Parrys International Van Hool T17 Astron
Something of a saga in the coach industry has been the fate of a pate of Van Hool T17 Astron coaches for Parrys International. Those two vehicles had commenced built in Belgium and were in a part-finished state when Van Hool collapsed. While some parts of the Van Hool bus and coach business were eventually purchased by VDL, the two coaches remained in the hands of the liquidators appointed by the Belgian courts after Van Hool's end. At one point it looked like they could have been scrapped.
However, sense prevailed in late-2024 and the two coaches were removed to the Van Hool factory in North Macedonia, which had been purchased by VDL. They have now been completed and the first one, freshly collected by Parrys from the VDL Bus and Coach UK dealership in Barnsley, was one of the stars of the 2025 UK Coach Rally. YG25 JYC is a 48-seater with a DAF MX-13 engine and an Allison automatic gearbox and unquestionably looks well here in Blackpool. It carries the name City of Birmingham.
Parrys International Van Hool T17 Astron
Something of a saga in the coach industry has been the fate of a pate of Van Hool T17 Astron coaches for Parrys International. Those two vehicles had commenced built in Belgium and were in a part-finished state when Van Hool collapsed. While some parts of the Van Hool bus and coach business were eventually purchased by VDL, the two coaches remained in the hands of the liquidators appointed by the Belgian courts after Van Hool's end. At one point it looked like they could have been scrapped.
However, sense prevailed in late-2024 and the two coaches were removed to the Van Hool factory in North Macedonia, which had been purchased by VDL. They have now been completed and the first one, freshly collected by Parrys from the VDL Bus and Coach UK dealership in Barnsley, was one of the stars of the 2025 UK Coach Rally. YG25 JYC is a 48-seater with a DAF MX-13 engine and an Allison automatic gearbox and unquestionably looks well here in Blackpool. It carries the name City of Birmingham.