BEESTONS COACH FLEET DECEMBER 2015

Beestons 77CJX an Volvo B12M/Van Hool Alizee T9.

BEESTONS COACHES
Livery	Registration	Model/Chassis	Bodywork	Seating
White	T9 CCT	Volvo B10M	Van Hool Alizee T9	C53F
White	UGP 69	Volvo B10M	Van Hool Alizee T9	C49FT
White	226 LRB	Volvo B10M	Van Hool Alizee T9	C57F
White	219 GRA	Scania K114	Van Hool Alizee T9	C53F
White	77  CJX	Volvo B12M	Van Hool Alizee T9	C53F
White	229 LRB	Scania K114	Van Hool Alizee T9	C53F
White	221 GRA	Volvo B12M	Van Hool Alizee T9	C53F
Gold/Black	222 GRA	DAF	Van Hool Astron	C53FT
White	NSV 371	Volvo B12M	Jonckheere	C53F
White	NSV 372	Volvo B12M	Jonckheere	C53F
Gold/Black	YJ64 ATV	DAF	Van Hool Alicron	C41F
White	BF65 WHU	Volvo B11R	Jonckheere	C53FT
White	YX65 ZJU	Volvo B9R	Plaxton	C59F
White	523 FN	Volvo B12BT	Van Hool Astrobel T9	C61/18FT
Black/Gold	524 FN	Volvo B12BT	Van Hool Astrobel T9	C61/18FT
Metallic Red/Gold	526 FN	Volvo B12BT	Van Hool Astrobel T9	C61/FT

Beestons have a pair of Jonckheere bodied Volvo B12M's one of the two is NSV 372.

BEESTONS BUS FLEET DECEMBER

In  the new version of the Beestons Livery with the silver front is ex Transdev Scania Omnidekka YN54 OAH which make up the vast majority of the bus fleet. Many Thanks to David Burrows of Beestons who has been extremely helpful in putting this together, the coach part of the list is to follow later on with both parts available on the pages in the new year.

BEESTONS BUS FLEET	December 2015
Livery	Registration	Model/Chassis	Bodywork	Seating
New Blue	KX54 NLC	Optare Solo		B33F
White Dealer	KX54 NLD	Optare Solo		B33F
Old Blue	WPX 448	Volvo Olympian	NC Palatine 1	H47/31F
Old Blue	X568 YUG	Volvo B10BLE	Wright	B49F
New Blue	YN03 DDA	Scania N94UD	East Lancs	H47/31F
New Blue	YN03 DFE	Scania N94UD	East Lancs	H47/31F
New Blue	YN03 DFJ	Scania N94UD	East Lancs	H47/31F
New Blue	YV03 PZL	Scania N94UD	East Lancs	H47/31F
Red	YV03  PZM	Scania N94UD	East Lancs	H47/31F
Red	YV03 PZW	Scania N94UD	East Lancs	H47/31F
New Blue	YV03 PZY	Scania N94UD	East Lancs	H47/31F
Old Blue	MX04 MYW	Scania N94UD	East Lancs	H47/31F
Old Blue	MX04 MYY	Scania N94UD	East Lancs	H47/31F
New Blue	YN54 OAE	Scania N94UD	East Lancs	H45/31F
New Blue	YN54 OAH	Scania N94UD	East Lancs	H45/33F
New Blue	YN54 OBB	Scania N94UD	East Lancs	H47/33F
Old Blue	YN54 OBX	Scania N94UD	East Lancs	H47/33F
New Blue	YN54 OCJ	Scania N94UD	East Lancs	H47/33F
New Blue	YN05 HFY	Scania N94UD	East Lancs	H47/33F
New Blue	YN55 NJZ	Scania N94UD	East Lancs	H47/33F
Old Blue	YN55 NDY	Scania N94UD	East Lancs	H47/33F
Old Blue	MX06 LDN	Scania N94UD	East Lancs	H47/33F

Seen back in April was MX04 MYW an Scania Omnidekka new to Bullocks of Cheadle.

AN LODEKKA SPECIAL FLASHBACK!/CHAMBERS FLEETLIST ADDED

An typical early 1970's view with thanks to Syd Eade of Eastern Counties Bristol Lodekka LFS 114 FAH 114C popping out of the old Norwich Bus Depot after completing an 84B into Norwich.

 Eastern Counties Bristol Lodekka LFS 72 72 DPW heading out to the University on the 510. Below we see two of the West Anglian based Lodekkas in the late 1970's LFS 122/3 FVF 422/23C, LFS 123 was later reinstalled as an service bus in Cambus days. As of today i have added an Chambers fleetlist to my pages, Beestons to follow shortly.

THE ORIGIN OF THE IPSWICH TO SHOTLEY ROUTE

All three pictures taken with grateful thanks to Peter Horrex. Ipswich allocated First Eastern Counties Leyland Olympian 34872 F172 LBL in 2004 in the ghastly Barbie 2 livery at Shotley terminus.

Many people may or may not be interested to know that the first country bus service was from Ipswich to Shotley or that it was operated by the Great Eastern Railway, the service began on the 21/08/1905 for which 12 double decker omnibuses seating just 30 people were built at Stratford works for services in Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk, originally they were to cost £600 each, however the cost spiralled to £1000 and were heavy weighing in at 4 tons 17 cwt because of wagon type springs, later that year they were soon replaced with bus type springs because of the original springs unreliability. During 1916 because of World War 1 the route was suspended due to Shotley being a Royal Navy Station, after the war the GER built needing replacement, so 6 Thornycroft/Hora B28F double deckers were built, 3 being allocated to the depot in Croft Street, Ipswich. In 1922 the Eastern Counties Road Car bought out the buses and the service from GER, the 3 buses transferring to the Thames Valley Traction company.

Heading to Shotley on the 98 through Lower Holbrook is Eastern Counties Bristol VR 138 SNG 438M in 1993 at the grand old age of nearly 20.

Going back to the time before the routes were renumbered in the mid 1980's we have Eastern Counties Bristol RE RL 739 AAH 739J awaiting time at Shotley.

MONDAY SPECIAL FLASHBACK

Tonight time to indulge in a extra special edition of the flashback feature, tonight featuring some of my slide conversions which haven't featured on the blog before, no doubt with very little news this week there will be a few more to come. 

Kicking off with a picture which i can make out to be to be from the late 1960's or early 1970's as the bus featured is Eastern Counties Bristol Lodekka LKD 234 SAH 234 which was withdrawn in 1972, and is seen heading into Great Yarmouth.

 The next one is also another new one added recently to my collection and is a pair of fine Ipswich BusesLeyland Atlanteans, being Roe Bodied 27 SDX 27R and East Lancs 37 RGW 37W.

Seen here in the Summer of 1981 at Felixstowe depot with the the 50th Anniversary sticker on the side in probably the best interpretation of the NBC liveries is RLE 869 WPW 869H which was allocated to Ipswich/Felixstowe depots from 1970 to it's brief spell at Norwich in 1985.

Seen here waiting time at Woodbridge Railway Station is Eastern Counties Bristol VR 402 OCK 990K still in NBC livery during 1989.