Showbus part 2

Rather later than anticipated due to other commitments, here is the promised second part of my review of this year's Showbus rally at Woburn Abbey. Having already described the serious organisational problems in the first part, this one is rather more positive and concentrates on the exhibits themselves. At an event of this size, it isn't realistically possible to photograph everything, and I had seen several of the vehicles before at smaller local events so these were overlooked in favour of those I hadn't previously encountered. As discussed elsewhere on this blog, the big groups and their low-floor buses aren't of great interest, and nor are London buses, so I make no apologies for largely ignoring these too, and this review focuses on the vehicles that caught my eye.

This Plaxton Viewmaster was superb and one of my favourites.

I began my day with a visit to the trade stalls in the hope of obtaining some early bargains before the crowds arrived, but these proved rather disappointing. They were tucked away in the middle of the site amidst the buses and not easy to find, and the number was much lower than was usual at Duxford, reportedly due to very high rents. The comments I made about the stalls at Gaydon apply equally here and among the vast quantities of diecast models I found literally nothing worth buying, so I completed my trip around the stalls in just half an hour without spending a single penny, which is most unusual for me. Also worthy of note in this area was the catering, which appropriately included a couple of converted buses: a Routemaster serving fish and chips and an open-top Bristol VR rebuilt as a mobile bar.

Entry numbers were down on the Duxford era, which had peaked at around 400 vehicles, and it is estimated that about half that number were present, which is nonetheless an impressive turnout. Some loyal supporters were however notable by their absence, such as the distinctive bright yellow coaches operated by PPH of St Albans, having perhaps decided to stay away thanks to memories of the old days at Woburn, and some other exhibitors had set off for the event but turned back on hearing of the chaos on site. The majority of exhibits came from England, with only a handful of Scottish and Welsh vehicles and a couple from Ireland, the furthest travelled undoubtedly being the unusual FBW that came all the way from its native Switzerland.

All the way from Switzerland and quite probably the first FBW ever to appear at a UK event.

A number of routes were planned, although the entry chaos must have badly impacted their ability to run and I'm not sure what was actually able to operate; at one point the operational vehicles were having to enter via the exit road. Event sponsors Red Rose and Motts Travel provided shuttles from Milton Keynes and Aylesbury respectively, with Motts' Olympians also operating tours of the abbey's deer park and the JungleBus trips around the nearby safari park. Regular Woburn village tours were scheduled using a variety of visiting vehicles, and Centrebus intended to run a service to Luton and Dunstable allowing visitors to sample the Busway in those towns.

Motts' Olympians were kept busy all day.

Showbus always attracts large numbers of boring red Routemasters and this year was no exception; I have made my dislike of these vehicles quite clear but they were conveniently all grouped into one area where they could easily be ignored. Routemasters aside, there was a surprising relative dearth of half-cab vehicles, the majority dating from the late sixties onwards, and the event now seems to be frequented more by operators who see it as an opportunity to show off their fleets than by private preservationists.

The highlight was probably the largest gathering of pre-1930 buses ever assembled, principally from the renowned collections of Barry Weatherhead and Mike Sutcliffe, and these beautifully-restored veterans made a fascinating contrast with the more modern types to show just how far things have progressed in little over a century. They included what is officially recognised as Britain's oldest bus, Mike Sutcliffe's 1908 London Central Leyland double-decker (LN 7270), and this is one of three vehicles from his collection that have been sold to the London Transport Museum in order to secure their future, the first of which was officially handed over during the event.

Britain's oldest bus. Things have come a long way in 107 years.

At the other end of the age range, several operators brought examples of their latest deliveries, although many of these corporate-liveried low-floor buses are of little interest to me and weren't photographed. An exception was the first known 65-registered vehicle with a local Buckinghamshire operator, Enviro200 YX65 RGV that has just arrived with Redline of Aylesbury for a new service operated in partnership with Bucks New University. A couple of other 65s with independent operators were Delaine's Wright Eclipse double-decker AD65 DBL in their traditional livery, and a Jonckheere-bodied Volvo coach (BF65 WHU) with Beestons of Hadleigh, Suffolk.

The first known 65-reg in Bucks.

The Nottinghamshire duo of Sharpes and Johnson Bros, famed for their immaculate vehicles, were out in force, and one of the biggest head-turners was Sharpes' stunning Van Hool Volvo D51 LWW, making its debut after an extremely thorough three-year restoration to better than new condition. A large quantity of polish and elbow grease was used on these vehicles and Showbus is very much a family affair for family-owned firms such as these, with several generations including the kids being roped in to help. Such was their attention to detail that Johnsons' service van, which was really only there as a support vehicle, was also polished to perfection and worthy of display in its own right.

Just stunning. I bet it didn't look this good when new.

I have a liking for the unusual, and one such vehicle that appealed to me was Lawsons of Corby's little Bedford VAS (PEF 6X), a narrow 7ft 6in chassis featuring a Duple Dominant coach body fitted from new with bus seats for use on rural services. Sadly, the advent of low-floors and ever-increasing standardisation means oddities such as this, custom-built to meet a very specific local need, are now a thing of the past. Although several Vista and Vega-bodied Bedford OBs and SBs were present, later Duple coachwork was very poorly represented; this was the only Dominant and there were no examples at all of the company's 1980s products, in contrast to the numerous Plaxtons.

An extra-narrow front-engined coach with bus seats. They don't make them like that anymore.

It was pleasing to see several double-deck coaches, both modern in-service examples and early ones  from the 1980s that are now appearing in preservation. Aside from the Kings Setra that infamously got stuck and caused total gridlock, Van Hool Astromega JEV 245Y was also present, now part of the Ensignbus heritage fleet and restored to its original Southend Transport condition after so many years with Fords of Althorne. An even rarer double-decker was the MCW Metroliner 400GT (new to Yorkshire Traction as E99 AAK but now registered E752 CNS) last operated by WJC Buses in Scotland and one of only three built; I have admired these for years but never seen one in the flesh before. It had been booked to attend the Buses Festival at Gaydon and I was disappointed that it didn't turn up so it was great to see it here.

At last, I have seen one of the three 400GT Metroliners.

My interest is principally in coaches and minibuses from the late 1960s onwards, but there were some highlights among the older vehicles that I took a liking to. The Maltese bus used by Lloyds TSB as a promotional vehicle in the 2012 Olympic Torch Relay has happily now been restored to its original form and very nice it looks too. Now registered in the UK as SKR 801G, in typical Maltese fashion this has an identity crisis: it is licensed as a Leyland, described in the Showbus programme as a Bedford SB and has the AEC name written on the front! Making its debut after restoration and rewarded with the Doyen Single-Deck award was YYB 118, the unique Harrington-bodied Dennis Lancet UF new to Hutchings & Cornelius in Somerset, a combination I was unaware had ever existed.

 

Bedford, Leyland or AEC? It's a Malteaser for sure.

Despite all the problems that soured the atmosphere somewhat, Showbus 2015 was nevertheless still an enjoyable event that attracted a diverse and high-quality selection of vehicles, although not quite on a par with the Duxford era. What of the future though? There has been much clamour for a return to Duxford but this is not an option, and any further use of Woburn Abbey would rightfully meet with strong resistance, so a new venue will be needed for next year and suitable sites are not easy to find. It remains to be seen what the future holds for Showbus but this year's event was certainly memorable, if not entirely for the right reasons. This article can only give a brief overview of such a large event, but many more photos can be found in my Flickr album.

A family affair with a lot of elbow grease.