NEWS ROUND UP . . .

At First

First announced in the second week of February 2023 that it had agreed to acquire the business of Ensignbus, Purfleet, with the exception of Ensign’s Heritage Fleet. The deal was completed on 10th March 2023. The Ensignbus identity will be retained by First.

First Cymru: New for TransCymru T1 (CarmarthenAberystwyth) are Yutong E12s 65125-32 (CE72 YOJ-P/R).

First Eastern Counties: The last Tridents are due for withdrawal during Spring 2023. All are at Norwich.

First Essex: New at Hadleigh are Wright StreetLite Max 63454-66 (MC72 UXS-Y, UYA/B/D/F). All of the micro hybrid Volvo B7RLE/Wrights at Colchester are now withdrawn. 66801 (MX05 CCJ) was the last. Trident operation finished in October, with ALX400 bodied 33383 (LK53 EZC) at Basildon. However, the very last Trident to remain in stock was Westcliff of Sea red/cream heritage liveried President bodied 33191 (LT52 XAB) at Hadleigh. Happily, this was saved for preservation.

First Glasgow: New BYD/ADL Enviro 400EVs are 3845769 (LG72 DXB-F/H/J-P), 38487-92 (LG72 EAW/-Y, EBA/ C/D).

First Hampshire & Dorset: Southampton depot was closed after 19/2/23. This was the former Southampton City Transport and had latterly been branded as City Red. Go-Ahead owned Bluestar mostly filled the void. The First Solent operation at Fareham and Portsmouth continues, with Fareham based buses still reaching Southampton on the X4 and X5 services. Prior to its closure, City Red received

Arriva Developments

Arriva Cymru: New are Volvo B8RLE/MCV EvoRas 3181-92 (BV72 KLE/K-M/O/P/S/U/ X/Z, KME, KLA). They are for routes 5/C/D (Llandudno-Bangor-Caernarfon). The VDL SB200/Wright Commander is now extinct in service here, although two remain as driver trainers.

Arriva Midlands: The closure of Oswestry depot was announced on 27/2/23. Due to happen later in 2023. Work and staff will move to Shrewsbury and Wrexham, with five tendered services handed back to Shropshire Council. Arriva North East: Further to the closure of Jesmond depot in Newcastle, this happened on 30/10/22. Although most work moved to Ashington and Blyth, a local outstation was established at the Walkergate depot of

Wright StreetDecks 35112/16/64 (SO15 CUV, CVA, SK65 PWJ) from First West of England.

First Potteries: The first brand new double deckers here for 33 years are 12 Wright StreetDeck Carbonliners, 10 of which carry a blue livery for ‘Constellation’ route 25 (Hanley-Keele University). They are 35939-48 (BN72 TTX-Z, TUA/H/J/O/P/U/V). Their ancestors were allLeyland Olympians of the G-XRE batch.

First West of England: New metrobus route m4 (Cribbs Causeway-Bristol Parkway-University-Bristol City Centre) commenced on 22/1/23.

Somerset Passenger Solutions: In the early morning of 17/1/23, Wright StreetDeck 233 (SK19 FEH) overturned in icy conditions on the A39 Quantock Road near to Bridgwater. 54 people on board sustained minor injuries. The bus was on a scheduled staff shuttle to the construction site of Hinckley Point C Power Station.

Stagecoach. Subsequently, Arriva gave up its share of Cross-Pennine Link route 685 (Newcastle-Carlisle), with Stagecoach taking full operation of that route. Meanwhile, Jesmond has been used for vehicle storage.

Arriva North West: The closure of the depots at Macclesfield and Winsford was announced on 27/2/23. This should happen in April 2023, after employee consultation. D&G Bus has registered some replacement bus services in these areas.

Arriva Southern Counties: ADL/E400 6528 (YX17 NFF) has received classic dark green/cream Maidstone & District livery to commemorate 100 years of Gillingham depot. Wright Gemini 2DL integrals are being received from Arriva London.

Stagecoach Developments

Stagecoach East: Outstations closed due to the service cuts after 29/10/22 were Ely, March and Holbeach Drove. Ely’s work and staff moved to Stephensons, operating from the nearby Greys depot. Ely had been a full depot at one time, located on Witchford Industrial Estate. It and Greys had previously both been located on London Road, Ely, just doors apart. March was a former full depot and its garage building remained largely unaltered from its Eastern Counties days. Holbeach Drove was at the Fowlers bus depot. Both March and Holbeach Drove’s remaining work moved to Peterborough. All of the ex London Scania Omnicity ‘deckers have relocated to Stagecoach South East – 15074/75/78/81/83/85/87/89/90/9

2 (LX09 AEY/Z, AFF/N/U/Y, AGO/ V/Y, AHA).

Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire: The new 319 Trainlink

Municipal Meanderings

Cardiff Bus: On lease from Mistral are ADL/E400 MMCs 314-317 (YX72 OLJ/ K/M/N). Ex Yellow Buses Bournemouth are ADL/E400 MMCs 321-323 (SN65 OHZ, OJA/B).

Newport Transport: ADL/E400 401 (SN62 AOO) has received a “street art” based livery, commissioned by artist Tee2Sugars. It celebrates art, culture and history of Newport.

Reading Buses: (Thames Valley):

Following the serious fire in October 2022; Slough Bus Station partially reopened in February 2023, but only for bus parking. In the interim, Thames Valley had used the nearby First depot. Work was ongoing to restore offices, staff facilities and the shop, but customers had to continue to use temporary on street bus stops. The Bus service between Skelmersdale and Kirkby began in January 2023. The 319 is an express route connecting with trains at Kirkby and will also service Merseyrail’s new Headbolt Lane station when that opens during 2023. Two ex ‘Gold’ ADL/Enviro 300s are used, in a black/yellow livery – 27261/70 (SN65 OCZ, ODK). Following Arriva’s announced withdrawal from west Cheshire, Stagecoach has registered route 84 (Chesster-Crewe), which has also been registered by D&G Bus.

Stagecoach Midlands: Gained a number of Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) local bus contracts from January 2023. This brings back this operator to the Birmingham area. Latterly, only route X20 had reached this conurbation – and only to Solihull. The new gains serve Coventry and east Birmingham. They are (in Birmingham) 41 (Queen Elizabeth Hospital-Headlands Hospital), 169 (Kings Heath-Shirley), A9 (Kingshurst-Blyth Valley Park), 46 (Queen Elizabeth Hospital-Kings Heath), 71 (Chelmsley Wood-Sutton

Station is owned by Slough Borough Council. An 18 year old male was arrested and bailed by Thames Valley Police in connection with the above incident. (Editor’s note: Would it not be better to keep buses “locked up in sheds and yards” when not in use ? Leaving unsecured buses overnight in an unsecured town centre location is asking for trouble. Also see editorial).

Warrington’s Own Buses: The VDL SB120/Wright is now extinct here. Acquired ADL/E200s mostly replaced them.

Coldfield). In Coventry 7 (Pool Meadow-Brownshill Green), 51 (Pool Meadow-Arena Retail Park). NB: 7 is run by Stagecoach evenings and Sundays but continues with NX West Midlands the rest of the time.

Stagecoach North Scotland: New for services from Portree, Isle of Skye are Volvo B8RLE/MCV EvoRas 21389-98 (SJ72 HNCH/K-N), 39506/07 (SJ72 HNA/B). From 6/2/23, the Inverness city services were converted to electric bus operation, using 25 new Yutong E10s – 30101-15 (SG72 NAA/E/O/U, NBA/B/D-F/J-O), 30116-125 (SG72 NDC-F/J-L/N/O/U). Meanwhile, MacDuff has become a sub depot of Elgin.

Stagecoach South Wales: Blackwood (Penmain Road) depot closed after service on 4/2/23. Work moved to the neighbouring depots at Caerphilly and Cwmbran. There were no compulsory redundancies at Blackwood. This was the old Islwyn Borough Transport facility, acquired by Stagecoach in 2010.

Wellglade Wanderings

Wellglade Group MD Jeff Counsell retired in February 2023, after a nearly 50 year career in the bus industry, starting as an apprentice mechanic at Lancashire United Transport in 1974. His successor is Tom Morgan, latterly Commercial Director with Wellglade (Trent Barton, Notts & Derby, Kinchbus, TM Travel).

Notts & Derby: New are ADL/Enviro 400 MMCs 15-17 (SK72 CVY/Z, CWA) for Unibus.

Left: Stagecoach South Wales Blackwood bus depot, which is now closed. (Google).

NEWS ROUND UP . . .

Go Ahead Catch Up

Brighton & Hove: In the first week of February 2023, it was announced that Southdown PSV, Copthorne had been acquired by Go-Ahead and that B&H was to manage it.

East Yorkshire: ADL/Enviro 200 286 (YX11 CNN) has been withdrawn in bizarre circumstances. In the early hours of 18/1/23, it was parked at Anlaby Road depot, Hull when a brick wall partially collapsed onto the bus, causing extensive damage to the cab and front platform area.

Go North West has won the first two Transport for Greater Manchester Big Bus Franchises. They are for Bury And Oldham and gained from Diamond North West and Stagecoach respectively.

Go South Coast: (Bluestar): Following First’s departure from Southampton, Bluestar has expanded its network in this city with 6 new services and recruited 140 more staff. The new routes are: 10 (ex First 9) (City-Sholing); 13 (ex First 13) (City-Harefield); 14 (ex First 8) (City-Hedge End); 15 (ex First 6) (City-Hamble); 19 (ex First 3) (ThornhillLordshill); 20 (ex First 7) (City-Townhill Park). Transferred from Go North East for this extra work are Volvo B7TL/ Wright Geminis 6901-13 (LX06 EAY, EBA/C/D/F/G/J-P).

Transdev Talk

A new bus sponsorship has been offered to local businesses across the Transdev area. It follows a successful trial with John Lewis, in which high profile messaging was displayed on two Yorkshire Coastliner buses. This links with the “Transdev Treats” discount network at visitor, shopping and leisure attractions.

Harrogate Bus Company: BYD/ADL/200ev demonstrator LC71 EFE was on loan during 2022. It has been announced that route 36 (Harrogate-Ripon-Leeds) is to be electrified.

Keighley Bus Company: Volvo B10BLE/Wright Renown 1343 (V209 EBV) was withdrawn after it collided with the rear of a farm tractor trailer on the A629 at Utley on 7/3/23. The bus was running light at the time. The bus driver was seriously injured.

Rosso: Ex Nottingham City Transport are ADL/E200 B33F 761-66 (YX13 AEG/J-N) in yellow/orange Rochdale Runners livery.

Team Pennine: A full refurbishment of the depot in Elland has expanded facilities to include an ‘Academy’ training centre and customer service hub, plus an operational base for its expanding network of routes serving Calderdale.

Transdev Airport Services, West Drayton: This a new contractor for airside at London Heathrow Airport. It has new Volvo B8RLE/MCV EvoRa triple door (1 centre door is offside) saloons LF22 CAA/E/O/U/V/X, CBO/U/V/X/Y, CCA/D/E/J/N/O/U/V/X-Z, CDE/K/N/O. Reminiscent of some of the Leyland Nationals operated by British Airways in the 1970/80s.

Nx Notes

Touromo is a new brand encompassing the coach holiday and day trip market. It replaces the brands of Collesium Coaches, Lucketts Travel, Mortons Travel, Solent Tours, Stewarts Tours, Woods Tours and Worthing Coaches. The livery is dark blue with light blue/white markings.

Lucketts: New NX spec are Scania K410EB6/Caetano

Levante IIIS BV72 XEU/Z. Acquired from the closed Yellow Buses operation were Scania K410EB6/Caetano

Levante B052 (BV67 JZM), Scania K410EB6/Levante IIIs B061 (BU18 OTF), B062-064 (BF68 LCC/G/L), B101-104 (BV22 VSJ-M).

National Express Coaches: The Wandsworth base in London has been upgraded to a full depot. On the evening of 10/1/23 there was a serious crash involving a NX Scania K410EB6/Caetano Levante III on the M6 J2 near Coventry. The coach mounted the central reservation and struck a bridge support pillar. 12 people were injured.

NX West Midlands: A new depot opened at Perry Barr on 10/12/22, equipped to house a 100% electric bus fleet in the future. The new site has an allocation of 170 buses with 450 staff. It replaced the old facility, dating from 1932 which is to be redeveloped. New at Coventry are BYD/ADL/Enviro 400EVs E080-099 (LG72 EBM/P/U-X/Z. ECA/C-F/J/N, DVF/H/J-L), E100-E121 (LG72 DVM/P/R/T-Z,DWA/C-F/ J-N), E122-163 (LG72 DWO/P/U-Z, DXA-F/H/J-M/O/P/R-Z, DYA-D/F/H/J/M-P/S). Mercedes eCitaro demonstrator MB21 BUS was evaluated at Coventry in December 2022.There was strike action by drivers in late February/early March but this was resolved on 24/3/23, when a 16% pay increase was brokered. Engineers voted for industrial action over the same period, and a pay deal for them was agreed on 17/3/23.

State Of Independence

Aberfeldy Motor Services: This Scottish operator closed at the end of 2022, after 47 years. The owners decided to retire.

Ashford and St Peters Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Surrey, has new 8.9m ADL/Enviro 200 MMCs YX72

OJV/W. They work a shuttle linking the two hospital sites replacing minibuses and were supplied via Dawsongroup. Black Cat, Lincoln: Has taken over the Spalding town service on council retender from Brylaine of Boston.

Borders Buses: New at Gallasheils are ADL/Enviro 400 MMCs 12209/10 (YX72 OMK/L).

Cawthornes Travel, Anston: Took over ex Powellsbus service 3 (Rotherham circular) and ex First peak hours X74 (Sheffield Business Park) following the collapse of HCT Group.

Central Connect/Galleon Travel, Stansted: The outbase at Roydon has been replaced by a new site in Harlow. Centrebus: New for the Orbital in Leicester are Yutong E10s 850-855 (YD72 FFU-Z).

D&G Bus: Chaserider is operating new Telford & Wrekin Council sponsored service 100 ‘Express’. It links South Telford with industrial areas, Wellington and the Princess Royal Hospital. Interestingly, 100 Express does not serve Telford town centre. Replacements have been registered for Arriva routes 31(Northwich-Crewe), 37 (NorthwichSandbach/Crewe), 84 (Crewe-Chester) which are worked by the soon to close Arriva Winsford depot.

Delaine Buses, Bourne: ADL/Enviro 200 MMC AD23 DBL was the first 23 plate bus in the UK. It was delivered in January and entered service on 1st March.

Earnside Coaches, Glenfarg: This Perth and Kinross based operator closed on 31/3/23 – after 50 years of operation and its third generation of Rutherford family ownership.

Edinburgh Coach Lines: Has new 9.7m ADL/Enviro 200 MMC YX72 ONK, for its 13 bus service (LochendEdinburgh-Blackhall). The new Scottish rugby team coach is Volvo 9700 SJ72 HSD which is dark blue with the Scottish Rugby logo and ‘As One’ motto, plus Saltire flags. Edwards Brothers, Tiers Cross: Has sold its assets to Pembrokeshire County Council. This includes all vehicles, property, staff and routes. Edwards had been founded in 1946 as a garage and diversified into buses and coaches from 1960.

Ember Core, Edinburgh: New is Yutong (pantograph charging fitted) Tce12 SG72 NBY.

Ensignbus, Purfleet: This well known Essex operator and dealer agreed to be acquired by First, in the second week of February 2023. The purchase was concluded on Thursday 9th March 2023. Ensign is retaining its Heritage Fleet. Go Coach, Otford: The main depot is now at Swanley, in the old London Country bus garage. Otford is now an outstation.

Goodfellow, Thorne: Began local bus routes in October 2022 with South Yorks Council sponsored 84/A and 86/A in Thorne. Ex Hulleys of Baslow Dart SLF/Mini Pointer HW54 BUV was acquired for these.

Harris, Blackburn: The O licence was revoked in February 2023.

Highland Council: Brought some of its contracted local bus services in house, from 4/1/23. 6 new Volvo B8RLE/ MCV EvoRas (BV72 KKM-P/R/S) are being used, along with 6 ex RATP London Scania Omnicity ‘deckers (YT09 ZCN, YT59 RYG/H, SFN, SGZ, YR59 FYX), all in a white based livery.

Kev’s Coaches, Bromsgrove: Following the devastating depot fire in March 2022, which destroyed virtually all of its bus fleet, good news is the winning of a number of Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) local bus contracts for 2023.

LJ Edwards Coach Hire, Polegate suddenly ceased operations from 5/1/23. Edwards was the trading name of Ancass Ltd, which had been a management buyout in 2018. Fleet strength was 12. Ready Group subsequently acquired the LJ Edwards brand and digital assets. The LJ Edwards tour program for 2023 will thus continue under Readytours. No vehicles or other physical assets were acquired from LJ Edwards however, but some Ready Group liveried coaches have since appeared with LJ Edwards fleet names and some staff moved over.

M&H Coaches, Denbigh: Is operating new TrawsCymru service T8 (Corwen-Ruthin-Mold-Chester) on behalf of Transport for Wales (TfW). It is initially as a 12 month pilot. T8 provides an hourly daytime service Mon to Sat. Its predecessor service X1 only ran twice a day.

Maynes of Buckie: To celebrate 76 years of trading, Maynes has launched a new black livery and Legacy brand. The black reflects the livery of the taxis operated at the company’s inception. Irizar i6 N22 GSM was the first coach outshopped in the new scheme.

McGill’s: Offered interviews to Amazon employees threated with redundancy by the closure of the Amazon Gourock distribution centre. McGill’s identified them as having transferrable skills compatible with the bus industry. The new identities for the ex First businesses began to appear on buses from March 2023. They are Eastern Scottish (green/cream) and Midland Bluebird (blue/cream). Initially Eastern Scottish livery appeared on ex London ADL/Enviro 400s on routes X10/X10A (Glasgow-Stirling), 38 (Stirling-Edinburgh), X25 (Blackridge/ArmadaleLivingston/Edinburgh) , 26 (Livingston-Bathgate), while the Midland Bluebird identity is on Mercedes Citaros cascaded from within McGill’s group and for services UL, 54 (Stirling-University). A large number of buses acquired with the First Scotland East business were not used and were put into store at Bannockburn depot. New for Inverclyde services are Yutong E12s G5055-59 (SG23 OTL, OSU/X, OTU), Yutong E10s G5500-09 (SG23 OSA/E/J/K/B/F/M/C/D/L), Yutong E12s I5059-64 (SG23 OTM/N/R/Y/A/V), Yutong E12 J5065-85 (SG23 OSR, OTZ/P/S/W/X, OSN/O/P/V/W/Y/Z, OTC/D/E/F/H/J/K/B)

Reliance Bus Works, Stoke on Trent: On 9/1/23, the premises of this classic bus restorer were broken into and several buses vandalised. They included former Lancashire United Transport Guy Arab IV/Metro Cammell 534 RTB;

NEWS ROUND UP . . .

ex Alec Head Daimler Fleetline/MCW ‘DMS’ OJD 216R; ex First Potteries all Leyland Olympian G755 XRE; former Badgerline Freight Rover Sherpa/Dormobile ‘breadvan’ D583 EWS; an ex Malta AEC Mercury; former Eastern National Bristol SC4LK/ECW 604 JPU; a Harrington bodied AEC Reliance coach; an ex Routemaster Buses, Nantwich Dart SLF/ALX200; former Brutonian AEC Reliance/Plaxton Derwent CYA 181J. These all sustained broken windows and graffiti. And a staff member’s BMW car parked there was also damaged, along with loose stored spare parts and other items. Police were seeking 6 youths in connection with this incident. A Crowdfund Appeal for £20,000 was subsequently launched, with £12,000 being raised in the first 10 days. Reliance was founded in 2000 by a former employee of Knotty Bus & Coach, who had previously occupied the site. 534 RTB and D583 EWS were subsequently quickly repaired.

Sanders, Holt: Further new Volvo B8RLE/MCV EvoRas are 526-529 (BV72 KKA-D).

Solus Coaches, Tamworth: Has been sold to BBK Group. BBK already owns BM Coaches of Hayes and Gatwick Hoppa. A new livery for Solus is being introduced, along with an expansion into local bus work. Solus has been trading for 21 years.

Southdown PSV, Copthorne: Passed to Go-Ahead in the 1st of February 2023. It will be managed by Brighton & Hove. Southdown has a fleet of 30 buses, running nine mainstream local bus routes, plus a selection of school contracts in West Sussex, East Surrey and also to Westerham in Kent. Until 2016 a dealership was additionally owned, which subsequently became the independent Chartwell Bus and Coach Sales.

Stephensons of Essex: New is Scania N250UD/E400

MMC 621 (EU23 BZL) – the last of its combination to be produced. There were changes to the 24/24A SouthendSouthchurch routes from 13/2/23. The old 24 was withdrawn, with 24A being renumbered 24 and retaining

Tramway Update

Blackpool Transport: A report has been published into an incident at Cleveleys in November 2021, when a pedestrian was struck and killed by a tram on an uncontrolled foot crossing. The accident happened after dark on a reserved section of tram track, also known locally as the “tramroad”. The RAIB report stated that both the tram driver and pedestrian appeared to be “unaware of each other’s presence”. The angle of the crossing in relation to the tracks was also of concern as it could have deterred the deceased pedestrian from properly checking to his left, (which is from where the tram came) and the recommendation was that the operator reviewed their risk assessments on such matters.

Edinburgh Trams: The final piece of track for the 4.5 km Newhaven extension was laid (at Picardy Place) in December 2022. Services are due to commence during spring 2023.

Transport for Wales (TfW): For the Class 398 Stadler Citylink tram trains, there is a new maintenance depot at Taff’s Well. 25kv AC Overhead Live Equipment (OLE) has been installed the same route that had previously been 24A. School services 621 (Chelmsford-Braintree-Great Totham), 701 (Brightlingsea-Colchester) ceased after 10/2/23. All of the above were mostly replaced by parallel bus services, although Central Drive at Southchurch no longer sees any buses. 24/24A had previously been run by First Essex. at Radyr, and will be erected through the Core Valley Lines (CVL) so that the tram trains can use the 25kv AC mains supply to charge their batteries for sections of the route which will have no overhead wires, where the track is permanently earthed or has other “challenging conditions”. Cardiff Canton (shed code CN orig 86A) train depot is also receiving some OLE and battery handling facilities for the tram trains.

Street Buses, Caerphilly: Following the abrupt end of operations in September 2022, all of its local bus routes were deregistered. A Public Enquiry (PI) was called, for March 2023.

Swans Travel, Chadderton: The first battery-electric coach deployed on home-to-school service in northern England is Yutong TCe12 YD72 FFM. It links Cheadle with Manchester Grammar School.

Transpora Group: From 20/2/23, operations began in Bournemouth. Route P&PGS (Verwood-West MoorsFerndown-Poole Grammar School-Parkstone Grammar School). These were ex Yellow Coaches.

Xelabus, Eastleigh: The Yellow Coaches subsidiary has been closed, 6 months after it was acquired from the failed Bournemouth Transport. Yellow Coaches had operated council contracted local bus routes 18, 33, 36 and school services in the Bournemouth Christchurch Poole unitary authority area. A base had been set up at Bournemouth Airport. Xelabus made the decision based on operating costs, the bus routes being due for retender and difficulty in securing a permanent operating centre. Staff affected were offered transfer to Eastleigh. The local bus contracts ceased after 14/2/23. The school routes were withdrawn between 13/1/23 and 17/3/23. Additionally Council tendered routes X9 (Eastleigh-Bishops Waltham), X10 (Southampton-Bishops Waltham) ceased upon end of their contracts on 31/3/23, having been operated by Xelabus since 2015. The two new ADL/E400 MMCs 571/572 were re-registered to GB/PB72 PEL before entering service. They had arrived as SK72 CWJ/L.

West Midlands Metro: An industrial dispute by operational staff which began in June 2022, was settled in November 2022. It had involved 170 members of the Unite union. The deal accepted was a pay rise of between 10.25% and 20.1% depending on grade and length of service. Work has begun on extending Wednesbury depot, to more than double its tram stabling capacity.

Abellio Rail: Passed to management buyout (MBO) Transport UK Group on 28/2/23, along with the Abellio UK London bus operations. This covers the rail franchises of East Midlands Railway (EMR), Greater Anglia, Merseyrail, West Midlands Trains.

100 years of Lodge’s Coaches of High Easter, Essex

When I bought my house in Chelmsford in 1988, I of course took into consideration various factors such as access to shops, doctor’s surgery and so on.

While I was pleased to note that Eastern National buses ran past the end of my road, one point that I did not appreciate at the time was that the same road was also served by Lodge’s Coaches’ long-established route 33, with one journey each way between Good Easter and Chelmsford town centre on Fridays and Saturdays only. The inbound journey passed my house at around 10.00 and the return journey left Chelmsford at 13.00, so the service was clearly intended to cater for shoppers, with Chelmsford of course being the County Town of Essex and a major retail centre.

Some information about Lodge Coaches appeared in an article entitled ‘And it all started with just six pounds from Mum …’ in the 15 June 1995 edition of the Chelmsford Weekly News. The accompanying photograph showed a line-up of seven modern Van Hool bodied coaches, of which the one nearest the camera was registered M7 SLC, while the article read as follows:

“Lodge Coaches, based in the picturesque Essex village of High Easter, is a local success story which it is a pleasure for me to write about. This year the company celebrates its 75th Anniversary and it is difficult to imagine, though true to say, that the founder of Lodge Coaches, Joseph Lodge, started the business by borrowing just six pounds from his mother. Clearly a shrewd and forwardthinking businessman whose mother had a keen eye for investment! That was way back in 1920. Soon after this the very first coach was constructed from a model T Ford, onto which a wooden body was built by a local carpenter, thus providing the first of their motorised bus services which regularly conveyed passengers to and from Chelmsford. Because of its construction, it became affectionately known to the locals as the ‘Rabbit Hutch’.

Lodge Coaches’ first premises were in the yard of the Punchbowl Public House, now a restaurant, but then the company moved to land belonging to the Cock and Bell Inn, where Joe built a garage and workshop, where business really got under way. By 1958 these premises also became too small and outdated, so Joe purchased the Old Vicarage, High Easter and built new workshops in the grounds, from where the company still operates today. These new workshops provided undercover storage and good maintenance and sprayshop facilities for the upkeep of their increasing fleet. The sprayshop also paints vehicles for many other operators in Essex and provides another important department for the company.

Since those days, the company has continued to grow and develop. It now has a total of eleven coaches with capacities from 21 to 55 seats, with both standard and executive facilities. The private hire vehicles are also fitted with seat belts throughout, an initiative which although not yet required by law, has been taken to give customers more peace of mind. The company provides a wide range of holiday tours, day excursions, and private hire services throughout the UK and Continent. The company is now in the capable hands of Joe’s son

Upper left: By May 2002, G836 UDV, Carlyle B33F-bodied Mercedes-Benz 811D seen here leaving Chelmsford bus station, was a regular performer on route 33. The vehicle is recorded as being new to Brixham Coaches in June 1990.

Tony, his sons Robert and Andrew and his nephew Christopher, with Tony’s wife Dorothy heading tour management and administration. Sadly, Tony’s twin brother Terry, who also played a vital role in the company, died some nine years ago”.

In 1988, the fleet was fairly unremarkable. The first photograph I took, in May 1988, was of LDX 835P, a Bedford VAS5 with Plaxton C29F body, new to Banham of Hartest in October 1975. The company did, however, (and still does) run second-hand doubledeckers on schools services and at one point owned JKW 286W, which was smartly turned out in the company’s blue and cream livery. Route 33 was in the hands of coaches, the first one I photographed, in September 1989, being 463 VVT, which carried a Plaxton Supreme body and was almost certainly a Bedford. The company’s irritating use of so-called ‘cherished’ registrations sometimes makes it difficult to identify vehicles with certainty. Subsequent performers included TER 6S, a Duple Dominant C45F bodied Bedford YLQ new to Kenzie of Shepreth in May 1978, and YMJ 555S, a Bedford YMT with Duple Dominant C53F body bought new in June 1978 and now preserved by the company.

It must have been in the very early 1990s that I first used the service. The route served several very small villages between the operator’s home village and Chelmsford, and joined the road served by Eastern National only a couple of hundred yards before the end of my road. As I was not sure whether the bus would pick up passengers in Eastern National territory, I first telephoned the company to check that they would pick up at what is locally known as the ‘Tin Chapel’, a Bethel Chapel that was opened in October 1926 (further details of this can be found on the Web), and obtained a positive confirmation. Clearly, this was not a common occurrence as the driver was quite surprised to be hailed by an intending passenger while the conductress did not have a clue what fare to charge, finally settling on 50 pence single to the town centre. On the next occasion she charged one pound, but that was still considerably cheaper than the Eastern National fare. Later, the service became one person operated.

I believe that route 33 was operated without Essex County Council subsidy, and I don’t know the origin of the route number. The fortunes of the service seemed to be declining because by March 1995 the route was operated by G964 WNR, a midicoach about which

I have no details, and in June 1996 by D519 FYL, an ex-London Buses Iveco 49.10 minibus with Robin Hood B21F body, although I did photograph YMJ 555S on the route in December 1997, when presumably there was extra preChristmas patronage. In 2002 the regular performer seemed to be G836 UDV, a Mercedes Benz 811D with Carlyle B33F body new to Brixham Coaches in June 1990. In my early photographs, no route number or destination was evident on the vehicles but by December 1997 a blue board with ‘33 CHELMSFORD’ in white was being displayed in the windscreen. G836 UDV displayed ‘33’ on its roller blind.

By December 2003 route 33 had been replaced by two Essex CC subsidised services running from Great Dunmow to

Chelmsford. Route 17, which continues to run once a day on Friday and Saturday, but with very slightly earlier timings, is an extension of route 33, while route 18, which runs once a day on Tuesdays and Thursdays, follows a slightly different route between Good Easter and Chelmsford, with the two routes merging only just before the ‘Tin Chapel’. The first performer I photographed on route 17 was M73 WYG, a MAN 11.190 with Optare Vecta B42F body new to Black Prince of Morley in February 1995 and now preserved in their livery (see https:// www.blackprincebuses.co.uk/73). Since then, routes 17 and 18 have always been operated with modern, low-floor single deck buses, the current performer being F20 DGE, a Wright bodied DAF SB200 that had been new to Fishwick’s of

Above: The introduction of routes 17 and 18 saw the return of full-sized buses. A MAN 11.190 with Optare Vecta B42F body, M73 WYG started life with Black Prince Coaches of Morley in 1995. It is seen here approaching Chelmsford on an evidently cold day in December 2008.

Below: Typical of the current front-line coach fleet is AL15 DGE, a Mercedes-Benz Tourismo M with C53Ft body photographed on 6 June 2022 during a five-day tour to Snowdonia. It was previously registered BF15 XOV.

Leyland in March 2003 registered YJ03 PFF. It currently carries a ‘Thank you NHS’ livery with rainbow motif.

In 2020, Lodge’s coaches celebrated its centenary and this was marked by the following article entitled ‘Family-run Essex firm Lodge Coaches celebrates 100th birthday’ which appeared on the ITV News website on 12 March 2020. Much of the information complements that recounted earlier, although there is at least one notable discrepancy:

“A family-run coach company in Essex is celebrating its 100th birthday. Lodge Coaches was founded by Joseph Lodge in 1920 when he returned home to High Easter, a village near Chelmsford, following the First World War. Joseph had served in the Essex Yeomanry and the Royal Horse Artillery, and it was whilst working in the cavalry he learned how to maintain and drive vehicles. Borrowing seven and sixpence from his mother, he went to an auction and returned with a former army ambulance, a 1920 Ford TT. This was to be Lodge Coaches’ first coach, which would go on to transform transport in High Easter and the surrounding villages. For the first time, villagers could travel to Chelmsford on something other than horse and cart. ‘The High Easter my grandad grew up in was very rural village. It was village shops, three pubs, a beer house – everything you wanted within the village. You didn’t really need to go out of the parish, and people didn’t until motorised transport came along’, Roger Lodge, Director of Lodge Coaches, told ITV News Anglia. ‘So it was opening up doors to people to go to places. I can remember stories of people in the village that had never seen the sea. Albeit it was a trip to Southendon-Sea, which is the Thames Estuary, but to them it was the first glimpse of sea’. From this point came the first sixseater coach which carried everyone and everything – including chickens.

In the 1960s Joseph died and the company was taken over by his wife Ede and their twin sons Terry and Tony Lodge. In the late 1980s they then handed the business over to their children, and Robert and his brother and cousin still run the 40-strong fleet today. Most of its employees live in and around High Easter and the village is integral to the company’s identity. The high spec. coaches now travel all over Europe, but Lodge Coaches still operates that same local route through the North Essex countryside to Chelmsford that Joseph Lodge first drove 100 years ago.

From High Easter to Hollywood, the company is also making a name for itself in the film and TV industry. It has accumulated and restored a coach from each century the business has been operating. Naming each after a family member, its vintage coaches have appeared in the Netflix series ‘The Crown’, as well as TV adverts, and they’re even set for a cameo in the new Keira Knightly film ‘Misbehavior’ which will be released later this year. Many local people have memories of day trips on Lodge Coaches but as well as celebrating the nostalgia of the past, the company is looking to the future. Although the technology has changed, from wooden seats to air conditioning, the passion of the family to keep going has stayed the same. With a fourth generation keen to take on Lodge Coaches, there may be many more big anniversaries to come”.

Lodge’s Coaches is becoming increasingly well known for its immaculately maintained fleet of vintage coaches, the first of which, MJB 481, has been owned since at least 1989 and featured, among many other occasions, at the excellent Hertford Running Day in June 2007. This Duple Vega C37Fbodied Bedford SB was new to Chiltonia of Chilton Foliat in 1956. An occasion to display the collection to the general public arose on Sunday 23 August 2020 when the company organised a ‘car meet’ on its premises, which includes a large grassed field. The event was blessed with fine weather and attracted a huge entry of preserved cars of varying ages plus a small but interesting selection of preserved coaches, many owned by operators in the region. As I happened to be in Essex that day, I was able to attend. In addition to MJB 481, the following vehicles preserved by Lodge’s Coaches were on display:

• SV 6936, a 1920 Ford TT, representing the company’s first vehicle;

• LTA 752, the well-known Bedford OB with Duple Vista 27 seat body that was new to Western National in 1950 as its 1413. Later sold to Lincolnshire Road Car, who converted it into ‘semi-toastrack’ format for service on Skegness seafront, it was acquired by Lodge’s Coaches in December 2010;

• TMY 700, a Bedford OB with Duple Vista C29F body that was new to Essex County Coaches in 1949 and was acquired by Lodge’s Coaches in November 2006;

• CFV 851, another Bedford OB with Duple Vista C29F body that was acquired from a preservationist in September 2016. New to Wood t/a Seagull

Coaches, Blackpool in March 1948, it spent some time with Tony McCann t/a McCann Coaches at Forest Green Garage, Dorking Surrey;

• FFS 867, which was new to SMT as its C167 with an SMT C29F Duple Vista style body in November 1947. In 1953 it was rebodied by Burlingham with a ‘Baby’ Seagull FC24F body and was acquired by Lodge’s Coaches in February 2017;

• EDD 685C, a Duple Bella Vega bodied Bedford SB13. New to Princess Mary Coaches in Bristol in 1965, it spent many years with Fowlers of Holbeach Grove. Lodge’s Coaches acquired it in February 2014;

• YMJ 555S, described above.

Several other vintage vehicles are owned by the company that were not on display that day. In addition, dumped behind the back of the garage building was yet another Bedford OB with Duple Vista coach body. This was derelict, presumably having been used as a source of spares. It carries the remains of a cream and red livery and the fleetname ‘Fords Coaches’, but no registration number was visible. Among the modern vehicles in the fleet, most notable was C20 DGE, a Transbus Trident with East Lancs Myllenium Lolyne body that was new to Blackpool Transport as its number 327. It now carries a commemorative livery to mark 100 years of passenger transport by the company. The visiting coaches included Kenzie’s of Shepreth C25 KAV, a Van Hool Alizée bodied Volvo B10M bought new in April 1987. At the wheel was none other than Cyril Kenzie, who is now in his early 90s.

Alongside the double-deckers for schools services, the bulk of the Lodge’s Coaches fleet is composed of coaches of increasingly high specification that are used for a programme of holiday tours as well as private hires. On fairly regular occasions over the past 30 years I would drive out to the garage on a Sunday morning to photograph the various vehicles in the fleet. On one such occasion I happened to meet Andrew Lodge who assured me that the company would never give up the Chelmsford service. He also told me that the fleet of preserved vehicles was expected to pay their way commercially. This familyrun company has developed out of all recognition during the time that I have been following it closely, and seems to have a bright future ahead of it.

In the late 1980s, the standard of the Lodge’s Coaches fleet, although always very presentable, was modest. LDX 835P, seen here in May 1988, was a Bedford VAS5 with 29-seat Plaxton coachwork that was new to Banham Coaches of Hartest, Suffolk in October 1975

A longstanding member of the ‘heritage’ fleet, MJB 481 is a Bedford SBG with Duple Vega coachwork that was new to Chiltonian Coaches of Chilton Foliat, Berkshire in 1956. It was noted at the former Braughing railway station during the Hertford Bus Running Day on 10 June 2007.

Crew-operated full-sized coaches were employed on route 33 in the late 1980s. Plaxton-bodied Bedford YRQ 463 VVT is seen here in Chignal Road, Chelmsford in September 1989.

The company celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2000 and this commemorative logo clearly illustrates some of the fleet developments over that period.

Members of the heritage fleet on display at the depot on 23 August 2020 included LTA 752, a Bedford OB with Duple ‘toastrack’ body new in 1950, MJB 481, TWY 700, a Bedford OB/Duple new in 1949, and SV 6936, the 1920-vintage Ford Model T.

The stylish logo commemorating the centenary of Lodge’s Coaches.