BusTalk Forum Index BusTalk
A Community Discussing Buses and Bus Operations Worldwide!
 
 BusTalk MainBusTalk Main FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups BusTalk GalleriesBusTalk Galleries   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

Vintage British coaches at Victoria Coach Station
Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    BusTalk Forum Index -> General Bus Forum - All Bus Topics
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22278
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 12:55 am    Post subject: Vintage British coaches at Victoria Coach Station Reply with quote

All:

Thought that these vintage views (1950's/60's) of British coaches at the Victoria Coach Station might be of interest.

As you can see here, the variety of bus/coach types in Great Britain was indeed both fascinating and colorful; no wonder that the bus hobby and preservation are both quite popular over there.

Much nostalgia here......a fascinating glimpse into a bygone world of British buses.......

"NYO"

http://www.classicbuses.co.uk/victoria.html

http://www.sct61.org.uk/gallery/vcs
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22278
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 1:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Several tough-looking coaches are seen here lined up at VCS, awaiting thier next runs.

The coach on the left is especially fearsome in appearance.......surely must have been quite a brute to handle.....

http://www.sct61.org.uk/gallery/vcs/mr422
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Mr. Linsky
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Posts: 5071
Location: BRENTWOOD, CA. - WOODMERE, N.Y.

PostPosted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 2:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 wrote:
Several tough-looking coaches are seen here lined up at VCS, awaiting thier next runs.

The coach on the left is especially fearsome in appearance.......surely must have been quite a brute to handle.....

http://www.sct61.org.uk/gallery/vcs/mr422



NYO,

Great photos - I always had a fascination for English buses (and hope to ride some again at the end of May when I go to visit my cousins outside London).

I often wondered why the single deckers were arc shaped from front to rear (as on those shown below) and whether there was a hump in the center of the bus that passengers had to negotiate?

I notice that the photo was taken at Bexhill On Sea which is only 50 miles south of Southend On Sea where I will be staying.

Interesting!

Photo taken in 1956 by Vic Youel

Many regards,

Mr. 'L'



Last edited by Mr. Linsky on Tue Mar 04, 2014 3:41 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22278
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 3:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mr. "L":

Thank you....glad you found this interesting; sure hope you enjoy your upcoming visit to your cousins (sure hope you get to see some vintage buses, while there!)

At a young age, I became enamored with British buses/coaches (recall, in England, a "bus" is a "local" transit vehicle, whereas a "coach" is the term used to describe a "long haul" vehicle) playing with LESNEY ("Made In England"!) MATCHBOX buses.

Certainly, these buses seemed quite exotic to those here at home!

I, too, have always wondered about the arc shape of the single-deckers; your comment sounds like you might be onto something.

The "GREEN LINE" and the "RED ARROW" lines operated some handsome (and interesting) single-deckers to and from London, over the decades.

Not surprisingly, there was no shortage of toy buses and coaches in Great Britain, back in the day......all of them quite collectible today.....

"NYO"


Last edited by NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 on Tue Mar 04, 2014 3:54 pm; edited 2 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22278
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 3:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mr."L":

Hope you enjoy this beautiful color photo from 1960.......these coaches were indeed quite stylish!

http://www.sct61.org.uk/gallery/vcs/ekgfn279

(courtesy of John Kaye)


Last edited by NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 on Tue Mar 04, 2014 3:45 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22278
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 3:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Without a doubt, this sleek LEYLAND-designed "CR" was one of the most distinctive vehicles to ever prowl the streets of Great Britain......very modern for its day, to be sure......

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomsgardenshed/6626761501/

(courtesy of Tom Bulley)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22278
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 3:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Interesting colour photo collection on this page of classic single- and double-deck buses from "across the pond".......

http://www.amersham.org.uk/londoncountry

(courtesy of Frank Phillipson)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22278
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 9:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This colour photo from 1961 shows a particularly stunning Harrington-bodied ALBION at Victoria Coach Station.

Of particular interest is the eye-catching "waves" on the sides, a style quite popular here in the States during the 1930's.........

http://www.sct61.org.uk/gallery/vcs/zzoru263

(courtesy of John Kaye)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22278
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 3:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The distinctive body of this handsome BRISTOL LWL would certainly have gotten much attention if seen here in the States (photo dates to 1964)......

http://www.sct61.org.uk/gallery/vcs/br2067

(Courtesy of David Lang)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Mr. Linsky
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Posts: 5071
Location: BRENTWOOD, CA. - WOODMERE, N.Y.

PostPosted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 4:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 wrote:
The distinctive body of this handsome BRISTOL LWL would certainly have gotten much attention if seen here in the States (photo dates to 1964)......

http://www.sct61.org.uk/gallery/vcs/br2067

(Courtesy of David Lang)


NYO,


Quite a fancy version of a Greyhound! (if that is the same company that we are familiar with).

I said that British buses fascinated me but I really didn't say why;

They remind me appropriately of regal carriages with ornate sculpturing that is so much different than their utilitarian straight laced counterparts here in the U.S. (I'll still take ours any day though!).

Regards,

Mr. 'L'
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22278
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 4:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mr."L":

Jolly good show, mate! Very Happy

'ere's a jolly good reason for liking British buses!

Many of them indeed had a grace and a stately aura about them......something that made them quite different from our more "workaday" vehicles here at home.

Those vintage British buses were a right rum go, guv'nor! Wink

"NYO"
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22278
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 4:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mr. "L"/All:

Some beautiful Brit classics on this page; of particular interest is the regal (and most unusual) WEMS OBSERVATION COACH........an aura of a British "Scenicruiser" of sorts.......

http://www.classicbuses.co.uk/busnews3.html
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
JimmiB



Age: 81
Joined: 19 Apr 2011
Posts: 516
Location: Lebanon, PA

PostPosted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 2:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for posting these NYO. The WEMS observation coach certainly is unusual. I belong to a couple of Brit bus groups on Flickr. Some very interesting equipment!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22278
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 10:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

JimmiB wrote:
Thanks for posting these NYO. The WEMS observation coach certainly is unusual. I belong to a couple of Brit bus groups on Flickr. Some very interesting equipment!


JimmiB:

My pleasure! Wink

I hope to add a WEB OBSERVATION COACH (Dinky Toys) to my collection in the not-too-distant future; both DINKY and MATCHBOX, well into the 1960's, offered a nice variety of British buses/coaches......I grew up with them! Very Happy

A few months ago, I purchased an outstanding book for $15.00, "LONDON 1952: BUSES, TRAMS, AND TROLLEYBUSES"' more than worth what I paid for it, this book features a truly outstanding colection of rare bus photos......the sheer variety of vehicles then in operation was outstanding, to say the least!

A vintage book I've had since I was a kid, "BUSES, TROLLEYS, and TRAMS" (by Paul Hamlyn), is another excellent British book that, not only features many historical British views, but also, scenes from abroad.

From what I've read over the years, the Brits are VERY serious when it comes to bus preservation.......our good friend Mr. "L", with his vast storehouse of historical bus trivia, would certainly find himself quite popular "across the pond"!

That same passion for preservation is also quite evident in thier many rail museums and historical railways........and it MORE than shows!

It is interesting, too, to note, that over the years, a number of retired London buses went on to second careers that often took them quite far from Picadilly Circus and Trafalagar Square.

Many a lumbering old double-decker ended its long years of service in such far-plung places as Sarajevo, Africa, India, Ceylon, the Canary Islands, and, closer to home, Scotland.

Back in those long-lost days, a bus wasn't thought to be obsolete when it reached it's seventh birthday!

"NYO"


Last edited by NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 on Thu Mar 06, 2014 4:25 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22278
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 10:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The solid ruggedness of the old double-deckers is quite evident in this fine portrait of this hulking BRISTOL, then operated by Thomas Valley, seen here at Victoria Coach Station (1964)

I have a large (made in Japan) tin friction toy of this bus from the 1960's, carrying colorful advertisements for GORDON'S GIN (quite unusual to see a toy vehicle sporting ads for an alcoholic beverage!)

Though many "Yank's" usually only associate the double-deckers with London, the buses were, of course, commonplace vehicles all over Britain (no wonder so many toy versions were offered, back in the day!)

http://www.sct61.org.uk/gallery/vcs/tvd5

(courtesy of David Lang)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    BusTalk Forum Index -> General Bus Forum - All Bus Topics All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4  Next
Page 1 of 4

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You can attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group