1970s 1980s buses Bristol Omnibus and Midland Red

[MJI]

Something on the radio reminded me I need some buses.

 

So what is there in 4mm scale?

 

Bristol Omnibus Bristol RE and RELL

 

Midland Red Leyland Leopard and National

 

Just need a couple to place my layout.

 

Probably go for a RELL and 2 Leylands

 

Thanks

 

Martin

[MJI]

Oh and I would love one of those 6 wheel coaches common in the 1970s

 

Bedford  VAL

[Southernman46]

Search Corgi OOC and EFE on t'web

Try here too:

http://www.britishmodelbuses.com
 
ISTR 97901 is one of the relevant references

[HillsideDepot]

Bristol RE - EFE do several versions. They have flat front and BET front RELLs, although the flat-front version is a compromise as the windscreen is somewhere between the low and tall versions. They have done an NBC green flat front, but not the BET version yet. They haven't done a Bristol fleet name NBC though. They have done the "OMO" green and cream with Bristol scroll livery. 

EFE also do the RELH with both the "bus" body and the coach body. They have done both in half green half cream with Bristol scroll livery (superseded in 1972), and they have done the bus shell in white with green around the window and Bristol names.

The Leyland National EFE do in numerous versions, but the only one in Bristol livery is Bristol Joint Services livery of scroll with NBC logo on a dual door, flat pod bus. But with a change of fleet names they have done NBC green Nationals in several versions, the 11.3m single door short pod version being typical Bristol Omnibus.

Britbus have done a Bristol LH in Bristol green.

 

I'm much less knowledgeable on Midland Red, but EFE have done the 11.3m single door, short pod National in Midland Red livery with white cove stripe and "Lancer" names. EFE have also done a National 2 (albeit lacking the bulbous nose)  flat-top in NBC red livery with Cumberland names, which could get a change of identity. Corgi OOC have done their BET bus in Midland Red NBC dual purpose livery.

 

Midland Red met Bristol Omnibus in the area where BOC buses could be NBC red with Cheltenham District names, or NBC blue with City of Gloucester names as well as green with Bristol, Cheltenham District or City of Gloucester names. Rather a complicated topic!

 

Six-wheel Bedfords I'll leave to someone else, although Corgi OOC have done them.
  

[Coppercap]

Don't forget the Bristol Lodekka FLF. I remember, when visiting relatives in Gloucester as a kid in the 1960s and '70s, seeing these running between Gloucester and Cheltenham, and wondered why they had 'Bristol' on the sides! (I'm from London originally.) EFE did a 'Bristol' one, and these were around until the early 1980s in Bristol. There's also the Bristol VRT, again EFE did a 'Bristol' version and a 'Badgerline' (1986 - on) version, both single door. Obviously, these are not exactly 'country' buses, but the VRT was found out as far from Bristol as Dursley on country service 309.

[SRman]

OOC did the CM6 and CM6T coaches in Midland Red liveries some years ago. You would have to repaint them for NBC/National liveries though.

OOC also had the D9 double deck buses but, again, you would have to relivery them for the 1970s onwards.

 

EDIT: correction - the coaches were CM5 variants not CM6.

[MJI]

Thanks all, so there are toy buses of the correct types I can repaint or retransfer.

 

I will start checking what's what.

 

My railway is a fictional western region station around the Gloucester/Worcester area, no name, just 3 platforms, currently terminus but liable to be turned into a straight through. As it is just track and platforms I will use a mixture of LMS and GWR architecture & fittings (see Cheltenham Spa as an example).

 

Trains are mainly NESW and locals, but I have an HST as well. Shunters are maintained back at GL or BR

 

BTW I started it 30 years ago, but sat stored for 20 until I started setting up in the garage, last house was a garden loop.

[MJI]

On Ebay none are BO and green with thin cream stripe, so will be a repaint or retransfer

 

For the Leyland looks like resprays regardless

 

Just trying now to find photos of Leyland Leopards in the 3 counties

[wombatofludham]

OOC did the CM6 and CM6T coaches in Midland Red liveries some years ago. You would have to repaint them for NBC/National liveries though.

 

OOC also had the D9 double deck buses but, again, you would have to relivery them for the 1970s onwards.

 

Ouch!

 

The OOC models were of the CM5T, C5 and C5A types, which were the pioneer motorway coaches introduced in 1959, and their normal coaching brothers, plus the "demoted" C5A which was given a bus door and used on local bus services although still fitted out as luxury coaches.  All had been withdrawn by the early 1970s and none carried NBC livery.  The CM6T coaches have not been made "ready to run" but again had gone before 1975.  Their replacements were Plaxton Panorama Elite bodied Leyland Leopards which were delivered in 1974, and often turned up on my school bus when I started secondary school in 1974.  In fact the last Midland Red home built buses left in service were all withdrawn by 1980.  

 

The OOC BET Leopard represents a 1975 delivery but lacks the coach seating of the original.  A small batch of 13 bus seated Leopards were delivered, 10 ordered by Midland Red and three by Stratford Blue but delivered to the 'Red after they took over the company, which OOC represented with a 1973 pre-NBC red model, but the majority, in three batches, were dual-purpose buses with coach seats.  The shade of red of the OOC model is also a bit dark.  I suppose it depends how fastidious you are as to whether the lack of coach seats is an issue.  All three batches (bodies by Willowbrook and Marshall) had Midland Red's peculiar snot green interior panelling which also included the driver's cab and dashboard.  It was apparently selected as research had shown it the colour least likely to induce travel sickness, and together with tan leatherette and green moquette seating, made for a bilious combination of colours, should you fancy trying to detail one!

 

The 25 Leyland National 2s were some of the last buses delivered to Midland Red before it was split, arriving in 1980, all were allocated to Leicester, Stafford, Shrewsbury, Tamworth and Nuneaton so wouldn't have worked alongside Bristol vehicles.

 

The EFE Midland Red Leyland National 1 is OK, although depending on the date you model the white roof band displaying the local network name might not be appropriate.  The first use of the white roof band for local network branding was in 1977 in Stratford and district where the name "Avonbus" was used.  The same year "Wayfarer" was used to brand bus services in and around Evesham, so both these brandings could theoretically have worked into Bristol OC territory.  The "Lancer" name displayed on the EFE model is the brand name for Burton and Swadlincote, and dates from 1979.  Again, it depends on how fastidious you are, you could cheat and just paint out the "Lancer" name with white paint and have the model running as a newly delivered bus yet to be branded!

 

The dual purpose buses never carried local identity names before Midland Red was split, so for a vehicle to represent 1974-1981 or 2, the OOC red/white Leopard might be the safer bet even though it has some flaws and can be difficult to get hold of.

 

Just going off route for a moment, back in 1975-6 Midland Red was short of vehicles and borrowed some Leyland Nationals from neighbouring companies.  A couple of green Bristol examples ended up at Cannock depot which supplied my school bus and on several occasions I ended up going home on a green National instead of the normal Midland Red vehicle - so, in theory you could run Midland Red and Bristol Leyland Nationals together in Staffordshire so long as it was that brief six-nine month period!

 

[wombatofludham]

On Ebay none are BO and green with thin cream stripe, so will be a repaint or retransfer

 

For the Leyland looks like resprays regardless

 

Just trying now to find photos of Leyland Leopards in the 3 counties

 

EFE's Bristol Omnibus RE range is odd, two identical OMO liveried cream/green pre-NBC examples, a Tilling Green/Cream dual purpose example, again pre-1974 NBC era, and one NBC liveried version in the early 80s non-corporate white with a green window band livery.  In fact few NBC green REs have been made, apparently the proprietor has a dislike of NBC liveries which is a bit daft.  EFE did do an NBC green Bristol VRT2 but that's it.  One option might be to buy another NBC green RE such as the Eastern National flat-front and try to remove the fleetname, there again, if it's rural Worcestershire/Gloucestershire, you could make do with the Britbus Bristol liveried Bristol LH if you can find one, and a VR!

[SRman]

EFE and OOC 'transfers' (well, the printed on details) come off relatively easily with nail varnish remover.

[Rivercider]

Black and White Motorways operated their coach fleet out of Cheltenham though I think it ceased operating by 1974/5/6 ish,

is the EFE RELH coach model 29507 of any use?

Cheltenham coach station was also the hub for many services from across the country operated by other operators of Associated Motorways,

 

cheers

[Killybegs]

You can try here http://www.little-bus.com/index.html or http://www.paragonkits.com/

[stewartingram]

Good starting point for a search, by operator, and also for kits that have been produced.

 

http://modelbuszone.co.uk/efe/operators/loadframes.html

 

Stewart

[5 C]

Don't forget that some of the 60's era BMMO (Midland Red) produced vehicles lasted well into the 70's and in the case of the later single deck classes (S21/22/23) even into the very early 80's. A good source of information and photographs is http://www.midlandred.net/ along with fleet listings, depot allocations and disposal details.

 

As well as the RTR(?) listed above Scalelink market the former W&T white metal kits which include a D9 and S23 http://www.scalelink.co.uk/acatalog/1_76_scale_Midland_Red_Bus_Kits.html

 

For midlands area bus history, alook at the BAMMOT website http://www.bammot.org.uk/index.asp (and a visit) is well worthwhile.

 

Andy

[Dave47549]

.

[HillsideDepot]

I'm guessing that the "couple of proper MR National 2's" were BVP819/820V which ended up at Bath as a Badgerline Group transfer. They confused the drivers as our local National 2s were automatic and these were semis. The A---YWP batch of 6 also came to Bath, via Marlborough Street (Bristol) and were very nice buses.

[Dave47549]

.

[wombatofludham]

I'd forgotten about the Kidderminster "two" N10s, living on the notorious Stafford to Lichfield 825 route which passed under the two ultra-low bridges in Colwich and Little Haywood, we got an early allocation of "podless" National 2s as normal podded Nationals couldn't get under the bridges, so I was more familiar with the Stafford and Tamworth allocations.

 

Black and White Motorways became National Travel South West in about 1975 so whilst EFE have made a number of Black and White coaches, including Panorama Elites in the pre-National White "colour stripe" livery that was used briefly by the NBC for South West coach fleets (Bristol Greyhound and Royal Blue also used it and models exist in those colours) the adoption of the white coach livery was very quick between 1974 and 1975 as it was seen as vital to implementing the National coach brand, so Black and White liveried coaches would have been rare by the end of 1975-ish.

 

One thought - given the nightmare of trying to match NBC corporate liveries to era, have you thought about using an independent operator to get around the issue?  Many rural operations were in the hands of independents often using superannuated buses still operating in their previous operator's livery.  Worcestershire and Gloucestershire had quite a few independents, or you could create your own.  Good excuse to run older stock in a favourite livery, just changing the fleetname to indicate a new owner!

[MJI]

TBH I just need a 3 or so buses to go to my station and if correct colours and models and roughly era that will do.

 

I am going back to 78 or 79 and forwards to 1985 so anything in those 6 or so years will do.

 

Just trying to work out if 2 BO or 2 MR

[Western Scottish]

I remember a holiday in Weston Super Mare, must have been 1970. We stayed at Sandsend and took the local Bristol bus service to Weston. If I remember correctly they were Bristol MW buses? . Certainly short single dockers. From memory both in Bristol Green but also Cream . Is my memory playing tricks? Been on the lookout for EFE models to buy

[Intercity 125]

I've put together suggestions from this thread and some suggestions of my own to make it easier.

For BOC

EFE

Bristol RELL (OMO livery) 25204 Photo: https://hattonsimages.blob.core.windows.net/products/25204-LN_3113639_Qty1_1.jpg

There is another version of this, code 25204DL. Photo: http://www.britishmodelbuses.com/LargeImages/EFE/25204DL_Bristol%20RE_Bristol_N_Large.jpg

Bristol RELH (D/P coach livery) 29408 Photo: https://hattonsimages.blob.core.windows.net/products/29408_13851_Qty1_1.JPG

Bristol Lodekka 13901 Photo: https://hattonsimages.blob.core.windows.net/products/13901_1008708_Qty1_1.jpg

For NBC Bristol

EFE

Bristol RELH (D/P coach livery) 29412 Photo: https://hattonsimages.blob.core.windows.net/products/29412_1470682_Qty1_1.jpg

Bristol VR 20302 Photo: https://hattonsimages.blob.core.windows.net/products/20302-LN-02_3113582_Qty1_2.jpg

Leyland National (Scroll logo) 15104 Photo: https://hattonsimages.blob.core.windows.net/products/15104_1008753_Qty1_1.jpg

Leyland Olympian (Roe) 29704 Photo: https://hattonsimages.blob.core.windows.net/products/29704_3095226_Qty1_1.jpg

Britbus

Bristol LH LHW-01 Photo: https://hattonsimages.blob.core.windows.net/products/LHW-01_1.jpg

 

The Roe Olympians were new in 1984, so just fit in the timescale. If you were willing to go on one year, you could have Badgerline, who operated VRs, REs, Leyland Nationals, Leyland Olympians (with different body types), and Alexander Ps, but they may be a little late for your period.

 

IC125

[Rivercider]

I remember a holiday in Weston Super Mare, must have been 1970. We stayed at Sandsend and took the local Bristol bus service to Weston. If I remember correctly they were Bristol MW buses? . Certainly short single dockers. From memory both in Bristol Green but also Cream . Is my memory playing tricks? Been on the lookout for EFE models to buy

Do you mean the holiday camp at Sand Bay? The bus would have come over the hill along the Kewstoke Toll Road to Weston.

 

Weston had lots of MW single deckers in green and cream, also some LS single deckers,

 

cheers