For those interested in old buses (and coaches)

[leopardml2341]

19 minutes ago, Dunsignalling said:

Though I understand they "used" rather more than three during production and relatively few of them survived the stunts, let alone the ravages of time since....

 

John

And also that the film producers bought every one of them cos BMC/BL wouldn't sponsor them; it was thought to be bad for brand image......

[SRman]

48 minutes ago, Dunsignalling said:

Though I understand they "used" rather more than three during production and relatively few of them survived the stunts, let alone the ravages of time since....

 

John

 

I read somewhere that they went through around 30 of them. 

[PhilJ W]

Only four cars survive from The Italian Job, two E-type Jaguars, an Aston Martin and a Lamborgini. None of the Mini's survived but three of the registration numbers are still used on other cars.

[Busmansholiday]

https://www.virginexperiencedays.co.uk/the-ultimate-italian-job-driving-experience-sp2

 

Except that's not a Harrington bodied VAL..........

 

[PhilJ W]

The Harrington Legionnaire was a pretty rare body and IIRC only five were built on the Bedford Val14 chassis none of which survive. However there are plans to build a replica using parts of a Legionnaire body removed from a scrapped Leyland. 

[Oldddudders]

53 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

The Harrington Legionnaire was a pretty rare body and IIRC only five were built on the Bedford Val14 chassis none of which survive. However there are plans to build a replica using parts of a Legionnaire body removed from a scrapped Leyland. 

https://www.thcoachwork.co.uk/exist.htm

[PhilJ W]

9 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

https://www.thcoachwork.co.uk/exist.htm

I see there's not one but two replica's in the making.

[Gwiwer]

50 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

I see there's not one but two replica's in the making.

So it’s true - you wait for ages then two come along together  

[Joseph_Pestell]

Wonder if a similar list exists for Harrington's French output. Nostalgic for me as they were the main supplier of coaches to CAT who ran the bus services in Cotes du Nord (now Cotes d'Armor). My parents would hire from them each year at Easter for a school holiday in Brittany, collecting us from Dieppe or Cherbourg. H.R. Richmond (Epsom Coaches/Bookham Coaches) would convey us from Leatherhead to Newhaven/Southampton for the ferry.

 

After my recent move, one of my tasks is to go through family photo albums and scan some photos to the computer. Will post here again if I find some of the CAT vehicles.

[Busmansholiday]

And if you're wondering, that Willowbrook bodied VAL is actually FYG663J, new in 1971 to Wigmore of Dinnington and the mini was also built after the film was released !

[Oldddudders]

51 minutes ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

 H.R. Richmond (Epsom Coaches/Bookham Coaches)

They always seemed a cut above our local coach firm, E.R.Lipscombe of Dorking. 

[Gwiwer]

10 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

They always seemed a cut above our local coach firm, E.R.Lipscombe of Dorking. 

It's not every operator which gets its owner memorialised in a road name.  

 

Roy Richmond Way, Epsom, led to the depot of Richmond's of Epsom t/a Epsom Coaches.  Only recently vacated too after Richmonds finally sold the business to RATP Group in 2012 who in turn closed the traditional base earlier this year.  Since 2003 their bus operation had traded as Quality Line and indeed offered perceptibly higher quality than most other London operators.    Smartly uniformed drivers (even wearing ties on hot summer days) who were polite when spoken to rather than the usual London grumpy shoulder-shrug and driving clean and undamaged vehicles again in contrast to most other London bus operators.  

 

Family and business history here including Roy Richmond' involvement and the origins of the business started by his father Roddy Richmond in Epsom back in charabanc days.  

 

https://eehe.org.uk/?p=61322

 

[RANGERS]

6 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

It's not every operator which gets its owner memorialised in a road name.  

 

Roy Richmond Way, Epsom, led to the depot of Richmond's of Epsom t/a Epsom Coaches.  Only recently vacated too after Richmonds finally sold the business to RATP Group in 2012 who in turn closed the traditional base earlier this year.  Since 2003 their bus operation had traded as Quality Line and indeed offered perceptibly higher quality than most other London operators.    Smartly uniformed drivers (even wearing ties on hot summer days) who were polite when spoken to rather than the usual London grumpy shoulder-shrug and driving clean and undamaged vehicles again in contrast to most other London bus operators.  

 

Family and business history here including Roy Richmond' involvement and the origins of the business started by his father Roddy Richmond in Epsom back in charabanc days.  

 

https://eehe.org.uk/?p=61322

 

The history and heritage of Epsom is documented on the website which was created after the demise of the coach division and retained the original Epsom Coaches domain name - https://www.epsomcoaches.co.uk/

 

[RANGERS]

11 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

The Harrington Legionnaire was a pretty rare body and IIRC only five were built on the Bedford Val14 chassis none of which survive. However there are plans to build a replica using parts of a Legionnaire body removed from a scrapped Leyland. 

It was pretty rare but there were more than five VALs, not sure exactly how many were built but about 50 rings a bell, Barton of Nottingham had eight and there were others who had multiples. It was only built on two other chassis, the Ford 676E (30ish built) and Guy Victory (2 built)

Edited December 20, 2021 by RANGERS

[PhilJ W]

32 minutes ago, RANGERS said:

It was pretty rare but there were more than five VALs, not sure exactly how many were built but about 50 rings a bell, Barton of Nottingham had eight and there were others who had multiples. It was only built on two other chassis, the Ford 676E (30ish built) and Guy Victory (2 built)

That may have been the number with Harrington bodies but the Legionnaire I was the body fitted to the IJ VAL. A lot more were fitted with the Legionnaire II body. 

[Joseph_Pestell]

20 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

It's not every operator which gets its owner memorialised in a road name.  

 

Roy Richmond Way, Epsom, led to the depot of Richmond's of Epsom t/a Epsom Coaches.  Only recently vacated too after Richmonds finally sold the business to RATP Group in 2012 who in turn closed the traditional base earlier this year.  Since 2003 their bus operation had traded as Quality Line and indeed offered perceptibly higher quality than most other London operators.    Smartly uniformed drivers (even wearing ties on hot summer days) who were polite when spoken to rather than the usual London grumpy shoulder-shrug and driving clean and undamaged vehicles again in contrast to most other London bus operators.  

 

Family and business history here including Roy Richmond' involvement and the origins of the business started by his father Roddy Richmond in Epsom back in charabanc days.  

 

https://eehe.org.uk/?p=61322

 

 

By "traditional base", I think you are talking about the yard north of Epsom railway station, on the back road to Ewell.

 

In my time, Richmonds' base in Epsom was a garage on the A24 in the town centre. They caused plenty of traffic congestion as coaches reversed in.

 

IIRC the Bookham base, on the A246 was redeveloped for housing many years ago.

[Rugd1022]

On 19/12/2021 at 23:51, PhilJ W said:

Only four cars survive from The Italian Job, two E-type Jaguars, an Aston Martin and a Lamborgini. None of the Mini's survived but three of the registration numbers are still used on other cars.

 

A few years ago a chap bought all three of the redundant Cooper S reg numbers from the DVLA and built up exact replicas of the cars from them. There are a few other sets of replicas floating about with the wrong numbers, some of which aren't even the correct Mk1 bodyshell.

[Rugd1022]

Some more Italian bus nostalgia....

 

 

 

 

 

[37114]

I bet those Viberti's were fun on a hot day!

[PhilJ W]

5 hours ago, Rugd1022 said:

Some more Italian bus nostalgia....

 

 

At first I thought that was a Thorneycroft.

IIRC some buses were built on Thorneycroft Amazon 6X4 chassis for use in Africa.

[pH]

Some US buses of the past.

 

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oGo5hSZH7_M/S5T6O_BdPNI/AAAAAAAAAyY/KcDyNiVWVsk/s1600-h/1926Fageol.jpg

Those were introduced to link two ends of an interurban between Seattle and  Bellingham in Washington State which was never completed.

 

And an interesting take on a double decker:

https://i.imgur.com/LMQZf92_d.webp?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium

[pH]

6 hours ago, Rugd1022 said:

 

 

I was on a city bus in Brindisi in 1970, and the driving position was like that in the bus in that picture - in the centre, with the body narrowing towards the front

[PhilJ W]

A central steering column was quite common on Italian buses, trolleybuses in particular.

 

[ardbealach]

Hope I am not too late in posting another Bedford VAL - Kings of Dunblane one this time - and photographed in Callander.  Photo taken in summer of 1965. 

 

Callander East signal box in the background - line closed November 1965 [Alisdair] 

Edited December 22, 2021 by ardbealach

[J. S. Bach]

Odd, putting the headsign in the bumper. The first that i have seen that; the license plate and the sign should switch places!