 years, which continued eventually on only a few sites after a re-introduction into BR days. They were a popular form of holiday base in the South West, which the Great Western Railway also provided.

http://www.brucehunt.co.uk/Camping%20coaches%20at%20Bere%20Ferrers.html


Does anyone know of any camping road coaches?  Does anyone have pictures of those still in use, or dating from the Hippy days c.1967?

[Vamps]

I don't think I have missed anything in your great  description of the YRQ chassis, but were there any faults became apparent with the YRQ when in service? :-/ :-/ :-/

It must be remembered that Bedfords were 'premium-built' lightweight models - "horses for courses" etc - but driven considerately, and with concientous routine maintenance regime, they were useful machines.

Faults that spring to mind were sloppy gear-change linkages - caused by a combination of flimsy knuckle-joints and ham-fisted drivers!

The other problem was failure of the bearings in the 'jockey-pulley' alternator/fan-belt tensioner assembly.
Some of the bolder spirits soon successfully overcame this by substituting a manually-adjustable tensioner.
A tell-tale sign of imminent failure was pronounced screeching of the belts at high engine revs, which resulted in the cooling fan coming adrift from the water pump. The aftermath of this was often a smashed radiator core and wrecked main water pipes. The worse case scenario was a siezed engine - especially if the driver ignored the ensuing racket beneath the floor - which they often did!







In addition, do these chassis ever twist, or distort permanently due to their loads and the length of them?

The chassis frame itself was of rivetted steel channel construction, and I can't recall any structural issues with it.
However, the longitudinal members only extended to a point just aft of the rear spring rear hanging brackets. Therefore, the body builder had to suitably reinforce the body frame in this area to take account of this. On a mid-engined chassis all passengers' luggage would be stowed in this area, which effectively became a cantilever. I don't know of any related problems with the 10-metre models, though the later longer versions suffered from structural failures of the bodywork, not the chassis frame.

So it was not my fault....

I remember the first school run I did for 'Compass Royston' in Stockton, as I was coming out of the gate the gear leaver snapped, causing chaos as I was blocking the gate....

The fitter soon had a replacement fitted and yes I continued to do some part time driving for a few years with them...

[Seth]

There is a big Bus museum being built at Brooklands.
Huge great shed, don't know any details but I am sure it would be of interest to the followers of this thread.
Brooklands is near Weybridge, Surrey. The whole place is full of old stuff, cars, aeroplanes and the like, well worth a visit.

It'll be the new home of the London Bus Preservation Trust who have been located at Cobham for many years now.

See:  http://www.lbpt.org/  and http://www.lbpt.org/news.html

[Lizzie_Zoom]

Returning to the subject of this coach:



..........I want to know more about the bodywork, and specifically those doors that seem to be different? :-? :-? :-?

 

[Seth]

Here's a 1974 Duple 'Dominant Express I' 45-seater, and it's a 10-metre job mounted on a YRQ chassis.

Duple replaced it's Viceroy range with the Dominant for the 1973 season, as a direct challenger to Plaxtons 'Panorama Elite' models.
Of all-steel construction, it was suitable for mounting on 10, 11 and 12-metre chassis, and available in 'coach' version (with inward-opening entrance door), or 'express' with double jack-knife doors as seen here.
The latter option qualified for 'Bus Grant':
Basically, if an operator ran a stage-carriage bus service, the Grant allowed a massive 50% reduction in the basic purchase price - so long as the coach accrued 50% of it's annual mileage on service duties during it's early life.

The photo was taken at the 2005 Great Dorset Steam Fair, and this example has to be the best of very few such examples that have survived into preservation.
It's fully licensed, and was undertaking an extended tour to the event in conjunction with Old Glory magazine.

[Lizzie_Zoom]

Yet again great information Byron!

So when did the Bus Grant become extinct, and why? :-? :-? :-?  A political decision no doubt?


How much was the full retail price of these coaches when new? :-? :-?


 8-) 8-) 8-)

[Seth]

Yet again great information Byron!

So when did the Bus Grant become extinct, and why? :-? :-? :-?  A political decision no doubt?

8-) 8-) 8-)

No doubt about it Lizzie

[Seth]

Bedford announced that it's twin-steer 'VAL' chassis was to be replaced with another new model.

The year was 1973 - watch this space folks .......... 

[Lizzie_Zoom]

How about this beauty then?  :-/

A Bedford coach on a tour around the Peak District at a guess (?)




It is doing the job it was built for; giving people enjoyment!

 

[Seth]

For the millenial reply on this thread, I simply had to include this photo, as it perfectly captures the topography of the South Wales Valleys, along with the epitome of British coachbuilding, nearly 40 years ago.
 


Bedford's latest model at this time was the 'YRT' - designed for 11-metre bodywork, and replacing the twin-steer 'VAL' chassis.

Pictured above is a brand-new 1973 example from the erstwhile Creamline of Tonmawr (near Neath) fleet.
It has the superb 53-seat Plaxton 'Elite Express III' body, and driver Steve Jones was extremely proud to have been allocated this coach. It was one of a recently-delivered pair, and marked a change in vehicle policy at Creamline - Randy and Esme Davies had previously been staunch supporters of the heavyweight Leyland Leopard, although their loyalty to Plaxton's bodywork remained intact.

The Bedford 'YRT' continued with the mid-engined concept, and featured the familiar vertically-mounted '466' engine, though now slightly uprated to 136 BHP.
Similarities with it's 10-metre partner (the YRQ), ended there though, as the new model was designed with a heavy-duty specification. The axles were those used in the 'KM' truck range, and standard fitments included a beefier gearbox, improved braking system, air-assisted clutch operation and power steering.





The location of the photo is Pontrhydyfen in the Afan Valley, which is a few miles north of Port Talbot, and is famed as the birthplace of actor Richard Burton.
The Bont Fawr aqueduct in the background still stands to this day, and was built in the early 1800s to supply water to the nearby ironworks.

 

Gotta say it - the Creamline livery really does look the business on that Plaxton body!
 

[Lizzie_Zoom]

For the millenial reply on this thread, I simply had to include this photo, as it perfectly captures the topography of the South Wales Valleys, along with the epitome of British coachbuilding, nearly 40 years ago.
 


Bedford's latest model at this time was the 'YRT' - designed for 11-metre bodywork, and replacing the twin-steer 'VAL' chassis.

Pictured above is a brand-new 1973 example from the erstwhile Creamline of Tonmawr (near Neath) fleet.
It has the superb 53-seat Plaxton 'Elite Express III' body, and driver Steve Jones was extremely proud to have been allocated this coach. It was one of a recently-delivered pair, and marked a change in vehicle policy at Creamline - Randy and Esme Davies had previously been staunch supporters of the heavyweight Leyland Leopard, although their loyalty to Plaxton's bodywork remained intact.

The Bedford 'YRT' continued with the mid-engined concept, and featured the familiar vertically-mounted '466' engine, though now slightly uprated to 136 BHP.
Similarities with it's 10-metre partner (the YRQ), ended there though, as the YRT was designed with a heavy-duty specification. The axles were those used in the 'KM' truck range, and standard fitments included a beefier gearbox, improved braking system, air-assisted clutch operation and power steering.





The location of the photo is Pontrhydyfen in the Afan Valley, which is a few miles north of Port Talbot, and is famed as the birthplace of actor Richard Burton.
The Bont Fawr aqueduct in the background still stands to this day, and was built in the early 1800s to supply water to the nearby ironworks.

 

Gotta say it - the Creamline livery really does look the business on that Plaxton body!
 

Ooopps!!  Sorry Byron, I was sure it was somewhere I could remember in the Peak District!    I have travelled extensively around South and Mid Wales, but couldn't remember that location

Thanks for another great explanation to a great coach

[Vamps]

How about this beauty then?  :-/

A Bedford coach on a tour around the Peak District at a guess (?)




It is doing the job it was built for; giving people enjoyment!
 

It's empty Lizzie, no passengers enjoying the ride........   Lovely shot though....

[Lizzie_Zoom]

How about this beauty then?  :-/

A Bedford coach on a tour around the Peak District at a guess (?)




It is doing the job it was built for; giving people enjoyment!
 

It's empty Lizzie, no passengers enjoying the ride........   Lovely shot though....

No Mike, on this occasion it was taking Welsh Gnomes out on a day trip, but somebody forgot to supply bolster seats!!