In the immortal words of Blakey, "Get that bus out!"
This Sunday (11th July 2010) vintage buses from the 1950's and 60's will once again take to the streets of Gravesend, Kent as the town holds it's annual Classic Bus Day.
The buses will be operating between 11 AM and 5 PM, arriving and departing from Milton Place Car Park in Ordnance Road, Gravesend.
They will be running on various different routes from Gravesend to Dartford, Longfield and other towns and villages such as Hartley, Betsham and Cliffe. Further details here
ALL JOURNEYS ON THE BUSES ARE FREE OF CHARGE!
The double decker bus, seen running through Northfleet last year, is a Leyland Titan which originally entered service with Leeds City Transport in 1959. Since 2005 it has been owned and operated by Ensign Bus Company based in Purfleet, Essex.
This single decker is a Guy Special (GS 15) which I photographed a couple of months ago at a rally in Dartford. The bus was built by Guy Motors in Wolverhampton for London Transport and entered service in 1953. It remained in service with them until 1969 when it was sold to private owners.
The Guy Motor Company had a very distinctive emblem which appeared on the bonnets of their buses and other commercial vehicles - "Feathers in Our Cap".They were taken over by Jaguar in 1961 and later became absorbed into British Leyland finally ceasing vehicle production in 1982. Bus production under the Guy named had already ended in 1964.
If you have enjoyed reading this post, please feel free to leave a comment. They are always welcome.
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Milton Church, Gravesend - Porcupines & Masons
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Selling off public assets to private profiteers was always a tragedy for public transport systems :(
ReplyDeleteBut I am pleased you are writing about Gravesend. I have been writing as fast as I can about Rosherville Gardens which used to be a feature of Gravesend, but I cannot find any photos showing how the gardens looked back then.
Glen, another 'valuable service'. My father is a bus nut (he has a Routemaster, which he takes to shows in Cheshire, Derbyshire and Lancashire).
ReplyDeleteI used to wait for that little bus when I was a kid.... I'd look out for that Indian head to appear on the bonnet before the bus turned out of Beadles Lane and on to Old Oxted High St. Fond memories.
ReplyDelete