Stokie standee in Dover.
In 1970 PMT took delivery of twenty single deck 36ft long Daimler Fleetlines with Alexander 'W' type bodies in lieu of a cancelled order for more Roadliners. I think it's fair to say these substitutes were never particularly popular with road staff as they were not particularly lively or with the mechanical folks either due to structural problems encountered with body flexing. The longest serving of them, even though they were mechanically reliable, only achieved eight years with it's original owner. Some passed to (Belfast) Citybus and a handful went south to fellow NBC subsidiary East Kent where their high standing capacity was put to good use on railway station to channel port operations.
Here ex PMT 147, BEH 147H is seen going about it's new duties in downtown Dover bedecked in it's dedicated Seaspeed livery for the former BR operated Hovercraft service to France.
Of the whole batch, there's only one known survivor and 147 is that one. It passed from East Kent to a cadet brigade and thence into preservation. After several owners and restoration to PMT guise in NBC poppy red, the bus has now returned to Kent ... who says history doesn't repeat itself!
By way of a little note, having driven this bus on several occasions, it's certainly a lot more nimble and sound than their former detractors would have us believe.
Stokie standee in Dover.
In 1970 PMT took delivery of twenty single deck 36ft long Daimler Fleetlines with Alexander 'W' type bodies in lieu of a cancelled order for more Roadliners. I think it's fair to say these substitutes were never particularly popular with road staff as they were not particularly lively or with the mechanical folks either due to structural problems encountered with body flexing. The longest serving of them, even though they were mechanically reliable, only achieved eight years with it's original owner. Some passed to (Belfast) Citybus and a handful went south to fellow NBC subsidiary East Kent where their high standing capacity was put to good use on railway station to channel port operations.
Here ex PMT 147, BEH 147H is seen going about it's new duties in downtown Dover bedecked in it's dedicated Seaspeed livery for the former BR operated Hovercraft service to France.
Of the whole batch, there's only one known survivor and 147 is that one. It passed from East Kent to a cadet brigade and thence into preservation. After several owners and restoration to PMT guise in NBC poppy red, the bus has now returned to Kent ... who says history doesn't repeat itself!
By way of a little note, having driven this bus on several occasions, it's certainly a lot more nimble and sound than their former detractors would have us believe.