FIRST IPSWICH BUSES PREVIOUS COLOURS

All Photo's Copyright Unknown.If these belong to anyone please contact me and i will withdraw them from view.

Volvo B7TL 32486 AU53 HKD seen here back when new in 2004 on Blue Line 25 to Costessey Park And Ride, in the day when Overground was the catchphrase.

When new Ipswich's Volvo B7RLE'S  were used on Norwich's Park and Ride service's here we see 69008 AUO5 DMV heading out of Castle Meadow.

Again in Castle Meadow we see another Volvo B7TL in 32656 AU05 MVA originally destined for 

Park and Ride they were replaced by some of the earlier Volvo B7TL's

Well it did work in Ipswich for a time usually with a paper label fixed over the number blind originally from First in Leeds, 47202 M202 VWW was a Plaxton Bodied Dart new in 1994 before arriving a few years later in Suffolk,by 2005 it had emigrated up to Norwich.

MY SCHOOL DAY BUSES

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tiptree-jon/16246589492/in/photolist-d8uDHm-d4jVcf-mPE2yg-dDMiWd-4han7M-r6qnxc-qKE22W Copyright Jonathan Greenwood.

IBT East Lancs Leyland Atlantean 36 RBJ 36W when new inside Constantine Road Depot on 3rd October 1981.

What peaked my interest in Buses i don't really know was it in 1981 when i was bought a Matchbox Royal Wedding Londoner bus or when my Primary School hired an Ipswich bus to go to the Wolsey Theatre, or was it watching Eastern Counties Bristol Lodekka Open Top OT2 VDV 753 heading along the cliffs in the Summer.
Initially my primary school hired Suffolk County Council buses which were in a hideous Brown and Orange livery well it was the early 1980's and usually it an ex Edinburgh/Lothian Bedford GSX 112N which seemed to gather an impressive amount of moss on the window sills in the winters. For longer hires the school after a time would hire in Ipswich Borough Transport Atlanteans my first ride would of been one of the 73-76 batch of ECW body's LDX 73-76G, then lucky me one of the very first East Lancs Atlanteans 36 RBJ 36W on a trip to Stowmarket.  By the time i went to Copleston i had elevated myself to becoming a bus enthusiast.

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My chosen bus for trips to the Swimming Pool was GSX 112N seen here with Lothian in 1976.

From the Stuart Ray collection we see one of the magnificent Ipswich ECW bodied Atlanteans 74 LDX 74G in 1970 i always thought how majestic and stylish these were.

IPSWICH BUSES TO DIVERT 6/A THROUGH BROKE HALL ON EVENINGS AND SUNDAYS

Ipswich Buses East Lancs Dart 93 X93 LBJ typical fare for Sunday routes is seen on the X3 last month.

Just a quick blog tonight to inform people that Ipswich Buses service 6/A Tower Ramparts-Hospital-Tower Ramparts service will now serve Broke Hall from Sunday and Evenings from the 4th October, this will take over the current Council subsided 4/A Ipswich Rail Station-Broke Hall-Ravenswood-Ipswich Rail Station/Ipswich Rail Station-Ravenswood-Broke Hall-Ipswich Rail Station service operated by First Ipswich who for the first time in 16 years won't operate onto Broke Hall. Times for the 6/A will depart on Monday to Saturday evenings and Sundays at 22 past each hour for the 6 and 42 past the hour for the 6/A reaching Broke Hall at 48 past the hour(6) and 02 past the hour for the 6A.

Not commonly used now on the 6/11 routes are the Alexander 200 bodied Darts for which Double Deckers are the usual choice.

INDEPENDENT NEWS FOR AUGUST

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Copyright Mark Haldon

Recent purchase for Chenery of Long Stratton is this Neoplan Tourliner C59FT seen here with it's previous owner Ellisons, St Helens, Merseyside.

Not a great lot to report from the last two months, all the news courtesy of Terminus August /September issue.

Carters of Capel St Mary have NK51 ZSR a Volvo B10M/Caetano C49FT Ex TGM, while leaving

 the Coach Services, Thetford fleet are X547 EGK a Volvo B7TL/Plaxton President and YJ04 YJA a Scania K114EB4/Irizar. Galloway have a brand new Mini coach in 345 PO15 AZP a Mercedes Benz Atego/Unvi C30F  see photo below and 346 YJ60 GGO a VDL SB180/MCV B36F ex Reays Wigton, Cumbria and out at Simmonds, Diss are 3 Volvo B10M/Plaxton coaches A378 XMC,D807 SGB and E883 HTL.

Photo Copyright Paul Green.

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FIRST ODDITIES IN THE NINETIES AND NOUGHTIES

All photos Copyright Unknown
This odd Olympian/Roe 34529 NTC 129Y

came from First Somerset and Avon in 2004 and was originally at Bury St Edmunds before ending it's days at Norwich.

Whilst Alexander bodied Olympians are certainly common enough, this awful destination box style certainly wasn't 34922 G122 YEV is seen here arriving back from Colchester.

Bought from Midland Bluebird in 1995 this was one of two Leyland Leopard/Alexander typical of the Scottish Bus Group of the 1970's here we see 1810 DLS 353V , these oddities came in mainly for increased contract work in the Bury St Edmunds area.

Allocated to Ipswich for the majority of it's training career, 90279 GUW 503W a Leyland National 2 was uniquely Volvo engined during it's time with First Centrewest in London before coming to Ipswich in 1999.

66982 TRANSFERS TO NORWICH

Something that i haven't  mentioned this week but happened last weekend was First Ipswich Volvo B7RLE 66982 KX05 MHL has transferred to Norwich, as seen above it was only repainted last December, If i remember rightly i caught this very early in the morning hence the considerable shadow. Footnote to yesterday ADX 2 was used initially on the 9B Whitehouse, later on it became the 8.

WEDNESDAY FLASHBACK 2 VERY IMPORTANT BUSES

Here we see one of the of the original AEC Regent III's from 1950 2 ADX 2 that took up the responsibility of the first motor buses for Ipswich Corporation when they first operated on 14th May 1950 on the Whitehouse 8 route, sadly even though ADX 2 was saved during the 1970's it later on was mistakenly scrapped.

In a photo from Syd Eade we see Eastern Counties LKD 207 VVF 207 which were sold to Lincolnshire Road Car in 1973 only to return after 7 months during the great swap during the winter when Lodekkas went North and Scottish Bus Group Bristol VR's came south, it received NBC red during 1974 and was the last one of it's batch from 1958 to be withdrawn in 1976.