Elizabeth (bus)

GT2827 Elizabeth
Elizabeth on display in Weston-super-Mare in 2018
Overview
Manufacturer	Sentinel (chassis, engine and cab) Northern Star Motor Carriage Company (coachwork)
Powertrain
Engine	Steam
Capacity	30
Transmission	Chain

Elizabeth operating in Whitby in 2009

GT2827 Elizabeth is a steam powered combination bus that operated in the English seaside towns of Whitby (2005-2015) and Weston-super-Mare (2015-2018). It is now preserved in a private collection.

The vehicle was originally built in 1931 by Sentinel Waggon Works as a steam-powered DG6P flatbed lorry. It had, and still has, two gears, chain transmission, six wheels and ten pneumatic tyres. It was used a flatbed lorry, and then a tar sprayer, before being bought from a scrapyard for preservation in 1962. As a preserved lorry it had several owners before being bought, in 2002, by the Northern Star Motor Carriage Company. They converted it into a 30-seat bus, with a newly built body made from white ash and mahogany. ^{[1] [2]}

Before the bus could carry fare-paying passengers, it had to undergo a 35° tilt test and required an amendment to legislation since the exhaust was not sited at the rear of the vehicle. Together with the rebuild, this took until 2005. The bus was initially used by the Northern Star Motor Carriage Company to take people on a tour of Whitby, providing up to ten trips per day over the summer months. It was the only steam bus in revenue-earning service in the world and became a tourist attraction in its own right. ^{[3] [4] [note 1]}

In November 2011, Elizabeth took part in London's Lord Mayor's Show. The journey from Whitby to London was undertaken entirely under its own steam power. ^{[5] [6]}

In around April 2015 Elizabeth was purchased by Crosville, a public and heritage bus operator in Weston-super-Mare. Crosville ceased operating in 2018 and its operating licence was revoked. Elizabeth was retained by the former owner of Crosville, and is now in his private collection of vintage vehicles. ^{[7] [8] [9] [10]}

Notes

1. Statutory Instrument 2005 No. 3128 The Public Service Vehicles (Conditions of Fitness, Equipment, Use and Certification) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2005

References

1. "Elizabeth the Steam Bus". Northern Star Motor Carriage Company. Archived from the original on 21 August 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
2. "Whitby Steam Bus". Vintage Spirit. April 2010. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
3. "Elizabeth – A Steaming Success in 2006". The world's only six-wheeled Sentinel steam bus... Old Glory (now at Internet Archive). Archived from the original on 30 June 2007. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
4. Rees, Nicola (12 February 2011). "The last steam bus". Inside Out - Yorkshire & Humberside. BBC. Archived from the original on 12 February 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
5. "Video: Elizabeth's epic trek from Whitby to London under her own steam". Yorkshire Post. 3 November 2011. Archived from the original on 9 March 2024. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
6. BBC 1 live coverage
7. Robinson, Sarah (10 April 2015). "Unique steam bus to be new attraction". The Weston Mercury. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024.
8. Baker, Hannah (5 March 2018). "Crosville to end bus and school services in Weston-super-Mare". Bristol Post. Archived from the original on 5 March 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
9. Jewell, Mike (20 March 2018). "TC revokes Crosville's O-Licence". routeone. Archived from the original on 19 April 2018.
10. "Valuable bus collection moves to Weston-super-Mare". BBC News . BBC. 22 March 2021. Archived from the original on 13 October 2025. Retrieved 13 October 2025.