BusTalk

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

A 1951 LEYLAND spotted at Victoria, November, 1963.

IMHO, the vintage double-deckers always seemed to have a reserved air of stodgy dignity about them......though big and ponderous, they, nonetheless had a distinct air of a dignified "Old School" British gentleman.....

http://www.sct61.org.uk/gallery/vcs/mddh415

(courtesy of John Kaye)

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

During the 1950's and into the 60's, BEA (British Overseas Airways) operated these distinctive AEC Regals in airport service.

MATCHBOX also offered miniature replicas of this unusual coach many years ago.

The one seen here had been retired and was being converted into a motorhome......

http://www.motorhoming.com/AEC_Regal_IV_BEA3.jpg

[Mr. Linsky]

Thought this Mann Egerton ad of yore from an industry related journal across the pond would be appropriate here.

Apparently the tradition of chassis of various makes being fitted with custom bodies by others as was the case early on here in the Colonies was also prevalent in the British Isles.

Mann Egerton and Company, LTD. of Norwich England dates to nearly the beginning of the twentieth century and began in collaboration with Henry Royce and the Hon. Charles Rolls in providing elegant bodies for their famous 'Rolls Royce' underpinnings.

The company went on to become a force to be reckoned with in bus body manufacture as seen in the many examples in the following URL;

https://www.google.com/search?q=MANN+EGERTON+BUS+BODIES&client=qsb-win&rlz=1R3GGLL_enUS335US335&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=ljMaU_iDK8OhogTsrYCABQ&ved=0CEEQsAQ&biw=800&bih=446

Photo courtesy of '4509bus' and is available at eBay as item # 371017890116.

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Mr. "L":

Once again, greatly appreciate your input!

I truly believe that the "waves" seen on a number of British coaches was Yank-inspired!

Come to think of it, those coaches did indeed have a "royal" aura to them, suggesting the graceful lines of a Rolls-Royce.

Certainly, these coaches were quite distinctive.....and, as I had mentioned earlier, would have indeed turned more than a few heads, if one were seen operating here in the States.......

"NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Austere yet also graceful, here we see a 1950 E.C.W. FC31F-bodied Bristol L6B at Victoria Coach Station, in 1958.

The tilt-out windscreen is also of interest......

http://www.sct61.org.uk/gallery/vcs/tv73

(courtesy of John Boylett/John Kaye)

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Snapped at Victoria in 1961, we see a smart-looking 1954 LEYLAND Tiger Cub..........

http://www.sct61.org.uk/gallery/vcs/zzvha322

(courtesy of John Kaye)

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Had this handsome LEYLAND Royal Tiger been equipped with a right-hand door, it would not have looked all that out of place here at home.......

http://www.sct61.org.uk/gallery/vcs/sd1509

(courtesy of Vic Youel)

[Mr. Linsky]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Mr. "L":

It is common knowledge that your average magician will, every time, pull a rabbit out of his hat.......you, on the other hand, seem to pull out any of a number of bus-related treasures from your bottomless "hat"!

Man, what a classic lineup!

Seeing all those old GM's brought back memories of the long-ago days when such buses dominated Journal Square (Jersey City)

Look closely, and you can still see the old tram tracks; in Havana, trams made thier last runs in 1952 (interestingly, a number of ex-PSNJ ASV trolley buses went to Cuba, after PS pulled the plug on ASV operation in 1947)

However, they ran as conventional motor buses.

Again, many thanks for taking the time to share yet another rare image with us!

"NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

All:

Just to get off-topic for a moment, Mr. "L's" last post brought to mind a number of ex-PSNJ ASV trolley buses that went to Havana, as I'd mentioned in my previous post.

This page, with many rare photos, documents the last years of Havana's trams; scroll down the page to see an old newspaper photo of a former PSNJ trolley bus at Havana.

44 of them were shipped to Cuba, but only a few were tested under wire.

The others eventually ran as motor buses........

http://www.tramz.com/cu/hb/hbb.html

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

This historic double-deck trolleybus is more than worth a mention here.......

http://www.sandtoft.org/exhibits/589/

Also of interest, in the following link, you will find several vintage views (as well as some interesting historical data) of the double-decker trolley buses that once operated in Johannesburg.

The "London Connection" is quite evident.......

http://www.khanya.org.za/trolley1.htm

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

The "GUY ARAB" was once a familiar sight on the streets of London, many decades ago.

After being withdrawn from service in London, these stalwart buses went on for more years of service, in such far-off locations as Ceylon, Southern Rhodesia, Kenya, Ceylon, and Sarajevo.

Some also found further work in Scotland......

http://www.countrybus.org/Guy/G1.htm

http://www.countrybus.org/Guy/G2.htm#top

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Though "hood-sticking-out-of-the-front" front-engined (non-school transport) buses were long out of service in the USA by 1961, such coaches were still to be seen in Britain, although, even then, they had been almost totally eclipsed by more modern equipment.

This nice-looking LEYLAND Comet (1950), is seen here at Victoria, 1961......

http://www.sct61.org.uk/gallery/vcs/zzgju377

(courtesy of John Kaye)

[traildriver]

Thanks for taking the time to post all those photo-links....
While they are indeed 'interesting'....to my American eye, they all look so 'foreign'. There is just something about those British coaches that look 'flimsy' or lightweight to my eye, even though I may be totally offbase, having almost no knowledge of them. I have been over there a couple of times, and rode a National Express coach from Heathrow to Southampton to catch the QE2 back in 2008. I noticed that there were very few, if any, three axle coaches. And there was very little baggage room....in fact, they had a van follow us containing overflow baggage.
Besides the van, our coach had two driver's aboard for our two hour trip.
I don't see how they can operate profitably under those circumstances...

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

trailerdriver:

You are most welcome!

Since the long-ago days when I played with MATCHBOX (Lesney, made in England!) buses, I've always found British buses/coaches fascinating; certainly, as you say, they look so "foreign" to us here at home.....but, therin, lies thier "exotic" appearance.

I'm far from an expert on such equipment myself, but I have a fairly decent working knowledge about them.....that is.......at least for a "Yank"!

"NYO"