What a waste
These two Bristol MW buses lived parallel lives. Each entered service in April 1965 as a coach in the "Bristol Greyhound" fleet of the Bristol Omnibus Co. For as long as they remained coaches they were allocated to Lawrence Hill Depot, but on 1st February 1971 they were downgraded to bus status and reallocated to Marlborough Street Depot ...i.e. Bristol Bus Station. There they remained until their withdrawal from service at the end of June 1978. As we can see, the company never bothered to remove the coach seats or the red interior trim when the vehicles were downgraded.
As a driver at Marlborough Street I drove these two buses often. Having been built for coach work they were fitted with the 6-cylinder version of the Gardner LW engine instead of the "5-pot" job fitted in mere buses. I drove 2429 (furthest from the camera) on Monday 10th April 1978 for an early morning journey to Failand and back, followed by a return trip to Severn Beach. I had previously driven it on Thursday 19th January (nerds love detail) on the 0720 journey to Chippenham and back. During the intervening couple of months the "feel" and sound of the vehicle had changed noticeably. I looked down. Yes, there it was, a little message printed out on a strip of "Dymo" tape and glued to the dashboard ...DRIVE WITH CARE, NEW ENGINE FITTED, followed by the date of the fitting. The new engine had wrought a transformation. Certain buses you remember as a superb drive, and this was one of them. A little vignette has always stayed in my mind. Returning to Bristol from that Severn Beach trip; coming along the wider, but not quite straight part of Berwick Lane at the Hallen end, bowling along at 50mph, almost every seat taken, the bus swaying from side to side on bits of adverse camber, the music of the Gardner chugging away under the floor, a spring morning and Blackthorn in the hedges. Intoxicating. If only the job could always have been like that.
It was the last time I drove 2429 and the only time I drove it in that superb condition. It should come as no surprise that within a few weeks of fitting a new engine to a bus, the Company should condemn it. This sort of thing used to happen quite often. Here 2429 and sister bus 2427 await disposal at Lawrence Hill depot on Saturday 15th July 1978. The winged Bristol-ECW badge has been swiped from the front of 2427. Actually someone did get some further use out of the new engine, for 2429 subsequently passed through the hands of the dealer Paul Sykes to the Rotherham Swimmers and Supporters Club.
What a waste
These two Bristol MW buses lived parallel lives. Each entered service in April 1965 as a coach in the "Bristol Greyhound" fleet of the Bristol Omnibus Co. For as long as they remained coaches they were allocated to Lawrence Hill Depot, but on 1st February 1971 they were downgraded to bus status and reallocated to Marlborough Street Depot ...i.e. Bristol Bus Station. There they remained until their withdrawal from service at the end of June 1978. As we can see, the company never bothered to remove the coach seats or the red interior trim when the vehicles were downgraded.
As a driver at Marlborough Street I drove these two buses often. Having been built for coach work they were fitted with the 6-cylinder version of the Gardner LW engine instead of the "5-pot" job fitted in mere buses. I drove 2429 (furthest from the camera) on Monday 10th April 1978 for an early morning journey to Failand and back, followed by a return trip to Severn Beach. I had previously driven it on Thursday 19th January (nerds love detail) on the 0720 journey to Chippenham and back. During the intervening couple of months the "feel" and sound of the vehicle had changed noticeably. I looked down. Yes, there it was, a little message printed out on a strip of "Dymo" tape and glued to the dashboard ...DRIVE WITH CARE, NEW ENGINE FITTED, followed by the date of the fitting. The new engine had wrought a transformation. Certain buses you remember as a superb drive, and this was one of them. A little vignette has always stayed in my mind. Returning to Bristol from that Severn Beach trip; coming along the wider, but not quite straight part of Berwick Lane at the Hallen end, bowling along at 50mph, almost every seat taken, the bus swaying from side to side on bits of adverse camber, the music of the Gardner chugging away under the floor, a spring morning and Blackthorn in the hedges. Intoxicating. If only the job could always have been like that.
It was the last time I drove 2429 and the only time I drove it in that superb condition. It should come as no surprise that within a few weeks of fitting a new engine to a bus, the Company should condemn it. This sort of thing used to happen quite often. Here 2429 and sister bus 2427 await disposal at Lawrence Hill depot on Saturday 15th July 1978. The winged Bristol-ECW badge has been swiped from the front of 2427. Actually someone did get some further use out of the new engine, for 2429 subsequently passed through the hands of the dealer Paul Sykes to the Rotherham Swimmers and Supporters Club.