Aside from all the vehicle news, all of here at Southern Counties Omnibus Collection would like to wish you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
The main news this month is the collection of 40306 (N306XRP) Bernard's minibus. The axle change has been completed and we are just left with a few minor jobs to sort out for an MOT. Although all of our buses a currently resting, work continues apace. Q255GRW has had a tyre change and will also be on the road for next year. DMS550 is getting redder and redder with every week as Paul continues to paint her. Also, the smallest member of the collection, the Metrocab taxi is having extensive work on her for her MOT. Paul and Jake have been busy replacing the kingpins, bushes and ball joints and to date just have the exhaust and rear brakes left. The kingpins alone having taken 3 days solid work. Following news that the MOT test no longer lift the front wheels to check the kingpins, this has given us hope that Bristol LH 3131 may well pass the test with out packing them out. Although only listed as an advisory on the previous test, we wanted to sort it out, however, talking to the testing station, it would seem that she is likely to pass as she is which sounds very promising.
Aside from all the vehicle news, all of here at Southern Counties Omnibus Collection would like to wish you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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This rather smart Titan now owned by Nu venture saw service with Stagecoach Devon and Stagecoach Western after it's service life in London ended. It would certainly make a worthy preservation candidate when withdrawal finally comes...
Bernard's ex Stagecoach and Robert's Coaches Leyland Titan NUW553Y, known to us all as Nuw, received the first strip of sticky vinyl to her interior today which will eventually turn her interior into that of a modern Stagecoach bus. All the interior panels will be blue and she will receive modern blue Stagecoach trimmed seating - hopefully swapped from other Titans that are being converted back to full London spec. Eventually her exterior will gain the original Devon General livery and as their older vehicles had blue interiors and Nuw is being restored as a provincial Stagecoach bus, the interior work should suit her well.
Work begins this winter to transform Bernard's Leyland Titan (HIG5681 / NUW553Y) into a Stagecoach Titan. Most of these former buses are getting restored to their original London condition but 'Nuw' , as she is known, has a really tidy centre door conversion plus has had the blind display altered so it seemed a shame to rip all that out and put her back to look like all of the others. We all feel that telling the story of one particular type of bus doesn't mean that they all have to be restored to original factory condition and that different stages of a types history should be represented and the Titans went on to have a very successful career outside London too with Stagecoach and MTL to name but a few of the large fleet operators. We are hoping to swap some of Nuw's rather tidy LT seats for the blue 'rolling ball' Stagecoach trimmed ones whilst her inside will become blue with orange handrails. Externally she will wear a Devon General livery, which will be started once work on 7980 has finished, which will compliment the blue interior. The plan is to make her look like a Stagecoach bus in a heritage livery. Obviously this will all take time as she is due a mechanical service and a few other little job need doing too. She should also be reunited with her original registration mark of NUW553Y too.
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Current NewsHere you will find out the latest news about our buses and future events we hope to attend. In addition we will add any interesting bus and coach related news we come across.
SOUTHERN COUNTIES OMNIBUS.A collection of retired buses living in southeast England owned by a group of friends. Archives
May 2022
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