Buses of Yesteryear

Staines Riverside 9th August 1998
Unlike last year's early start and end of an era shots of London Buslines Olympians on route 90 the 1998 event was an afternoon of photographing preserved buses with only a brief mention of modern shoe-boxes. My first classic of the day from Hatton Cross to Staines was RP90. The return to Hatton Cross was with a Bristol RE from the Classic Coaches fleet of full time working preserved vehicles. The yellow double deckers are gone from route 90, the northernern stump numbered 90 has Metroline's red and blue Dart SLF Plaxton Pointers. From Hatton Cross 490 worked by (f)Buslines Marshall bodied Dart SLFs continues the old route into Richmond.
Cobham's RP90 departing Staines for Windsor on 441C
Metroline DLS1 with proud driver Kevin on 90 at Northolt
Buslines 637 at Southall representing the 490 route
Classic Coaches Bristol RE MHW285L Cryer's Hill resident & neighbour of RF453
Having found myself duplicating many Routemaster shots while others escaped over the 12 months since the last Yesteryear I decided the theme of this year's rally was to be Not a London Bus

Parked at Staines Bus Station

A number of buses were left in the in Staines Bus Station. Late entries that could not be squeezed into the Riverside Car Park ? Drawing attention to the event ? Can anybody tell me if the Mercedes Alexander breadvan is one of the first of its type to enter preservation or is it just borrowed by the Amersham & District Motorbus Society for special occasions ? The Bristol RE is as far from a London Bus as you can get, especially in a livery from Tyneside, so it was nice to find plenty of examples.
Former London General MA116 now Wycombe 716
LHT171L looking in "as withdrawn" condition
More like a coal barge than a bus - open top PHN178L

Double Deckers at the Riverside Car Park

Because I grew up in 1960's London surrounded by Routemasters and the whole of the RT class the thought never crossed my young mind that other types existed. Even after seeing Maidstone &District Atlanteans and Thames Valley Lodekkas I remained convinced that there were Routemasters all over the country. The tin fronted AECs - RegentV, Bridgemaster and Renown only served to reinforce the idea.
Thames Valley DBL154 1946 Bristol K6A
United Counties KBD712D 1965 Lodekka FS6G
Southern Vectis YDL315 1962 Lodekka FS6G
LJX198 1959 AEC RegentV with body by Metro Camell Weyman
Stockport FDB334C 1965 Leyland Titan PD2 with East Lancs. bodywork
Low-bridge Bristol-ECW trio. Details above right.

Single Deckers at the Riverside Car Park

The only single deckers I saw as a schoolboy were RFs and GSs. Oh and Bedford SB Duple coaches which I never thought of as buses. When I found a T neglected in the darkest corner of a bus garage one day it was like a creature from another planet !
Reading CRD152C 1965 AEC Reliance bodied by Neepsend of Shefield
Southern National BTA59 1934 Dennis Mace
Leyland Tiger JA7591 a coach rather than a bus, but no less beautiful

London Oddments

My views on the AEC Swift are well documented, it was never happy in London and to me qualifies as not a London Bus. Tourists arriving at Baker Street to queue for Madame Tussards would be familiar with the sight of the Emergency breakdown tender parked there, making it almost as famous as the London bus.
AEC Swift SMS369, preserved complete with automatic fare collection machine.
Based on a Leyland Titan bus chassis JLA72D is an important addition to the preserved ranks
The Riverside Car Park is threatened with redevelopment into a multi-storey, but I hope that Buses of Yesteryear will be back for 1999 in a new venue if needs be and long may it reign.
Original graphics, photographic images and electronic derivatives © Martin G. Layton 1998/9