Dumpy Bedford
Before the larger van and light truck derived minibuses really took off, the requirement for smaller buses and coaches was met primarily by abridged versions of mainstream coaches and even shortened full sized chassis. The firm Tricentrol had something of a trade in chassis modification, shortening Fords and Bedfords... and even lengthening the latter. Before too long though, the manufacturers themselves got in on the act with Bedford producing dinky versions of their popular Y series competing directly with Bristol's LHS. Here just such a coach with Plaxton Supreme IV bodywork sits on the layover park at Yeovil bus station. It's in the ownership of independent, Wakes of Sparkford. Latterly, Dennis produced a short version of their Javelin chassis, though because of the aforementioned wide availability of 'big minibuses', they never seemed to be as prolific.
Dumpy Bedford
Before the larger van and light truck derived minibuses really took off, the requirement for smaller buses and coaches was met primarily by abridged versions of mainstream coaches and even shortened full sized chassis. The firm Tricentrol had something of a trade in chassis modification, shortening Fords and Bedfords... and even lengthening the latter. Before too long though, the manufacturers themselves got in on the act with Bedford producing dinky versions of their popular Y series competing directly with Bristol's LHS. Here just such a coach with Plaxton Supreme IV bodywork sits on the layover park at Yeovil bus station. It's in the ownership of independent, Wakes of Sparkford. Latterly, Dennis produced a short version of their Javelin chassis, though because of the aforementioned wide availability of 'big minibuses', they never seemed to be as prolific.