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In common with cars and trucks, preservation of buses in the United Kingdom is a hobby activity enjoyed by many people, both actively or passively. The active preservation and operation of preserved buses is undertaken by private individuals, organised trusts or societies, and even commercial operators. The preserved bus fleet in the UK includes dating from the earliest pre-war models right up to models manufactured after the year 2000. [1]
The earliest examples of bus preservation were undertaken by certain bus companies themselves, especially the London General Omnibus Company who set aside a member bus from the B, S and K classes, followed by the London Passenger Transport Board who preserved one each of the NS, LT, ST and T classes. These can now all be seen at the London Transport Museum at Covent Garden.
The first example of private individuals preserving a bus in the UK was by four friends, Prince Marshall, Ken Blacker, Ron Lunn and Michael Dryhurst in 1956 [2] who successfully purchased a 1929 AEC Regal fleet number T31, registration UU 6646, for the sum of £40. It was the last ex-London General Omnibus Company vehicle to be operated by London Transport. The bus is still in existence and was fully restored by Norman Anscomb and is now part of the London Bus Museum collection, who purchased it from Norman Anscomb in 1994. [3] This was the first of several buses purchased by these four pioneers of the British bus preservation movement, which included a 1935 Gilford 168SD coach, a Leyland PLSC3 Lion, and their first double-decker, a Northern Counties bodied AEC Renown 6-wheeler which cost the large sum (for the time) of £85. In 1958 Ken Blacker, John Cook, Prince Marshall and Michael Dryhurst inaugurated the Vintage Passenger Vehicle Society. [4]
The October 1961 issue of the Ian Allan magazine Buses Illustrated published a list of 76 buses believed to be the total number of preserved buses in the UK. [2] As of 2009 it was believed the number of preserved buses in the UK numbered over 5,000. [2]
Many non commercial organisations dedicated to bus preservation operate under a charitable status. Some projects receive Heritage Lottery Fund grant funding.
Non commercial bus preservation organisations can be both general in scope, or organised around preserving vehicles from a particular geographic area or time periods. Often, organisations will focus on a particular much loved company or operator, such as SELNEC, Southdown Motor Services or Ribble Motor Services, or particular manufacturers such as AEC or Bristol Commercial Vehicles. In cases where large numbers of vehicles were produced, organisations may even concentrate on a single model, such as the Bristol VR or Leyland National.
Preserved buses are often included in the collections of Transport Museums, and sometimes feature in general museums. In some cases, museums are dedicated to buses as their main activity. The use of operational preserved buses often contribute to the authentic atmosphere in living history museums such as Amberley Working Museum and Beamish Museum.
Operational preserved buses are often exhibited at rallies and shows, or are run on 'running days', or in events that are a combination of the two. A preserved bus running a specific shuttle route also often forms part of a larger event such as a cultural festival.
Several events in the preservation calendar are regular, usually annual, while others are often organised to commemorate a specific event, such as the anniversary of a particular company or particular vehicle type coming into or out of existence or service. Running days often mark the withdrawal of particular models from a route, or the demise of particular companies. Rallies and shows often combine preserved exhibits and current service vehicles.
Candidates vehicles for preservation are often gifted or purchased from their final operator, or are bought from the scrap yard or specialist dealers. Restoration of vehicles often involves mechanical restoration such as repanelling the bodywork, and the reversion of the vehicle's appearance to a particular historical period, by repainting into a particular livery and restoring other parts such as grilles or displays. On occasion, buses have been saved for preservation having been used long after the end of their passenger transport career, and been used in a variety of capacities such as caravans or storage sites, requiring more thorough preservation.
A form of bus preservation involves the commercial operation of vintage or restored buses. Some present day bus companies maintain and operate a heritage fleet for both preservation and commercial purposes, such as the Arriva Heritage Fleet, and Stagecoach in Scotland. Others may maintain one or two examples of preserved vehicles for special services, or to act as company representatives at rallies and events.
If not actively involved, present day modern bus operators will often assist groups involved in preserving examples of their old vehicles, such as providing maintenance facilities or garaging facilities. Some niche commercial bus operators such as Timebus Travel exclusively exist for the purposes of heritage vehicle operation. Most commercial preserved bus operation is for private hire, although occasionally a preserved bus may appear on a scheduled service.
With the mass withdrawal of the iconic AEC Routemaster bus from London and the introduction of many new operators due to bus deregulation, many operators registered scheduled services around the country in the 1980s, long after the model was considered modern. Post millennium this is less common.
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Museums with over 10 bus exhibits include:
The legal relationship between the operation of preserved buses and commercial buses is complex, depending variously on the age of the vehicle, age of the driver and circumstances of the operation.
Under the UK driving licence rules, anybody with a standard car licence gained before 1997 can drive a preserved bus over 30 years old without a PCV (public carriage vehicle) licence, as long as it is not for hire or reward, and less than 8 people are carried in the vehicle. For licences gained after 1997 and buses under 30 years old, the rules are more complex. [5]
Depending on circumstances, operators of preserved buses may need to fit their vehicle with an analogue or digital tachograph. All commercial operation (not on a scheduled bus route) requires a tachograph. Drivers operating preserved buses for "non-commercial carriage of passengers" are exempt from the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (Driver CPC) regulations. [6]
With regard to the London low emission zone, an exemption is made for "Historic vehicles" (built before 1 January 1973). [7] Preserved bus operators operating vehicles taxed as a 'bus' are exempt from the London congestion charge and do not have to register their vehicles. Those vehicles taxed as a Large Car are not exempt from the London congestion charge but can register for a 100% discount for their vehicle.
A bus is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for charter purposes, or through private ownership. Although the average bus carries between 30 and 100 passengers, some buses have a capacity of up to 300 passengers. The most common type is the single-deck rigid bus, with double-decker and articulated buses carrying larger loads, and midibuses and minibuses carrying smaller loads. Coaches are used for longer-distance services. Many types of buses, such as city transit buses and inter-city coaches, charge a fare. Other types, such as elementary or secondary school buses or shuttle buses within a post-secondary education campus, are free. In many jurisdictions, bus drivers require a special large vehicle licence above and beyond a regular driving license.
The AEC Routemaster is a front-engined double-decker bus that was designed by London Transport and built by the Associated Equipment Company (AEC) and Park Royal Vehicles. The first prototype was completed in September 1954 and the last one was delivered in 1968. The layout of the vehicle was conventional for the time, with a half-cab, front-mounted engine and open rear platform, although the coach version was fitted with rear platform doors. Forward entrance vehicles with platform doors were also produced as was a unique front-entrance prototype with the engine mounted transversely at the rear.
A double-decker bus or double-deck bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. Double-deckers are primarily for commuter transport, but open-top models are used as sight-seeing buses for tourists, and there are coaches too for long-distance travel. They appear in many places around the world but are presently most commonly used as mass transport in cities of Britain, in Ireland, in Hong Kong, Berlin and in Singapore.
London General Transport Services Limited, trading as Go-Ahead London, is a bus company operating in Greater London. The London General brand is a subsidiary of Go-Ahead London and operates services under contract to Transport for London. The company is named after the London General Omnibus Company, the principal operator of buses in London between 1855 and 1933.
Associated Equipment Company (AEC) was a British vehicle manufacturer that built buses, motorcoaches and trucks from 1912 until 1979. The name Associated Equipment Company was hardly ever used; instead, it traded under the AEC and ACLO brands. During World War One, AEC was the most prolific British lorry manufacturer, after building London's buses before the war.
Kelvin Scottish Omnibuses Ltd was a bus operating subsidiary of the Scottish Transport Group based in Bishopbriggs, Strathclyde, Scotland. It was formed in March 1985 from parts of Walter Alexander & Sons (Midland) Ltd and Central SMT, initially with six depots and a varied fleet of 381 vehicles.
Arriva London is a bus operator operating services in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus and operates services under contract to Transport for London. Operations are split between two registered companies, Arriva London North Limited and Arriva London South Limited.
Park Royal Vehicles was one of Britain's leading coachbuilders and bus manufacturers, based at Park Royal, Abbey Road, in west London. With origins dating back to 1889, the company also had a Leeds-based subsidiary, Charles H. Roe.
The AEC Regent III RT was one of the variants of the AEC Regent III. It was a double-decker bus produced jointly between AEC and London Transport. It was the standard red London bus in the 1950s and continued to outnumber the better-known Routemaster throughout the 1960s.
London Country Bus Services was a bus company that operated in South East England from 1970 until 1986, when it was split up and later sold as part of the bus deregulation programme.
A lowbridge double-deck bus is a double-decker bus that has an asymmetric interior layout, enabling the overall height of the vehicle to be reduced compared to that of a conventional double-decker bus. The upper-deck gangway is offset to one side of the vehicle, normally the offside, and is sunken into the lower-deck passenger saloon. Low railway bridges and overpasses are the main reason that a reduced height is desired.
The Daimler Fleetline is a rear-engined double-decker bus chassis which was built between 1960 and 1983.
Wirral Transport Museum is a museum situated approximately 0.5 miles (800 m) from the Mersey Ferry service at Woodside, Birkenhead, England.
Halifax Joint Committee was an independent bus company operating in and around Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. Its buses were painted in the livery of the former County Borough of Halifax whose buses and services were taken over by the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive in April 1974.
Open top buses are used in the United Kingdom for sightseeing and seasonal summer services.
The AEC Swift was a rear-engined step entrance single-decker bus chassis manufactured by AEC between 1964 and 1980. The chassis design was closely related to the Leyland Panther. It was available in 33-foot (10 m) and 36-foot (11 m) lengths, with an AEC AH505 or AH691 engine.
The Northern General Transport Company was a bus company in North East England.
The Daimler Freeline was an underfloor-engined bus chassis built by Daimler between 1951 and 1964. It was a very poor seller in the UK market for an underfloor-engined bus and coach chassis, but became a substantial export success.
The London Bus Museum is a purpose-built transport museum, open daily to the public and located at Brooklands in Weybridge, England. Entry is on a joint basis with Brooklands Museum.
The Leyland Royal Tiger PSU was an underfloor-engined bus and coach chassis manufactured by Leyland between 1950 and 1954.
Media related to Preserved Buses in the United Kingdom at Wikimedia Commons
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