ITM 50TH EVENT

The ITM celebrates there 50th Birthday in style this weekend on Sunday 15th November, it all kicks off at 10.00 am on the Cornhill with a selection of Buses and Fire Engines and will return at 10.30 am via Queen Street,Star Lane,Grimwade Street, Star Lane, Bishops Hill and Felixstowe Road returning  to the ITM. Among confirmed visitors will be Chris Speed/Danny Beales Great Yarmouth Swift 85 WEX 685M, Tony Melia and John Jackson's Sunderland Crossley and Bristol RE UFM 53F see her belowplus many more i'm lead to believe, i shall be attending with VA 479 AU53 HJV from First Ipswich in the capable hands of Joe Thorpe, and will be conducting on various different buses no doubt during the day. The timetable consists of four journeys starting from the Railway Station at 10.30 numbered 2 on the timetable below, then there is the 6 which will run from the Museum to the Railway Station,201/A to Levington, 4 to Broke Hall Shops,the 18 will be a circular service via the Orwell Bridge plus there will be a shuttle park and ride service from the old Holywells School car park from 1045 from the Museum.

1990 IN RETROSPECT

Once again i must thank an good friend in Peter Horrex for allowing me the use of his photos above and below, by 1990 Eastern Counties was still under it's own management and in just over three years the Post Office Red livery had become pretty wide spread seen here above on Leyland National LN 586 WAH 586S at this time i was very much using a very basic camera unfortunately or fortunately my vast amount of photos were poor, time was not of my own making working in retail led to just travelling on Sundays on the very cheap day tickets that Suffolk County Council provided on their vast network of services as far as Hunstanton, Great Yarmouth or across to Haverhill.

Above we see one of Ipswich Buses Roe Bodied Atlanteans, i can never get bored of the stylish livery that Ipswich Buses had at the time which suited it particularly well, although rather cold in Winter with very little heating and sluggish up Bishops Hill i wouldn't have cared. Below in a picture from Stuart Ray shows an earlier Atlantean 83 WPV 83L after disgracing itself in London in April and towed back to Ipswich in disgrace it is now believed to be preserved does anyone know?  I always preferred the older Atlanteans and their corporation Brown seats many survived into IBT days still in Corporation livery and looking decidedly unloved. 

SUNDAY BITS AND PIECES

Ipswich Buses Optare Versa 151 YK08 EPU heading towards Martlesham Park and Ride

Just a few tit bits of news, some which i have missed  over the week Carter's new Trident 406 entered service on Tuesday and has fully reprogrammed LED display whilst on Friday Galloways received one of their two Optare Solo SR's YJ65 EWF, Owen Phillips who drives for Galloway managed to get a photo of it see below, whilst below that we see a picture from Simon Taylor who i briefly met whilst on loan to Ipswich before he left he pictured the fantastic inside of the returned 20514 which i mentioned earlier in the week, you wouldn't think its 14 years old, many rumours have been circulated around First's future in the town, and as i have already said there has been certain people floating around doom and gloom, this is certainly not very helpful to the drivers and other staff.

EASTERN COUNTIES PHOTOS FOR SALE

I have a vast collection of photographs and slides many of which i have are duplicates so very shortly i will be adding a page on here of stuff i have for sale all have bought from various sellers on e bay so are copyright unknown,so i thought i would include some on here tonight, firstly we see Eastern Counties Leyland National LN 784 DPW 784T at an outstation which i can't remember during the 1980's. Below that we have Ipswich allocated LS 812 3812 PW during the 1970's now repainted into National Express not as good as the Cream/Maroon livery but it's growing on me. Finally many Eastern Counties/Cambus Bristol RE's found new homes in Deregulation including RL 522 HPW 522L with Blue Bus Services in Newcastle.Photos are priced at just 50p each plus 70p postage, if you have a requirement for certain types of bus please let me know i also offer my own photos on Flickr for the same price.

THIS WEEK IN PHOTOS

Beeston's Van Hool Volvo B10M 226 LRB outside Ipswich School today.

Simmonds Volvo B10M/Van Hool Ailizee DSK 848 on a rare visit to Ipswich.

 Not unusual  just rather a nice photo if i dare say so First Ipswich Volvo B7TL 32489 AU53 HKG on the 66.

Usually on the 4 Ipswich Buses East Lancs Transbus Dart 86 had strayed on to the 15A on Monday morning which now regularly has one single decker allocated to it Monday to Friday.

EASTERN COUNTIES MAP 1964

I thought this might be of interest to some of you what i have done is to enlarge this as much as i possibly can to fit into the page on the blog, i have had to omit the western area simply because it would of been even bigger what you see is the area covered by Eastern Counties 51 years ago in 1964, the amount of work that has been lost over the years is quite staggering, many of these i would imagine at the time would have hardly paid the way even then, as a piece of historic interest it's worth showing. In other news Ipswich based 20514 WV02 EUP has returned to First Ipswich after it's refurbishment.

FLASHBACK WEDNESDAY

 So i won't be be accused of First Ipswich favouritism tonight's flashback consists of two different Ipswich pictures firstly we see East Lancs Dennis Falcon 101 YDX 101Y at Tower Ramparts when fairly new and in the second picture we have AEC Regent V 64 ADX 64B post 1980 when Tower Ramparts School had been taken down, sister bus SDX 58? is behind on the 1 to Bourne Bridge that Ipswich Buses no longer serve, 64 is on the 1A to Maidenhall which of course is now the 15.