Open top buses in Weston-super-Mare
Encyclopedia
Open top buses in Weston-super-Mare
, Somerset, England, were introduced in 1950 and have run along the sea front every summer since. The current route runs from Weston-super-Mare railway station
to Sand Bay
and is operated by First Somerset and Avon.
. It then follows a cliff-top road along the lower slopes of Worlebury Hill
through Weston Woods to Kewstoke
village. It then runs along the sea front of Sand Bay to the terminus.
opened a tramway along the sea front from the Sanatorium at the south end of the Beach Lawns (today the site of Royal Sands) to the Old Pier, using a mixture of double-deck open top tram cars and open-sided "toast rack" single-deck cars. The Bristol Tramways and Carriage Company
started to operate buses in the town in 1910 and opened a garage on the sea front (on the site of today's Carlton Mansion) in 1928. It started a seasonal bus service between the Sanatorium and Old Pier on 19 May 1934 which deprived the tramway of much of its profits
and, three years later, it paid the Weston company to stop operating, which it did on 17 April 1937.
Buses continued to operate sea front services. These used conventional vehicles with roofs, although by this time some seaside resorts were operating similar services with open top bus
es. It was 1950 before open top buses appeared on service 152 (as it was known) between the Sanatorium and Old Pier. Three old vehicles of a type not usually found in the fleet had their roofs cut off and were painted cream and green. They proved popular with passengers but were replaced after a year or two year with more conventional Bristol buses which had their roofs removed.
The Bristol Tramways and Carriage Company was renamed the Bristol Omnibus Company
in 1957, 16 years after it had last operated any trams. Their old converted vehicles were replaced by new purpose-built buses in 1961, by which time some buses ran beyond the Sanatorium to Uphill
. These "convertible" buses had removable roofs that could be replaced in the winter to allow them to operate ordinary services. Although these buses carried the name "Bristol" on their sides, this was replaced a couple of years later with the coat of arms
of Weston-super-Mare. In 1966, when all the company's routes were renumbered, the sea front service became number 103.
A scenic tour started operating in 1972. This started from the Bus Station, ran along the sea front to the Old Pier, and then through Weston Woods to Sand Bay. It then came around the eastern end of Worlebury Hill to reach Upper Bristol Road and South Road, then back to the Bus Station. This became Tour A when a second, Tour B, was started the following year, offering a similar trip around the Mendip Hills
on the south side of the town. Tour C, which combined the two tours, was run in 1980 but this was the last year that Bristol Omnibus offered open top tours in Weston. These tours required more buses so two second-hand convertibles were acquired in 1973, and a vintage open top arrived for the following season. A further open-top vehicle, converted from an accident-damaged bus, arrived in 1976.
The widespread application of National Bus Company liveries from 1972 had little effect on the open top fleet although the shades used now were slightly different, but in 1976 the whole fleet except the vintage bus were turned out in varied colours that represented the defunct tramway systems in different towns where Bristol Omnibus operated. Each bus also had a picture representing that town painted on them and received Western names.
From 1979 the sea front route was extended to run beyond the Old Pier to Sand Bay as route 100, the whole route now being from Uphill to Sand Bay. Driver-operated buses that did not require conductors were introduced in 1980, at first with a variety of second-hand vehicles. This saw the reintroduction of a cream and green livery and a "Coastrider" brand name was soon added. This brand was retained in 1982 when a new cream livery appeared with a pale blue skirt along the bottom of the sides. The word "coast" was in large pale blue letters beneath the lower deck windows with "rider" in cream immediately beneath on the skirt.
1984 saw a new white and dark blue livery and the buses again carried names with appropriate pictures. Six new convertible buses were delivered in this livery but a few older buses were retained and repainted in the new livery.
Bus operations around Weston-super-Mare were divested to the new Badgerline company in 1986. The Coastrider buses received a blue and yellow version of the Badgerline livery but this was later replaced by a green and yellow livery which matched the main fleet of buses. A plain green livery reappeared for a while and the Coastrider brand reinstated, but First Group livery of grey with blue and pink relief is now used. Buses have also appeared from time to time in special advertising liveries for local attractions.
In the summer of 2000 Rexquote
operated a scenic tour with heritage open top vehicles from the Sea Front. This ran through Weston Woods to Sand Bay and then ran north of Worlebury Hill to Worle
and Banwell
before returning to the railway station and sea front.
and Brean Down
from 1977, which entailed occasional open top buses running from Weston-super-Mare to Burnham-on-Sea. It was renumbered as route 146 in 1981 and from 1983 it was combined with the Weston-super-Mare service to run through from Burnham to Sand Bay as service 151. Other scheduled services outside Weston have included various routes around Cheddar
including Park and Ride
services and a "Topless-Stopless" service from the holiday camps at Brean to Cheddar Gorge. First Somerset and Avon have now ceased operating open top services except for one bus from Weston-super-Mare railway station to Sand Bay. The open top bus service in Cheddar Gorge continues for visitors but is provided by Longleat Enterprises in conjunction with their caves and attractions.
Special services have often seen the buses carrying victorious sports stars such as Robin Cousins
in Bristol, and the England cricket team around London following the The Ashes
victory in 2005. Other uses have been as grandstand
s at the Epsom Derby
or for charity collections in local carnivals and at Christmas.
using old buses acquired that year with the takeover of Cheltenham
District Traction. They had AEC Regent III
chassis with Weymann
bodywork. Following the success of the first year's operation, four buses that were more in keeping with the rest of the local fleet were converted. These had Bristol
K chassis with 5-cylinder Gardner engines and Bristol bodies.
The first buses built new as open top vehicles arrived in 1961. They were built on Bristol Lodekka
chassis with 60-seat ECW convertible bodies – that is with detachable roofs so that they could operate as conventional buses during the winter. Most Lodekkas in the fleet were the FLF type, but these were the shorter FS model fitted with 6-cylinder Gardner engines. Two more convertible Lodekkas were purchased secondhand from Crosville Motor Services
company. These were the LD model fitted with 6-cylinder Bristol engines, two years older than the FSs. They had 60-seat ECW bodies with a conductor-operated door, which made then a more attractive proposition for winter services than the FSs with their open platform. A final Lodekka joined the fleet in 1976, this time an FLF. Its 70-seat body had its roof removed following a collision with a low bridge in Bristol. Like the LDs, it was fitted with a 6-cylnder Bristol engine but had a power-operated door at the front instead of the rear entrances on the earlier buses.
A 'new' Bristol K5G appeared in 1974. It was fitted with a 59-seat Eastern Coach Works
(ECW) body and had been built in 1941 for the Bristol Tramways fleet. In 1954 it had been sold to Brighton and Hove where it was converted to an open top. In 1965 it was sold to Thomas Brothers in Port Talbot
and named "The Sandfields Belle". In 1969 it was sold back to Bristol Omnibus and was put in store until returned to service at Weston-super-Mare in 1974. It operated alongside the Lodekkas in cream livery that year and again in 1978 and 1979. It also appeared on television, including an episode of the Shoestring detective series, when some criminals met on the top deck as it drove along the Sea Front. In 1979 it was placed in the hands of a preservation group but returned to Bristol Omnibus and then on to Badgerline who put it to work on the city tour in Bath for several years where it carried the name "Prince Bladud
". It has now returned to preservation.
When Rexquote operated their vintage open top tour in 2000 they used Bristol Lodekkas, this time the LDL model (a longer version of the LD) with a Gardner engine and 70-seat ECW body. They had been built in 1957 and converted to open top by Western National
for services in Cornwall
. They wore a cream and green livery and retained the Sea Dog names bestowed by Western National.
buses of the Leyland Atlantean
PDR1/2 type with low-height Charles H. Roe
bodies, originally delivered to the King Alfred Motor Services in Winchester
. The final Atlantean was a PDR1/1 type with a 76-seat Weymann body obtained from Maidstone and District
; the handle for changing the destination display was inconveniently located and so it tended to stay on one route and in later years had a permanent "open top service" destination painted on the front. At the same time as the Atlaneans were purchased, two Daimler Fleetline
s with Alexander
bodies were acquired from Midland Red
. After they had been replaced at Weston-super-Mare they moved to Bristol to operate the city tour. The first conversion was tested in 1979 and summertime driver-only operation started the following year.
The first Bristol VR
Ts were two convertible buses with 74-seat ECW convertible bodies, but after just one season at Weston-super-Mare, when they operated in their old cream and green Southern Vectis
livery, they were transferred to Bath to operate a new city tour. Other buses from Weston have operated the Bath tour, and buses from Bath have occasionally been pressed into service at Weston. New purpose-built Leyland Olympian
buses with 76-seat C.H. Roe convertible bodies were purchased in 1984. A more modern Olympian was transferred from the Bath fleet when the operation of the city tour ceased. It was converted to open top after a low-bridge accident and has a 76-seat Northern Counties Palatine 2 body.
Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare is a seaside resort, town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, which is within the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It is located on the Bristol Channel coast, south west of Bristol, spanning the coast between the bounding high ground of Worlebury...
, Somerset, England, were introduced in 1950 and have run along the sea front every summer since. The current route runs from Weston-super-Mare railway station
Weston-super-Mare railway station
Weston-super-Mare railway station serves the town of Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, England. It is situated on a loop off the main Bristol to Taunton Line....
to Sand Bay
Sand Bay
Sand Bay is a strip of coast in North Somerset bordered to the south by Worlebury Hill and to the north by Middle Hope and Sand Point. It lies north of the seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare, and across the Bristol Channel from South Wales. It is adjacent to the village of Kewstoke.The north end...
and is operated by First Somerset and Avon.
Current route
The route, which carries the number 1, operates from the railway station, through the centre of Weston-super-Mare to the sea front. Here it turns northwards and runs alongside the promenade past the Grand Pier to Birnbeck PierBirnbeck Pier
Birnbeck Pier is a pier in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, England. It is situated on the Bristol Channel approximately south west of Bristol...
. It then follows a cliff-top road along the lower slopes of Worlebury Hill
Worlebury Hill
Worlebury Hill is the name given to an upland area lying between the flatlands of Weston-super-Mare and the Kewstoke area of North Somerset, England. Worlebury Hill's rises from sea level to its highest point of , and the western end of the hill forms a peninsula, jutting out into the Bristol...
through Weston Woods to Kewstoke
Kewstoke
Kewstoke is a civil parish and village in Somerset, England, within the unitary authority of North Somerset, located next to the strip of coast called Sand Bay...
village. It then runs along the sea front of Sand Bay to the terminus.
History
On 13 May 1902, the Weston-super-Mare TramwaysWeston-super-Mare Tramways
The Weston-super-Mare Tramways were the electric street tramways of the seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, England. It operated a fleet of up to 16 standard gauge single- and double-deck tramcars on routes totalling to Birnbeck Pier, The Sanatorium and Locking Road...
opened a tramway along the sea front from the Sanatorium at the south end of the Beach Lawns (today the site of Royal Sands) to the Old Pier, using a mixture of double-deck open top tram cars and open-sided "toast rack" single-deck cars. The Bristol Tramways and Carriage Company
Bristol Omnibus Company
The Bristol Omnibus Company is the former name of the dominant bus operator in Bristol, one of the oldest bus companies in the United Kingdom. The company once ran buses over a wide area of Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire and neighbouring counties. The name was in operational use until 1985...
started to operate buses in the town in 1910 and opened a garage on the sea front (on the site of today's Carlton Mansion) in 1928. It started a seasonal bus service between the Sanatorium and Old Pier on 19 May 1934 which deprived the tramway of much of its profits
Profit (economics)
In economics, the term profit has two related but distinct meanings. Normal profit represents the total opportunity costs of a venture to an entrepreneur or investor, whilst economic profit In economics, the term profit has two related but distinct meanings. Normal profit represents the total...
and, three years later, it paid the Weston company to stop operating, which it did on 17 April 1937.
Buses continued to operate sea front services. These used conventional vehicles with roofs, although by this time some seaside resorts were operating similar services with open top bus
Open top bus
An open top bus is a bus, usually but not exclusively a double-decker bus, where all or part of the roof has been removed to enable enjoyment of fresh air and uninterrupted views.-Usage:...
es. It was 1950 before open top buses appeared on service 152 (as it was known) between the Sanatorium and Old Pier. Three old vehicles of a type not usually found in the fleet had their roofs cut off and were painted cream and green. They proved popular with passengers but were replaced after a year or two year with more conventional Bristol buses which had their roofs removed.
The Bristol Tramways and Carriage Company was renamed the Bristol Omnibus Company
Bristol Omnibus Company
The Bristol Omnibus Company is the former name of the dominant bus operator in Bristol, one of the oldest bus companies in the United Kingdom. The company once ran buses over a wide area of Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire and neighbouring counties. The name was in operational use until 1985...
in 1957, 16 years after it had last operated any trams. Their old converted vehicles were replaced by new purpose-built buses in 1961, by which time some buses ran beyond the Sanatorium to Uphill
Uphill
Uphill is a village on the edge of Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, England.-History:There is evidence of a port at Uphill since Roman times, probably for the export of lead from the Mendip Hills...
. These "convertible" buses had removable roofs that could be replaced in the winter to allow them to operate ordinary services. Although these buses carried the name "Bristol" on their sides, this was replaced a couple of years later with the coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
of Weston-super-Mare. In 1966, when all the company's routes were renumbered, the sea front service became number 103.
A scenic tour started operating in 1972. This started from the Bus Station, ran along the sea front to the Old Pier, and then through Weston Woods to Sand Bay. It then came around the eastern end of Worlebury Hill to reach Upper Bristol Road and South Road, then back to the Bus Station. This became Tour A when a second, Tour B, was started the following year, offering a similar trip around the Mendip Hills
Mendip Hills
The Mendip Hills is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running east to west between Weston-super-Mare and Frome, the hills overlook the Somerset Levels to the south and the Avon Valley to the north...
on the south side of the town. Tour C, which combined the two tours, was run in 1980 but this was the last year that Bristol Omnibus offered open top tours in Weston. These tours required more buses so two second-hand convertibles were acquired in 1973, and a vintage open top arrived for the following season. A further open-top vehicle, converted from an accident-damaged bus, arrived in 1976.
The widespread application of National Bus Company liveries from 1972 had little effect on the open top fleet although the shades used now were slightly different, but in 1976 the whole fleet except the vintage bus were turned out in varied colours that represented the defunct tramway systems in different towns where Bristol Omnibus operated. Each bus also had a picture representing that town painted on them and received Western names.
| Bus | Name | Colour | Picture | Representing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7900 | Western Challenger | Dark blue | Concorde Concorde Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation... |
Bristol Bristol Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007... |
| 8576 | Western Pioneer | Brown | Gloster Gladiator Gloster Gladiator The Gloster Gladiator was a British-built biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s. It was the RAF's last biplane fighter aircraft and was rendered obsolete by newer monoplane designs even as it... |
Gloucester Gloucester Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham.... |
| 8577 | Western Conqueror | Dark red | City of Truro GWR 3700 Class 3440 City of Truro Number 3440 City Of Truro is a Great Western Railway 3700 Class 4-4-0 locomotive, designed by George Jackson Churchward and built at the GWR Swindon Works in 1903. . It is one of the contenders for the first steam locomotive to travel in excess of... |
Swindon Swindon Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east... |
| 8578 | Western Grandeur | Light blue | Royal Crescent Royal Crescent The Royal Crescent is a residential road of 30 houses laid out in a crescent in the city of Bath, England. Designed by the architect John Wood the Younger and built between 1767 and 1774, it is among the greatest examples of Georgian architecture to be found in the United Kingdom and is a grade I... |
Bath |
| 8579 | Western Superior | Dark blue | Clifton Suspension Bridge Clifton Suspension Bridge Brunel died in 1859, without seeing the completion of the bridge. Brunel's colleagues in the Institution of Civil Engineers felt that completion of the Bridge would be a fitting memorial, and started to raise new funds... |
Bristol Bristol Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007... |
| 8580 | Western Splendour | Poppy red | Grand Pier | Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare is a seaside resort, town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, which is within the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It is located on the Bristol Channel coast, south west of Bristol, spanning the coast between the bounding high ground of Worlebury... |
| 8581 | Western Winner | Dark red | Gold Cup Cheltenham Gold Cup The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt chase in the United Kingdom which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 miles and 2½ furlongs , and during its running there are twenty-two fences to be jumped... |
Cheltenham Cheltenham Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held... |
From 1979 the sea front route was extended to run beyond the Old Pier to Sand Bay as route 100, the whole route now being from Uphill to Sand Bay. Driver-operated buses that did not require conductors were introduced in 1980, at first with a variety of second-hand vehicles. This saw the reintroduction of a cream and green livery and a "Coastrider" brand name was soon added. This brand was retained in 1982 when a new cream livery appeared with a pale blue skirt along the bottom of the sides. The word "coast" was in large pale blue letters beneath the lower deck windows with "rider" in cream immediately beneath on the skirt.
1984 saw a new white and dark blue livery and the buses again carried names with appropriate pictures. Six new convertible buses were delivered in this livery but a few older buses were retained and repainted in the new livery.
| Bus | Name |
|---|---|
| 8602 | Neptune's Chariot |
| 8604 | Moby Dick |
| 8609 | Sea Witch |
| 8610 | Viking |
| 8611 | The Jolly Pirate |
| 8612 | Mermaid |
| 8613 | Sea Serpent |
| 8614 | The Flying Dutchman |
| 8619 | Octopussy |
Bus operations around Weston-super-Mare were divested to the new Badgerline company in 1986. The Coastrider buses received a blue and yellow version of the Badgerline livery but this was later replaced by a green and yellow livery which matched the main fleet of buses. A plain green livery reappeared for a while and the Coastrider brand reinstated, but First Group livery of grey with blue and pink relief is now used. Buses have also appeared from time to time in special advertising liveries for local attractions.
In the summer of 2000 Rexquote
Quantock Motor Services
Quantock Motor Services is a privately owned company based in Bishops Lydeard, Somerset, England. that operates a small number of bus services around Minehead and Taunton under contract to Somerset County Council, and one commercial route and rural tourist bus services around Exmoor. Much of its...
operated a scenic tour with heritage open top vehicles from the Sea Front. This ran through Weston Woods to Sand Bay and then ran north of Worlebury Hill to Worle
Worle
Worle is a village in North Somerset that is now totally absorbed by the seaside town of Weston-super-Mare. Despite this, Worle pre-dates Weston and was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. In the book, it is said that Worle was owned by Walter of Douai, and consisted of and valued at 6.5...
and Banwell
Banwell
Banwell is a village and civil parish on the River Banwell in the North Somerset district of Somerset, England. Its population was 2,923 according to the 2001 census.-History:...
before returning to the railway station and sea front.
Beyond Weston-super-Mare
A service 137 operated between Burnham-on-SeaBurnham-on-Sea
Burnham-on-Sea is a town in Somerset, England, at the mouth of the River Parrett and Bridgwater Bay. Burnham was a small village until the late 18th century, when it began to grow because of its popularity as a seaside resort. It forms part of the parish of Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge...
and Brean Down
Brean Down
Brean Down is a promontory off the coast of Somerset standing high and extending into the Bristol Channel at the eastern end of Bridgwater Bay between Weston-super-Mare and Burnham-on-Sea....
from 1977, which entailed occasional open top buses running from Weston-super-Mare to Burnham-on-Sea. It was renumbered as route 146 in 1981 and from 1983 it was combined with the Weston-super-Mare service to run through from Burnham to Sand Bay as service 151. Other scheduled services outside Weston have included various routes around Cheddar
Cheddar
Cheddar is a large village and civil parish in the Sedgemoor district of the English county of Somerset. It is situated on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills, north-west of Wells. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Nyland and Bradley Cross...
including Park and Ride
Park and ride
Park and ride facilities are car parks with connections to public transport that allow commuters and other people wishing to travel into city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system , or carpool for the rest of their trip...
services and a "Topless-Stopless" service from the holiday camps at Brean to Cheddar Gorge. First Somerset and Avon have now ceased operating open top services except for one bus from Weston-super-Mare railway station to Sand Bay. The open top bus service in Cheddar Gorge continues for visitors but is provided by Longleat Enterprises in conjunction with their caves and attractions.
Special services have often seen the buses carrying victorious sports stars such as Robin Cousins
Robin Cousins
Robert "Robin" Cousins is a British retired competitive figure skater. He is the 1980 Olympic Champion, the 1980 European champion, a three-time World medalist and four-time British national champion. He later starred in ice shows and also produced his own...
in Bristol, and the England cricket team around London following the The Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
victory in 2005. Other uses have been as grandstand
Grandstand
A grandstand is a large and normally permanent structure for seating spectators, most often at a racetrack. This includes both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium in that it does not wrap all or most of the way...
s at the Epsom Derby
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
or for charity collections in local carnivals and at Christmas.
Crew operated
The first three buses were converted in 1950 at the company's workshops in BristolBristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
using old buses acquired that year with the takeover of Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
District Traction. They had AEC Regent III
AEC Regent III
The AEC Regent III was a type of double-decker bus chassis manufactured by AEC.It was mainly built for operation outside London and overseas. It could be fitted with AEC's 9.6-litre diesel engine , 'Wilson' preselective epicyclic gearbox The AEC Regent III (also known as Regent 3 or Regent Mark...
chassis with Weymann
Metro Cammell Weymann
Metro Cammell Weymann was once a major player in transportation manufacturing in the UK and Europe. It was formed in 1932 by Weymann Motor Bodies Ltd and Metro Cammell's bus bodybuilding division to produce bus bodies....
bodywork. Following the success of the first year's operation, four buses that were more in keeping with the rest of the local fleet were converted. These had Bristol
Bristol Commercial Vehicles
Bristol Commercial Vehicles was a vehicle manufacturer of in Bristol, England. Most production was of buses but trucks and railbus chassis were also built....
K chassis with 5-cylinder Gardner engines and Bristol bodies.
The first buses built new as open top vehicles arrived in 1961. They were built on Bristol Lodekka
Bristol Lodekka
The Bristol Lodekka was a low-height double-decker bus built by Bristol Commercial Vehicles in England.Bristol manufactured over 5,200 Lodekkas from 1949 to 1968, as a standard double-deck vehicle for the UK state-owned bus sector. With all examples bodied by Eastern Coach Works in Lowestoft, they...
chassis with 60-seat ECW convertible bodies – that is with detachable roofs so that they could operate as conventional buses during the winter. Most Lodekkas in the fleet were the FLF type, but these were the shorter FS model fitted with 6-cylinder Gardner engines. Two more convertible Lodekkas were purchased secondhand from Crosville Motor Services
Crosville Motor Services
Crosville Motor Services was a bus operator running within the north west of England and north and mid Wales.-History:The company was formed as Crosville Motor Company Limited on 27 October 1906 in Chester, by George Crosland Taylor and his French business associate Georges de Ville, with the...
company. These were the LD model fitted with 6-cylinder Bristol engines, two years older than the FSs. They had 60-seat ECW bodies with a conductor-operated door, which made then a more attractive proposition for winter services than the FSs with their open platform. A final Lodekka joined the fleet in 1976, this time an FLF. Its 70-seat body had its roof removed following a collision with a low bridge in Bristol. Like the LDs, it was fitted with a 6-cylnder Bristol engine but had a power-operated door at the front instead of the rear entrances on the earlier buses.
A 'new' Bristol K5G appeared in 1974. It was fitted with a 59-seat Eastern Coach Works
Eastern Coach Works
Eastern Coach Works Ltd was a bus and railbus body building company based in Lowestoft, England.-History:The company can trace its roots back to 1912, when United Automobile Services was founded in the town to run bus services. United began a coach building business at the Lowestoft site in 1920...
(ECW) body and had been built in 1941 for the Bristol Tramways fleet. In 1954 it had been sold to Brighton and Hove where it was converted to an open top. In 1965 it was sold to Thomas Brothers in Port Talbot
Port Talbot
Port Talbot is a town in Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It had a population of 35,633 in 2001.-History:Port Talbot grew out of the original small port and market town of Aberafan , which belonged to the medieval Lords of Afan. The area of the parish of Margam lying on the west bank of the lower Afan...
and named "The Sandfields Belle". In 1969 it was sold back to Bristol Omnibus and was put in store until returned to service at Weston-super-Mare in 1974. It operated alongside the Lodekkas in cream livery that year and again in 1978 and 1979. It also appeared on television, including an episode of the Shoestring detective series, when some criminals met on the top deck as it drove along the Sea Front. In 1979 it was placed in the hands of a preservation group but returned to Bristol Omnibus and then on to Badgerline who put it to work on the city tour in Bath for several years where it carried the name "Prince Bladud
Bladud
Bladud or Blaiddyd was a legendary king of the Britons, for whose existence there is no historical evidence. He is first mentioned in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, which describes him as the son of King Rud Hud Hudibras, and the tenth ruler in line from the first King, Brutus....
". It has now returned to preservation.
When Rexquote operated their vintage open top tour in 2000 they used Bristol Lodekkas, this time the LDL model (a longer version of the LD) with a Gardner engine and 70-seat ECW body. They had been built in 1957 and converted to open top by Western National
Western National
Western National was a bus operating company in South West England from 1929 to the 1990s.-Early history:Western National Omnibus Company Ltd started in 1929 as a joint venture between the Great Western Railway and the National Omnibus & Transport Company...
for services in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
. They wore a cream and green livery and retained the Sea Dog names bestowed by Western National.
| Fleet | Registration | Chassis | At Weston | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3610 | DG 9822 | AEC Regent | 1950–1951 | |
| 3611 | BAD 27 | AEC Regent | 1950–1952 | |
| 3612 | BAD 28 | AEC Regent | 1950–1952 | |
| 3613 | FHT 263 | Bristol K5G | 1951–1961 | |
| 3614 | GL 6612 | Bristol K5G | 1952–1961 | |
| 3615 | GL 6614 | Bristol K5G | 1953?-1961 | |
| 3616 | GL 6611 | Bristol K5G | 1953–1961 | |
| 7900 | 841 SHW | Bristol FLF6B | 1976–1982 | Now with Chepstow Classic Buses |
| 8576 | 866 NHT | Bristol FS6G | 1961–1980 | Now XLS 228A, working for Dreadnought Coaches, Alnwick Alnwick Alnwick is a small market town in north Northumberland, England. The town's population was just over 8000 at the time of the 2001 census and Alnwick's district population was 31,029.... |
| 8577 | 867 NHT | Bristol FS6G | 1961–1980 | |
| 8578 | 868 NHT | Bristol FS6G | 1961–1981 | Preserved in Bristol |
| 8579 | 869 NHT | Bristol FS6G | 1961–1979 | Preserved in Bath |
| 8580 | 626 HFM | Bristol LD6B | 1973-1979? | Last reported for sale in Lydney in 2000 |
| 8581 | 627 HFM | Bristol LD6B | 1973–1980 | Now with Cumbria Classic Coaches, Kirkby Stephen |
| 8583 | GHT 127 | Bristol K5G | 1974–1979 | Preserved by the Bristol Vintage Bus Group |
| (Rexquote) | VDV 752 | Bristol LDL6BG | 2000 | Admiral Boscawen |
| (Rexquote) | VDV 753 | Bristol LDL6BG | 2000 | Sir Humphrey Davey |
Driver operated
The first driver-only open top buses were converted from secondhand vehicles from a variety of sources. Three of them were Hants and DorsetHants & Dorset Motor Services
Hants & Dorset Motor Services Ltd was a stage carriage bus service operator in southern England, between 1920 and 1983.-Early history:The Bournemouth & District Motor Services Ltd was incorporated in 1916. In 1920, a change of name to Hants & Dorset reflected the wider aspirations of its owners...
buses of the Leyland Atlantean
Leyland Atlantean
The Leyland Atlantean is a model of double-decker bus built by Leyland in the United Kingdom from 1958 to 1986....
PDR1/2 type with low-height Charles H. Roe
Charles H. Roe
Charles H. Roe Ltd. was a Yorkshire coachbuilding company. It was for most of its life based at Crossgates Carriage Works, in Leeds.In 1947 it was taken over by Park Royal Vehicles. Two years later, along with its parent, it became part of Associated Commercial Vehicles in 1949, which was merged...
bodies, originally delivered to the King Alfred Motor Services in Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
. The final Atlantean was a PDR1/1 type with a 76-seat Weymann body obtained from Maidstone and District
Maidstone & District Motor Services Ltd
Maidstone & District Motor Services Ltd was a bus company based in Maidstone, Kent. The company operated bus and coach services in Mid and West Kent and East Sussex from 1911 until 1998. The company's surviving operations were absorbed into Arriva Southern Counties.-Early years:In 1908 a hired...
; the handle for changing the destination display was inconveniently located and so it tended to stay on one route and in later years had a permanent "open top service" destination painted on the front. At the same time as the Atlaneans were purchased, two Daimler Fleetline
Daimler Fleetline
The Daimler Fleetline is a rear-engined double-decker bus chassis built between 1960 and 1973 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England, and from 1973 until 1980 in Farington, Lancashire, England. However, the last complete vehicle did not enter service until 1983...
s with Alexander
Walter Alexander Coachbuilders
Walter Alexander Coachbuilders was a Scottish bus coachbuilder and operater based in Falkirk.-History:Walter Alexander, notice a lack expasion by the Falkirk and District Tramways Company's especially in to Grangemouth which never hdd a tram line. In 1913 Alexander's Motor Service was created to...
bodies were acquired from Midland Red
Midland Red
Midland Red was a bus company which operated in the English Midlands from 1905 to 1981. It was the trading name used by the Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Company , which was renamed Midland Red Omnibus Company in 1974...
. After they had been replaced at Weston-super-Mare they moved to Bristol to operate the city tour. The first conversion was tested in 1979 and summertime driver-only operation started the following year.
The first Bristol VR
Bristol VR
The Bristol VR was Bristol's rear-engined bus chassis, designed as a competitor to the Leyland Atlantean and Daimler Fleetline.-Development:...
Ts were two convertible buses with 74-seat ECW convertible bodies, but after just one season at Weston-super-Mare, when they operated in their old cream and green Southern Vectis
Southern Vectis
The Southern Vectis Omnibus Company Limited is the dominant bus operator on the Isle of Wight. It was purchased by the Go-Ahead Group in 2005 and is a part of the company's Go South Coast division. The firm employs 299 staff, with 105 single deck, double deck and open-top buses and coaches...
livery, they were transferred to Bath to operate a new city tour. Other buses from Weston have operated the Bath tour, and buses from Bath have occasionally been pressed into service at Weston. New purpose-built Leyland Olympian
Leyland Olympian
The Leyland Olympian was a double-decker bus built by British Leyland/Leyland Bus in the United Kingdom from 1980 to 1993. It was the last Leyland bus model in production before the demise of Leyland Bus.-Construction:...
buses with 76-seat C.H. Roe convertible bodies were purchased in 1984. A more modern Olympian was transferred from the Bath fleet when the operation of the city tour ceased. It was converted to open top after a low-bridge accident and has a 76-seat Northern Counties Palatine 2 body.
| Fleet | Registration | Chassis | At Weston | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8600 | HOR 592E | Leyland Atlantean | 1979-? | |
| 8601 | RTH 932S | Bristol VRT | 1997 only | |
| 8602 | HOR 590E | Leyland Atlantean | 1980-? | Preserved by the Friends of King Alfred's Buses |
| 8603 | HOR 589E | Leyland Atlantean | 1980–1983 | Preserved by the Friends of King Alfred's Buses |
| 8604 | 612 UKM | Leyland Atlantean | 1981–1992 | |
| 8605 | LHA 623F | Daimler Fleetline | 1980–1983 | |
| 8606 | LHA 615F | Daimler Fleetline | 1981–1983 | |
| 8607 | UFX 859S | Bristol VRT | 1983 only | |
| 8608 | UFX 860S | Bristol VRT | 1983 only | Preserved in Gosport Gosport Gosport is a town, district and borough situated on the south coast of England, within the county of Hampshire. It has approximately 80,000 permanent residents with a further 5,000-10,000 during the summer months... |
| 8609 | A809 THW | Leyland Olympian | 1984-? | Now with First Devon and Cornwall |
| 8610 | A810 THW | Leyland Olympian | 1984-? | Now with First Devon and Cornwall |
| 8611 | A811 THW | Leyland Olympian | 1984-? | Now with First Devon and Cornwall |
| 8612 | A812 THW | Leyland Olympian | 1984-? | Later renumbered 39912 |
| 8613 | A813 THW | Leyland Olympian | 1984-? | Later renumbered 39913, now with First Devon and Cornwall |
| 8614 | A814 THW | Leyland Olympian | 1984-? | |
| 8617 | JHW 109P | Bristol VRT | 1997-? | |
| 8618 | JHW 112P | Bristol VRT | 1985–1994 | |
| 8619 | JHW 114P | Bristol VRT | 1985–1999 | |
| 8622 | LEU 263P | Bristol VRT | 1993–1999 | Preserved in Weston-super-Mare |
| 39920 | S650 LEU | Volvo Olympian | 2005 to date |
See also
- Open top buses in the United KingdomOpen top buses in the United KingdomOpen top buses, or open toppers, are used for a variety of reasons in the United Kingdom, mainly for sightseeing and seasonal services. Open top buses are also often exported to other countries, to give the impression of the 'traditional British bus', i.e...
- Open top buses in TorbayOpen top buses in TorbayDevon General first operated open top buses in Torbay in 1919 but reintroduced open top buses on tourist routes in 1955. New buses were introduced in 1961 which were known as 'Sea Dogs' because of the names they were given, but these were later replaced by those of 'Warships'.-History:A service of...
- Open top buses in Torbay