Southdown Buses (Worthing festival)

[Shadow]

Saw these today at the Worthing Festival.

 

It's Southdown's Centenary year. Probably over 13 different buses present

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SRman]

Thanks for posting those photos, Shadow. There is little to rival the warm and friendly atmosphere of their apple green and primrose in full sunshine. 

I will be saving your images in my personal collection (not for sharing or public distribution) to assist with modelling some of these buses - I have a fair collection of Southdown models, rtr (out of the box and repaints) and kit-built, plus several kits I am still working on.

[Gwiwer]

Many thanks.  Southdown Motor Services turns 100 this year and was born in Worthing where the pictures were taken.  Not for nothing was their route-numbering system started from 1 there rather than in nearby Brighton where they once had a substantial presence.

 

Worthing Motor Services was already running buses out to the (at the time) very rural villages of Washington, Storrington and Pulborough from Worthing which duty became - and a century later remains - service 1.  Apart from a period under NBC as the 201 when route numbers were prefixed for computer accounting purposes into areas (West Sussex routes becoming 2xx) this must be one of the longest-standing numbers anywhere in the country over a route which remains effectively unaltered.  It's changed in detail of course as roads have changed and it has been routed out of Worthing via the Thomas-a-Becket pub rather than the A24 for some years now but it's still otherwise the same route Worthing MS ran.

 

As Jeff says there is little so comforting and reassuring as seeing the apple green and cream livery adorning well-kept vehicles which officially never broke down.  The "Southdown Sparkle" was regularly commented upon and if something did befall a vehicle it was often towed home under cover of darkness to hide any shame.

 

I spent a number of years in Worthing and my family still lives there meaning I am a frequent visitor.  The sight of an open-topper outside the Dome (itself a lucky survivor of two wars and many threats to level it) still stirs childhood wanderlust.  A shame, perhaps, that the vehicle in question is devoid of the clips which would hold the large service 102 promotion panel with the route map stretching 35 miles from Arundel via Brighton to Devil's Dyke high on the Sussex Downs.  A magnificent ride it was too in its three-hour fullness apart from some unavoidable meanderings through Rustington.  But at least it took a unique route rather than paralleling the main costal route 31.  Nothing else served the "Rustington, Mallon Dene" time point.  

 

The former Southdown network has been decimated over the years.  Few town routes still exist under Stagecoach tutelage.  The 10 is an amalgam of the old 103 and 104 through West Worthing to Maybridge and projected beyond to recent developments at West Durrington.  The "Pulse" (so called because it takes you "direct to the heart of Worthing" according to Stagecoach) is an east-west axial link covering the busier bits of the old 3, 4, 7, 7a (later 17), 9, 10 and 203.  A recognisable vestige of Southdown's route 9 still runs between Southwick and Littlehampton, still as the 9 but by a rather different route.  It no longer goes through to Brighton as it once did.  Then there is the Coastliner.  Introduced by Southdown when they turned most of their Sussex routes over to what was then termed "One-man operation" and cut the coastal 31 from Brighton to Southsea into five separate routes its fortunes have varied.  It began hourly daily and was steadily cut to a nadir of just alternate hours Brighton - Chichester with three trips beyond.  Someone somewhere decided it would make sense to work through from Worthing to Camber in the east meaning there was a 799 variant heading the other way which itself briefly became a through Brighton - Dover service.  Both failed to attract passengers and to keep time.  The 700 has come back to run every 10 minutes Brighton - Littlehampton with two buses projected to Arundel.  It is now itself a three-stage operation meaning you change at Littlehampton and again at Chichester if travelling through.  Western section headways are less generous but Worthing - Brighton now supports a commercial N700 night bus until around 4am and very busy it can be too.  But many areas of Worthing are now poorly served by bus or have none at all.  Compass operates some limited services through East and West Worthing, runs the former Southdown 107 to South Ferring now as the 8 / 8a and runs a very reduced High Salvington - Worthing operation, once Southdown's 6, now linked to their contract to run "Stagecoach" service 7 to Lancing.   The number 7 is used throughout.  

 

The 1 still runs hourly north along the A24 to Washington then west largely along the A272 to Pulbourough where it continues to Midhurst covering ground it gained when Southdown withdrew the Brighton - Midhurst 22 in the late 1960s.  Metrobus now runs the A24 route to Horsham, formerly the 2, as the 23 and going on to Crawley over former LT/LCBS territory.

 

It's not the same at Worthing Pier - the terminus was usually presented thus on destinations screens - these days.  There are still plenty of buses but almost all are either Pulse or 700 services as both operate 10-minute headways through the day.  And they aren't green Leylands any more either.  Though Southdown also ran a notable number of Beadle and Guy types among which the complex and inter-worked Worthing town routes 3, 4, 8, 103, 104, 108 and 203 were worked largely by Arabs in their latter days.  The Northern Counties-bodied Daimler, a striking and elegant vehicle but a pig to drive and lumpy to ride on, shown in the pictures was allocated new to Worthing ushering in OMO when that group was finally killed off.  I don't think I ever quite forgave them.

[stewartingram]

From the days when colourful liveries didn't mean garish. These young whippersnappers that "design" liveries today should take note.

 

Stewart

[decauville1126]

Many thanks.  Southdown Motor Services turns 100 this year and was born in Worthing where the pictures were taken.  Not for nothing was their route-numbering system started from 1 there rather than in nearby Brighton where they once had a substantial presence.

 

Worthing Motor Services was already running buses out to the (at the time) very rural villages of Washington, Storrington and Pulborough from Worthing which duty became - and a century later remains - service 1.  Apart from a period under NBC as the 201 when route numbers were prefixed for computer accounting purposes into areas (West Sussex routes becoming 2xx) this must be one of the longest-standing numbers anywhere in the country over a route which remains effectively unaltered.  It's changed in detail of course as roads have changed and it has been routed out of Worthing via the Thomas-a-Becket pub rather than the A24 for some years now but it's still otherwise the same route Worthing MS ran.

 

As Jeff says there is little so comforting and reassuring as seeing the apple green and cream livery adorning well-kept vehicles which officially never broke down.  The "Southdown Sparkle" was regularly commented upon and if something did befall a vehicle it was often towed home under cover of darkness to hide any shame.

 

I spent a number of years in Worthing and my family still lives there meaning I am a frequent visitor.  The sight of an open-topper outside the Dome (itself a lucky survivor of two wars and many threats to level it) still stirs childhood wanderlust.  A shame, perhaps, that the vehicle in question is devoid of the clips which would hold the large service 102 promotion panel with the route map stretching 35 miles from Arundel via Brighton to Devil's Dyke high on the Sussex Downs.  A magnificent ride it was too in its three-hour fullness apart from some unavoidable meanderings through Rustington.  But at least it took a unique route rather than paralleling the main costal route 31.  Nothing else served the "Rustington, Mallon Dene" time point.  

 

The former Southdown network has been decimated over the years.  Few town routes still exist under Stagecoach tutelage.  The 10 is an amalgam of the old 103 and 104 through West Worthing to Maybridge and projected beyond to recent developments at West Durrington.  The "Pulse" (so called because it takes you "direct to the heart of Worthing" according to Stagecoach) is an east-west axial link covering the busier bits of the old 3, 4, 7, 7a (later 17), 9, 10 and 203.  A recognisable vestige of Southdown's route 9 still runs between Southwick and Littlehampton, still as the 9 but by a rather different route.  It no longer goes through to Brighton as it once did.  Then there is the Coastliner.  Introduced by Southdown when they turned most of their Sussex routes over to what was then termed "One-man operation" and cut the coastal 31 from Brighton to Southsea into five separate routes its fortunes have varied.  It began hourly daily and was steadily cut to a nadir of just alternate hours Brighton - Chichester with three trips beyond.  Someone somewhere decided it would make sense to work through from Worthing to Camber in the east meaning there was a 799 variant heading the other way which itself briefly became a through Brighton - Dover service.  Both failed to attract passengers and to keep time.  The 700 has come back to run every 10 minutes Brighton - Littlehampton with two buses projected to Arundel.  It is now itself a three-stage operation meaning you change at Littlehampton and again at Chichester if travelling through.  Western section headways are less generous but Worthing - Brighton now supports a commercial N700 night bus until around 4am and very busy it can be too.  But many areas of Worthing are now poorly served by bus or have none at all.  Compass operates some limited services through East and West Worthing, runs the former Southdown 107 to South Ferring now as the 8 / 8a and runs a very reduced High Salvington - Worthing operation, once Southdown's 6, now linked to their contract to run "Stagecoach" service 7 to Lancing.   The number 7 is used throughout.  

 

The 1 still runs hourly north along the A24 to Washington then west largely along the A272 to Pulbourough where it continues to Midhurst covering ground it gained when Southdown withdrew the Brighton - Midhurst 22 in the late 1960s.  Metrobus now runs the A24 route to Horsham, formerly the 2, as the 23 and going on to Crawley over former LT/LCBS territory.

 

It's not the same at Worthing Pier - the terminus was usually presented thus on destinations screens - these days.  There are still plenty of buses but almost all are either Pulse or 700 services as both operate 10-minute headways through the day.  And they aren't green Leylands any more either.  Though Southdown also ran a notable number of Beadle and Guy types among which the complex and inter-worked Worthing town routes 3, 4, 8, 103, 104, 108 and 203 were worked largely by Arabs in their latter days.  The Northern Counties-bodied Daimler, a striking and elegant vehicle but a pig to drive and lumpy to ride on, shown in the pictures was allocated new to Worthing ushering in OMO when that group was finally killed off.  I don't think I ever quite forgave them.

The 5 seems to be missing from your post above - it changes into a 10 at Durrington Tesco and basically helps complete the route formerly covered by the 3/3A and 4/4A. Granted this is in Stagecoach days but helps complete the current-day route list.

 

Also the 17 Horsham - Brighton via Henfield used to be the 106 (again in Stagecoach days) and it was a nice run out from Worthing on the 2 to Horsham, change into 106 then down to Brighton. And back again. 

 

The 700 is now in three stages due to the EU regulations expiring which allowed us to work right through from Brighton to Southsea without tachographs by derogation. The Megabus service to London Victoria which ran from Worthing/Brighton for a few years was EU tacho work but the vehicles were not of the finest ...

 

The Pulse is actually route 2 but garishly externally branded by name as are many other core services elsewhere.

[Gwiwer]

 

The 5 seems to be missing from your post above

 

How remiss of me.  It is indeed.  I had in my mind  the "traditional" 5 (Worthing - Tarring - Findon) which was withdrawn some time ago and which the 1 was diverted to partially cover and I therefore omitted it.

 

The 17 Brighton - Horsham is another long-standing Southdown number though was for some years the 117 after 17 was reassigned to Worthing to renumber the 7a.  The number 106 has been used over the years by Southdown and latterly Compass for the Henfield - Steyning link which under Southdown was once the 128.  Currently it is just a couple of trips which run through to Worthing as they have done for some time now.  Compass still work Worthing - Horsham - Brighton and return on Sundays when they run the 17 and 23 on contract for West Sussex.  

 

When I lived there 106 was the Worthing Pier - South Ferring run often covered by an elderly 15xx-series Leyland Royal Tiger.  Those were kept mainly for the tight corners and narrower roads on the 11 and 105 upon which the newer Leopards were found to be too long.

[Oldddudders]

Talking of the 5, sadly.....

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-33410443

[Gwiwer]

Talking of the 5, sadly.....

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-33410443

 

Thanks Ian.  Word also reached me from friends at the scene.  Two Brighton & Hove buses.  Enquiry under way.  Brighton city centre said to be at a standstill with diversions and major delays expected on all routes for most of the day.

[decauville1126]

 

 

 

How remiss of me.  It is indeed.  I had in my mind  the "traditional" 5 (Worthing - Tarring - Findon) which was withdrawn some time ago and which the 1 was diverted to partially cover and I therefore omitted it.

 

The 17 Brighton - Horsham is another long-standing Southdown number though was for some years the 117 after 17 was reassigned to Worthing to renumber the 7a.  The number 106 has been used over the years by Southdown and latterly Compass for the Henfield - Steyning link which under Southdown was once the 128.  Currently it is just a couple of trips which run through to Worthing as they have done for some time now.  Compass still work Worthing - Horsham - Brighton and return on Sundays when they run the 17 and 23 on contract for West Sussex.  

 

When I lived there 106 was the Worthing Pier - South Ferring run often covered by an elderly 15xx-series Leyland Royal Tiger.  Those were kept mainly for the tight corners and narrower roads on the 11 and 105 upon which the newer Leopards were found to be too long.

There was also a 5 Broadwater - Portslade Station and a 5A Broadwater - Mouse Town (aka Hillbarn) which were fun!

 

The 6 (Worthing - High Salvington) disappeared and re-emerged as part of a revised 7 route which is run by Compass under contract to Stagecoach.

 

Then there was the 702 ....

 

Perhaps this is enough about routes and the thread should revert to vehicles!

[Gwiwer]

 

 

revert to vehicles!

 

And celebrate 100 years of Southdown Motor Services.  Even if the buses wear different colours and names these days.

[crompton 33]

 Not Southdown but Brighton and Hove Today not looking good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evd0qlcFlC0

[Shadow]

Many thanks.  Southdown Motor Services turns 100 this year and was born in Worthing where the pictures were taken.  Not for nothing was their route-numbering system started from 1 there rather than in nearby Brighton where they once had a substantial presence.

 

Worthing Motor Services was already running buses out to the (at the time) very rural villages of Washington, Storrington and Pulborough from Worthing which duty became - and a century later remains - service 1.  Apart from a period under NBC as the 201 when route numbers were prefixed for computer accounting purposes into areas (West Sussex routes becoming 2xx) this must be one of the longest-standing numbers anywhere in the country over a route which remains effectively unaltered.  It's changed in detail of course as roads have changed and it has been routed out of Worthing via the Thomas-a-Becket pub rather than the A24 for some years now but it's still otherwise the same route Worthing MS ran.

 

As Jeff says there is little so comforting and reassuring as seeing the apple green and cream livery adorning well-kept vehicles which officially never broke down.  The "Southdown Sparkle" was regularly commented upon and if something did befall a vehicle it was often towed home under cover of darkness to hide any shame.

 

I spent a number of years in Worthing and my family still lives there meaning I am a frequent visitor.  The sight of an open-topper outside the Dome (itself a lucky survivor of two wars and many threats to level it) still stirs childhood wanderlust.  A shame, perhaps, that the vehicle in question is devoid of the clips which would hold the large service 102 promotion panel with the route map stretching 35 miles from Arundel via Brighton to Devil's Dyke high on the Sussex Downs.  A magnificent ride it was too in its three-hour fullness apart from some unavoidable meanderings through Rustington.  But at least it took a unique route rather than paralleling the main costal route 31.  Nothing else served the "Rustington, Mallon Dene" time point.  

 

The former Southdown network has been decimated over the years.  Few town routes still exist under Stagecoach tutelage.  The 10 is an amalgam of the old 103 and 104 through West Worthing to Maybridge and projected beyond to recent developments at West Durrington.  The "Pulse" (so called because it takes you "direct to the heart of Worthing" according to Stagecoach) is an east-west axial link covering the busier bits of the old 3, 4, 7, 7a (later 17), 9, 10 and 203.  A recognisable vestige of Southdown's route 9 still runs between Southwick and Littlehampton, still as the 9 but by a rather different route.  It no longer goes through to Brighton as it once did.  Then there is the Coastliner.  Introduced by Southdown when they turned most of their Sussex routes over to what was then termed "One-man operation" and cut the coastal 31 from Brighton to Southsea into five separate routes its fortunes have varied.  It began hourly daily and was steadily cut to a nadir of just alternate hours Brighton - Chichester with three trips beyond.  Someone somewhere decided it would make sense to work through from Worthing to Camber in the east meaning there was a 799 variant heading the other way which itself briefly became a through Brighton - Dover service.  Both failed to attract passengers and to keep time.  The 700 has come back to run every 10 minutes Brighton - Littlehampton with two buses projected to Arundel.  It is now itself a three-stage operation meaning you change at Littlehampton and again at Chichester if travelling through.  Western section headways are less generous but Worthing - Brighton now supports a commercial N700 night bus until around 4am and very busy it can be too.  But many areas of Worthing are now poorly served by bus or have none at all.  Compass operates some limited services through East and West Worthing, runs the former Southdown 107 to South Ferring now as the 8 / 8a and runs a very reduced High Salvington - Worthing operation, once Southdown's 6, now linked to their contract to run "Stagecoach" service 7 to Lancing.   The number 7 is used throughout.  

 

The 1 still runs hourly north along the A24 to Washington then west largely along the A272 to Pulbourough where it continues to Midhurst covering ground it gained when Southdown withdrew the Brighton - Midhurst 22 in the late 1960s.  Metrobus now runs the A24 route to Horsham, formerly the 2, as the 23 and going on to Crawley over former LT/LCBS territory.

 

It's not the same at Worthing Pier - the terminus was usually presented thus on destinations screens - these days.  There are still plenty of buses but almost all are either Pulse or 700 services as both operate 10-minute headways through the day.  And they aren't green Leylands any more either.  Though Southdown also ran a notable number of Beadle and Guy types among which the complex and inter-worked Worthing town routes 3, 4, 8, 103, 104, 108 and 203 were worked largely by Arabs in their latter days.  The Northern Counties-bodied Daimler, a striking and elegant vehicle but a pig to drive and lumpy to ride on, shown in the pictures was allocated new to Worthing ushering in OMO when that group was finally killed off.  I don't think I ever quite forgave them.

Lived in Worthing for 25+ years and learnt more about my local buses from a person who lives on the other side of the world than I have by being here!!!!

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Dave

 

P.s. There's a special centenary livery on one of the 700 route buses. If I see it I'll try and snap a photograph. You can just see it in the photo looking into the bus garage. (Back right)

[Shadow]

Close ups of the Centenary Livery from the earlier photo

 

 

[decauville1126]

P.s. There's a special centenary livery on one of the 700 route buses. If I see it I'll try and snap a photograph. You can just see it in the photo looking into the bus garage. (Back right)

 

Out every day on the 700 between Brighton and Littlehampton/Arundel. Just in case anyone wonders why green and grey, it's the wartime livery and the vehicle commemorates VE as well as Southdown 100. Helps when you've an MD who cares about heritage!

 

If you stand at Worthing Pier and it goes west then it'll be back in 2 - 3 hours, or 2 hours if it's gone east.

[Gwiwer]

There's a "proper" Southdown liveried vehicle farther west I believe running around Havant and Leigh Park for the same centenary.  Stagecoach hadn't long taken over when the 75th anniversary was celebrated for which a Bristol VRT/SL3 was repainted into near-authentic apple green and cream and ran from Worthing.

 

It's a bit of a shame that the premises on the sea front have become rather untidy and run down.  The public enquiry office was moved some  years back into the oddly retained ground floor (which I believe is listed) of a former sea-front house the rest of which was demolished.  The coach station was also demolished leaving a visible parking area just off the main sea front and the area between the two depot buildings, in particular beside the Gardens, looks untidy when seen from the promenade.

 

I don't know the full story but there always was a public footpath through the garage along the road known as Library Place and connecting to Warwick Street.  Southdown always respected this despite the fact that it passed right beside their refuelling point and through a bus reversing area.  Stagecoach has by stealth had it closed though I recall they fell foul of the authorities by locking gates across a public right of way and removing signage before having it lawfully extinguished.  I'm not sure they have yet managed to get that through but the path is firmly closed now.