Devon General Omnibus & Touring Co Ltd 1919-1970 [Part 1: 1919-1935] Devon General Omnibus & Touring Co Ltd 1919-1970 [Part 1: 1919-1935] Contents Torquay Tramways Co Ltd - Fleet History 1907-1934 Page 3 Torquay Tramways Co Ltd - Tram Fleet List 1907-1934 Page 6 Devon General Omnibus & Touring Co Ltd - Fleet History 1919-1970 Page 15 Devon General Omnibus & Touring Co Ltd - Bus Fleet List 1919-1935 Page 23 Cover Illustration: SR487 (HTT487) a preserved AEC Regal with Weymann 35-seat bodywork dating from 1946. (Brian Pask). Illustrations courtesy Brian Pask, Graham Hill, Chudleigh History Group and the Bus Archive. © The Local Transport History Library 2020. (www.lthlibrary.org.uk) For personal use only. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical or otherwise without the express written permission of the publisher. In all cases this notice must remain intact. All rights reserved. First Published 2020. PDF-098A-1 Page 2 Devon General Omnibus & Touring Co Ltd 1919-1970 [Part 1: 1919-1935] Torquay Tramways Co Ltd 1907-1934 Authorised by the Torquay Tramways Act of 1904, this 3ft 6ins gauge tramway was constructed by the Torquay Tramway Construction Co. Ltd (a subsidiary of the National Electric Construction Co. Ltd.) and operated by the Torquay Tramways Co. Ltd. The first section of track opened on the 4th April 1907, and consisted of three mainly single-track routes connecting Torre Station, St. Marychurch and Beacon Quay in a triangular system almost 4 miles in length and using the Dolter Surface Contact system. The initial rolling stock consisted of Nos. 1-18, Brush-built open-top, double-deckers liveried in maroon and cream, lined out in gold. On the 11th November 1907 a fourth section between St. Marychurch and Beacon Quay via Babbacombe opened. A double-track extension from Beacon Quay along the seafront to Torquay Station was opened on 16th April 1908. The Company had plans to extend the line further along the coast to Paignton, however, due to the persistent failure of the Dolter system it was proposed to change to the more conventional overhead system. This provoked a dispute with Torquay Page 3 Devon General Omnibus & Touring Co Ltd 1919-1970 [Part 1: 1919-1935] Council who maintained that the overhead wires and infrastructure would be unsightly and detract from the scenic beauty of the resort. The dispute went to arbitration, which found in favour of the Company, and the conversion went ahead. The line to Paignton opened on the 17th July 1911, necessitating an increase in the tramcar fleet for which a further 15 (Nos. 19-33), Brush-built, open-top, double-deckers were delivered. In July 1914, following increased competition from motorbus operators, the Torquay Tramways Company ordered three single-deck buses but they were diverted away from Torquay by the government before delivery because of the onset of the Great War. In 1920, following the cessation of hostilities, the Tramways Company purchased a number of motorbuses, which operated on services over a wide area of South Devon. They were housed in the main tram depot, which was on a private road at Plainmoor (later Westhill Avenue), there was also a smaller depot at Preston, which housed the cars for the Paignton route – the later bogie cars were always confined to this depot and route. In June 1922 the Company (through the National Electric Construction Co. Ltd.) acquired the controlling interest in the Devon General Company and in August 1922 the motorbuses were transferred to the new acquisition. By the early 1930’s the tramway was becoming increasingly unremunerative and faced severe competition from the motorbus. With the aim of extending further into Paignton, permission was sought in 1933 to convert to Page 4 Devon General Omnibus & Touring Co Ltd 1919-1970 [Part 1: 1919-1935] trolleybuses, but the Western National Omnibus Company objected and the necessary Act of Parliament was not passed. Instead the company decided to convert its routes to motor bus operation. On 18th July 1933 Parliament gave permission and on 14th January 1934 the Paignton route was replaced by motorbuses of the Devon General Company, followed on 31st January by the remainder of the system, bringing tramway operation in the resort to a close. Page 5 Devon General Omnibus & Touring Co Ltd 1919-1970 [Part 1: 1919-1935] Tram Fleet List 1907-1934 This listing is in the format - Year into stock; Fleet No; Type; Trucks; Body; Seating. 1907 1-18 Double-deck open-top 4-wheel Mountain & Gibson Radial Brush 27/22 Nos. 1, 7, 9-10, 16-18 re-trucked with Brill 21E trucks at a later date. Withdrawn 1934 (1-18) 1910 19-33 Double-deck open-top 4-wheel Brill 21E Brush 27/22 Withdrawn 1934 (19-33). 1921 34-36 Single-deck 4-wheel Brush A1 Brush 24 Nos. 34-36 ex-Taunton Electric Tramways (new 1905). Withdrawn 1934 (34-36). Page 6 Devon General Omnibus & Touring Co Ltd 1919-1970 [Part 1: 1919-1935] One of the first batch of 18 cars delivered in 1907 was No. 13, a Brush built open top double-decker seating 49. (LTHL collection). Devon General Omnibus & Touring Co Ltd 1919-1970 [Part 1: 1919-1935] Car No. 31, delivered in 1910, was built by Brush, seating 49 and was identical to those delivered 3 years earlier. (LTHL collection). Devon General Omnibus & Touring Co Ltd 1919-1970 [Part 1: 1919-1935] 1923 37-38 Double-deck open-top bogie Brush Maximum Traction Brush 76 Withdrawn 1934 (37-38). 1925 39-40 Double-deck open-top bogie Brush Maximum Traction Brush 76 Withdrawn 1934 (39-40). 1928 41-42 Double-deck open-top bogie Brush Maximum Traction Brush 72 Withdrawn 1934 (41-42). Page 9 Devon General Omnibus & Touring Co Ltd 1919-1970 [Part 1: 1919-1935] No. 38 was a Brush-built double deck open top car on Brush bogies enabling a higher seating capacity of 76. (LTHL collection). Devon General Omnibus & Touring Co Ltd 1919-1970 [Part 1: 1919-1935] Bus Fleet List 1920-1922 This listing is in the format - Year into stock; Fleet No; Reg. No; Chassis; Chassis No; Body; Seating. 1920 1 T8188 AEC YC 14896 Brush B32F 2 T8190 AEC YC 14894 Brush B32F 3 T8192 AEC YC 14895 Brush B32F 9 T8194 AEC YC 14899 Brush B32F 4? T8196 AEC YC 14893 Brush B32F 5? T8198 AEC YC 14892 Brush B32F 6? T8200 AEC YC 14897 Brush B32F 7? T8202 AEC YC 14898 Brush B32F 8 T8204 AEC YC 14901 Brush B32F No. 3 (T8192) was burnt out at Plainmoor in June 1921 and was re-bodied by Strachan & Brown to B32F and re-registered TA3094. The original registration was re-used in 1921 for No. 23. TB8196, TB8198, TB8200, TB8202 probably numbered 4-7 (order unknown). All re-seated to B26F at a later date. Nos. 1-9 To Devon General Omnibus & Touring Co. Ltd. 8/22. Page 11 Devon General Omnibus & Touring Co Ltd 1919-1970 [Part 1: 1919-1935] Torquay Tramways No. 8 (T8204) one of 9 AEC YC chassis acquired for the start of bus services in 1920. It carried a Brush 32-seat body. (LTHL collection). Devon General Omnibus & Touring Co Ltd 1919-1970 [Part 1: 1919-1935] 1921 ? TA1004 AEC K 20505 Brush O24/22RO 14 TA1005 AEC K 20506 Brush O24/22RO ? TA1006 AEC K 20507 Brush O24/22RO ? TA1168 AEC K 20508 Brush O24/22RO ? TA1169 AEC K 20509 Brush O24/22RO ? TA1170 AEC K 20510 Brush O24/22RO 23 T8192 Daimler Y 6613 ? Ch30 ?-? TA1008-10 Daimler Y 6008/580/631 ? Ch30 ? TA1676 Daimler Y 6329 ? Ch30 2 TA1677 Daimler Y 5601 ? Ch30 ? TA1678 Daimler Y 7002 ? Ch30 5 TA1679 Daimler Y 6516 ? Ch30 ? TA1934 Daimler Y 6166 ? Ch30 TA1004, TA1006 may have been numbered 13 and 15 (order unknown); TA1168-1170 probably numbered 16-18 (order unknown); bodies by Brush to LGOC design. The Daimler Y vehicles were supplied by Roberts of London and may have been bodied by Roberts but are more likely to have been bodied under contract (bodymaker unknown). They were probably obtained from the War Department. All to Devon General Omnibus & Touring Co. Ltd. 8/22. Page 13 Devon General Omnibus & Touring Co Ltd 1919-1970 [Part 1: 1919-1935] 1922 ?-? TA3794-95 Daimler Y 5881/91 Strachan & Brown B32F 29 TA3796 Daimler Y 6500 Strachan & Brown B32F 28 TA3797 Daimler Y 6300 ? Ch28 6 TA3798 Daimler Y 4382 Strachan & Brown B32F 33 TA3799 Daimler Y 4327 Strachan & Brown B32F 36 TA3800 Daimler Y 6561 Strachan & Brown B32F ? TA3801 Daimler Y 6529 Strachan & Brown B32F 25-26 TA3802-03 Daimler Y 5999/6984 ? Ch28 27 TA3848 Daimler Y 6324 ? Ch28 ? TA3849 Daimler Y 6541 Strachan & Brown B32F All these vehicles were probably ex-War Department, rebuilt and re-bodied. All to Devon General Omnibus & Touring Co. Ltd. 8/22. Page 14 Devon General Omnibus & Touring Co Ltd 1919-1970 [Part 1: 1919-1935] Devon General Omnibus and Touring Co Ltd Fleet History 1919-1970 The Devon General Omnibus & Touring Company Limited was first registered on 22 May 1919 with an authorised capital of £4000. Two of the directors were Charles Mill and his son, John Stuart Mill. It was John Mill who purchased the first three AEC YC chassis from the London General/AEC works at Walthamstow and sold them to the new company in exchange for shares and the post of General Manager. The choice of Devon General as the company name was obviously based on that of London General and initially the LGOC livery was also adopted.