568BYA Blagdon Lioness
At Weymouth Rally in 1977.
In 1976 my brothers and myself were looking for a practical coach for preservation , following our overambitious attempt to preserve NCV500 , Pearce of Polperro's 1950 Leyland Royal Tiger / Harrington dorsal fin coach. We lived in Blagdon at the time , and Terry Lyons offered us his OB , LYC731. However there were about a hundred OBs in preservation and we were looking for something "different" , so on 31 March 1976 we purchased Blagdon Lioness's 568BYA , an immaculate 1958 Bedford C4Z2 / Duple C29F . I drove her down to the Weymouth rally a couple of times , although Tim is driving here for the run out to Portland , with the door open for me to jump on after taking the photo.
We then sold her in August 1977 to Jimmy Miller in Whitchurch who sold her on to Clifton College who operated her across the Clifton Suspension Bridge. After that she became a mobile home. My brother Tim bought her for a second time as dealer Somerbus Ltd in Nov 1987 and sold her in July 1990. She has had a long life , latterly as a mobile caravan , but the OB has fared better in the end.
568BYA in 2011 : www.flickr.com/photos/londonbusphotos/6182130438/
LYC731 in 2012 : www.flickr.com/photos/neiljennings/7007210560/
This was my last attempt at preservation , but both Tim and Simon went on to own further preserved buses , and Tim's company Somerbus now has a small fleet of modern buses , plus an AEC Regal MHY1 as a restoration project. His latest acquisition is ex Blagdon Lioness Leyland Tiger D771GTC which he has sold on to Adrian Griffiths , Brinkworth.
568BYA Blagdon Lioness
At Weymouth Rally in 1977.
In 1976 my brothers and myself were looking for a practical coach for preservation , following our overambitious attempt to preserve NCV500 , Pearce of Polperro's 1950 Leyland Royal Tiger / Harrington dorsal fin coach. We lived in Blagdon at the time , and Terry Lyons offered us his OB , LYC731. However there were about a hundred OBs in preservation and we were looking for something "different" , so on 31 March 1976 we purchased Blagdon Lioness's 568BYA , an immaculate 1958 Bedford C4Z2 / Duple C29F . I drove her down to the Weymouth rally a couple of times , although Tim is driving here for the run out to Portland , with the door open for me to jump on after taking the photo.
We then sold her in August 1977 to Jimmy Miller in Whitchurch who sold her on to Clifton College who operated her across the Clifton Suspension Bridge. After that she became a mobile home. My brother Tim bought her for a second time as dealer Somerbus Ltd in Nov 1987 and sold her in July 1990. She has had a long life , latterly as a mobile caravan , but the OB has fared better in the end.
568BYA in 2011 : www.flickr.com/photos/londonbusphotos/6182130438/
LYC731 in 2012 : www.flickr.com/photos/neiljennings/7007210560/
This was my last attempt at preservation , but both Tim and Simon went on to own further preserved buses , and Tim's company Somerbus now has a small fleet of modern buses , plus an AEC Regal MHY1 as a restoration project. His latest acquisition is ex Blagdon Lioness Leyland Tiger D771GTC which he has sold on to Adrian Griffiths , Brinkworth.