Friends of Classic London Buses of the Fifties for Those Actively Involved in Or Supporting the Preservation of London Buses, Coaches and Trolleybuses of the Past
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Friends of Classic London Buses of the Fifties For those actively involved in or supporting the preservation of London buses, coaches and trolleybuses of the past 8th May this year marked 58 years since London's last trolleybus ran. We missed this anniversary because of the amount of material waiting to be published and, let's be honest, 58 years is nothing special. Just wait until 2022, when we shall miss the 60th anniversary in much more spectacular fashion. Above is 1521, the official last trolleybus, a 1940 Metro-Cammell L3 with AEC running units, seen here leaving Kingston. A number of cyclists are ignoring it and a traditional British “bobby” on point duty is encouraging it on its way. In the background is C & A Modes' shop, a brand now extinct in the UK but still to be found trading happily in Europe. C & A was popularly if inaccurately supposed to stand for “coats and 'ats” but there was a ruder and rather anatomical version which has no place in a wholesome family publication – or this Newsletter! The vehicle now lives in retirement at Carlton Colville, near Lowestoft. Photo by Michael Dryhurst Newsletter 167 July 2020 Opening Lines While we have all been stuck at home, like it or not (and at the time of writing we still are), some people have been using the time productively to find interesting items for us to publish. Thanks to everyone who has contributed I am able to crack on with this edition only a couple of days after posting the last one, so the first few items are those I had to hold over for space reasons. London in Colour – 1937 Thanks to Hugh Taylor for forwarding this link. Have a look at Youtube, which of course you can pause while you try to identify the vehicles: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSacy_dfXYI The colour has somewhat altered over the years but it's a fascinating bit of film which apparently found its way onto the internet via someone in Munich. Keep your eyes peeled for some unexpected treasures. The clip is some three minutes long but was apparently part of a longer (12 minute) film. 1 My Birthday John Wagstaff Many thanks for the May Newsletter, delivered in good time despite the erratic postal deliveries at present. I wonder if, more than seventy years on, the venerable Alan Cross is still celebrating my birthday with interesting bus-crank expeditions? I noted from your pages some while ago that he had gone out on my actual birth date – December 17th, 1947 – with a celebratory ride in a rear-engine Leyland Cub CR-type on prestigious route 9. I can quite understand why my mother and I were not in an ideal position to Join Alan on that occasion, but he might have had the consideration to invite us to Join him on my second birthday – December 17th, 1949 – when he went gallivanting to Leavesden Road Garage, with camera (pages 24/26 of May Newsletter) but not with us. I’m sure my Silver Cross pram (or had I graduated to a push-chair by then?) would have fitted nicely beneath that Low Roof and I would have been no bother! Now for Something Completely Different..... No, not a Monty Python sketch, but if you are all sitting around wondering how to fill your day, what about a good read? You could even do that in the sunshine without breaking any rules (unless they have changed them since I wrote this, of course). I draw to everyone's attention a novel by none other than our own Michael Dryhurst. It's called “Check the Gate!” and can be obtained from Amazon (only) at £12.26 in paperback; a Kindle version is available for those with the necessary reader. “Despite having worked on movies worldwide, Line Producer James Cooper encounters a whole new set of challenges when in charge of the production Redmayne West in Amazonia. An indolent fading Director way out-of-his depth, continual second-guessing interference from his Hollywood masters five time-zones away, the leading actress abducted, an ingénue replacement who thinks she knows more than the seasoned professionals around her, the movie being used as a mule by a drugs cartel and lurking always beneath the surface the threat of… murder. And then there’s the reigniting of a long-dormant emotional flame. All told not from the comfort of a movie executive suite but from the unglamorous world of location filming, the reel world. “ Nothing to do with buses, of course, but we thought some of you might be interested. From the preview, it seems that it is printed in American so be prepared for odd transatlantic spellings. Transport Auctions of London Michael Wickham I hope that you and yours have come through the COVID-19 crisis thus far safe and healthy. We are pleased to advise you that we are now OPEN again for business and welcoming entries for our next sale, as well as enquiries and valuation requests. Deliveries and collections can now be arranged, subJect to appropriate distancing and protection. Our next sale will take place in late Summer/early Autumn and we are currently discussing possible dates with venues. As soon as the date is fixed, you will be the first to hear and we will also post the date in our usual advertising and social media. If you had already consigned to us for our postponed June sale, your entries will be carried over and you will receive confirmation as we start to catalogue in the coming weeks. I wish you continuing good health. [email protected] Telephone: 01737 237505 2 3 1037J Tony Beard It is surprising the amount of material which is still to be discovered and recently I was sent this document (see previous page) by my good friend Jim Hawkins. This chronicles the fourth and final movement of the body built for RT1 on to a post-war RT chassis from RT 1420 which became available after its body was seriously damaged and written off. 1019J of which I have never seen a photograph, was the combination of the prototype body and the chassis from SRT 45; the body was then renumbered 9744 in the Miscellaneous Vehicle fleet but whoever drew up the document quoted its original body number and all references to this have been subsequently altered. Do note in paragraph (d) there is a reference to the demonstration equipment which this body carried both as 1019J and 1037J; are there any photographs? The prototype body was not the only early RT body to be renumbered. When RT 106 became 1036TV in late 1955, its body 405, which it had carried since new was renumbered 9760. Saunders RTs Alan Bond With regard to the latest notes about Saunders RTs, I thought you might like a copy of the attached photo'. It was sent to me some years back by the late David Bosher, who was researching information for a book on the Saunders RTs. Sadly, he passed away before it was anywhere near completion. Anyway, the picture shows RT 1214 in primer, but with a fully painted and numbered bonnet, at Airworks at Langley sometime in 1949 . A number of Saunders RTs received their LT red finishing paint Job at Airworks due to Saunders being somewhat snowed under with work and unable to meet their LT commitments. From what I have been given to understand, there was a Joint approach to Airworks from both LT and Saunders with Saunders actually paying for the work and with no additional contractual payments being required from LT. I have no idea how many were done because the actual work was contracted through the management at Saunders and their records are, as far as I know, unavailable (I would love to be proved wrong on that one). This is the only photograph I have ever seen of an RT at Airworks and that is despite the fact that a large part of the cab heater fitting programme was carried out by them under contract from LT. The details of the latter were made available to me via John Marshall during a visit to Acton some years ago. I hadn't realised that early deliveries of RT family buses were not fitted with cab heaters from new and it was only after a protest from the TGWU that an agreement was reached that all RT family buses would be 4 so equipped by the winter of, if I remember correctly, 1952/53. The only way this deadline could be met was by contracting out some of the work and Airworks were roped in to convert existing buses not due for overhaul, while Aldenham and Chiswick fitted them at overhaul. With such a large number of buses to be done, a kit of parts was devised and both LT and Airworks worked to the same plan. The work at Langley took half a day and most buses were there overnight. Whether the heater kits were sent separately to Langley or with the buses that required them I have been unable to ascertain. Pinewood Studios (Again) Peter Goodfellow Following on from the several recent articles in this newsletter about Pinewood Studios I add the following from my own recollections of the 457C route. The route was served mainly by RTs (Cravens included). I used to find the 457Cs I often rode on from UX were nippy because they were virtually non-stop to Pinewood Studios. I always chose them in preference to the 457/As.