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BT Models Red & White Bristol Lodekka


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Looking through pictures of the Forest the regular appearance of Red & White buses in them is quite common.  

 

Looking out for a suitable model I noticed BT Models produce a rather lovely Red & White Bristol Lodekka with 2 choices of destination screens.  I chose the version on Route 76 to Beachley which cost in the region of £20.  

 

It's a well made model of all plastic construction which is crisply moulded along with neat flush glazing. The destination screens, number plates and other markings are nicely printed on a deep paint finish.

 

post-7584-0-38765100-1459373586_thumb.jpg

 

I'm planning on using this set of destination screen transfers from Fox along with a suitable number to make it more appropriate for a working in the Coleford area:

 

http://fox-transfers.co.uk/destination-screens-red-white

 

I wonder if anyone knows route numbers from Coleford/Gloucester during this the early 1960's?

 

In addition to this I'll add crew, passengers and seal everything with a coat of satin varnish to tone things down slightly.

 

Overall a useful model for those modelling a Forest location and I also understand an MW coach in Red & White livery(2 versions again) is being released in the same range shortly.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

Edited by 46444
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They aren't bad models at all, especially for the price.

B-T have already produced the MW bus in various liveries (avoid the first two models as they were 2mm too tall, and it showed). EFE already produce the earlier style MW coach, while Oxford Diecast are to produce the later style MW coach.

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Nice looking item, can't help on the route number I'm afraid though! Coleford to Gloucester nowadays is either the 23, 30 or 31 depending on which route you want to take, I see them passing the window here every day! However unfortunately the vehicles used now are not as nice as that one...

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I think the 76 was a local route from Bulwark to Beachley through Chepstow town centre. Prior to the opening of the Severn Bridge, Beachley was where the Aust Ferry terminated.

 

The other BT Red & White Lodekka is 147 to Abergavenny via Badminton, anyone know where this started?

 

There was a long route from Lydney to Hereford via Coleford and Monmouth.

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 Beachley was where the Aust Ferry terminated.

 

I remember using the Aust Ferry once when I was a lad.  It was on our usual summer holiday return journey from Somerset to North Wales (a long way in one day in a Morris 8 or similar!).  We usually went via Gloucester, Ledbury, Leominster etc. but on this occasion Dad decided to have rest and take the route straight up to Hereford via the ferry, Chepstow, Wye Valley etc.  I remember that there was a long wait to get onboard as it was very busy being a summer Sunday and the ferry wasn't very big.  At least it was something different for a young lad to experience - even if it did make the journey a lot longer.

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Nice looking item, can't help on the route number I'm afraid though! Coleford to Gloucester nowadays is either the 23, 30 or 31 depending on which route you want to take, I see them passing the window here every day! However unfortunately the vehicles used now are not as nice as that one...

Route number 31 seems to be a longstanding route number

here is a MW at Cinderford in 1967 showing 31

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cheltonian1966/7079607273/in/photolist-bMAQAn-a5wMah-nEdFqh-a5tUU6-qeMhg8-9WGM5g-bTPMm2-4H4Tsr-bAYzYg-bft2a8-q4q6E1-6Fc6CZ-9uiwLH-6YrLB9-ESar38-4pkacM-anURTk-e988At-zazpUC-49GirJ-ftpWVf-bx5nzG-7CGzcE-b8s9Sn-7kpDvu-9aCuCk-9dM8XB-8Pu5Mk-nKVKdP-bbsGb2-aUhb3a-p5dT3d-cCcSTW-pVm6hm-baCdGz-cSnAG5-rvgBsH-dEgiJL-pXeFjk-7Zu4oZ-6NMCFV-oMhJbu-cTh7WU-5JDedh-aaM9t3-axPuu3-97qwZ3-9HZ28K-bvCuHK-dG98En

 

cheers

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There's an ongoing restoration project on one of the former Aust- Beachley ferries, the Severn Princess;

 

http://www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk/news.php/620/restoration-begins-on-historic-severn-princess-car-ferry

 

Not sure of the current status, it's been talked about for years, that article suggests something more concrete started in 2014.

 

They had the curious feature of a car turntable on the deck allowing tight parking of the cargo.

 

 

post-6861-0-73690200-1459979976_thumb.jpg

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Don't forget that London Transport also had a batch, one was route 127 from South Wimbledon through the skew arch at Raynes Park to "can't remember where". Some of the LT ones were on another route somewhere.

 

Dennis

London Transport never operated Bristol Lowdeckers, they operated only one prototype Bristol MW and that mostly on country routes before it was returned to its makers.

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I'm not aware of any Bristol MW being operated by LT. There was an LS run on country and Green Line routes, with Green Line fleetnames applied. The EFE model has appeared in this guise in one of the LT Museum sets.

Other Bristols operated by LT (but not necessarily in any LT livery) include some L and K buses from other operators to cover post-wartime shortages, and a few Bristol K utility buses that were in LT livery (memory says there were nine of these), plus the Bristol LH models bought to replace the long-serving RFs. To the best of my knowledge, no MW s or Lodekkas were ever operated or borrowed, although some hired later-style MW coaches were operated by London Country Bus Services after they were well and truly a separate entity from London Transport.

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There's an ongoing restoration project on one of the former Aust- Beachley ferries, the Severn Princess;

 

http://www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk/news.php/620/restoration-begins-on-historic-severn-princess-car-ferry

 

Not sure of the current status, it's been talked about for years, that article suggests something more concrete started in 2014.

 

They had the curious feature of a car turntable on the deck allowing tight parking of the cargo.

 

 

attachicon.gifimage.jpg

Thanks for the link.  I do remember it all being a bit cramped with a lot of 'shunting' of cars to get as many as possible on board - and the turntable certainly rings a bell.  I think that at the time we used the ferry we had either a Triumph Mayflower or a Wolseley 4/44.  The height of sophistication and comfort in those days!

 

And far more room than the original Morris 8 - and the aroma of real leather upholstery when you opened the door on a hot day..

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Confusion between "Lodekka" (the brand name) and "lowbridge" (the body style) perhaps?

 

Traditional buses had separate chassis and body, often from different makers. Bristol chassis were usually fitted with Eastern Coach Works bodies. The standard height of a ("highbridge") double decker, with a central gangway upstairs, used to be 14'6". The "lowbridge" version reduced this to 13'9", by having the upstairs gangway on the offside, and sunken, and seats were 4 abreast. Not very popular with passengers or conductors. The Bristol/ECW combination later developed the "Lodekka" design to also be 13'9" but with normal gangway and seating upstairs. This was achieved by having a different chassis design with a lower floor downstairs, thus reducing the overall height.

London Transport had their own designs of bus for many years. Post war, shortage of vehicles meant they borrowed new deliveries of bus that were destined for other operators. These included both normal "highbridge" and "lowbridge" variants. Eventually the borrowed buses moved on to their originally planned operators. No Lodekka buses ever went to LT. They did however have their own type of lowbridge bus, the RLH class.

The Tilling group of bus companies (a complex history) were nationalised in 1948 along with the chassis manufacturer "Bristol" and body builder "Eastern Coach Works", and from then on Bristol/ECW became the standard types used by the Tilling companies, in fact due to competiton rules, they weren't supposed to be offered on the open market (though there were as always odd exceptions).

 

Stewart

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This website might help identify what buses they were. All you need is route number and when it operated.

http://www.londonbuses.co.uk/menus/rl101-200.html

If you want to look at another group of numbers click on routes and use the drop down box. When you pick your route it lists all types that worked the route and when.

 

 

Perhaps Pointstaken means an LT Scooter, the six wheeled single decker ?

 

RB

 

 

More likely the RLH (low height AEC Regent III) buses Merton operated. They definitely did not have Bristol Lodekkas.

In fact the route in question operated both types, the 'Scooter' was designated LTL. Low height 'Utility' Daimlers replaced the Scooters which were in turn replaced by the RLH type. If you click on route 127 on the above link it lists the types operated on the route and when.

Edited by PhilJ W
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