For those interested in old buses (and coaches)

[bingley hall]

East Kent Regent V with Park Royal bodywork at Birchington, sometime in 1971.

 

[BernardTPM]

Note the BP sign in the background, just like the Matchbox BP version.

[leopardml2341]

Note the BP sign in the background, just like the Matchbox BP version.

I had one of those matchbox BP service stations, 'when I were a lad'

Edited September 10, 2018 by leopardml2341

[Gwiwer]

East Kent Regent V with Park Royal bodywork at Birchington, sometime in 1971.

 

V700_4_462_1067.jpg

 

East Kent, like near-neighbour Southdown, were late converts to one-man double deckers.  They invested in a fair-sized fleet of these Regents but didn't purchase rear-engined vehicles until a batch of G-reg Fleetlines arrived at Westwood to take over what is now the Loop and was then a more complex group of circular services using numbers 49-52 IIRC including with some A-suffixes.  Even then the Fleetlines were crew-worked during their early years.  Saloon work was one-man from earlier however since an even larger fleet of AEC Reliances, many of which were nominally dual-purpose and saw use as summer relief coaches, did not of necessity require a conductor.  Some were crew-worked at times just as were the Leyland Leopards at Southdown in their first years.  Some of those Leopards also migrated to East Kent and worked out of Cheriton for much longer than they served their original owner.

[PhilJ W]

Note the BP sign in the background, just like the Matchbox BP version.

I have one of these with the petrol pumps. However it is in a not very good condition, the facia board is missing together with the plastic parts of the petrol pumps and the BP sign. Not sure whether its better to try and restore it or make something else from it.

[leopardml2341]

....... or make something else from it.

Would make a good base for a Tesco express, if you model current era......

Edited September 10, 2018 by leopardml2341

[PhilJ W]

Would make a good base for a Tesco express, if you model current era......

I was thinking of an American style diner.

[runs as required]

I was thinking of an American style diner.

"Just Do It "

 

Talking of the BP sign, the BP company has had a turbulent history. They'd combined their UK (and Empire) retailing in 1932 with Shell during the recession and Shell Mex & BP Ltd memorably ran big Scammell 3500 gal artics and little Dennis Pax tankers all with green (BP) cabs and red (Shell) tanks.

For advertising reasons elsewhere in the world, the lorries were branded Shell oneside (for Holland, Shell being 60% Dutch) and BP the other for places like Iran/Persia where BP was styled Anglo-Iranian (Churchill had famously nationalised the company in 1914 to ensure the Royal Navy's oil supply).

 

After WWII petrol rationing ended in 1950 wartime grey Pool road tankers reverted to brand colours and the oil companies began frantic cut throat competition to sign up 'solus sites' - especially petrol stations on the left hand side of the road leaving towns, to carry their pumps exclusively instead of a full range of competitors (Esso, Regent, Cleveland).

Shell-BP launched a clumsy "two eared" Shell BP sign in the early 1950s and only later did it morph into a single ear (like behind the East Kent bus)

                                            

as Shell-BP began going their separate ways again - complicated by the fact that Shell Mex & BP Ltd now also owned Power and National Benzole. So there were three brandings (with National) of the old - all selling the same petrol. Shell-BP de-merged finally in 1976, to go their separate, though still, turbulent ways.

 

I'd say Agip (the Italian Nationalised company) began the Snack Bar/filling station tie-up with their Supercortemaggiore dragon branded very stylish espresso coffee stops in the 1950s. In many outlandish developing world places I've worked, the Agip Snack bar was the place 'where it all happened' including plotting coups against the Government.

Later the 24 hour convenience store got added and the petrol pumps began disappearing under car parking.

 

Looking back at the oil companies and their advance into owning and developing their own branded sites, it is strange they never went for the fast growing post war coach-stop sites on the A road trunk routes radiating out of London (such as the Blue Boar on the A5). These eventually became the motorway network service area chains  - Agip still seem good at this in Italy .

dh

[Rugd1022]

1965...

 

Paddington, early '60s...

 

 

[tetsudofan]

Spent last Saturday up at Lowestoft and attended the Trolleybus Weekend at the East Anglia Transport Museum where, in addition to the resident buses and trolleybuses there were a number of visitors. The Lowestoft Corporation buses were active outside the Museum:

 

 

 

 

To keep the London Transport Trolleybuses company there were a few London Transport buses including:

 

 

 

Interesting that the Routemaster above was showing Rte. 161 blinds. This was the bus I caught from Mottingham to Shooters Hill to get to school but at that time the RT was the bus of the day.

 

In amongst all the proper buses there was this interloper which came from West Sussex and worked some of the outside routes:

 

 

….. and, of course, Eastern Counties had to be represented:

 

 

Some more pics from inside the Museum will follow.

 

Keith

 

 

 

:

 

 

[Legend]

Thanks for posting the pics of Lowestoft buses. Brings back happy memories of summer holidays in the 60s and early 70s

[PatB]

1965...

LONDON BUS.jpg

 

Paddington, early '60s...

LONDON PADD.jpg

 

Nice photos but I must put my pedant's hat on and query the 1965 date on the first one. The ad on the back of the bus incorporates the Leyland "roundel". Whilst I'm not 100% on the history of BL, I didn't think the roundel showed up before about 1968. Also, the VW on the opposite side of the road  looks to be one of the later 12V variety, with upright headlamps, which also emerged c1968. Indeed, whilst the number plate is too fuzzy to read, at least on my screen, the last letter could even be an H or an M, which would date the pic to no earlier than August 1969 or 1973 respectively. Given the state of the trees, that would mean maybe November 1969 at the earliest.

[Oldddudders]

Nice photos but I must put my pedant's hat on and query the 1965 date on the first one.

You are right. OLD 769 was RT 4549. Route 418 was run from Leatherhead garage, and 4549 didn’t arrive there until 1973. Its only previous service south of the Thames had been in 1959, briefly at Dartford and later the same year at Swanley, both far from Route 418. 4549 remained at LH until placed in store prior to disposal in 1975.

[BernardTPM]

And the reflective number plates only appeared in 1968.

[PhilJ W]

Nice photos but I must put my pedant's hat on and query the 1965 date on the first one. The ad on the back of the bus incorporates the Leyland "roundel". Whilst I'm not 100% on the history of BL, I didn't think the roundel showed up before about 1968. Also, the VW on the opposite side of the road  looks to be one of the later 12V variety, with upright headlamps, which also emerged c1968. Indeed, whilst the number plate is too fuzzy to read, at least on my screen, the last letter could even be an H or an M, which would date the pic to no earlier than August 1969 or 1973 respectively. Given the state of the trees, that would mean maybe November 1969 at the earliest.

 

 

You are right. OLD 769 was RT 4549. Route 418 was run from Leatherhead garage, and 4549 didn’t arrive there until 1973. Its only previous service south of the Thames had been in 1959, briefly at Dartford and later the same year at Swanley, both far from Route 418. 4549 remained at LH until placed in store prior to disposal in 1975.

The Volkswagen is a K reg.

[PatB]

The Volkswagen is a K reg.

 

Or the VW might be a K reg of course .

[Gwiwer]

You are right. OLD 769 was RT 4549. Route 418 was run from Leatherhead garage, and 4549 didn’t arrive there until 1973. Its only previous service south of the Thames had been in 1959, briefly at Dartford and later the same year at Swanley, both far from Route 418. 4549 remained at LH until placed in store prior to disposal in 1975.

Utterly trivial but I always found it amusing that the youngest of the vast RT fleet were those wearing OLD registrations.

[stewartingram]

Not quite a bus, but a classic bus shelter in Eastrea, Cambs. Has been replaced by a modern "thing" in fairly recent times.

 

 

Stewart

[Oldddudders]

Utterly trivial but I always found it amusing that the youngest of the vast RT fleet were those wearing OLD registrations.

Even Sherry, who commuted on RTs in her final years at primary skool, recalled OLD numbers. In fact it was OLD 519, RT 4733, that worked the 414 for some years. And now the poor thing is married to OLDdudders!

[Gwiwer]

I remember the OLDs on the 414. So possibly the same bus. And there was a consecutively-numbered pair which survived very late. RT 4495/6 off the top of my head. I believe they came south from Garaton after the 321 and 385 were converted to AN operation and were both at LH for a time. They then moved around covering as spares as and where required. RT4495 (iirc) served at DS and could be found on the town route 449 which should have been a one-man MB by that time. It was also turned out when an RF was used to replace a poorly RCL2232 on the 414 but found itself unable, by some margin, to cope with the traffic offering. A timely phone call from Capel ensured the RT was despatched to meet us at the Holly & Laurel, Holmwood, with minimal delay. No-one ended up left behind for an hour but the RF was definitely overloaded by quite a few. You won’t see that these days.

[russ p]

Not quite a bus, but a classic bus shelter in Eastrea, Cambs. Has been replaced by a modern "thing" in fairly recent times.

 

45_01_5047_Eastrea.jpeg

 

Stewart

Noticed two classic bus shelters in Whitby at the weekend one at the top of ruswarp bank and the other near the old west Cliff station

[phil_sutters]

[Rugd1022]

Cambridge Circus, 1936...

 

[davknigh]

Cambridge Circus, 1936...

 

BUS Cambridge Circus 1936.jpg

Very nice. Snow caked and an ad for Canadian Apples on the side.

 

Cheers,

 

David

[E3109]

Very nice. Snow caked and an ad for Canadian Apples on the side.

Cheers,

David

I expect there will be more ads like that after 29th March!

 

What a cracking shot and by the way I've always wondered why LT never acquired every London Country RMC before any were sent for scrap, even if only for spares, surely former colleagues still spoke to each other!