EASTERN COUNTIES ALLOCATIONS DECEMBER 1981

Eastern Counties Bristol RE RL 668 seen here in Felixstowe during the summer of 1981.

The winter was cold and very snowy towards Christmas in 1981, Human League was Number One with Don't you Want Me and the highlight on the Television would be The Two Ronnies on BBC 1 and on ITV it was another repeat of the Bond Film Dr No.
The below list may not come out well on page but will give you an idea what was happening at the time.

Copyright Peter Horrex. A classic line up of two Bristol VR's VR 191 TEX 401R from Felixstowe Depot, VR 332 NAG 587G which was living on borrowed time being withdrawn in 1982 and Saxmundham allocated Bristol LH 919 TCL 139R.

IB ALLOCATION WONDERS/INDEPENDENT ROUND UP

I can't understand whoever allocates Ipswich Buses at the moment as there are a lot of strange observations yesterday, what i can't understand is the continual allocation of Double Deckers to the X1 yesterday Lowlander 54 see above was allocated to it along with Scania Omnidekka 60, the token Dart was 4 branded 85, sister 84 was on the X3 with the usually X5 allocated Decker 69. Dart 98 which had again taken up work on the 4 again was now on 15/A with sister 94, and on the 4 we seem to be going back to ALX 200 Dart's again with 143 which sounded like it was about to expire!.

INDEPENDENTS ROUND UP

With Thanks to PSV Circle records, i can report that two new businesses have applied for licences those being Boomerang Coaches of Saxmundham for one coach and Y Not Touring of Sudbury for 7 Coaches, 5 at Great Cornard and 2 at Middleton. Two of the coaches which were not part of the sale to Suffolk Norse have been reported with new owners in Suffolk Volvo B10M/Plaxton V57 KWO is with Bucklands of Hacheston,Woodbridge and P616 FTV with M&A Dabbs of Felixstowe also an Volvo B10M/Plaxton. Mulleys of Ixworth have a further Volvo B7TL/ALX 400 from Dublin Bus LW51 ZHJ.

Mulleys X471 KUT Volvo B10M/Jonckheere seen here in Crown Street Layby on a school contract.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE EVENTS: AN RETROSPECTIVE PART 1

A chance to look back at the highlights of the year, In March i was so busy conducting that i missed out on a lot of the rides, so i may or may not conduct next year for the Ipswich Bus Rally, only very recently finished off during the last year or so was this Sixty Nine Years old Northampton Crossley 146 VV 9146 the restoration was featured over the years in Bus And Coach Preservation Magazine, what a beautiful job. May saw 2 events firstly the ITM's Ipswich to Felixstowe run always see's a fine turn out for Buses including this Lowestoft AEC Regent II 21 GBJ 192 from the East Anglian Transport Museum, and finally for today the MNR at Dereham hosted there first bus event on a very hot day in the second week of May, although there wasn't too many Buses there it was my first chance to see Julian Patterson's gorgeous Eastern Counties Bristol RE RLE 864 WNG 864H in Dual purpose NBC red and white livery

IPSWICH BUSES ADVERTS

Copyright ETCS.

If you are not a member of my Ipswich Corporation/BoroughTransport/Buses group on Facebook you won't know what i'm talking about, the conversation has been all about adverts whether it be Trolleybuses, Regent V's or Atlantean T adverts, the distinguishing features of the trolleybuses were the rather narrow destination box, which allowed adverts on the front in between the destination display, typically Gordon's Gin as seen above on 116 a Sunbeam/Park Royal trolleybus, on the side was an advert for Arrowmint chewing gum a name all but forgotten. Know the photo below you certainly wouldn't get away with these day since Cigarette advertisements have been banned is that of Capstan a familiar name for smokers after the Second World War, also note no front adverts, in this typically austere setting of Electric House, Tower Ramparts School and the Car Park, Karrier/Park Royal 98 PV 6893.

By the time Motorbuses came along the adverts became smaller, note that both companies advertising here have long since gone as displayed on AEC Regent V OPV 48, Alan Manning Furniture Specialists on the front and on the side Starlite Club on Spring Road a Casino no less.

COLOURFUL BRISTOL VR'S

Photographer Unknown.

The 1980's and 1990's were a great time if you loved your Bristol VR's in what can only be described as solid workhorses they were literally everywhere across the region, Ipswich at it's peak had well over 30 and Norwich a great deal more, what i really liked was the wide ranging all over adverts on Buses, this was the time with no Mobile Phones or the Internet, when the best place to advertise your business or product was to have it splashed over a Double Decker Bus.First picture above we see VR 254 PCL 254W at Norwich Bus Station advertising one of England's biggest home builders Wimpey no relation to the old restaurant chain. Originally in Eastern Counties Dual Purpose livery, OT3 JNG 50N acquired this rather handsome blue and white livery for Radio Orwell in the late 1980's, Radio Orwell was re branded when the station was taken over by GWR to SGR FM and now the awful Heart, OT3 is now of course preserved by Richard Walker, seen here on Ipswich Depot forecourt. The final of the three illustrates an Norwich bus on loan at Kings Lynn, or it had worked into Norwich and was used by Kings Lynn, VR 252 PCL 252W is seen working an local service to Fairstead Estate advertising Ruymp building materials.

 Copyright ETCS

Photographer unknown.

COACH VISITORS AND OTHER THINGS

Not too much to report today apart from some local visitors from up north in Suffolk and Norfolk, as seen above, parked up in the Crown Street Lay By was Scania/Van Hool KIA 891 and DAF SB400/Van Hool T9 8333 UR from Simmonds and from Coach Services at Thetford came Volvo B12B PN06 KJZ. While the Park and Ride saga still rumbles on, Ipswich Buses seem to be having trouble with their Optare Versa's again, with at least 2 off the road, with Enviro 200's 79 and 81 see picture below,again deputising, meanwhile on town services Dart 84 was on the X3 with ALX 200 Dart 141 on the 6, 87 was on 15A, whilst 86 was on 8/13, Scania Omnidekka 61 was back on the X1, why they still put deckers on that route is anyone's guess, although it did come off when i noticed later this afternoon.

MORE ON PARK AND RIDE AND MONDAY'S OFF ROUTES

An unusual sight was this particularly scruffy IB ALX 200 Dart 144 Y295 FJN being used on the 13 this morning.

It seems that the Park and Ride story won't go away completely as Council Leader David Ellsemere has published his column in the Ipswich Star tonight, and his anger at First Eastern Counties, is it due to the fact that his council own the local bus company, of course some comments are of worthy but when he states that First will be running "Old Buses" pumping out dirty fumes, has he used his crystal ball to predict the future?

It's a welcome back to the off route feature, with plenty to note today IB East Lancs Dart 98 was back on the 4 with 134, whilst the 4 branded Darts continue to stray, with 85 on 15/A, 86 on X3 and 84/87 on the 10 along with Enviro 300 83, whilst First Ipswich unusually had Volvo B7RLE 69423/25 on the 60/61, see picture below, along with 69005, even stranger was 69422 on the 66 without guide wheels.