Stock List

111 is the oldest bus at Bridgeton and is on loan from the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum. It is believed to be the oldest remaining Leyland Titan TD1; one of only three with open staircases; and possibly the oldest double decker ever operated by a Scottish operator still in existence.

The Titan was a landmark design. It was introduced in 1927 with a six cylinder 6.8L petrol engine. Regarded as the most advanced passenger transport chassis ever produced it was adopted into many bus fleets as their first ever double decker.

Among other aspects it originated the "lowbridge" design patented by Leyland which provided bench seating and rows of four with a sunken gangway on the top deck. This permitted the overall height of the vehicle to be kept just over 13 feet. Many TD1s were built to this style by Leyland and other manufacturers under licence. The early examples all had rear open staircases. Innovations included four-wheel brakes and self-starters, which were soon copied by other manufacturers and many other features became standard bus practice.  Over 2,300 Titans were built between 1927 and 1932.  Glasgow Corporation were enthusiastic early users taking 15 Titans almost as soon as the model became available. This was followed by a batch of a further 100, delivered over 1928 and 1929.

This bus was new in 1928 with a petrol engine, and ran in Glasgow until May 1940 at which point it was requisitioned as a Civil Defence ambulance. By the mid-1940s, it had been converted to a static caravan in Kent where it remained for almost 50 years until it entered preservation in 1989.

The owner could only say that the old bus had been lying there for about 40 years. It was derelict and although it was mechanically complete the top deck was totally missing and what remained of the body had been extensively adapted for its role as a caravan.

The original body was beyond restoration so a new body to the original design was constructed, initially by SBG Engineering, then later being completed at the SVBM ready for the bus's launch at the Strathclyde Buses Centenary celebrations in 1994.

The chassis survived in its original condition and required only superficial refurbishment and the fitting of a reconditioned engine although the original model of petrol engine at 70 years old was never the most reliable so in recent years the bus has been further upgraded to a Leyland diesel engine of similar vintage.

One of the oldest buses in the collection, WG 2373 is a Leyland Lion LT5B, built in 1934 with Alexander 35 seat body and powered by one of the first 6-cylinder diesel engines (8.6 litre).

P169 served out of Alexander's Kilsyth Depot, operating the Glasgow to Inverness route on a daily basis for its first 10 years of service. Many operators chose to rebody their vehicles to extend their working lives during this period, so P169 was re-bodied in 1947 by Burlingham of Blackpool. The benefits of this type of rebuild are shown by the longevity achieved by the mechanical parts of these vehicles. Upon withdrawal by Alexander's in 1960 the engine and chassis had completed 26 years service.

After withdrawal in 1960, it went to a Banff showman and in 1976 to the Strathspey Railway, Aviemore. It passed to Sandy Scott of Elgin by mid-1980 where it remained until Will Hamer of Cumbria Classic Coaches purchased it in 1998. Cumbria Classic Coaches use and maintain many vintage vehicles and P169 was used in regular service and on private hires.

It remained with Cumbria until October 2004 when P169 retuned north to join the collection at the GVVT where it can now enjoy a long retirement.

Former Alexanders P169 (WG 2373) on Clarkston Road, 7/3/2010. First time out the garage in about 3 years. © K. Hay.

Simpson's & Forrester's was formed in 1929 by the merging of two West Fife operators, Messrs A & R Forrester of Lochgelly and Simpson's Motor Service of Dunfermline. Although closely tied to the fledgling W. Alexander & Sons operation it was not until 1938 that the company was fully absorbed and WG 4445 renumbered P331. During the early and mid 1930's a number of standard Alexander vehicles entered the fleet and these easily became part of the large fleet after the takeover.

The original body was replaced in 1949 with a more modern Alexander design and only 30 coach seats. At this time the bus was moved to the subsidiary fleet of David Lawson, Kirkintilloch. The new coach body saw P331 being used on long distance tour work. In 1959 a set of 39 bus seats were fitted.

In 1961 the large Alexander company was split into three separate companies, the former Lawson's fleet becoming part of the new W. Alexander & Sons (Midland) Ltd. P331 was to last only a short time with Midland, thought to have been withdrawn in 1961 although some of the batch continued to operate from the former Lawson's depot in Kirkintilloch until 1964.

The photo below shows P331 as it was when restored in 1975.  Subsequently it spent a considerable time in open storage and has deteriorated badly highlighting the necessity of covered dry storage for these elderly vehicles. Hopefully one day it will be returned to its former glory.

WG 4445 in Falkirk on an Omnibus Society Tour. © I. MacGregor.

Albion Motors Ltd. of Scotstoun, Glasgow was established in 1899 and quickly became Scotland’s most important commercial vehicle manufacturer. They made lorries and buses which sold in greater numbers overseas than they did in their own country.

The Venturer CX19 was introduced in 1938 with a choice of Gardner or Albion engines, but after the war only Albion engines were offered. Around the time of Albion’s decision in the late 1940s to stop production of double deckers, the CX19 had just been replaced by the short lived CX37.

Therefore, with a production life spanning 11 years, the Albion CX19 became Albion’s longest lived and most successful double deck chassis and more popular overseas than in its home country. Glasgow and Sydney ran sizeable fleets of these buses. By 1961 all the Glasgow examples had gone, but in Sydney they remained in service till 1971. Some then went on to provide even more service with independent operators.

One such bus was m/o 1877, chassis number 60023C, which was one of 30 Venturer Sp.CX19W chassis ordered by the New South Wales Department of Government Transport on 21st May 1946 for delivery by 7th November 1946. In Sydney it was fitted with a 59 seat steel framed body by Commonwealth Engineering of Granville, being later converted to 61 seats by the removal of the canvas front door. It entered service in 1947 and was allocated fleet number 1877.

It joined the largest fleet of CX19s in the world, which, by 1949, numbered 143, in addition to 17 pre-war examples with Gardner engines. It was sold in 1970 to a succession of independent operators in New South Wales, being finally withdrawn in 1981 after 34 years service. It was then acquired by Australian preservationist Bruce Pinnell, from whom this Group acquired the bus in February 2004. 1877 has since been allocated British registration number GSU 378. This project is run by the Sydney Albion Venturer Group, a group of Scottish vintage vehicle enthusiasts. This is the first project in Scotland supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund to restore a bus.

This bus is the oldest MacBrayne's bus currently preserved.  It is fitted with an A.E.C. engine and Park Royal 35 seat body. During its service it was based at the Ardrishaig Depot, Argyll.

In 1968 it was sold to a Dundee showman and in March 1971 was bought by the Albion Vehicle Preservation Trust who kept it until December 1979. It changed ownership again, this time to David Dean, Paisley, who did not use it and little was done preservation-wise. Leaving Paisley it crossed the border to a Chepstow firm. After arriving here it lay for some time and its condition deteriorated badly. However, that did not stop Derek Hunter taking it in hand and doing a first class job of restoring it back to its original condition.

GUS spends the winter months at Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust and joins its two colleagues at Stonehaven for the summer months.

GUS 926, seen at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum. © I. MacGregor.

Albion was established in 1899 in Glasgow, the second city of the Empire, already renowned worldwide for its engineering excellence. Their motto 'Sure as the Sunrise' was adapted into the logo which featured on the radiator and badges of their models for many years, and helped to establish their identity wherever they operated throughout the world.

One of the Albion Vehicle Preservation Society's own preserved Albions, FVA 854 is a 1950 CX39N "Valiant" with Duple 33-seat coachwork. It started life with Hutchison of Overtown but after only three and a half years passed to Tuer of Morland, near Penrith. After seven years with Tuer it returned north after being bought by Carmichael (operating as Highland Bus Service) of Glenboig. It was acquired for preservation by the AVPT in January 1967 after Carmichael was taken over by Alexander (Midland). It currently carries the livery of Western SMT.

FVA 854 seen outside the People's Palace in Glasgow Green. © I. MacGregor.

This bus may be the second oldest MacBrayne vehicle preserved.

Most small buses in the MacBrayne fleet were based on lorry chassis to give good ground clearance.  This one has a Glasgow built "Croft" body and seats 20 passengers.

During its time with Macbrayne it was based at Tobermory Garage, Isle of Mull. In 1962 it was sold to a small Argyll coach operator M. MacLachlan & Son, Tayvallich who ran it on service and schools for 12 years.

During its stay here the petrol engine was replaced by a Ford Diesel engine which proved to be more economical. In 1974 a MacBrayne Circle member bought the bus after many years of dry storage and the bus has since changed hands.

HGG 359 can be seen at many rallies during each summer. During the winter months it is garaged here at Fordneuk Street and returns to its base at Stonehaven for the summer.

HGG 359, seen beside the Doulton Fountain in Glasgow Green. © I. MacGregor.

DMS 130 spent its working life based in Arbroath thus becoming part of the Alexander (Northern) fleet in 1961. In due course Alexander's blue and cream livery gave way to Northern's yellow and cream.  It was withdrawn in February 1971 and passed thereafter into preservation at various locations in England.  It has now returned to Scotland and joined the GVVT collection in June 2018.

DMS 130 seen in Arbroath in service with Alexander (Northern). © G. Ware.

Of 631 Leyland Titan half-cab double deck buses operated by Central SMT, L484 is the only remaining example. It is in fact a PD2/10 model with Leyland body, exposed radiator, vacuum brakes and synchromeshed gearbox. It is typical of the Central fleet from all depots and represents the history and heritage of bus travel throughout west central Scotland during the 1930s to the early 1960s.

First registered on 30th September 1954, it entered service on Monday 4th October 1954. From March 1967 it was transferred to Nerston at East Kilbride and was used on various routes before being sold on 29th May 1969 to George Wilson of Stonehouse, a builder. It was used as a crew bus for 11 years and finally ceased work on 10th December 1980. Over the next 25 years it had several owners. It was acquired by a member of the 484 Preservation Group in October 2005.

Restoration was only possible when they were awarded a £50,000 grant from the National Heritage Lottery Fund. Fundraising is an ongoing exercise as the group prepares to meet the Lottery conditions. These include running days, rallies, school visits and the replication of routes operated by the Central SMT company.

The bus was stripped to the chassis and the only parts suitable for re-use were side pillars and roof sticks. The chassis was shotblasted and painted. The group was not satisfied with the engine and were fortunate to acquire an ex-army replacement.

As the seat fabric was no longer available, consideration was given to using a modern material with similar colours. However, a company was located which was prepared to recreate the exact design if a full production run of 12 rolls was purchased!

Of 13 original hopper windows only about 7 were saved. The group was put in contact with Martin Young of McGregor Young in Coatbridge, a company which currently manufactures hopper windows for present day body builders. Mr. Young was more than helpful and assured them he could reproduce the windows to the original design. Gratitude for his contribution is immeasurable

Delivered in 1955, no. 55 operated in the Channel Island of Guernsey until 1980 when it was sold to Classique Coaches of Paisley. Albions were built in Glasgow and a large number of them were operated on Guernsey. The Railway Company operated 81 in total buying them both new and second hand between 1950 and 1978.

As the name suggests this bus operator had not always operated buses. In 1879 a steam tramway was introduced although this rapidly succumbed to competition from local horse buses. In 1892 the tramway service was reintroduced, operated by electrically powered tramcars. This lasted until 1934 when the tramway closed, again due to the competition from local buses. The company had been operating its own horse buses since 1895 and motorbuses since 1909. The company continued with a variety of owners until 1980 when it ceased to operate. As the majority of the island's roads are unsuited to large vehicles the bus operators always used small narrow buses hence the popularity of the small Albions and later the wide scale use of minibuses.

757 was delivered in 1956 to replace the last of the Edinburgh tram fleet.

The Leyland PD2 was a standard purchase for Edinburgh Corporation, however the choice of the Metro Cammell body would be unusual for almost any Scottish operator except Edinburgh who had been purchasing vehicles from this bodybuilder since 1937. The 1956 deliveries however marked the end of the company's association with Edinburgh. From 1957 until 1983 Alexander in Falkirk would build all double deckers.

757 remained in service until the mid 1970's, latterly at the now closed Leith Walk depot. Edinburgh continued to purchase Leyland double deckers until the end of Leyland production in 1993.

Whilst NMS 358 and WSK 509 in the collection represent the typical 1950s "country" dual purpose coach, this vehicle has been brought to Bridgeton as an example of an earlier 1950s standard vehicle with the service bus body. This style of body is more commonly associated with AEC Monocoaches operated by Alexanders and Scottish Omnibuses (Eastern Scottish) though was also fitted to some batches of AEC Reliances like this one, also Leyland Tiger Cubs.

This bus is fitted with AEC AH470 engine, 5 speed synchromesh gearbox and vacuum brakes.  New to W. Alexander & Sons in 1957 as fleet no AC102, and passed to the Alexander (Northern) company in 1961, we understand it was originally based at Forfar depot. After use by Northern it was used as the Dundee depot works bus before being  sold in the late 1970s to a group of enthusiasts who used it on a tour of Europe before selling it on return. Thereafter it was owned by a number of farmers and was eventually being used by a contractor in the Arbroath area for many years.

Originally registered JWG 682 it has been re-registered as YTS 916A but it is hoped to obtain a Stirlingshire number (where all Alexanders buses were registered) for it in due course.

Presently unrestored, restoration is planned in future when other projects are completed.

AC102 seen during a depot move, 15 July 2012. It had been on tow, but it unexpectedly bump-started while towing so it finished the move under its own power. © K. Hay.

In the late 1950s, Western SMT sourced their double decker vehicles from both Bristol and Leyland taking both the Bristol LD and Leyland PD2 in considerable numbers. The body orders were sourced from Northern Counties and Alexander, KAG being from the latter.

In 1957 Western took delivery of their first batch of PD3s which were mechanically similar to the PD2, but had an increased carrying capacity. The same year Western took delivery of the last of their 97 PD2s, KAG 855-864. KAG 856 formed part of this batch and was one of the last two buses to be delivered with open rear platforms. All remaining deliveries on both PD2 & PD3s had heavy manually operated doors, otherwise the design of the bodies was similar and they retained the lowbridge layout with sunken side gangway upstairs.

KAG 856 was one of 97 PD2/20s bought by Western SMT between 1955 and 1957.    It was delivered new as ID1375 to the Western Garage at Inchinnan and operated here until 1969 when it was transferred to Dumfries becoming DD1375.

Upon withdrawal in 1971 KAG 856 was sold to Alexander (Northern) and was renumbered NRB301. It was finally withdrawn from service in the late 70's and sold to a Dundee area fruit farmer for use as staff transport and later a workers bothy. It was rescued for preservation from a Barnsley scrapyard in 1993 and was stored at a number of locations throughout England.

Some work has already been undertaken which has involved the bus being stripped of its major components and some repairs to the bodywork. The bus was bought by its current owners in November 2003 and returned home to Scotland, joining the collection at Bridgeton in February 2004. It is anticipated to be some time before it is finally restored to the traditional Western red & cream livery.

D217 is the first 30ft-long bus bought by Glasgow Corporation Transport, and was exhibited at the Scottish Motor Show in the Kelvin Hall in November 1957 before entering service from Langside Garage in March 1958.

It turned out to be the only long rear-entrance Daimler, all others being the standard length of 27ft 6in.

Its original Daimler CD650 engine was replaced with a Gardner 6LW unit in 1968 in the interests of standardisation.

After moving to Larkfield Garage in 1971, D217 transferred with the rest of the fleet from Glasgow Corporation to GGPTE in 1973. After withdrawal in 1975, it spent some years in storage until being sold to Greyhound of Arbroath in 1978. It was acquired for preservation in 1979 by a private owner.

It unexpectedly returned to service on the Glasgow City Tour run by Glasgow Corporation Transport Limited between 2003-4.

Sold with the Tour business to First Glasgow in March 2004, on return to Larkfield this bus was surprisingly returned to its original fleetnumber, D217, as well as being 39999 in the First national numbering scheme.

Finally, it was sold to Glasgow City Council for a return to preservation in 2006.

D217 seen on Queen Margaret Drive at the Botanic Gardens during the West End Festival running day. 22/6/2014. © K. Hay.

Between 1932 and 1942 Central SMT’s double deck fleet had been almost exclusively Leyland. Then severe restrictions on what buses were available, caused by World War Two, forced Central to try both Bristol and Guy buses fitted with Gardner engines. After the war, Central went back to buying Leylands – but chose to keep on taking Guys as well. After trials, in 1954, Central placed an order for the new, low floor, Gardner-powered Bristol LD6G Lodekka.

By 1957 Central had taken 70 into stock and had placed orders for another 25. B87 (GM 9287) arrived at Traction House, Motherwell, on 20 June 1958. The chassis had been constructed at Bristol’s Brislington factory and married up with a 60-seat Eastern Coach Works body built in Lowestoft, Suffolk. Both factories were owned by the British Transport Commission and worked closely together.

B87 was fitted with a 112 brake horse power, Gardner 6-cylinder LW diesel engine - number 116673 - and a four forward-speed, constant mesh, John Brown gearbox. It was licensed for service from Stewarton Street depot, Wishaw, on 1 July 1958, as one of Central’s fourth consecutive batch of Lodekkas.  Eventually 375 Lodekkas were operated by Central!

When new it served on the intensive groups of routes from Glasgow to Newmains, Shotts, and Lanark. It would have been seen regularly in Bellshill, Bothwell, Blantyre, Hamilton & Motherwell. Later it operated on local routes and finally on special duties, including duplications, schools' and workers’ contracts.

It was last repainted by Central, using Williamson’s paints, receiving the latest lower case fleetnames, on 14 August 1972.

Many buses in the fleet moved around most if not all the depots. B87, however, remained stable at Wishaw until 1974, when it then flitted twice to Braeview Place depot, East Kilbride. It was withdrawn for sale from East Kilbride to Tiger (dealer) of Salsburgh, around October 1975.

B87 had been one of Central’s last, traditional, open-platform double deckers. Cold in winter! But easily boarded and alighted. The growth in numbers of One Person Operated routes in the Scottish Transport Group, from just over 10% in 1970 to 45% and rising in 1976, hastened the demise of all half-cab buses. They couldn’t be worked without a conductor.

As GM 9287, it was painted sky blue and white in June 1976 for Bellshill-based Bingorama, to carry players from hall to home.  After four years of this it followed other ex-Central Lodekkas to Strathclyde Regional Council, as Playbus number 25002. Joiners fitted the bus out at a Glasgow workshop. Facilities included a chute, gas heaters, and a Wendy House upstairs. Thankfully, most interior components were left in situ. Until 1993 it was the ‘Monklands Playbus’, and was decorated in all-over pink, with cartoon characters on all sides. It had been last road-taxed, by the Council, in February 1992. Its Vehicle Registration Number was then changed to TVS 367. The bus was sold on to a private owner, for static use at a North Lanarkshire property. There it lay until transport author, Mr Douglas MacDonald, alerted Classic Bus magazine to its existence in 2003.

The only other Central Bristol LD6G to survive into the 21^st Century, B110, had recently been destroyed by fire. The imminent threat of B87 being lost also, prompted a well-coordinated rescue in June 2004. For the first time in eleven years the bus drove under its own power, for over a mile, to the pre-arranged rendezvous with M8 Recovery. It was towed to Bridgeton where restoration began. Between October 2004 and August 2008, work continued at the SVBM, Lathalmond.

Components, including the steering wheel, were donated from BL351 (HGM 351E), Douglas Forbes’ ex-Central SMT Bristol FLF6GLX Lodekka. Other scrap vehicles contributed. Most notably, ex-Alexander’s (Midland) MRD70 (KWG 623), another 1958 LD6G, donated a missing side window. The ‘Wishaw’ destination blind, once carried by BE376 (RHN 947F), was fitted in 2005. Re-panelling work on both decks and the re-fitting of seat rails preceded brush-painting into Central SMT’s classic ‘1956’-style livery.

Original features include: driver’s seat, floor lino (upstairs), light fittings, bell and main stanchion (pole) on the rear platform. The original-pattern moquette, covering all passenger seats, was obtained through the Lottery-funded L484 Group, and trimmed by First Trimming.

The bus was returned to the GVVT at Bridgeton in 2008, where it was successfully prepared for an MOT pass in February 2009.

Replica fleet number and registration number plates were sourced and fitted. In 2012 replacement fuel injectors were fitted and the fuel pump recalibrated. The driver’s cab interior was then re-painted and an electric windscreen wiper motor fitted. Since then, with regular participation at rallies, B87 has needed and received minor repairs to body panels and to the exhaust system. Drive linkage and fan bearings have also required skilled attention.

Since restoration B87 has appeared on film (BBC’s “Hattie”) and, through enthusiast tours, has visited all parts of its former operating area (Lanarkshire & West Dunbartonshire).

B87 departing on the Central Convoy excursion to Lanarkshire during the GVVTs 2013 Open Day. © K. Hay.

TVS 367, seen outside the Museum of Transport, then based in the Kelvin Hall. © I. MacGregor.

TVS 367 seen in service at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum. © I. MacGregor.

L163 entered service with Glasgow Corporation in 1958 from Parkhead Garage.

L163 transferred with the rest of the fleet from Glasgow Corporation to GGPTE in 1973, and moved to Larkfield in 1975. Although withdrawn from service in 1976, L163 spent a further 4 years in use as a depot shunter at Langside Garage and was sold into preservation in November 1980.

It unexpectedly returned to service on the Glasgow City Tour run by Glasgow Corporation Transport Limited between 2003-4.

Sold with the Tour business to First Glasgow in March 2004, this bus was numbered PD3, or 39997 in the First national numbering scheme, and once again ran from Larkfield Depot.

Finally, it was sold to Glasgow City Council for a return to preservation in 2006.

Fresh from a repaint, L163 is seen at the junction of Wellington Street and Argyle Street during the Open Weekend. 10 October 2015. © K. Hay.

L163 looks exactly like a Corpy bus here - a bit shabby, and abandoned in a bus depot yard with the bonnet open and a puddle under it. A succession of minor problems kept L163 hopping on and off service like a yoyo during the Museum of Transport closing celebrations. 17 April 2010. © K. Hay.

L163 on what might still be part of Dalintober street under where the M74 extension was being built. Also 17/4/2010, on service after its earlier quick repairs! © K. Hay.

The Leyland Atlantean was a revolutionary design which not only changed the appearance of buses in most British towns and cities but prepared the way for driver only operation.

The first production Atlantean in service in Scotland, LA1 came to Glasgow direct from the 1958 Commercial Motor Show to run from Ibrox Garage. It also carries the first body to be completed at Messrs Alexander's new works, which subsequently built well over 2,000 Atlantean bodies.

LA1 moved to Knightswood Garage in 1962 and stayed there for the rest of its working life other than a month at Partick in 1964.

LA1 ran for the Corporation until March 1973 when it was relegated to driver training duties. It entered preservation in 1974, one year after Glasgow Corporation became GGPTE.

Following the development of an improved front-end design Glasgow Corporation Transport and its successors purchased a further 1,448 Atlanteans between 1962 and 1981.

LA1 is shown in the livery carried by GCT buses between 1959 and 1973.

LA1 is on loan from the Riverside Museum. It normally resides in the Museum's Resource Centre in Nitshill

In original condition with one piece engine cover approaching Ibrox Garage in May 1961. © I. MacGregor.

In the later livery in Highburgh Road in August 1966. © I. MacGregor.

As it is now in Bridgeton Bus Garage. © I. MacGregor.

L108 was new to Glasgow Corporation with registration SGD 10, operating from Parkhead Garage. Over the next 8 years, it moved around a lot, being allocated to Gartcraig in 1961, Ibrox then Larkfield in 1962, Govan in 1964 & back to Larkfield in 1969. It transferred with the rest of the Glasgow Corporation fleet to GGPTE in 1973.

During the time with GGPTE, the bus was converted to open-top following accident damage while on driver training duties around December 1975. In 1979 it moved to Knightswood. With the rest of the GGPTE fleet, it joined the SPTE fleet in 1980. As an open-topper this was the only "Wee L" to transfer to Strathclyde's Buses in 1986.

In February 1989, L108 was sold for preservation, and was re-registered LDS 388A around May 1991, then HSK 953 around March 1992.

In August 1999, L108 was sold to Mac Tours, Edinburgh. In April 2002, Mac Tours was bought by Lothian Buses, HSK 953 becoming fleet number 28.

In January 2003, L108 was again sold into preservation, which didn't last long. It unexpectedly returned to service, now registered FYS 8 on the Glasgow City Tour run by Glasgow Corporation Transport Limited between 2003-4.

Sold with the Tour business to First Glasgow in March 2004, this bus was numbered PD1, or 39998 in the First national numbering scheme, running once again from Larkfield Depot.

Its brief time with First Glasgow makes L108 the only bus ever to run for Glasgow Corporation, GGPTE, SPTE, Strathclyde's Buses and First Glasgow. No other buses in existence can ever match this feat!

Finally, it was sold to Glasgow City Council for (yet another) return to preservation in 2006 and is presented in the livery it carried when new.

L108 at the start of the Lord Provost's Procession in George Square, 21 July 2012. © D. Hay.

Western S.M.T. AD1543, MSD 407, is a 1959 Leyland Titan PD3/3 with Walter Alexander 67 seat, lowbridge bodywork and a Leyland O.600 engine.

When new it was allocated to Cumnock depot as fleet number CD1543 until 1972. From then till the end of its working life it was allocated to Ayr depot becoming fleet number AD1543. A private preservationist from Lancashire bought the bus straight out of service from Western in 1978. The bus was worked on for about two years and was last taxed in 1980. It then spent the best part of 25 years in storage in Lancashire before returning home. Whilst in Lancashire very minimal restoration work was done, so the bus had the benefit of being in straight out of service condition other than having several bits missing. It was in fact repainted in 1977 by Western and still has a 1977 Ayr depot destination screen on board! The paintwork is in fantastic condition, so it may be possible, with the help of some T-Cut and a coat of varnish to leave the original paintwork intact.

The major obstacle to restoration was the seized engine. A spare engine was sourced from another PD3 whose restoration was abandoned following vandalism which destroyed most of the interior and left the windows smashed. That engine wasn't in the best of states either, and at year or so was spent slowly rebuilding one good engine out of the two of them.

The plan in the short term is to retain the bus in its out of service condition, as of 1978 as AD1543 and not to restore to concourse condition. Over the following years progress to an "as new" condition may take place, but one step at a time.

MSD 407 is temporarily on loan from the Angus Transport Group, to assist with the restoration of sister MSD 408.

Western S.M.T. AD1544, MSD 408, is a 1959 Leyland Titan PD3/3 with Walter Alexander 67 seat, lowbridge bodywork and a Leyland O.600 engine.

When new it was allocated to Cumnock depot as fleet number CD1544 until 1972. From then till the end of its working life it was allocated to Ayr depot becoming fleet number AD1544. A private preservationist from Lancashire bought the bus straight out of service from Western in 1978. The bus was worked on for about two years and was last taxed in 1980. It then spent the best part of 25 years in storage in Lancashire before returning home. Whilst in Lancashire very minimal restoration work was done, so the bus had the benefit of being in straight out of service condition other than having several bits missing. It was in fact repainted in 1977 by Western and still has a 1977 Ayr depot destination screen on board! The paintwork is in fantastic condition, so it may be possible, with the help of some T-Cut and a coat of varnish to leave the original paintwork intact.

The plan in the short term is to retain the bus in its out of service condition, as of 1978 as AD1544 and not to restore to concourse condition. Over the following years progress to an "as new" condition may take place, but one step at a time.

MSD 408 is seen here outside the Museum of Transport, then based in the Kelvin Hall. © I. MacGregor.

30 August 2009, MSD 408 is masquerading as "Bulgy Bus" at the Caledonian Railway at Bridge of Dun. © K. Hay.

New to Glasgow Corporation at Langside garage, D258 later operated from Newlands from 1965, Knightswood in 1973 and finally Larkfield and Newlands in 1974.  Passed to Aberdeen Corporation numbered 341 in April 1975. It was sold to Greyhound of Arbroath at the end of 1976 and was used mainly on school contracts.  By 1980 it was in use on a farm and was obtained for preservation in 1981.

D258 as it is now, seen in Bridgeton Garage. © I. MacGregor.

A 1977 view of it operating a school service in Carnoustie with Greyhound. © I. MacGregor.

An example of a Scottish country bus to 1950s design. The Alexander 'dual-purpose' 41 seat body is designed to be suitable for both service bus work and coach duties such as tours.

The Alexander companies bought over 300 AEC Reliances to various specifications between 1954 and 1964, the last being withdrawn around 1980.

This one is fitted with an AEC AH470 engine of 7.7 litres capacity, 5 speed synchromesh gearbox and vacuum brakes. New to W. Alexander & Sons in 1960 as fleet number AC177, passing to the newly formed Alexander (Northern) company in 1961 and operated in the Elgin area until 1975.

Operated on the North East trunk routes of the day such as the 5 (Aberdeen to Inverness via Banff) and 7 (Aberdeen to Elgin via Huntly).  After use by Northern it became a "berry bus" to transport raspberry pickers in the Dundee area. Purchased from a dealer at Carnoustie in a very run down condition in 1992 and after extensive restoration work is now presented in the yellow/cream livery adopted by Alexander Northern.

Much mechanical work has been done to the vehicle, with major engine work carried out by its owners.

On tour in Alyth. © D. Booth.

Arrived at Farraline Park, Inverness, when with Alexander (Northern).

In Fyffe's yard in Carnoustie when purchased for preservation.

Participating in the Kirkby Stephen rally. © D. Booth.

An example of a Scottish country bus to 1950s design. The Alexander 'dual-purpose' 41 seat body is designed to be suitable for both service bus work and coach duties such as tours.

The Alexander companies ran almost 300 Tiger Cubs, new between 1954 and 1964; the last ran in 1979. They ran all over their area which covered much of the East coast north of the River Forth as far as Inverness; also Perthshire, Stirlingshire and northern Glasgow.

This bus is a 1960 Leyland Tiger Cub, with a Leyland O.350 diesel engine of 5.7 litres capacity developing 105 bhp, with an Albion 5 speed “constant mesh” gearbox (colloquially known as a “crash” box) requiring double-declutching by the driver. It was originally registered OMS 253.

PD177 was delivered new to Kelty depot in 1960, and operated on rural routes in Fife until 1975. Subsequently it was used by a farmer to transport raspberry pickers in the Dundee area. It was purchased by the present owners in 1990 in a very run-down condition from a dealer at Carnoustie, and has been thoroughly restored over the years since. It is now presented in original livery.

Rear view at a community event in Balfron. © D. Booth.

At Riverside Museum during the West End Festival. © I. MacGregor.

In Balfron re-creating a Balfron depot route. © D. Booth.

As it was when rescued for preservation.

L405 entered service with Glasgow Corporation in 1960. It was one of a number of "Big L"s operated by the Corporation, imaginatively named as they carried L prefix fleetnumbers indicating Leyland, and were 30ft long which was the maximum permitted length at the time. They were less popular with the crews than the smaller "Wee L"s.

L405 entered service at Parkhead garage, then moved to Bridgeton by early 1966. It later served at Ibrox, Bridgeton again, and finally at Partick.  On disposal it served with several operators in South Wales.

L405 entered preservation in England with Ross Stewart in 1985, and recently passed from him to Phil Blair, in Southampton. L405 and D258 visited Glasgow for "Corpyfest" and the GVVT Open Day 2014, and following on from that event, L405 remained at Bridgeton, changing hands in 2020.

SGD 407 as it currently appears, in Bridgeton Garage. © I. MacGregor.

Glasgow's last AEC buses were 89 forward entrance Regent Vs new between 1960 and 1962 as tramcar replacements. These vehicles spent most of their time on busy cross-city services.  The chassis were supplied with AEC AV590 engines, air-operated Mono-control gearboxes and air brakes, and were built at the AEC (Associated Equipment Company) plant at Southall in Middlesex. The bodywork was by W. Alexander & Sons.

New in 1961 to Possilpark Garage, A350 was used by Glasgow Corporation until 1973, when the fleet was transferred to GGPTE. It moved to Knightswood Garage in 1974 and continued in passenger service until 1975, when it was converted into an exhibition unit for a variety of purposes, including staff training.

It was purchased for preservation in 1983 and has since passed through various hands.

It is outwardly restored in the livery carried when new and has received a replacement engine adapted from an AEC Routemaster, as well as a full interior restoration to original design.

SGD 500 is temporatily on loan to the Angus Transport Group while MSD 407 takes its place in Glasgow.

SGD 500 at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum running day. © I. MacGregor.

During their years of operation, David MacBrayne operated a mixed fleet of buses and coaches.

This type of coach suited the long-haul service work, Glasgow – Inverness and Glasgow – Campbeltown.

When new, the Duple Donington body was the pride of the fleet.

By 1970, the coach side of the David MacBrayne's business ceased operating, the result being that a large number of vehicles went to Highland Omnibuses who ran them until 1976. Most were scrapped by 1980.

In 1981, Derek Hunter bought 63 and, as it was well run down, it required a lot of work to bring it up to standard. It has been used for club outings and rallies every year except 2004-2005.

It more recently had major body surgery completed and returned to the road in the 2006 season.

198 CUS seen out on a run at the Dunbar Rally. © I. MacGregor.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s Western SMT dual-sourced their double decker vehicles from both Bristol and Leyland taking the Bristol LD and FLF and the Leyland PD3 in considerable numbers.

RAG 411 was part of the last batch of rear entrance Bristol LDs to be delivered to Western. Thereafter Western took the front entrance FLF model.

Withdrawn in the late 1970s, RAG 411 was sold to Ensign as dealer stock, before being used as a non-PSV from 1978 until the mid 1990s. RAG 411 then entered preservation, passing through the hands of several preservationists before arriving at Bridgeton in 2010.

RAG 411 seen at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum. © I. MacGregor.

L446 entered service with Glasgow Corporation from Possilpark Garage in 1961. It was one of a number of "Big L"s operated by the Corporation, imaginatively named as they carried L prefix fleetnumbers indicating Leyland, and were 30ft long which was the maximum permitted length at the time. They were less popular with the crews than the smaller "Wee L"s.

L446 transferred with the rest of the fleet from Glasgow Corporation to GGPTE in 1973, now at Bridgeton Garage, and was sold to Smiths of Patna in September 1976. It was then sold into preservation in August 1984.

It unexpectedly returned to service on the Glasgow City Tour run by Glasgow Corporation Transport Limited between 2003 and 2004.

Sold with the Tour business to First Glasgow in March 2004, this bus was numbered PD2, or 39996 in the First national numbering scheme, operating from Larkfield Garage.

Finally, it was sold to Glasgow City Council for a return to preservation in 2006.  It is presented in the final version of Corporation livery as delivered.

SGD 448 with Smith of Patna in 1983.  © I. MacGregor.

As it is now, at the City Chambers.  © I. MacGregor.

Kelvin Scottish Routemaster 1929 started life as London Transport RM910 registration WLT 910. It was allocated to the following Garages:

8/61-ALDu, Wu,   11/61-FY,   3/66-WN,   3/73-T,   10/73-Tu,   1/74-T,   1/78-SP,   3/82-wf,   4/82-WN,   2/85-NX,   5/86-NXu.

Bought by Kelvin Scottish in September 1986 and re-registered as EDS 288A in March 1988 the bus was withdrawn in October 1992. Its first owner in preservation painted RM910 in an Edinburgh tram livery (3rd photo below) but it has now been refurbished and returned to Kelvin livery at Busworks in Blackpool (first two photos below).

Further photographs can be found on this Flickr page.

EDS 288A at the SVBM. © I. MacGregor.

A night shot outside Buchanan Bus Station.  © G. Conn.

EDS 288A in its initial preservation incarnation as an Edinburgh Tram.  © G. Conn.

The AEC Routemaster is a double-decker bus that was introduced by AEC in 1954 and produced until 1968. Primarily front-engined, rear open platform buses, a small number of variants were produced with front entrances and/or doors. Entering service in 1956, the Routemaster saw continuous service in London until 2005.

Having been developed in partnership with London Transport, the customer of nearly all new Routemasters was to be that organisation, in both traditional red and green "country" colours, although small numbers were also delivered new to British European Airways and The Northern General Transport Company. In all, 2876 Routemasters were built, with approximately 1000 still in existence.A pioneering design, the Routemaster outlasted several of its replacement types in London, survived the privatisation of the former London Transport bus operators, and saw proliferation to other operators around the UK. Latterly in modern UK public transport bus operation, the unique features of the standard Routemaster attracted both praise and criticism alike. Notably the open platform, while open to the elements, allowed boarding/alighting away from stops; and the presence of a conductor allowed minimal boarding time and security, although conductors perpetuated higher labour costs and increased the effect of labour shortages.The image of the traditional red Routemaster has become one of the famous icons of London, with much tourist paraphernalia continuing to bear Routemaster imagery, and examples still in existence around the world. Despite its iconic status, the previous London bus classes the Routemaster replaced (the RT-type AEC Regent and Leyland Titan RTL and RTW counterparts) are usually mistaken for Routemasters by the public and by the media, along with any other red half-cab in some cases!

This vehicle first entered service with London Transport in January 1965, operating from their Bow Garage in East London. It spent 14 years there, but after one of its major overhauls at the central Aldenham works, it was transferred to Hounslow Garage near London Airport. After a further 7 years service from there, it was declared surplus to requirements and sold to Stagecoach for use with their Hampshire Bus subsidiary. It was refurbished in their Eastleigh works, but never used by them, being transferred north late in 1987 for use in the Glasgow-based Magicbus fleet.

Magicbus operations were sold to Kelvin Central Buses Ltd. early in 1992, but the fleet retained its separate identity within Kelvin Central, operating from Springburn depot until operations ceased on July 31^st 1993. During this period, it was to be seen regularly operating on the No.19 Easterhouse route which has now, many years later, re-emerged as a Stagecoach-operated route.

The bus was bought by a Routemaster enthusiast who appreciated the superior design engineering qualities of this advancement in bus design, a design which has become an iconic representative of British engineering at its best; Routemasters remained in quantity service in London until 2002, outliving two later generations of buses. 700 are still extant all over the world, and over 100 were still available to attend the "Routemaster 60^th Anniversary Celebration Rally" in London's Finsbury Park in August 2014.

On acquisition for preservation, RM2121 was temporarily loaned to the Clydeside company for what proved to be a short-lived "Routemaster revival" exercise, and for this purpose it was repainted into the traditional "Clydeside" livery, in which condition it remained for several years. The bus, which still retains an original AEC AV590 engine, though most certainly not the original one, was gradually restored and refurbished back into its original London Transport livery, in which it now remains. Buses have traditionally always carried advertisements, and the adverts applied here reflect the personal tastes of its first owner in preservation.

HGA 983D is a Bedford VAS 1 with a B24FM Willowbrook body (F stands for front loading door; 24 seats; and Mail compartment). First registered in May 1966 to MacBraynes and given fleet number 210.

The bus had its first service on Islay replacing YYS 174 which was new to MacBraynes in 1960 and also had its first service on Islay. These small buses were well suited to the narrow twisting roads of the island.

It continued on Islay until the demise of MacBraynes in 1971, then it was sold in January 1972 to Highland Omnibuses and was given fleet no CD93. It is believed that it was then used on the Inverness – Helmsdale – Tain route etc. as the destination screen showed.

It was then transferred to Northern Constabulary as a police staff bus and then after a time to Highland Health Board who also used it as a staff bus for Craigdulnain Hospital.

The next owners were Brechin Railway Society who rather roughly painted it back into MacBrayne colours. Aberdeen Transport carried out some work on it, re-skinning panels etc. prior to painting and then decided to sell the bus on. It was at this time in July 1994 that the MacBrayne Circle were informed about it and along with a group of members decided to purchase the bus. It has been in the ownership more or less with the same group to this day.

The photo was taken during a fashion shoot for the Herald newspaper in 2012.  © I. MacGregor.

This coach is typical of the coaches of the later 'sixties and was new to Abbott's of Blackpool, later operating with McCall's of Lockerbie.  It has been restored in the livery of Garelochhead Coaches which in its time was a major operator in the west of Dunbartonshire.  It carries fleet number 160 which follows the highest number used by Garelochhead.  Coaches in the Garelochhead fleet were named after Scottish lochs and this coach carries "Loch Maree".

The coach restored as Garelochhead 160. © S. Booth.

Outside Bromley Garage, Garelochhead. © H. Anderson.

The authentic sign-writing on the rear. © H. Anderson.

lasgow Corporation purchased 1449 Leyland Atlanteans between 1958 and 1981. Although built by Leyland the early Atlanteans for Glasgow were badged as Albion Atlantean. Albion was a subsidiary of Leyland, based in Scotstoun. Alexander of Falkirk bodied all of the Corporation's deliveries during this time.

In the late 1960's after the closure of the city's tram network there were a number of bus garages throughout the city. Some of these were new whilst some of these were former tram depots converted for further use. In 1973 Greater Glasgow PTE, the Corporation's successor, had depots at Bridgeton (now the home of the Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust), Gartcraig, Ibrox, Knightswood, Langside, Larkfield, Maryhill, Newlands, Parkhead, Partick and Possilpark. Of these only Bridgeton remains.

LA320 was new to Bridgeton, and subsequently operated from Partick (1972) and Newlands (1975) depots before being withdrawn in 1979.

After withdrawal, it was converted to open-top by Windsorian Coaches, and in this form was sold to Guide Friday in 1990. It was bought for preservation in 2001 and has since been re-roofed with the roof from LA391 (MUS 276F) and painted in its original livery.  Considering how numerous the PDR Atlantean was in Glasgow at one time, very few now survive.

LA320 in George Square, 21 June 2015. © K. Hay.

LA320 in George Square, 21 June 2015. © K. Hay.

LA320 in Shawlands in the livery of Greater Glasgow PTE.  © I. MacGregor.

The Bristol Lodekka was a revolutionary design, dating from the early 1950’s.  Cleverly engineered by Bristol, for the first time it enabled a bus fitted with a traditional type double deck body, with 2 + 2 seating arrangement on the upper deck, to pass under bridges as low as 13’6”.  This was especially attractive to operators in rural areas, or in areas where there were many railway bridges.  The body was built by Eastern Coach Works of Lowestoft. Not normally available on the open market, the Lodekka enjoyed a virtual monopoly amongst most of the nationalised bus companies, including the Scottish Bus Group, of which Central SMT (later branded as Central Sottish) was one.  The basic design underwent a number of developments over the years.  Another of its virtues for passengers was its very low entrance and flat floors.  However, it was finally phased out in the late 1960s, as it did not meet the government’s bus grant requirements, these being aimed at the introduction of one person - as distinct from the traditional crew (driver and conductor) - operation.  Central SMT was the largest purchasers of the Lodekka in Scotland, buying new, over the years, a total of 355.

BL346 was one of Central’s final batch of new Lodekkas, and is an example of the unusual lengthened bodies (31’), having a seating capacity of 78.  First registered in May 1967, it is nicely finished with cream interior, red flooring, and red tartan seats. These were aesthetically attractive vehicles.  With their large Gardner (6LX) engines, they were also reliable and economical in service.  These buses tend not to be so popular with the younger generation of drivers, however, lacking as they do power steering, or automatic gear boxes – BL 346 has been equipped in preservation with a 5 speed constant mesh David Brown box, which requires double declutching up and down.  Top speed is around 45mph.  Purchase for preservation was agreed with the company in late 1980.  After a number of changes of storage venue, and a prolonged but pretty thorough restoration, BL346 was put back on the road in 2000.  Most of the work was carried out by the owner at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum (now located at Lathalmond, in Fife).   However, the bus returned “home” to Lanarkshire when it moved to Glasgow soon after the GVVT took over Bridgeton Bus Garage.  The bus has been on the road every year since 2000.

BL346 seen in Thankerton, 11/10/2003.  © I. MacGregor.

Midland took delivery of 75 Albion Vikings between 1965 and 1969. The Viking VK43AL has a rear in-line mounted Leyland O.400 engine driving through an Albion 5-speed constant mesh gearbox. The type was relatively popular with the Alexander companies; Fife, Midland and Northern taking 211 examples. Elsewhere the type struggled: Scottish Omnibuses and Central SMT taking small numbers and disposing of them quickly.

The vehicles did gain recognition for their reliability especially in rural operations where they often bettered much newer deliveries.

MNV37 spent its entire working life at Perth depot. After withdrawal in December 1980 the late Frank Clark purchased it for preservation. It passed to its current owners (the Albion Vehicle Preservation Trust) upon his death in 1990.

The bus has been uprated with a six speed gearbox and has been re-trimmed inside.

MNV37 seen in the yard at Bridgeton Garage.  © I. MacGregor.

LA352 was new to Glasgow Corporation in May 1967 running from Larkfield Garage. In 1972 it transferred to Knightswood and then returned to Larkfield in 1975.  It was withdrawn in 1979 and passed to Allander Coaches in Milngavie, one of several of the type acquired for contract work. In 1980 it moved south of the border and was with several operators during which time it was 're-registered' MUS 281F.  In 1985 it joined the Edwards Travel fleet in Llantwit Fardre in Wales.

It was acquired for preservation in 1998 and reunited with its original registration KUS 607E.  It arrived in Bridgeton Bus Garage in March 2020 and will be restored by the GVVT's Back on the Road scheme.

LA352 as it arrived in Bridgeton.  © S. Booth.

This vehicle was one of a small but very varied fleet bought new by the Road Transport Industry Training Board. In its early days, it was used by High Ercall (Shrewsbury) MOTEC for driving instruction, where it was apparently involved in a serious front end accident, before being transferred to Livingston in the early 1970s.  Used for training, for MOT inspection and other uses, it did little mileage before being laid up for a lengthy period in the open, where it was extensively vandalised.  During its working life it was thus not used in fare paying service. A reasonable claim can be made for this being the first of many Alexander Y-types in Scotland to be purchased for preservation, initially at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum's Whitburn premises.

The Viking model VK43L, announced in the summer of 1965, was a development of front engined prototypes.  It was designed to provide the Scottish Bus Group (SBG) with a simple lightweight vehicle for touring and dual-purpose work, especially on less demanding rural routes, and owed much to contemporaneous commercial vehicle design.  It features a Leyland 400 engine, vertically mounted at the rear of the vehicle.  It came with a 5 or 6 speed constant mesh gearbox.  The AL was a later modification featuring a reduced 15" clutch for improved gear change.  With very light steering, the bus was liked by many drivers, but problems arose with hearing the engine and gear change in traffic, and with the slow gear changing, especially in hilly areas.  Vikings were purchased, mainly by the SBG, until 1969/70, and were found throughout Scotland.

Its first owner carried out some pressing repair work, and accumulated many of the parts required for the vehicle's future restoration.  It passed to its current owner in July 2001, since when a systematic and fairly comprehensive programme of restoration has been undertaken.  The bus is now finished in Highland Omnibuses' smart blue and grey coach livery, dating from 1966, complete with gold leaf lettering and handsome forward facing eagle crests.  Highland ran a small number of Vikings, all second-hand; VMP 8G is presented as AV48, the next number Highland would have used had this vehicle been operated.

Preserved in OK Motor Services livery.

NDL 375G seen at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum.  © I. MacGregor.

This vehicle was one of a number of various different vehicles bought by the R.T.I.T.B. in 1969. During its working life it was not used in normal service and it was only after being purchased for preservation that it carried fare paying passengers.

It was last owned by the now vanished independent operator WJC Coaches, and remains preserved in their fleet livery.

Aberdeen Corporation took several batches of 10 metre AEC Swifts.

Later deliveries, such as 26, used many similar parts to the more common Y type bodywork.

Number 26 was one of a batch of five delivered in 1969, each recorded as costing £6,501. Now a bus of a similar size would not give you much change from £100,000!

This photograph is of similar Aberdeen Corporation 39 when one year old.  © I. MacGregor.

This bus was new to Glasgow Corporation Transport, entering service from Langside Garage as fleetnumber LA517. This batch of Atlanteans introduced a new style front dash panel on the Alexander "J" bodywork, similar in styling to that later fitted to the "AL" body. This batch of LAs was fitted for one man operation.

The Corporation fleet transferred to the newly formed Greater Glasgow Passenger Transport Executive in June 1973, and the P.T.E. soon abandoned the dual door layout which proved unpopular with the public. Almost 300 Atlanteans that had been so delivered over the last five years were converted to more familiar single door layout - LA517 in 1976, by which time it had also received the new P.T.E. livery. In single door H45/29F format, it operated until withdrawal in 1980, moving to Ibrox in 1977 and Possilpark in 1980. The short life was a result of the P.T.E.'s urge to modernise with buses sold after nine or ten years, many direct to the scrapyard.

LA517 was one example to pass to dealer North of Sherburn in April 1981. It was bought by Dalehill Coaches of Doncaster soon after and operated as their no.17 until return to North in May 1983. Subsequently the bus passed to K.W. Collingwood, Wheatley Hill, in August, to Redline Travel and Transport of the same location in June 1984 and to J.W.H.L. Maude in Barnard Castle in July 1985. These ex-Glasgow buses didn't often stay in one place for long. Around the end of 1989, the bus travelled deep into North Wales, the next owner being F. Woolley of Llanedwen on Anglesey...

It was imagined that the bus had quietly died a death, but during the late 1990s a trace was again picked up although the bus had last been licensed in 1993! By the time it was purchased in 2007, it had remained largely intact at the back of Woolley's yard for some fourteen years.

The future restoration work will be major, including re-instatement of the centre door. Also, this bus was built just before the days of Alexander's alloy bodywork, so the steel framework has suffered some corrosion. Finally, after such a long time out of use, the mechanics require a complete overhaul, the incorrectly fitted O.600 engine being in a tired condition.  An almost new 680 unit has been sourced having seen use as a backup generator.  Appropriately built in 1971 this UE680 engine has seen only 570 hours use – equivalent to mere weeks in service, and those hours would have been at constant revs with a light load.  The only problem is that the engine ancillaries will require to be removed and replaced with those to correct bus specification.

LA517 as it arrived in Bridgeton.  © I. MacGregor.

Following a good wash, it looks slightly more presentable.

Originally visiting Bridgeton temporarily for repair work, XWS 165K has recently become a permanent resident and has since had a full chassis and mechanical overhaul, with work now beginning on the bodywork.

T150 entered service in September 1972 from Old Kilpatrick Depot.  It was transferred to Motherwell Depot in May 1977.  In common with many other Central buses, T150 lost its original one piece fibreglass front to be replaced by a more modern two–piece front with removable panel which it still carries today.  The bus was loaned to Eastern Scottish in March 1987, then purchased in April, numbered L660 and allocated to Bathgate Depot.  It was withdrawn in August 1987 and sold to Bowen (dealer), Newbridge in September.  Acquired by Morris Travel, Pencoed in October 1987, then sold to Newport Transport as a driver trainer in April 1991 and finally withdrawn in November 2002.

The bus was then purchased for preservation and painted in the 1978 Central Scottish livery.

XGM 450L as it is now, outside the Riverside Museum.  © I. MacGregor.

In Bathgate depot.  © I. MacGregor.

With Newport Transport.

LA697 was one of the last batch of Atlanteans ordered by Glasgow Corporation, and was delivered in Glasgow Corporation colours, shortly after the formation of GGPTE.

Although delivered with dual doors, LA697 escaped the normal conversion back to single door layout that many Atlanteans had. Its dual-door layout meant that towards the end of its service life it was ideal for conversion to a driver training bus, at which point the front door was removed to make space for an instructor's seat, leaving the bus as a centre-entrance vehicle.

LA697 was initially restored by a group of Strathclyde's Buses drivers who bought the bus when it was replaced as a driver trainer by a more modern Atlantean.

LA697 has spent the last few years in Bristol, but its current owner has brought it back to Glasgow for restoration.

LA697 in its Driver Trainer days.   © D. Booth.

Following initial restoration, LA697 is seen here outside the Botanic Gardens.  © P. Halewood.

BSG 537L was new to Eastern Scottish in early 1973 and spent the first six months working from Edinburgh's New Street depot. It was then transferred to Baillieston depot in Glasgow where it stayed for most of its service life.

After being withdrawn by Eastern it was converted to a driver trainer and sold to Blackburn Corporation. When purchased for preservation, the bus was moved to Preston for storage.

In January 2009 the bus was taken to the 'Bus Works' in Blackpool for restoration of the body, some mechanical work, re-covering the seats, and a new coat of paint. The new look was launched in September that year at 'Showbus' in Cambridgeshire where it was awarded best Alexander-bodied vehicle.

Since then the bus has been used regularly including 2 trips to Blackpool, Carlisle, Newcastle and many more.

BSG 537L seen in Queen's Park as part of the Southside Festival.  © I. MacGregor.

From around 1963 to 1982 the Leyland Leopard was the standard single decker type bought by the Scottish Bus Group. Leopards could be seen running in service right up to around 2005.  Over this time period there were many varieties supplied but the most numerous carried the classic Alexander "Y-type" body. Until the late 1970s, the Leopards were ordered to a fairly basic standard, featuring manual transmission, manual steering, and a low driving position, of which this bus is an example. Such vehicles are now becoming rare, as many preserved Leopards are the later examples featuring power steering and semi-automatic gearboxes, no doubt as they are easier to drive.

This bus is fitted with the standard "Y-type" 53 seat service bus body but Leopards also were fitted with "Y-type" coach bodies. New to W. Alexander & Sons (Midland) in 1973 as fleet no. MPE176, NMS 576M ran with them until the late 1980s. During its time with Midland it ran from Stirling and Kilsyth depots (both now closed) and also Larbert depot. After withdrawal from Midland in September 1973, it ran with Mundell of Islay, then Campbell of Clydebank from May 1990, and finally Weir's of Clydebank from April 1997 before arriving at Bridgeton in late 2006.

It is presently unrestored but will restored in due course when other projects are completed.

NMS 576M in as withdrawn condition.  © I. MacGregor.

At Larbert Depot when with Midland Scottish.

With Campbell, Clydebank.

New to West Coast Motors of Campbeltown in April 1974, and operated until January 2006, when it was sold for preservation. At some point, it has been fitted with a non-standard Leyland 401 engine.

VSB 164M seen in Campbeltown in 1978.  © I. MacGregor.

New to Western as L2466 and later renumbered L466. Sold to Alexander (Northern) as NPE136 in November 1983, then to Blenkinsop, West Cornforth in November 1989. Sold into preservation in March 1996 via NEBB, Annfield Plain (dealer). Moved to Bridgeton in August 2006.

SCS 335M seen in the yard at Bridgeton.  © I. MacGregor.

Following many years of buying almost exclusively Leyland Atlanteans, GGPTE purchased a few trial batches of other types of bus in the 1970s. AV1 was the first of a batch of three Ailsa B55s, and was the prototype of that model.

In many respects it is similar to Mk.I Ailsas operated by other companies around this time, however these three for Glasgow featured panoramic windows, unlike the rest.

AV1 was exhibited at the Commercial Motor Show in 1974 before entering service.

The hinged cab door was replaced in 1981 by a sliding design (see fourth photo below taken in 1984), This design was fitted to later Glasgow Ailsas as standard from 1982 onwards.

This photo shows it in Crown Street, Gorbals.  © I. MacGregor.

This photo shows it at Carmunnock terminus.  © I. MacGregor.

LA907 was new to GGPTE in 1975 and was allocated to Larkfield Garage where it is believed to have spent all of its Glasgow working life. It would have entered service around the time of withdrawal of the last Daimler CVG6s. It was originally fitted with a new type of CAV gearbox (together with LA906-915). LA907 was one of many LAs understood to be have sold by Tiger Coaches to new buyers in 1983/84 as the GGPTE fleet was reduced and some Atlanteans with panoramic windows began to show structural problems.

In 1984, LA907 was purchased by Don's of Dunmow, a small town near Stansted Airport in Essex, for use on school contracts. It had company from Scotland in the shape of ex-GGPTE LA927 and LA974 together with ex-Grahams of Paisley YDS 650S, which had been exhibited at the Scottish Motor Show at the Kelvin Hall in 1977. The Don's school bus fleet also featured other Atlanteans including a former Tyne & Wear PTE Alexander bodied 33ft example and two with East Lancs bodies from English fleets, with a fourth ex-Glasgow LA operated at one time.

Don's need for their Atlanteans came to an end in Summer 2005. LA907 was collected on the day of "Showbus 2005" in September 2005 at Duxford and driven to Barnsley for professional attention in the Central works of Yorkshire Traction where body and mechanical work was undertaken to restore the vehicle to its original livery. Completion of this work was achieved in late January 2006 and LA907 returned to Scotland at the beginning of February.

LA907 seen in the yard at Bridgeton.  © I. MacGregor.

LA927 (JUS 774N) entered service in 1975 from Ibrox Garage.  It was delivered in GGPTE livery but was later repainted into 'PTE2' livery of Verona Green, white band and windscreen surround and Gold Cup Yellow upper deck with Trans-Clyde decals.  It has the standard specification GGPTE Alexander body with panoramic slider vent windows and is fitted with a Leyland O.680 engine of 11.2 litres coupled to a semi-automatic 4 speed gearbox. The interior fitted is the lighter green stitched vinyl with green patterned laminate throughout.

It was withdrawn from Strathclyde PTE service in 1983 and operated for Don's of Dunmow in Essex until September 2005 at which point it was acquired for preservation and returned to Glasgow.

The bus has been meticulously restored in its circa 1982 livery and condition complete with “Fast Fare” Almex E ticket equipment, anti-assault screens and fare vault. The original interior trim has been assembled using seats from numerous scrap buses many requiring extensive repair, but is now 100% authentic.

The owner of this vehicle has created an independent website for more thorough restoration information. You can access this by clicking the link below (please note, the GVVT is not responsible for any content on this site):     http://www.glasgowbuses.2ya.com

The restored bus. © P. Halewood.

As it was when acquired in 2005. © K. Hay.

AV8 was new to GGPTE in 1975, a member of the second batch of 'AV's. The first batch were three prototypes with a more standard version of the AV body featuring peaked domes front and rear, albeit with panoramic windows, as fitted to Atlanteans with AL bodywork at that time. For this second batch, the bodywork was uniquely specified with the round domes, making the bus as similar to the Atlanteans as possible.

The Ailsa chassis was something of a rethink, being the first front-engined double-decker since the days of halfcabs. By using a turbocharger, a much smaller engine could be fitted between the driver and the front door which still gave a reasonably clear access, while considerably simplifying the mechanical layout of the vehicle.

GGPTE bought 18 Ailsas (with AV fleetnumbers), then 5 years later bought 133 more Volvo-Ailsas (with A fleetnumbers!), being one of the biggest operators of the type in the UK.

Of the original 18 AVs, half were destroyed in the Larkfield Depot fire of 1992 (AV3/5-6/11-5/7). AV10 was converted to single deck in 1985 after a low-bridge accident and became AS2. AV8 remained on fleet strength with 4 other AVs (plus AS2) until 1994, when it was sold to Black Prince of Morley, where it ran before entering preservation, eventually ending up at the GVVT on 19 May 2016.

AV8 in service in 1980.  © I. MacGregor.

On arrival at Bridgeton Bus Garage.

Delivered new in June 1976 to Tom Parry (T/A Regina Travel) of Blaenau Ffestiniog, North Wales, this bus remained in service with Regina until the goodwill of the company was sold in late 1997, passing to Alpine Travel Group of Llandudno, Wales.

At this time the coach passed to Welsh preservationist Wynne Peate, who unfortunately developed health problems, forcing the reluctant sale of the coach to Steven King and the members of the Ribble Vehicle Preservation Trust. The reason is unknown, but the coach was later repurchased by Wynne Peate, whereupon it returned to Wales for its restoration to commence.

In February 2010, it was agreed that Bobby Graham would purchase the coach for continued preservation, albeit in another identity. In April 2010, the vehicle was brought to the Ardrossan premises of the erstwhile CLYDE COAST coach company.

Whilst awaiting admission for storage here at the GVVT, a stainless steel exhaust system was fitted and some work to the air system took place.

The coach has now been restored to represent the 1970s Silver & Blue of the old CLYDE COAST SERVICES Ltd, of Saltcoats.

KFF 586P being exhibited at an SVBM Open Day.  © I. MacGregor.

Delivered in July 1976 to Western S.M.T.,  MSJ 385P was new as DS2579 with Alexander dual-purpose seats and a DP49F Alexander “AT” type body, operating from Dumfries garage in Western’s black and white coach livery. Until 1984 MSJ 385P had an uneventful life with Western, the most notable change was being renumbered DS579 in late 1983.

In 1984 MSJ 385P was converted along with sister vehicles MSJ 370P (retained by Western Scottish), MSJ 371P (transferred to Midland Scottish) & MSJ 389P (transferred to Eastern Scottish) to a disabled access coach with only 24 dual-purpose seats and accommodation for six wheelchairs. At this time air operated plug doors were added in the middle of the nearside to accommodate an electrically powered wheelchair lift. MSJ 385P was transferred to Central Scottish after completion and was repainted into Central livery and renumbered SP1. Initially MSJ 385P was operated from Motherwell (Airbles Road) garage. Late 1985 saw a change, to Wishaw, where it remained until 1987 when it was withdrawn from the Central fleet.

MSJ 385P was the first of the modified coaches to leave the Scottish Bus Group and went on to operate with Davian Coaches (1987 - 1989), Primrose Coaches (1989 - 1993) and Andrews Coaches (1993 - 2006). SP1 was secured for preservation in October 2006 and is under restoration to Central Scottish condition as SP1.

Despite the twenty years SP1 spent away from Scotland it remained in very good condition, mainly due to light work due to its conversion. The worst damage was limited to the rare fibreglass front panel which has now seen extensive re-creation, aluminium body panels and a rear spring.  It had also been fitted with Plaxton coach seats but luckily a set of original seats had been set aside for another project and these were gratefully made available for SP1.

It is interesting to note that MSJ 385P is the sole survivor of the four converted coaches and is the oldest surviving Seddon bus with a “T” type body.

SMS 120P was one of 12 Daimler Fleetlines delivered to Alexander (Midland) in 1976. It was based initially at Milngavie, but moved to Perth in 1977. It was transferred to Alexander (Northern) as NRF18 in Spring 1977 and then to Alexander (Fife) as FRF80 (later 720) in 1987. It moved again to Highland Omnibuses (numbered D920) in 1988. It was acquired for preservation in 1997 and has since undergone a thorough restoration returning it to as new condition as MRF120.

It is a good example of a Scottish Bus Group double decker from the 1960s and 70s. Alexander (Midland) ran 170 Fleetlines new between 1967 and 1980, the majority with this type of body.

The bus stabled at Clan Coaches yard, Kyle of Lochalsh, in the mid-1990s.

The bus as it is now: Re-creating scenes of its early life when at Milngavie.

The bus as it is now: Re-creating scenes of its early life when at Milngavie.

Taken in Aberdeen when it was with Alexander (Northern).

PSJ 825R is an Ailsa with an unusual VanHool McArdle body. VanHool McArdle was an Irish subsidiary of Belgian VanHool, set up to build bus bodies mainly for CIE, the Irish state transport company. However a large batch of bodies was built on Ailsa chassis for South Yorkshire PTE and a further two were built for A1 Service in Ayrshire. Delivered with dual doors as shown in the photo below, it was later converted to single door. After service with A1 it spent time in West Yorkshire prior to entering preservation.

Outside Crosshouse Hospital. © I. MacGregor.

The Pennine VII was born from the Scottish Bus Group’s desire to have a rugged mid engined single decker for general bus and coach use in the mid ‘70s. Whilst the SBG were already taking a large number of Leyland Leopard buses they wished to incorporate the trusted Gardner engine so favoured by the SBG at the time. Leyland Motors declined the request to fit Gardner engines to the Leopard so the SBG looked elsewhere. Seddon Motors were to build the 11m Pennine VII; a rugged no nonsense chassis around the Gardner 6HLXB engine, ZF 4 speed manual gearbox and Eaton axles. Over 500 chassis were built with all but a handful going to the Scottish Bus Group. Six of these were 12m examples delivered with 6-speed ZF gearboxes and Alexander M Type bodies for the Edinburgh- London service. The remainder were 11m examples, the later ones with semi-automatic gearboxes, all bodied by Plaxton or with Alexander Y- or T-types.

Delivered new to Western SMT in June 1977 and allocated fleet number NS2670, this bus entered service from Ardrossan Garage in the traditional black and white coach livery. It operated on a variety of local and long distance services including regular turns on the Lancashire Coast Express services as well as some Private Hires. In October 1981 when Ardrossan Garage closed it was transferred to Kilmarnock becoming KS2670.

In October 1982 it was repainted into Western’s red and cream bus livery. It continued in service at Kilmarnock and was again repainted, this time into the black and white livery with two tone grey stripes in 1986.

S2670 was withdrawn from service in November 1987. In March 1988 it was sold to SBG Engineering and became number D15 in their Hire Fleet. Later this fleet was to be renamed Bus and Coach Rental and it remained there until August 2001 when it was purchased for preservation. Stored for about 18 months, restoration work is now progressing, with the bus now back in the original Western black and white livery.

Seen in Hamilton during its SBG Engineering hire days. © I. MacGregor.

Early service days in Kilmarnock.. © I. MacGregor.

This vehicle was new as Greater Glasgow PTE LA1204, entering service from Larkfield depot in October 1977. It was part of the last batch of Atlanteans before the improved high-drive cab position was introduced (LA1251 up), and at this stage the attractive, but inherently weak, panoramic-windowed bodywork style was continued as the major body defects had not really come to light. GGPTE became Strathclyde PTE in December 1980, and the bus moved to Gartcraig garage in September 1982, then to Knightswood in December that year, to Ibrox the following August, back to Gartcraig in May 1984, then to Parkhead at the end of August 1986.

Strathclyde Buses Ltd. took over services at deregulation in October 1986, but LA1204 remained at Parkhead. It moved to the GCT low cost unit in September 1996 (officially renumbered GLA1204) for just one month before October withdrawal, although it remained in the reserve fleet until 19½ years old, being sold in April 1997.

Most Atlanteans withdrawn by FirstBus-owned SBL at this time were scrapped, but LA1204 was sold to Glasgow City Council, for whom it was fitted out as an exhibition centre, receiving an overall yellow paint scheme (including vinyls on the windows), and lettering for the Council's "Fit For Life" campaign.

After five years based at the cleansing depot at Polmadie, mostly in the open air, the bus was donated to the Glasgow Bus Museum in November 2002. As the GBM charity was wound up, the bus was privately purchased in January 2004 and is still stored at Bridgeton Bus Garage, now under the control of the Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust.

Full restoration work to the outside of the bus and repairs to the vehicle structure are now complete with the exterior of the bus restored to Strathclyde's Buses orange and black livery. After its work as an exhibition centre, restoration of the interior required considerable work and this is still underway although it is now back in use, and the remaining restoration is down to small finishing touches to be completed over the next year.

Paul Adams recently unearthed this photo of LA1204 in its exhibition days, with Glasgow City Council.

This is the outside with all the top deck panels off, windows out, and a pile of scaffolding for working from. 17/12/11. © K. Hay.

Outside the site of Parkhead Depot, 26/3/19. © P. Grant.

LN18 was new to Greater Glasgow PTE in 1979, one of a batch of 20 Leyland Nationals which were unusual single deckers in the almost exclusively double-deck fleet at that time.

During the Strathclyde PTE era, LN18 was frequently loaned to smaller operators for supported services. Following privatisation in 1986, Strathclyde Buses retained one National (LN20) for use as their "Happy Bus" exhibition unit with a fibreglass smiley face affixed to the front.

LN18 ended up on Millport, running for Millport Motors, with whom it remained in service until the early 2000s, although latterly it was used only on school services and during the Millport "Country & Western" festival when every bus on the island is mobilised.

LN18 was sold to the BBC for use as a semi-mobile crew room on the set of "River City". It was acquired for preservation by the GVVT in 2010, and successfully drove up the shed under its own power on arrival.

Following many years use in a wet and salty climate on Millport, then several years parked outdoors, the steel framework at the back is in poor condition and work has involved repairing much of the structure around the rear.  Elsewhere the framework is surprisingly good.

Despite at least two repaints on Millport and the use as a crew room, LN18 still retained its original embossed GGPTE fleet number plates until the end, although they have been removed temporarily to avoid damaging them.

LN18 seen in Argyle Street. © I. MacGregor.

WTS 276T, in common with other similar buses, has a chassis constructed at Ailsa Truck & Bus in Irvine and a body by Alexander in Falkirk.  It was delivered to Tayside Regional Council’s bus operating division in Dundee, and allocated to Marchbanks Depot, in the Lochee area of the city.

WTS 276T is a somewhat unique vehicle. As opposed to being fitted with the SCG transmission as per the standard configuration on the Mark 1 and 2 Ailsas, 276 was utilised from new as a testbed for the Voith 851 fully automatic 3 speed transmission unit. Initially this was intended as an experimental and temporary fitment to 276, prior to being offered as an option for the later Mark 3 Ailsas, with Ailsa Truck & Bus and Voith Transmissions group working in close collaboration during the production of this particular vehicle. The vehicle proved successful, and as opposed to being retrofitted back with the standard SCG transmission, 276 retained the Voith equipment which it carries to this day, albeit having undergone a few overhauls during it’s service life.

In October 1979, 276 travelled from Dundee to Helsinki, Finland, where it jointly represented Volvo Bus, Voith, Alexanders and Tayside Regional Council at a Commercial Vehicle Show which we understand saw exhibits attending from all across the world. A commemorative brass plaque was fitted to the lower deck stairwell bulkhead of the vehicle marking the occasion. The bus carried this for the entirety of its service life and this is still proudly on display today.

In the summer of 1982 the bus visited Strathclyde Buses' Larkfield Depot, and was utilised for training and familiarisation purposes in preparation for the introduction of Mark III Ailsas.

The bus saw out the entirety of its somewhat mundane service life in Dundee, transferring to Dock Street depot in 1984 upon the closure of Marchbanks and serving through the transitions over the years from Tayside Regional Council to Tayside Buses and into the National Express owned Travel Dundee business upon privatisation.

276 was withdrawn in April 1996, and sold to local farmer William Mitchell (Duntrune, Angus) for use as worker transport to the numerous berry farms in the locality. It served here until 1998, when it was secured by Dundee based enthusiast Eric Kenny. In 2013, having lain derelict since 1998, it was purchased from Eric by Richard Huxham and Reece Greene, with George Gray joining in 2017 and leading a fast tracked and intensive 18 month restoration which saw numerous mechanical and electrical tasks undertaken by George and ably assisted by Richard and Reece. This was followed by a repaint into the Tayside Regional Council livery complete with sign written “The British Volvo Bus” side adverts, accurately replicating those applied prior to its visit to Helsinki.

276 made her preservation debut at the SVBM Lathalmond open day in May 2018, and has also attended the GVVT open weekends in 2018 and 2019, seeing use on the free services on both occasions. 276 certainly appeared to attract considerable attention from the enthusiast fraternity.

Reece Greene sold his share equally to George Gray and Richard Huxham in October 2018.

WTS 276T operating on a GVVT Open Day service.  © C. Shields.

New to Central SMT at Wishaw Depot, AH23 worked from most of the Central and Kelvin Central depots throughout its service life. When Central was merged with Kelvin Scottish to form Kelvin Central Buses in 1989, AH23 was renumbered 1967 in their unusual numbering scheme (1: bus, 9: Ailsa, 67: number).

Kelvin Central was bought out by Strathclyde Buses in 1994, and all of their Ailsas were withdrawn soon after in the interests of fleet standardisation. 1967 was sold to Marbill of Beith in 1995.

Thereafter, LHS 747V was passed around several independent operators, including Allander of Milngavie, Jays Coaches and JJ Travel before entering preservation, arriving at Bridgeton in March 2010.

Ex-Central AH23 at Kirkby Stephen West station during the 2014 Easter Rally. © K. Hay.

Part of a batch of 40 buses, LA1324 was delivered to GGPTE in December 1979 and was allocated to Knightswood Garage. These 40 buses were the last Atlanteans to be bought by the PTE and bodied with Alexander's panoramic body.

By the time of LA1324's delivery the PTE was becoming aware of deficiencies with the panoramic body, leading to the final 99 LAs being given Alexander short bay bodywork. Whilst solving further problems, it didn't solve the defects in the 600 panoramic Atlanteans that had been delivered and were in service.

In February 1981 LA1324 was temporarily delicensed and sent to Larkfield Bus Works. When the bus was relicensed it had clearly undergone major surgery: the downstairs panoramic windows had been replaced with short bay windows on both sides. Far from being a one-off, LA1180 and LA1330 were also rebuilt around this time as well. Unsure how successful these repairs were, the PTE filled LA1324 with sandbags and drove the bus around the streets of Glasgow on a ghost timetable. Clearly the repairs were good as the bus survives today, but the repairs were dear and very few panoramic LAs were rebuilt with short bay windows. Most buses that remained in the fleet instead received strengthening of the affected parts of the chassis and body which was a cheaper repair.

But for large numbers of buses between LA751 and LA1050, withdrawal without repair was the cheapest solution of all.

When LA1324 finally returned to passenger service, it was back at Knightswood and the bus remained here until August 1985 during which time it was repainted into Strathclyde PTE orange and black livery. Its transfer to Newlands Garage was to last only a year as the closure of Newlands in August 1986 saw LA1324 sent back whence she had come. The following 11 years proved to be uneventful for the bus and in 1997 she was transferred within Strathclyde Buses to the GCT subsidiary. After only a few months service with GCT, LA1324 was withdrawn and sent to store at the closed Old Kilpatrick Garage.

In September 1997 LA1324 was 1 of 8 SBL Atlanteans trans­ferred to First Cymru and the only one to wear United Welsh Coaches livery. In 1999 the bus was transferred once again within FirstGroup, this time to Western National. The following year the bus was sold to Chepstow Classic Coaches where she stayed until June 2004. In early June, LA1324 entered preservation. Taking just under a day, at a sedate 37mph, the bus covered the 478 miles back to Glasgow without a problem and arrived at 9.30 am on Tuesday the 8th of June.

Full restoration work to the outside of the bus and repairs to the vehicle are now under way, with the ultimate aim of restoring the bus to Strathclyde Buses orange and black livery.

The photo is of Strathclyde PTE days in 1983, still in GGPTE livery but with Trans Clyde fleetnames. © I. MacGregor.

MPE362 operated in the Central Region, part of Alexander (Midland) and in 1985 remained part of the smaller Midland Scottish fleet. During its career 362 operated from Larbert Depot, operating also from the now closed Grangemouth Depot and the soon to be closed Linlithgow Depot. It was not until 1999 that Midland, by that time part of FirstGroup, sold the bus, by that time renumbered 462, to Whitelaws of Stonehouse. Upon withdrawal 362 was purchased for preservation. Midland operated over 450 examples of the Leyland Leopard, the first being delivered in 1964 and the last arriving in 1982.

This vehicle is one of several with Alexander T-type bodies which are on display within the GVVT Bridgeton Museum, not all of them being on the Leyland "Leopard" chassis. The T-type, as originally conceived, was not quite a "coach", but was more than just a "bus": it was a so-called "Dual Purpose" (DP) vehicle, with high-backed seats, but finished not quite to the luxury standards of the long distance coaches of its time. It could be, and frequently was, used on such duties, but was also quite suitable for stage carriage and local private hire work.

The livery chosen for this vehicle by its owner is a much later one than when new, introduced not long before Midland was taken over by Grampian and therefore not widely applied. It is one which incorporated an azure blue roof and skirt panels. With it, Midland reintroduced the "Bluebird" theme of earlier years, and ultimately the title "Midland Bluebird" was settled upon. Although sported by some Midland vehicles with T-type bodywork, it is quite certain that EMS 362V itself never carried this livery in Midland service.

Leyland Leopard GCS 50V was bought by Kenny Barclay on the 18th May 2007 from West Coast Motors. She was the first vehicle he purchased and entered her new life in preservation shortly after.

She was new to Western S.M.T. in April 1980 and went on to give 17 years service to the Scottish Bus Group and a further 10 years with Oban & District / West Coast Motors.

The three month restoration started in December 2007 and consisted of bodywork repairs, major re-panelling and repaint into the original Clydeside Scottish livery of Red and Yellow. This was worn by Clydeside vehicles from 1985 till 1989 and is also carried by Kenny's other Clydeside vehicles, Leyland Fleetline HSD 73V and part owned TYS 259W. This was a fantastic bright and colourful livery and there are few vehicles preserved in this livery.

Kenny was brought up in Kilmacolm, Renfrewshire during the 1980's and 1990's and Clydeside Scottish was therefore his local bus company. In June 1988 he started a summer job working for Clydeside Scottish at their Johnstone Depot, the same depot that GCS 50V first entered service eight years previously!

GCS 69V was one of a batch of 40 Leopards delivered to Western SMT in 1980.  It entered service at Kilmarnock depot in June 1980, transferring to Thornliebank in 1990 and then back to Kilmarnock later that year.  It moved to Ayr in 1991 and then Stranraer in 2004 prior to withdrawal in 2005.

Originally numbered L69, it was renumbered L769 in December 1987, then L669 in 1993 and 25769 in the Stagecoach scheme in January 2003.

It entered preservation in 2006 and was purchased by the present owner in 2017.

Leyland Fleetline HSD 73V was delivered new to Western SMT as DR73 in red and cream livery and allocated to Dumfries depot.  In May 1982 it moved to Thornliebank depot in exchange for a Leyland Leopard.  In June 1985 Western’s northern depots were transferred to Clydeside Scottish and the bus was repainted red and yellow, now numbered M73.  In May 1989 the bus returned to Western ownership and was numbered R973 but remained at Thornliebank.

In October 1991 it passed to the new Clydeside 2000 company and in November was transferred to Inchinnan depot.  It then moved back to Thornliebank and on to Johnstone and in June 1994 was given Routemaster registration 705 DYE.  Back again to Thornliebank, it was soon given local registration WDS 112V and in September 1995 moved yet again to Johnstone.  In May 1996 it was withdrawn and was operated by Watts (TM Travel), Derbyshire and Tim Draper Travel, Tibshelf until purchase for preservation in May 2005.   The bus was then reunited with its original registration mark.

Changing hands in November 2007, a three month push to complete the restoration started in February 2008, involving extensive body repairs, re-panel work and finally a repaint into the original Clydeside Scottish livery of red and yellow.

New to Henderson in July 1980, this vehicle is believed to have operated on behalf of Scotia Travel before passing to West Coast Motors in 1984. It was at West Coast that it would spend the next 21 years.

The Craig family established West Coast Motors in 1923 primarily to operate between Campbeltown and Tarbert. Through the following decades expansion came through developing the services or through acquiring other small operators. In the 1980s the latter policy saw the company taking over the operation of Midland Scottish's remote Ardrishaig operation. The company was also the first private operator to be contracted by Scottish Citylink in the days when it was still owned by the Scottish Bus Group and continues to operate Citylink services.  West Coast also holds the franchise for City Sightseeing in Glasgow.

In 1999 the company purchased Oban & District, bringing the local buses around Oban and Lorne under their control, and more recently success in tendering has seen the former Stagecoach operations at Rothesay and Dunoon join the growing fleet.

FSL 615W operated in the traditional West Coast area, being based at Campbeltown depot until final withdrawal in June 2005. At that time it was bought and driven to the GVVT where some work has been carried out and it has been returned to the earlier version of the West Coast livery seen here.

FSL 615W seen on an outing to Helensburgh. © I. MacGregor.

Delivered new to Perth Depot, MRF168 was part of the last batch of Fleetlines to be delivered to Midland, and to the Scottish Bus Group. It marked a return to Alexander built double decker bodies which Midland had not specified in any great number since 1970 despite the company being based in Falkirk, home of the coachbuilder.

In 1985 Midland was split up and Perth Depot was transferred to the new Strathtay Scottish company. MRF168 became SD16 in the new concern's fleet numbering system. After privatisation and a fierce bus war with Stagecoach on the streets of Perth in the early 1990s, Perth Depot was closed and SD16, now renumbered again to 716, was moved to Dundee Depot. 716 was then moved to Blairgowrie Depot where its last years would be spent primarily on school services.

Withdrawn in 2004, it was amongst the very last of the once common Fleetlines to be in service anywhere in Scotland.

Further photographs can be found on this Flickr page

MRF168 seen in the yard at bridgeton. © G. Conn.

WFS 145W was delivered new to Alexander Fife (later Fife Scottish) on September 29th 1980, placed in traffic from Kirkcaldy Depot and allocated the fleetnumber FPE145. The bus subsequently transferred to Glenrothes Depot in the mid-80s. During 1988, Midland Scottish were suffering from vehicle shortages following service enhancements in central Scotland and called for assistance from other SBG subsidiaries. Fife and Northern had received batches of new Leyland Tigers and consequently had older Y-type Leopards to spare.

WFS 145W transferred across the Forth to Midland Scottish in Autumn 1988 along with a few others, gained fleetnumber MPE453 and entered service from Bannockburn depot in December carrying the blue/cream Midland livery. In 1989, the M prefix was dropped and PE453 moved to Balfron Depot. For maintenance, vehicles were often swapped between Balfron and Bannockburn, and PE453 saw regular service on most routes operated by both depots.

Following privatisation of the SBG in 1992, Midland Scottish was sold to the GRT group and renamed Midland Bluebird. A bulk order of new Mercedes O405s and Scania N113s spelled the end for some older types, and as a result, PE453 moved to Oban depot with a handful of other Leopards.

GRT sold off the Oban operations to a new operator, Oban & District in 1994. They in turn were bought over by the expanding West Coast Motors group in 1999. Following fleet investment by WCM, the already depleted Leopard fleet was relegated to school duties with only occasional stand-ins on the front line. By June 2007, WFS 145W was the sole remaining stalwart Leopard, and passed into preservation following a full day's work on 27th June.

Extensive bodywork, heavy mechanical and electrical work ensued over the following 18 months, the bus finally being restored to 1989 condition as Midland Scottish PE453 of Balfron Depot in December 2008, a fitting end to a bus which provided sterling service to its operators for three decades.

PE453 seen at teh Scottish Vintage Bus Museum. © I. MacGregor.

LA1408 (RDS 597W) was one of the last 99 Atlanteans for Glasgow.

This batch of Atlanteans differed significantly from previous buses. They reverted to the short bay window configuration and featured a new destination arrangement with space for intermediate and ultimate destination blinds, though as a result of Union action only the ultimate destinations would be used and most of the buses were quickly rebuilt with this blind in the centre. Inside, the buses sported orange checked moquette with a different colour scheme throughout. Patterned honeycomb and walnut effect laminates were used and the result was a much cosier and more luxurious feeling bus. These last buses were also fitted with fully automatic transmissions which varied from bus to bus - some being ferociously jerky!

LA1408 operated from Knightswood, Larkfield and Newlands garages during its service life and will be restored in the 'PTE4' livery of "Strathclyde Red" (orange) and matt black, which it has in fact been wearing since withdrawal from service in 1998.

LA1408 was one of the last Atlanteans in service, running beyond the "Last Atlantean Day" on 6 June 1998 to finally come off the road just after midnight on a late duty in November that year.

The bus is still in as-withdrawn condition, having been laid up in preservation by a few owners in the past 18 years, so it is a wee bit of a time-capsule with no restoration yet performed.

On arrival at Bridgeton Garage in June 2016.

LA1408 in June 2004 at which point it was stored back at Larkfield Depot along with the Heritage fleet used on the Glasgow City Tour. © K. Hay.

LA1443 (UGB 196W) was one of the last 99 Atlanteans and one of only 10 actually delivered to Strathclyde PTE.

This batch of Atlanteans differed significantly from previous buses. They reverted to the short bay window configuration and featured a new destination arrangement with space for intermediate and ultimate destination blinds, though as a result of Union action only the ultimate destinations would be used and most of the buses were quickly rebuilt with this blind in the centre. Inside, the buses sported orange checked moquette with a different colour scheme throughout. Patterned honeycomb and walnut effect laminates were used and the result was a much cosier and luxurious feeling bus. These last buses were also fitted with fully automatic transmissions which varied from bus to bus - some being ferociously jerky!

LA1440-1449 were initially to be registered UGB 193-202W but in the end only three buses went into service as such, the remaining vehicles being licensed after August 1981 and thus wearing CUS-X registrations. LA1443 operated from Knightswood, Possilpark and Parkhead garages during its service life and will be restored in a condition reflecting perhaps a year or two in service. It will be restored in the 'PTE3' livery of green, yellow and matt black it was delivered in - very few LAs being so delivered.  The bus has benefitted from a complete re-trim in original pattern moquette.

In 1981, Highland Omnibuses took delivery of 10 Scottish Bus Group standard Leyland Leopards with Alexander 49 seat dual-purpose bodies numbered L17-26.  These buses were spread throughout Highland territory so this bus is representative of buses used from Oban to Thurso.

L25 and L26 were allocated to Oban and were regular performers on the Oban - Glasgow service.  In June 1985, Oban depot was transferred to the control of Alexander (Midland) and the two Leopards became MPE430 and MPE431.

In 1992, the Oban operation was sold to Oban & District, owned and managed by former SBG manager Derek Stuart. The business was sold in 1998 to Craig of Campbeltown Limited, proprietors of West Coast Motors.

CAS 519W was sold for preservation in 2007 and has been restored to original Highland Omnibuses livery. Following a number of years laid up, much remedial work has been carried out and the vehicle is now roadworthy once more.

CAS as fully restored, seen in Bridgeton Bus Garage. © I. MacGregor.

The vehicle in final West Coast Motors livery, when fresh to preservation. © I. MacGregor.

L25 arriving in Glasgow from Oban when only a month old. © I. MacGregor.

One of a batch of 15 similar buses delivered to Alexander (Fife) in 1981, CSF 160W is a typical Scottish Bus Group workhorse suitable for town or interurban work throughout Fife.  It was allocated initially to Cowdenbeath depot, moving to Dunfermline in 1988. The Fife fleet was renumbered in January 1988 losing the Alexander era letter prefixes, and CSF 160W became 160.

The company, which had been renamed Fife Scottish Omnibuses in 1985, was purchased by the Stagecoach group in July 1991 and gradually the fleet was repainted in Stagecoach stripes.  CSF 160W was sold to Blue Bus of Horwich in 1998 and operated in the Greater Manchester area for a further seven years before being retired for preservation.  It has been restored in the original Stagecoach livery.

Of the 403 Leyland Leopards bought new by Midland between 1964 and 1982 when production of the type ceased, only 30 had received the Alexander T-type bodywork. Much more common was the Alexander Y-type that accounted for 344 of those purchased. The T-type body was constructed between 1976 and 1983; Midland received the last of this design on their first Leyland Tigers. When new, these coach seated vehicles were used by Midland on long distance services, tours and hire work.

MPE400 was delivered new to Larbert depot from where it would operate until May 1991. By this time the company had been privatised and the new owners GRT Holdings had introduced a new fleetname, Midland Bluebird, and the livery as seen here. The fleet was also renumbered with the MPE being dropped and the vehicle numbered 400. From May 1991 until July 1992 the vehicle formed part of the reserve fleet. The rest of its Midland career would be split between Linlithgow (July 92 - June 94 & August 95 - June 98) and Larbert (June 94 - Aug 95 & June 98 - August 99) depots. After withdrawal in August 1999, 400 was sold to Whitelaw Coaches based in Stonehouse, Lanarkshire.

In March 2002 the bus was purchased for preservation and has since been restored to the early to mid 1990s condition seen today. Since restoration 400 has become a regular at vehicle rallies throughout central Scotland and further afield.

RMS 400W seen at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum. © I. MacGregor.

GSC 621X was one of the last batch of Leyland Atlanteans purchased by Lothian Region Transport comprising 45 vehicles.  The last six were single door vehicles in the black and white livery used for the Airport service, but 621 was one of the majority to standard Lothian specification of dual door layout and finished in madder and white.

621 was allocated to Central garage, moving to Marine in 1986. From 1987 to 1988 621 carried an advertising livery for Air France (see photo below).

In 1997 it moved to York where Lothian had a satellite operation.  In 1999 it passed to Yorkbus which took over Lothian's commitments there.  By early 2000, it had moved to Hillams of Wibsey in West Yorkshire and finally to Grierson of Fishburn, County Durham in 2002.  It was finally withdrawn at the end of 2013 and was purchased for preservation in July 2014.

From 1987 to 1988 621 carried an advertising livery for Air France. Seen here in Hanover Street, Edinburgh. © I. MacGregor

This vehicle formed part of the first production batch of Leyland Olympians built (number 6 of an eventual 21080) and as such also formed the first of a large number to be bodied by Alexander at Falkirk. The Leyland Olympian would be produced from 1981 until 1994 when the Volvo Olympian superseded the Leyland design. The Volvo Olympian was built until 2000.

NLO5 was allocated to Aberdeen depot, being allocated to the 'City Service' fleet. In 1983, collaboration between Northern Scottish and Grampian Regional Transport saw the formation of Grampian Scottish, with both companies operating City Services under this banner using the same livery, although NLO5 never received these colours. At deregulation the two companies found themselves competing rather than co-operating.

After the City Services received new vehicles in 1987, NLO5 was downgraded to country work. In March 1989 it moved to Stonehaven depot, then Elgin depot in May 1990 and finally Macduff in April 1991.

Stagecoach bought Northern from the Scottish Bus Group and renamed the company Bluebird. NLO5 was renumbered 005 and repainted into Stagecoach livery.

After withdrawal by Bluebird in 2002, 005 passed to Stagecoach North East and ended its days based at Hartlepool. Bought for preservation in 2004 it was restored in early 2005 and has since been rallied in original Northern Scottish livery.

NLO5 seen at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum. © I. MacGregor.

Glasgow Corporation and its successors Greater Glasgow / Strathclyde PTE ordered a total of 1,449 Leyland Atlanteans delivered between 1958 and 1981.  A further 34 Atlanteans joined the fleet in 1992 but they were secondhand ones obtained to replace vehicles lost in a major fire at Larkfield on 18 May 1992.

LA1448 is numerically the second last of the new ones.  It was allocated initially to Langside Garage from where it would have operated routes to Castlemilk.  When Langside closed in May 1984 it moved to Knightswood Garage.  It remained there until it was withdrawn in 1998, going immediately into preservation.

More detailed descriptions of the final batch of Atlanteans LA1351 to LA1449 can be found in the stock pages for UGB 196W and RDS 597W.

LA1448 as it returned to Bridgeton. © I. MacGregor.

SHH 389X is preserved in Western black/grey/silver/red/white livery as a representative of various Nationals which Western operated, sadly none of which survive.

SHH 389X seen on a visit to the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum. © I. MacGregor.

M781 was one of 300 Metrobuses ordered in 1981 (M506-805). This batch had updated mechanical gear which resulted in the buses being kept separate. Initially they almost all went to Leaside District in the north of London. The exceptions were the last six, which went to Sidcup for comparative trials against Leyland Titans and DMS Fleetlines.

A visual change from earlier Metrobuses was the provision of extra grilles at the sides of the engine compartment. Another change during production (from M706) was the abandonment of the horizontal slatted grille over the radiator, a mesh grille now covering the hole while silver beading maintained a semblance of style.

M781 entered service on route 67 (Stamford Hill) in May 1982.  In September 1994 it moved to Leaside Buses and was for a period loaned to Centrewest.  The bus passed to Arriva (North London) and was transferred to Arriva Scotland West in September 1999.  It then moved to McGill’s Motor Services, Greenock then to Orion of Port Glasgow before entering preservation in April 2006.  The bus has been restored to original London Transport specification.

Further photographs can be found on this Flickr page.

KYV781X following completion of its restoration, on a visit to the Scottish Vintage Bus museum. © G. Conn.

KYV 781X freshly out of service about to enter the GVVT for preservation. © G. Conn.

FGE 423X was one of 51 Dennis Dominators delivered to Central SMT between 1978 and 1982, and one of only 1007 Dennis Dominators built worldwide.

The Dennis Dominators were Central’s largest class of double decker vehicle in the mid to late 1980’s, and operated alongside 30 Volvo Ailsa’s delivered in 1978/79 (AH1-30), and later 10 Leyland Olympians delivered in 1986 (LO1-10).

All but the first Central Dominator had the stylish lowheight Alexander ‘RL’ bodywork, allowing them to be used on routes such as those between East Kilbride and Clydebank, which passed under the low bridge at Busby railway station.

Mechanically, almost all of Central's Dominators were powered by a Gardner 6LXB engine, coupled to a Voith DIWA 851 gearbox and drop centre rear axle. The exception to this was a small batch of 5 vehicles which featured the Rolls Royce Eagle 220E engine and one vehicle which obtained a Maxwell gearbox instead of the Voith.

D23 was delivered to Central SMT in June 1982 to Airbles Depot, Motherwell. The original Certificate of Fitness indicates it passed initial testing on 14th May 1982.

It ran with Central until 1988 moving between Gavinburn, Airdrie and East Kilbride depots, was transferred to Kelvin Scottish as 1717 and subsequently Kelvin Central Buses in 1989. By now numbered 1723, the bus was withdrawn from service in 1994, where it passed to Moffat & Williamson, Gauldry via Ensign (Dealer). Operating until 2003, the bus was sold to Arthur's Coaches, Coatbridge in 2004.

D23 was withdrawn from service in the latter half of 2006 due to a mechanical failure. The vehicle was secured for preservation in February 2007 and was towed to Bridgeton on the 22^nd of April.  Sister vehicle D22 was also acquired from Arthur’s Coaches and was broken for spares at Bridgeton.  The bus will be returned to October 1986 condition featuring Hop-On vinyls on the front.

In service with Moffat & Williamson. © I. MacGregor.

FGE 423X in the condition in which it entered preservation. © I. MacGregor.

W. Alexander & Sons (Fife) Ltd. took delivery of 193 Leyland Leopards between 1970 and 1982 (and received one second hand from Scottish Omnibuses). FPE194 was the last delivered new to Fife and amongst the last delivered to any company. Most of the Fife deliveries were Alexander AY and AYS bodied with the exception of one batch bodied by Duple in 1978. It was only in 1982 that Fife took delivery of its first examples with the Alexander T type body, receiving two batches in that year (FPE170-179 and 190-194).

The bus was registered on 13th December 1982 but is thought to have actually entered service in early 1983. It was delivered new to Kirkcaldy depot from where it operated on long distance services from Fife to Edinburgh and Dundee. In 1988 the bus was moved to St Andrew's depot and then Newburgh depot in March 1989. Now owned by Stagecoach the company closed Newburgh in November 1991 although it remained in use as an outstation of Glenrothes where the bus was now allocated. The bus was to remain allocated to Glenrothes until it was withdrawn in March 1999.

Stagecoach repainted the bus into the original livery now carried and it appeared on the rally circuit. After sale by Stagecoach the bus passed through several preservationists' hands before being bought by its present owner in 2005.

This photo shows RSC 194Y in service in Glenrothes in 1984. © I. MacGregor.

LT10 was delivered new to Airbles (Motherwell) Depot in Central Scottish coach livery. In late 1984 LT10 was repainted into Scottish Citylink colours and reseated with 47 reclining coach seats. It operated from Hamilton Depot on services into Edinburgh until early 1989 when LT10 returned to fleet colours.

In July 1989 Central Scottish merged with Kelvin Scottish to create Kelvin Central Buses. LT10 was numbered 2217 in the new fleet. Later the same year the whole batch of buses was sold to Fife Scottish. Operating initially from St Andrews and then Aberhill (Leven) depots and renumbered 470 the first few months were spent still in the Central Scottish livery.

In 1991 Stagecoach bought the company. By this time 470 had been repainted into Fife Scottish red and cream. In late 1991 470 was moved to Dunfermline depot where most of it's time was spent operating service 80 between Dunfermline and North Queensferry.

Repainted into Stagecoach livery in 1993 and reseated with 49 Stagecoach standard seats in 1995 the bus continued in service until 1999. Sold by Fife to Galloways of Harthill and then on their closure to Golden Eagle Coaches of Salsburgh the bus operated until the summer of 2004 at which time it was purchased for preservation.

It is intended to return it to Fife Scottish colours.

The photo shows it on Citylink service in Edinburgh. © I. MacGregor.

This bus is one of 152 similar vehicles operated by Strathclyde PTE, Strathclyde's Buses and First Glasgow between 1975 and 2006. It is entirely Scottish, having a chassis assembled at Irvine and a body built at Alexanders in Falkirk

This bus was new to Strathclyde PTE in September 1983 as fleet number A109. It operated initially from Knightswood Garage but was subsequently transferred to Larkfield Garage where it spent much of its life on south-side services including the 12, 31, 37, 44 & 59.

It returned to Knightswood Garage around 2001 as one of a batch of similar vehicles fitted with seat belts for school contract services in East Dunbartonshire. A109 was renumbered 31213 by First Group in 2003 and was reallocated to Scotstoun Depot in 2005 when Knightswood was closed.  It was withdrawn from service in June 2006 and secured for preservation, arriving at Bridgeton on 28th July 2006.

The bus has been restored to its original Strathclyde orange/black livery.

A109 in its restored condition. © I. MacGregor.

As it was when it arrived at Bridgeton. © I. MacGregor.

A109 in service at Partick in 1984. © I. MacGregor.

LT25 is a relatively uncommon Gardner engined Leyland Tiger and is fitted with a variant of Alexander’s T coach body called the TS.  This low spec bus seated body was developed specifically for Central as an alternative to the new P-type bus being offered at the time, the TS being purchased exclusively by Central Scottish (although a few buses were delivered to the newly formed Kelvin Scottish).

LT25 entered service with Central SMT in 1984. In July 1989, Central Scottish merged with Kelvin Scottish to form Kelvin Central. LT25 was renumbered 1245 in the new numbering scheme for the new fleet. The 1000 indicated a bus, and the Leyland Tigers were all numbered in the 200 range.

In 1993, Strathclyde Buses bought over Kelvin Central and later introduced their own alphanumeric fleet numbering system when A25 VDS became ST345. It was at Motherwell Depot around this time.

The SB Holdings group was later bought over by First and renamed First Glasgow. Upon the withdrawal of the last few Strathclyde Atlanteans from the driver training fleet, ST345 was one of several Tigers converted to driver training buses. Following conversion, it was renumbered T11 and joined the training fleet at Larkfield Depot.

In May 2003, T11 was renumbered 61712 in the First national numbering scheme.

In 2007, new DVLA rules prompted the gradual replacement of the Tigers with more modern vehicles, but it was not until early 2008 that A25 VDS finally left training duties for good and entered preservation.  Although conversion for driver training involved removal of the cab partitions and many of the seats, all the parts to return the bus to original Central Scottish condition have been secured and the bus will eventually be presented in its initial “zig-zag” red and cream livery with SBG orange moquette seating.

A25 VDS in its current condition, awaiting restoration at Bridgeton. © I. MacGregor.

No. 23 was one of 86 Fords operated by JMT, the main bus operator on the Channel Island of Jersey. Delivered between 1971 and 1986, most were new with a few second-hand examples.

Jersey did not prove a successful hunting ground for the transport pioneers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Operators came and went and it was not until 1923 that Jersey Motor Transport was founded. The company would survive for 80 years before losing the right to operate bus services when the local government handed the rights to operate the local bus network to a French company. The company has continued to provide limited seasonal services and the political arguments surrounding the decision have continued.

This bus is the first example of this chassis/body combination delivered to Jersey Motor Transport Co. Ltd. (all buses in the fleet at that time having synchromesh transmission) and placed in service October 1984, withdrawn following the transfer of the Jersey bus route network to Connex in September 2002 and stored out of use until export to Guernsey for use in connection with the Island Games in June 2003, along with the five remaining survivors of the twelve buses of this type bought new until late 1986 by JMT.  As a result 23 was re-registered with a Guernsey registration, replacing the original Jersey mark.

New to Midland Scottish in 1985, Alexander-bodied MCW Metrobus B100 PKS was allocated to Kirkintilloch and numbered MRM100. It then became 1669 in the fleet of the new company, Kelvin Scottish (formed later in 1985) which absorbed Kirkintilloch depot.

Sold back to Midland Scottish in 1990 and numbered 800, the bus operated out of Larbert depot and latterly Bannockburn and Balfron. Finally renumbered 31578 in the First national fleetnumber system.

Further photographs can be found on this Flickr page.

B100 PKS restored to Kelvin Scottish colours. © G. Conn.

B100 PKS, freshly out of service with First. © G. Conn

B892 UAS was one of nine Olympians to join the Highland Omnibuses fleet in February 1985. It was allocated to Inverness depot and initially carried fleet number J8 being renumbered J364 in September 1985.  As part of the privatisation of the Scottish Bus Group, Highland was sold to a consortium in mid 1991, and many newer vehicles were sold off.  B892 UAS joined the Ribble fleet in Lancashire, by then in Stagecoach ownership.  In 2004 it passed to Abus of Bristol and then in 2009 to Evans, also in Bristol. It was re-registered 473 FAE with Evans, reverting to its original registration on withdrawal and sale for preservation in 2016.

B892 UAS in its newly-repainted Highland livery. © D. McGeachan.

B892 UAS in its newly-repainted Highland livery. © D. McGeachan.

B105 PKS was just one of 121 Metrobuses delivered new to Midland Scottish between 1981 and 1987, entering service on April 10th, 1985, from Grangemouth depot and allocated fleetnumber MRM105. This bus carried Midland Scottish blue/cream livery complete with the SBG "Best Bus In Town" slogans in large font on the lower side panels, and was used on local services in the Falkirk/Grangemouth area until 1988 when Grangemouth depot was closed and Linlithgow depot transferred from Eastern to Midland. MRM105 was the very last vehicle to leave the workshops at Grangemouth, having a rope attached and being pulled out by the full complement of engineering staff for an SBG magazine photo shoot. The Grangemouth allocation was split between Linlithgow, Larbert Road and Bannockburn, with MRM105 moving to Larbert.

The M prefix was dropped from Midland fleet numbers in 1989, and this, along with a rationalisation of double decker fleet numbers led to B105 PKS becoming RM805. The bus led a varied life, and being equipped with a Cummins engine as opposed to the less powerful Gardner unit, was regularly used on the tightly timed 21/27 services from Falkirk to Glasgow via Kilsyth, in addition to more mundane Falkirk local routes. RM805 remained at Larbert Road through privatisation, and wore numerous permutations of GRT and First Edinburgh liveries.

In Autumn 2003, 805 left Larbert after 15 years at the depot, and joined a collection of both Cummins and Gardner powered Metrobuses at Balfron, used on any routes by this point. The Balfron Metrobuses received only minimal maintenance on their "dock" visits to Bannockburn; however the robustness of the design withstood this well. Withdrawal of the ex-Midland Metrobuses gathered pace in 2004-6, indeed in 2006 only 6 Metrobuses remained in use. 805's engine was still in fantastic condition but a serious fault in the gearbox and control electronics had arisen and in April, unhealthy noises from the diff led to the bus being withdrawn, second last before 810.

B105 PKS passed into preservation in July 2006 following several months on the scrap line at Larbert Depot. The restoration was a monumental task, finally completed in July 2007 when 805 returned to the Larbert Road paintshop to be finished in full Midland regalia.

The bus as it is now, seen at the SVBM in Lathalmond. © I. MacGregor.

The bus in service in Falkirk in 1985. © I. MacGregor.

Delivered to Dunfermline depot in the month before the company was renamed Fife Scottish Omnibuses, FRA77 was the first Volvo Citybus with Alexander bus body delivered to the company. It had been preceded by two coach bodied Citybuses.

A further 29 examples were delivered new between 1985 and 1987 along with further secondhand examples.

In the late 1980s FRA77 was renumbered 977 and at about this time moved to Cowdenbeath depot. In 1991 Stagecoach bought over Fife Scottish, the only change being the loss of the Ayres red and cream livery with buses being painted in the familiar Stagecoach colours.

The summer of 1993 brought another change of depot. Now based at St. Andrews, 977 would remain there until final withdrawal in October 2004. Latterly numbered 15277 a group of employees has purchased the bus for preservation.

Stagecoach Fife 977.  © J. Bennett.

When faced with the success of the underfloor engined Volvo Citybus, Leyland designed their own model based on an existing DAB design. The first vehicles saw the light of day in 1986. The model proved unpopular with operators, selling only 32 examples before being withdrawn in 1989. Those delivered to Eastern were all bodied by Alexander and look very similar to Volvo Citybuses delivered at the time, although they are slightly taller & the front overhang is noticeably longer.

ZLL177 was one of the first batch of Lions delivered and was initially used in conjunction with the 1986 Commonwealth Games held in Edinburgh. After the games it settled down to life at Musselburgh depot where it worked services 124 and 129. As a result of the height of the bus, it was unable to operate on the Dunbar service. During the mid 1990s, the bus was transferred to Livingston where it worked the busy routes to and from Edinburgh before being returned to Musselburgh.

In 1990 Eastern was sold to its management who quickly readopted the SMT fleetname. In order to improve the company's image the routes linking West Lothian and Edinburgh were branded 'Diamond Routes' & ZLL177 was repainted & reallocated to Livingston. In 1994 GRT Holdings bought the company and quickly set about rationalising their three local subsidiaries, resulting in the SMT fleet being split between Midland and Lowland. ZLL177 became 1177 in the Midland fleet. Further reorganisations followed over the next 5 years with the bus eventually returning to Musselburgh, being numbered 1977 and forming part of the First Edinburgh fleet. The bus was returned to Livingston in 2004 & was withdrawn from service during 2005. By the time of withdrawal, C177 VSF had acquired First fleetnumber 31691.

ZLL177 is the only surviving Leyland Lion from the original batch of 13 vehicles. Its present owners bought the bus in early 2005 and have restored it to largely original condition. This involved a great deal of restoration work to recondition parts of the engine as well as having a bodywork overhaul before repainting into the original livery of green and cream.

ZLL177 at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum. © I. MacGregor.

New to Hutchison, Overtown  in 7/86 it was the first of five similar coaches purchased.  They were often used on the commuter coach services linking Glasgow and Lanarkshire.

To Snell, Newton Abbott 4/90.

To Miller, Horsham 11/92;  re-registered ARU 499A 11/92,  then to ARU 100A 1/03.

Reverted to ARU 499A on arrival at GVVT.

The owner is in process of reinstating original registration C302 JNS.

C302 JNS leaving Buchanan Bus Station in April 1987 on an evening commuter express to Coltness. © I. MacGregor.

The coach as ARU 100A prior to returning to Scotland. © P. Crawfurd.

The coach was new to Hutchison, Overtown as D500 NYS in September 1986 in a silver livery with red flashes and Scottish Pullman 425 lettering. It was used on Glasgow - Wishaw express services.  It passed to Ford's Travel, Gunnislake, Cornwall in 1991, then to Owen's Coaches, Chapelhall in 1993, Cedar Coaches, Bedford later in 1993 where it was re-registered 686 CXV.  It was sold by Cedar in 1996 to Lewis of Greenwich and by 1997 was re-registered D380 BMV.  Lewis sold it in 1998 and late in 1999 it passed to Byley Stores & Garage in Cheshire where it was again re-registered OCC 755.  It reverted to D380 BMV in 2015 and was sold to Barker, of Roydon, Essex, from where it was rescued in 2016 by the present owners. It has now had its original registration D500 NYS restored.

The coach when almost new at Overtown. © I. MacGregor.

The coach in January 2016 as it was collected from Barker's.

One of only two new double deckers delivered to Lowland Scottish 902 (along with sister 901) were purchased for use on the East Lothian services to Edinburgh. Initially based at Dunbar Depot, both later transferred to Haddington following the purchase of Ian Glass Coaches and the closure of the Dunbar site.

Lowland Scottish was the first Scottish Bus Group subsidiary to be privatised and was initially bought by the management. In 1994 GRT bought the firm and set about merging the Lowland and SMT operations.

902, along with the rest of the East Lothian vehicles, was repainted into SMT colours although the Lowland name remained in the Borders for many years. Later changes included the renumbering of the fleet, 902 becoming 952. Following the creation of First the garish pink, grey and purple livery was applied and a further renumber saw 902 become 31723 in the national numbering scheme.

Following closure of Haddington the bus continued to be used in East Lothian from Musselburgh and North Berwick before finally heading west to see out its remaining days at Balfron.

Always fitted with coach seats and still with original spec moquette the intention is to return the bus to the light green, cream and yellow Lowland coach livery.

D902 CSH in the condition it arrived in Bridgeton, freshly out of service with First. © I. MacGregor.

New to Eastern Scottish in May 1987 as ZL349 and operated from Livingston Depot. Renumbered 349 and transferred to Musselburgh by January 1995. In April 1996 during the breakup of SMT, the bus was transferred to Lowland Omnibuses. During this period the bus moved about from the Musselburgh, Dalkeith and North Berwick depots depending on demand.

After being sold by Lowland the bus passed to an operator in Cumbria for a brief period before passing on to Caber Coaches of Aberfeldy in 2002. The bus was withdrawn from service in sometime in late 2007/early 2008 due to a gearbox failure. The bus was used as stores shed at Caber Coaches before being saved for preservation.

Chassis 870006, a Leyland Tiger TRCTL11/3RH was built for delivery to Alexander of Falkirk to be combined with the robust TC style body. Intended for Strathtay Scottish, ST18 (D718 FES) was delivered to Dundee depot as a Scottish Citylink coach. In the attractive yellow and two tone blue livery, this coach saw everyday service on the likes of Dundee to and from Edinburgh and Glasgow.

In 1989, ST18 was painted in the "Go Faster" Strathtay livery, the first vehicle to receive this livery with a brief period in a very strange white and blue livery.

1990 saw ST18 receive the registration plate 415 VYA which it still holds to date. When Strathtay was purchased by Yorkshire Traction, ST18 became 418. By this point, the coach was running daily 40X services.

In late 2005, Yorkshire Traction was purchased by Stagecoach with 418 now known as 59081, just another Tiger school bus awaiting retirement.

415 VYA arrived at Bridgeton Garage on 25th January 2008.

415 VYA, freshly repainted into Citylink colours, prior to major mechanical work beginning. © I. MacGregor.

Volvo Citybus E187 HSF entered preservation in February 2008, from First Edinburgh at Dalkeith Depot.

E187 HSF, better known as VV187, 1187, and in FirstGroup days as 31632, was the only member of the last ever batch of vehicles delivered to Eastern Scottish Omnibuses Ltd still in service. The other members of this batch of 4 vehicles had either gone for scrap, or been withdrawn with major mechanical problems. E187 HSF remained in frontline service almost until entering preservation.

Although delivered in Eastern Scottish bus livery with dark green lower panels, she has been restored to the more common Eastern Scottish coach livery, featuring more cream. The three-month restoration started in December 2008, and after bodywork repairs, repanelling and a full repaint, she was completed in March 2009.

E158 XHS was one of 4 Volvo saloons purchased by Hutchison's Coaches (Overtown) Ltd in early 1988 for use on bus services in Motherwell and Wishaw. Two (E156/7 XHS) had Plaxton Derwent bodies and two (E158/9 XHS) had Duple 300 bodies.  E158 XHS was sold to Brown, Dreghorn of the A1 Service consortium in 12/93.  The A1 Service business was bought by Stagecoach in January 1995 and the bus was given fleet number 597. Shortly thereafter it was re-registered WLT 774.  The A1 fleet was absorbed in to the Western Buses fleet in 1997.

In 1/03 it was renumbered 20597 in the Stagecoach national numbering scheme. In January 2004 it was transferred to Bluebird Buses and was used mostly from Elgin depot. It reverted to its original registration in 2/06 prior to sale to Dunn-Line Holdings Ltd, Nottingham. It passed to AS Dosanjh {ASD Transport}, Strood, Kent, 9/10 and then to Mann, Gravesend 3/13 from where it was obtained for preservation in summer 2015.

E186 BNS was new to Strathclyde's Buses Larkfield Depot in June 1988 as M89. It moved to Knightswood Depot that July, then returned to Larkfield in November 1994.

In April 1995, it transferred to their subsidiary Comlaw No.313 Ltd (t/a GCT Ltd) Possilpark Depot as GM47.

By January 1996, it had transferred again to Kelvin Central where it was numbered 1059, remaining at Possilpark Depot. When the Kelvin Central fleet was renumbered in May 1996, it unexpectedly became MM34, although this was altered to MM89 by December 1996.

Around December 1997, the bottom half was repainted into FirstBus red, although KCB red was retained on the top! Around February 1998 it was allocated to the reserve fleet. In May 1998, Kelvin Central Buses Ltd. were renamed First Glasgow (No.2) Ltd. It was repainted into full First Kelvin red by the time of its withdrawal.

By October 1998, it had passed to a dealer, possibly Tiger of Salsburgh, and transferred to Yorkshire Traction "for spares" in August 1999, via Strathtay in July.

Yorkshire Traction decided it was too good for spares and refurbished it and put it into service as 352 during February 2000. It passed to Strathtay as 215 in December 2000, initially running from Blairgowrie Depot.

It transferred to Arbroath in November 2004, and was allocated to the reserve fleet in June 2005. It was bought for preservation in November 2005.

Despite being paid for on the 28th November 2005, and collected on the 10th of December, it still managed to be allocated Stagecoach national number 47992 when Stagecoach bought the Traction Group on the 14th of December.

Strathclyde's Buses M89 (E186 BNS), Jamaica Street, Glasgow 8/6/88. © C. Billette.

E186 BNS at the Kirkby Stephen Easter Rally, 12/5/11. © K. Hay.

Ballachulish, 15/6/12. Broken down in a (very scenic) layby shortly before an engine replacement. © K. Hay.

May have been used as a Celtic FC team coach when with Park’s.

Later it was with operators in Cornwall and Devon including Dartline of Clyst St Mary where it was re-registered LIL 6538.  In 2018 it moved to South Staffs Travel of Tamworth and regained its original registration F23 HGG.  It was acquired for preservation in 2019 and is now in National Express Rapide livery.

F23 HGG in the wash bay at Bridgeton Garage. © S. Booth.

This bus was supplied on 1 February 1990 to Strathclyde Regional Council, initially being kept in the former Glasgow Corporation Bridgeton Bus Garage, before being sent to Renfrew Division in the former Western/Clydeside Thornliebank Depot in Carnwadric Road. It is a Leyland Roadrunner 9-13 with a Wright Consort TT body fitted in Wishaw. The engine is a Cummins 6B series.

G571 PNS was run by Strathclyde Regional Council on disabled transport duties until the Scottish local government reorganisation in 1996 when it transferred to East Renfrewshire District Council. It could regularly be seen outside Netherlee Pavilion at lunchtimes from the school playground next door during the 1996-7 school year!

It remained "on the books" as a reserve fleet vehicle and was certainly used at least once as late as 2007. It was taken out of service in 2008 and returned to its first home at Bridgeton, now the home of the GVVT.

Like most council buses, this one seems to have evaded enthusiasts for much of its life, and very little is known about it. Even Wright apparently have no record of having built it, despite their badge on the front!

G571 PNS at Bridgeton, shortly after restoration.

AH101 entered service with Strathclyde Buses in February 1990. Much of it's early life was spent at Knightswood Depot. It remained with Strathclyde Buses until it was bought over by FirstBus in 1996 and later renamed First Glasgow (No.1) Ltd.

On the first and second attempts at withdrawing the Citybuses, AH101, by this time having been numbered 31311 in the national First numbering scheme and now at Cumbernauld Depot, survived.

Latterly at Parkhead Depot, it was withdrawn from service with a blown engine in February 2008, and immediately entered preservation.  Much mechanical work has been undertaken to bring this bus to roadworthy condition including the replacement of its original three speed Voith gearbox with a four speed version.

AH101 next to LO101, both in out-of-service condition at the 2010 Scottish Vintage bus Museum spring running day. © K. Hay.

AH101 repainted into the late-90's Greater Glasgow overall red livery.

New to Bonas (Supreme), Coventry.  Passed to Billies, Mexborough, South Yorkshire in 1994; then to Gordon, Rotherham (SY) 1997;  to Rowe & Tudhope, Kilmarnock/Muirkirk 2000 and re-registered there to VJI 9412; to Isbister, Walls, Shetland in 2003 when it reverted to H157 HAC; then to Watt (A&K Transport), Walls in 2007.  It joined the GVVT collection in May 2015.

H157 HAC on display in Bridgeton. © I. MacGregor.

Purchased from Moseley, the dealer in Coatbridge by Clan Garage (Skye-Ways Travel) of Kyle of Lochalsh for the Glasgow to Skye services, as well as other coaching work.  In 2002 the coach passed to Harris & McGhee (Silver Krest Coaches) whose garage is located a short distance from Bridgeton Garage.  It retains Skyeways blue livery.

J11 SKY when brand new having just arrived in Glasgow from Skye. © I. MacGregor.

K62 BAX is a 1993 Volvo B10M-60 with Belgium built Jonckheere Deauville coachwork. It was new to Bebb of Llantwit Fardre in North Wales.  Thereafter it passed to other coach operators in England, latterly Steve Stockdale of Selby.  It was acquired by the Midland Bluebird Preservation Society in 2017, and was re-registered B10 ASV and restored to replicate Midland Bluebird 207, later 2207, (144 ASV, originally G170 RBD) which carried a gold and blue livery and served as the Falkirk FC team coach for a time.

On a recent change of ownership, the bus reverted to its original registration.

Refurbished coach at Blackness Castle (of 'Outlander' fame). © J. Weaver.

Midland Bluebird 2207 in the livery which B10 ASV replicates. © D. Booth.

LO101 (L201 UNS) is a historically significant bus, believed to be the last Leyland bus to enter service in the UK; being first licensed in early October 1993.

Leyland Motors dates back to 1907 when the Lancashire Steam Motor Company took over Coulthards of Preston. The company developed, eventually merging with British Motor Holdings to become the British Leyland Motor Corporation, the major supplier of motor vehicles in Britain. The bus division was the subject of a management buyout in 1981, then bought by Volvo Bus in 1988. Volvo closed down the Workington plant in 1993 after completing a large number of existing orders for Leyland Olympians. The last Leyland buses were Olympians built for Singapore in 1993.

LO101 was new to Strathclyde's Buses as one of 52 lowheight Alexander bodied Leyland Olympians. They replaced 60 buses destroyed in the Larkfield Depot fire of 1992, and were the last Leyland buses for the UK. LO50-101 spent most of their life working from Larkfield Depot on services 66/66A/66B, which operated under two low railway bridges, necessitating the use of lowheight buses.

Strathclyde's Buses was bought by First in 1997. Under First's ownership, many LOs were gradually transferred to other subsidiaries, although LO101 remained in Glasgow for the rest of its working life. First's national numbering scheme was implemented in 2003, LO101 becoming 31412, although Glasgow retained the old numbers for internal use.

Towards the end of the LOs' time in service, those remaining transferred back to Larkfield, ironically to provide more capacity on service 66. After a few months it became clear that the writing was on the wall for the LOs, and they were withdrawn from service in April 2009, later being removed to Campbell's scrapyard near Balloch.

LO101 was bought for preservation in August 2009, the intention being to restore it to original Strathclyde's Buses orange and black livery.

LO101 seen on the Strathclyde Buses Centenary Parade on 3 July 1994.

LO101 seen in East Kilbride Bus Station in 1997. It was used as a testbed to compare various versions of the Greater Glasgow fleetname before a white border was added to the existing grey style. © K. Hay.

LO101 under the spotlight at Bridgeton following repairs to the water system, 13 November 2010. © K. Hay.

Purchased new by Kelvin Central Buses in 1993 as fleet number 1304, then later renumbered SV304 when Kelvin Central was numbered into the Strathclyde Buses alphanumeric numbering scheme.

The bus moved to First Glasgow when they purchased the SB Holdings Group (including Kelvin Central). During its service in Glasgow, renumbered into the First national numbering scheme as 61363, then later transferred to First York, then on to First Leeds as a driver training vehicle.

Alexander's Royale body was a refreshed version of the R-type body introduced in 1981.  In 1994 Kelvin Central Buses received a batch of 7 Volvo Olympians with Royale normal height bodies.  Use of these was restricted by their height to certain routes, so the next batch of 16 featured a low height version of the Royale body.   Some including M847 DUS were designated as "coaches" by virtue of having more comfortable seats and were put to work on the X1 express service between Glasgow and Motherwell.

M847 DUS entered service in December 1994 from Motherwell depot in X1 Gold Line livery and numbered 2847.

KCB was purchased by SB Holdings, the parent company of Strathclyde Buses, in 10/94.  The KCB fleet was renumbered into the Strathclyde Buses scheme in May 1996 and M847 DUS became CO247.  In 1996, SB Holdings was bought by FirstBus.

M847 DUS was re-registered WLT 677 in 1998 being painted all over red later that year. KCB was renamed First Glasgow (No.2) in May 1998.  It received First corporate livery in 2001 and was renumbered 31518 in the First national scheme in May 2003.  It reverted to registration M847 DUS in March 2005 prior to transfer to First Potteries.  In 2007 it moved further south to First Devon & Cornwall finally being retired at the end of 2015.

New to Kelvin Central Buses in April 1996 at Motherwell Depot as 2394, this bus was part of the second batch of 'PS' types bought new by the company. It was soon renumbered in parent group SB Holdings' Strathclyde Buses-derived alphanumeric scheme as SV494. At this point Kelvin Central were using the fleetname KCB Network on their red and cream livery.

At this point Stagecoach had a 20% stake in SB Holdings. Following on from 18 buses acquired from Stagecoach as part of this deal, 60 Stagecoach-specification B10M/PS types were delivered new to the fleet, largely to oust the large number of elderly Leyland Leopards and Nationals. This vehicle was from a further batch, not to full Stagecoach standard, having grey seat frames and grey/multi-coloured-striped seats. The brick-red flooring and red handpoles were pure Stagecoach spec though.

This bus was not in KCB ownership for very long, as by winter 1996 FirstBus had taken over the SB Holdings group (including Stagecoach's shares), with some later PS types arriving under their ownership and in the drab allover red colour.

N94 OGG soldiered on, giving 16 years loyal service to the company, operating from Parkhead, Cumbernauld, Scotstoun and Blantyre. During April 2012, by this time numbered 61434, the bus was withdrawn from service. At the time, it was destined to become a spares donor, sacrificing its engine and gearbox to other similar vehicles.

Entering preservation instead, the bus gained a place at the GVVT collection in Bridgeton where it is part of a large collection of ex-First Glasgow vehicles. It has now been through a painstaking 2-year restoration into its original KCB Network livery as SV494.

N94 OGG at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum. © I. MacGregor.

New as Midland Bluebird 578 in October 1996, then transferred to Lowland (still numbered 578) 5/97 for use on "FifeFirst" services. Returned to Midland Bluebird (as 578) 7/00. Renumbered 62345 7/03. Withdrawn 10/12. Preserved by the Midland Bluebird Preservation Society from November 2013. Sold on to new owners in 2017 and moved to Cupar in Fife during 2019, then returned to Bridgeton in 2022.

P491 MBY was one of 22 Alexander bodied Volvo Olympians to H45/25D layout delivered to Metroline London Northern between October and December 1996.  They were numbered AV1-22 (P481-95/74-80 MBY).  AV11 (P491 MBY) was allocated initially to Willesden garage, moving to Harlesden in April 2001 and then to Holloway in May 2005.  It was withdrawn in December 2005 and sold to Ensign (a dealer) in January 2006 together with several others of the batch.  Six of them, P479-81/5/7/91 MBY were refurbished and converted to partial open top for Glasgow's City Sightseeing service, then run by GVVT member Alex Pringle who has a long history of providing tourist services in the city.  The Olympians replaced older ex-London MCW Metrobuses. The Olympians have in turn now been replaced by new generation low floor Scanias.

The Trust was delighted when West Coast Motors (which now owns City Sightseeing Glasgow) offered to donate one of the Olympians to the Trust.  It represents another chapter in Glasgow's transport, social and economic history and will provide some relief to our hard pressed Leyland Titan open topper L108.

As P491 MBY only ever wore City Sightseeing livery as an open topper, it has been repainted into an early Strathclyde Buses "coach" livery, applied to various Metrobuses, Atlanteans (both open and closed top), Metroriders and even Leyland PD2 L108, another member of the GVVT collection.

The bus shortly after entering service in Glasgow passing the original berth of The Tall Ship. © I. MacGregor.

Jonathan Harwood of City Sightseeing Glasgow handing over the vehicle to GVVT Trustee Alistair Ramsay on 20 October 2016.

VO155 (R655 DUS) was new to Strathclyde Buses (renamed First Glasgow in 1998) in October 1997 at  the now-closed Larkfield Depot. There were only ten of these vehicles in the fleet. They operated mainly on the 44 route from new, in allover red with Greater Glasgow (f) lettering. Gradually they were painted into Barbie colours and eventually branded for the route 44. They stood out due to the unusual choice of bodywork, which in Glasgow could only be seen on VO3-4 and VO153-VO162. It was renumbered 31497 in First's national scheme in 2003. It remained with First Glasgow until 2011 operating mainly at Larkfield but had stints at Scotstoun and Cumbernauld. It moved to First Midland Bluebird in 2011 and was operated initially from Larbert and then from Bannockburn depots on schools and local service work until the end of the 2015 school term.

The bus in 1998 in original Greater Glasgow red livery. © I. MacGregor.

In 2014 with Midland Bluebird. © S. Reilly.

New to First Kelvin Central in November 1997 at Knightswood Depot as MD63, this bus was part of a large batch of low floor Dennis Darts ordered by the company. It was initially operated on the Dumbarton local services D2-D8 from the Kelvin unit in Knightswood Depot, but often strayed onto the other routes the depot had, including Greater Glasgow routes. By Summer 1998, the bus had been repainted from allover red into the new Barbie livery, and continued to operate around Dumbarton and the Vale of Leven.

By 2000, it had moved to Motherwell Depot as part of an upgrade for the 240 and 267 services, which were suffering severe competition from a local independent and required newer, low floor vehicles. These vehicles were the typical bus type to be seen on these corridors between 2000 and 2010, operating from 5am until 12am, 7 days a week.

MD63 (later renumbered 40820) continued to serve at Motherwell, Blantyre and Overtown right up until 2011 when it transferred to Scotstoun Depot with many other similar vehicles, to be used on the service 20 operating "duplicates" in competition with McColls Coaches. McColls soon pulled off this corridor and the bus was surplus, and subsequently transferred back to Overtown Depot, where it lasted another 2 years in service until it became the final bus of this batch to be withdrawn in September 2014.

It passed into preservation weeks after, and became part of the collection at Bridgeton. This batch of Darts were true workhorses and this example is no different. Unfortunately, as restoration began, it became apparent that the chassis was in a poorer state than had been thought and the eventual decision was made to scrap the bus. The front end of it is to become a separate mini-restoration, to use in the future as a safe driver's seat for kids to sit in

R638 DUS, not long after its arrival in Bridgeton. © I. MacGregor.

The surviving cab end of R638 DUS, just after separation from the main part of the vehicle. © K. Hay.

R526 VSE was new to Stagecoach (Western Buses) in February 1998 at Kilmarnock Depot and was originally numbered 526, becoming 20526 in 2003. Despite the fact the vehicle was allocated to Kilmarnock when new, its original purpose was to go to the Isle of Arran, and it moved there in late Spring after only a few months at Kilmarnock. Since moving to the Island in 1998, 526 has spent all of its working career there, apart from the odd trip over to the mainland for maintenance.

R526VSE as it arrived at Bridgeton. © P. McKenna.

In service on Arran. © P. McKenna.

New as First Aberdeen 133 and renumbered 31559 in the First Bus national scheme 7/03.

Grampian / First Aberdeen had favoured high frequency services operated by single deckers, including articulated buses, but the tight turning area on a couple of routes and their loadings meant six low floor double deckers were purchased in 2000.

133 entered service in an overall livery for the charity "the ARCHIE Foundation" which it retained until 2006.  Thereafter it carried corporate or other advertising liveries.

In 2013 the bus was transferred to First Scotland East (Midland Bluebird) until withdrawal in 2016.

It passed almost immediately into preservation since when it has been restored to its original Archie Foundation livery.

In Larkfield Depot as part of the Glasgow125 celebrations. © A. Mclullich.

Two Volvo B10BLE/Wright Renown vehicles (body numbers E53 and E54) were delivered to Hutchison of Overtown in June 2001. E53 and E54 were registered as Y181 BGB and Y182 BGB respectively and entered passenger service in July.

182 was one of four B10BLEs purchased at the start of the millennium, two being Alexander ALX300-bodied and two Wright-bodied.

181 and 182 were significant vehicles in the Hutchison fleet as they were the company’s first Wright-bodied buses as well as being among their first heavy-duty low-floor vehicles. Until then, Hutchison had purchased and relied on Optare for low-floor services.

The two new purchases were the first service buses to obtain the revised “swoosh livery”. Two Volvo B10BLEs with Alexander ALX300 coachwork which were bought the previous year had a simplified livery.

The instantly recognisable Flying H, which had been standard on both service and coach fleet since the 70s, disappeared from the sides of 181 and 182, but it was retained on the rear of the vehicles by company director Stuart Anderson.

During its life with Hutchison, 182 worked the streets of central Lanarkshire on the bread-and-butter routes from Larkhall to Motherwell, Coltness to Motherwell and latterly the extended Overtown-Hamilton services in competition with First, McKindless and others. The bus also got to stretch its legs on the Glasgow Express X9/X11 Glasgow-Cleland and Newmains services.

When operations were sold to First in July 2007, 182 was among a variety of Hutchison vehicles – including Optare Excels, Scania L94UB Wright Solars, Volvo B7RLEs and Plaxton Premiere Volvo B10Ms – transferred to First Glasgow. It gained the fleet number 66282, along with "local number" SV817 which was never carried.

Initially it was based at Blantyre Depot but was repatriated to Overtown when First reopened the garage in August 2008. It was a regular on the main arterial routes 240, 255 and 267 from central Lanarkshire to Glasgow's Buchanan Bus Station.

During its later years in service, 182 returned to the routes it operated when purchased new by Hutchison and was a familiar sight on the streets of Motherwell and Wishaw.

In February 2019, 182 was the last survivor of the Hutchison era to leave Overtown. It switched to First’s Caledonia Depot and worked from there for three weeks (in March 2020, the last four service vehicles Hutchison bought new in 2004 were still based at Blantyre).

182 was withdrawn from service on March 20, 2019 and on April 3 was collected by new owners Mark Loughlan and Ed Bonner and brought to GVVT, Bridgeton.

Since entering preservation the bus has been faithfully restored to its original Hutchison livery and is the only example of a vehicle in the striking “swoosh” colour scheme. On the inside, the seats have been retrimmed in original graffiti-pattern moquette, and handrails have received fresh powder coat.

June 2001 – two Volvo B10BLE/Wright Renowns (E53 and E54) are delivered to Overtown. These were a notable addition to the fleet, being Hutchison’s first Wright-bodied vehicles.  © J. Connell.

Clad in Barbie – Coltness Terminus, June 24, 2017 en route to Cleland, 182 wears the white, pink and blue livery of First. © M. Loughlan.

What a difference a year makes – July 14, 2018, same bus, same place, new livery. Freshly painted 66282, works its old haunts of Motherwell and Wishaw.   © M. Loughlan.

Back to the swoosh – the body restoration is complete and Y182 BGB is now the only vehicle in existence wearing Hutchie swoosh livery. © M. Loughlan.

Volvo B10BLE SF51 YAD was new to First Glasgow as SV633 in November 2001, although almost immediately renumbered SV634 owing to a mixup as the new registration system came in.  Allocated to Parkhead Depot, it was used on routes 40,54,61 and 62 around the City. It was one of a big batch of single deckers brought in to help displace some of the other low-floors onto other routes within the city operated by the various type of Volvo and Scania lowfloors. It operated on the branded 62 between Baillieston and Faifley mainly, a 24/7 service at the time.

In 2002 it transferred to Knightswood Depot for the 62 as Parkhead did not have the staff to operate the route. It would later return to Parkhead.

Later on in life it moved to Blantyre to replace the Darts being operated on mainstream services such as the 240 and 267.

When SV634 arrived at Bridgeton it was wearing First's already-obsolete "Olympia" livery.  © E. Gray.

This bus was one of a number of "Surplus" Stagecoach buses to come North from London to provide transport at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. After the games, Stagecoach generously donated this bus to the GVVT, allowing us to run lowfloor journeys at our vintage running events.

LX51 FOF at an Open Sunday in Bridgeton Bus Garage. © I. MacGregor.

Although preserved in mostly-Stagecoach London condition, we did add a few vinyls to thank Stagecoach for donating the bus to the GVVT. © G. Conn.

SF04 HXX was one of four Wright Eclipse bodied Volvos which transferred to First Glasgow when Hutchison sold up in July 2007. At that point it gained First fleetnumber 69296 although it also gained local number SV819 which was never carried.

New in late 2004, 32615 (or DV73 for certain "internal purposes") was part of a large batch of 84 buses, the first lowfloor double deckers for the Glasgow fleet.

This bus spent its entire working life in Glasgow, being withdrawn in 2002 and immediately entering preservation at Bridgeton.

69101 is one of a batch of similar Volvo B7RLE buses with Wright bodywork which joined the fleet in 2006. Towards the end of their life, some of the batch were given pink-based route branding for service 9, which 69101 still wears.

This VanHool TDX29 Astromega was the first double deck coach to be fitted out as a convertible sleeper for Scotland to London Megabus Gold sleeper services. After being relegated to more prosaic coach work, its final service role was on the luxurious Edinburgh sightseeing service, superbus.com for which it was reregistered A2 XXH, although it has now reverted to its original registration.

This appliance was ordered by the Western Area Fire Brigade on 1st April 1958 and left the works of Dennis Bros.of Guildford on 21st August 1958.

It served mostly at Greenock as a retained appliance but also spent some time at Gourock, Port Glasgow and Paisley.

During November 1976 it was disposed of by auction in Glasgow. After some years, ownership passed to the transport company Tennants of Forth who planned to have the appliance completely restored to original condition but instead, it lay for many years in the corner of a storage shed.

When the preservation group first saw the appliance in late 1995, it was in extremely poor condition and only just roadworthy. It was purchased in July 1996 and driven back to Glasgow under its own power.

Glasgow City Council provided the group with storage facilities and over the next four years the appliance was virtually rebuilt and restored to original condition and livery, all the work being carried out by members of the preservation group. The paintwork was done by the Colin Hutton group after most of the bodywork preparation had been completed.

This appliance is powered by a 6 cylinder Rolls Royce B61 4250cc petrol engine which develops 120 b.h.p. and is rated at 29.4 horsepower. Petrol consumption is approximately 7mpg (on a good day). In 1958 a Dennis F8 Fire appliance cost between £1,600 and £2,000.

NHS 196 in the yard at Bridgeton Bus Garage. © I. MacGregor.

Scottish Fire Heritage Group (SFHG) member Bob Wright has provided some background to this rare vehicle.

In the 1960s, Glasgow Fire Service decided to break with tradition and order 6 fire engine chassis from the German fire appliance manufacturer Magirus Deutz. All the chassis arrived in the UK at Hull and were then driven to Glasgow and brought to the North West Fire Station. Of the six chassis ordered, four were to be bodied as Water Tender Escapes and the other two would be completed as 100 ft (30 m) Turntable Ladders (TLs). Packing cases were also delivered to the North West Fire Station containing the Magirus Ladders and the Turntable Units. Over the next few weeks an 'Iron Fairy' crane was used to assemble these units on to the chassis. The incomplete Turntable Ladders were then sent to the Glasgow Coachbuilding firm of J.C. Bennett to have the bodywork fitted.  The remaining four chassis were sent to SMT in Glasgow for completion. A further Magirus Deutz TL was ordered in 1970.

On completion, the two original TLs were given the registration numbers NYS 26F and PUS 920F.  NYS 26F was stationed at the Central Fire Station, Ingram Street and PUS 920F was stationed at the North West Fire Station, then Knightswood Fire Station and was disposed of in the late 1980s when it was replaced by a Dennis Pierreville TL.

Throughout their service in Glasgow, both appliances served the city well by providing a high reach and rescue facility. I have a personal affiliation with PUS 920F as I drove the appliance on many occasions and later in my capacity as officer in charge of the vehicle, attended numerous incidents throughout the city and beyond. One of the most memorable incidents that I was involved in was using the TL to rescue two young lads who had become trapped on Dumbarton Rock, and I'm pleased to say this resulted both lads being taken off the Rock successfully and without injury.

After being disposed of, the TL was purchased by its present owner who restored it back into working condition and the vehicle has been dry stored ever since. It is the only Magirus Deutz fire appliance to survive and was totally unique to Glasgow.

This appliance was number two of a batch of ten ordered for Strathclyde Fire Brigade from Angloco, Bately, West Yorkshire.

First registered in 1989 the serving history of the vehicle was as follows:

1989 – 1994               Greenock

1994 – 1995               Gourock

1995 – 1999               Reserved Fleet

1999 – 2004              Port Glasgow

In 2004 the vehicle was sold to the Preserved Military Fire Service at auction and remained there for nearly five years.

In 2009 it was purchased privately. At the time of purchase in 2009 there were only 47,000 miles on the clock.

Work to restore the vehicle has been predominately cosmetic, and the appliance is fully equipped as in service.

In 2020 the vehicle interior was updated with front and rear seating refurbished and replacement of all six wheels with new tyres.

F182 FHS in its original restored condition in Bridgeton Garage. © I. MacGregor.

F182 FHS, now sporting a full set of chrome embellishments. © A. Houliston.

BUS 181 was new with Cowieson H30/26R bodywork, and entered service with Glasgow Corporation as 615 in July 1938.

It was withdrawn from service at Ibrox garage in 1950 for rebodying to Crossley design by Scottish Commercial, retaining the same seating capacity. However Scottish Commercial withdrew from the contract and it (and 8 others) were rebodied by Crossley. On its return to service in March 1951 it was renumbered AR292, the R indicating a rebody.

It was sold to Hunter of Kilmarnock (part of the A1 group) in 1961 and converted to a recovery vehicle.

Once in the hands of a preservationist in 1980, it was restored and painted in GCT livery.

Sold to First Glasgow in March 2004, this vehicle had a couple of years unused until it was sold to Glasgow City Council in 2006 for continued preservation.

It would be desirable to one day restore this rare bus with a double deck bus body once more!

BUS 181, seen in Bridgeton Garage. © I. MacGregor.

Rear view, illustrating the cut-down bodywork. © I. MacGregor.

Q138 RDS was an AEC Matador rebuilt by Western SMT in the 1950s and rebuilt as a recovery vehicle; worked mainly from Kilmarnock until 1995. It remained part of the fleet long enough to pass to Stagecoach, then had spells at Perth and on Arran. Ran on trade plates until 1/88 when registered Q138 RDS.

It currently carries a smart red livery with funfair recovery lettering.

Western SMT bought their first Leopards in 1960 when the model was introduced. In 1963 the first Y-type bodied Leopards arrived marking the beginning of a long association with the type. The last arrived in 1980. Western's standard single decker until 1975 was the 4 speed manual gearbox Leopard with 49-seat Y-type coach bodies. Allocated to all depots, they were to be found on every type of work: local, long distance, express or touring.

L2366 was delivered to Kilmarnock depot wearing the traditional black and white livery. In January 1973 it was transferred to Inchinnan and operated from there until withdrawal in 1982.

In the early 1980s, Western's workshop at Nursery Avenue, Kilmarnock had converted a number of older Leopards into Tow Buses for use by the company. This involved shortening the wheelbase, eliminating the rear overhang and cutting the body down behind the first window bay. In October 1982 L2366 was the first of three converted and sold to Highland Omnibuses, becoming number H12.

In the late 1990's H12 was sold to Lothian Regional Transport becoming their BD2.

Latterly sold to a private owner it has now been purchased by the Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust, joining the collection at Bridgeton on Wednesday 6th October 2004.

WSD has received some major bodywork restoration, culminating in its repaint back into Highland colours as shown here.

This shows it Inverness in an earlier Highland livery. © I. MacGregor.

Purchased by David Tod Contractors of West Calder from Albion Motosr of Scotstoun in October 1938. Was laid up during Second World War years due to the rationing of fuel, and was subsequently "put out to grass" and parked in a field for over 30 years until rescued by Bill Struthers, a coachbuilder for Jackton near Eaglesham, who carried out a complete rebuild.

The lorry has recently been repainted in the livery of one of Skye's most respected businessmen of the era. Ewen Crossal as he was affectionately known was a pioneer in the transport of livestock and general haulage throughout the Islands from modest beginnings in Glenbrittle in February 1936. After acquiring a Commer B40 coach 9CS 649) and running from Glenbrittle to Portree, the business developed to be the largest fleet on the Island, and subsequently became one of the most reliable haulage contractors on the West Coast and Islands of Scotland.

This is my Gran's Hercules with frame number HR 3908, which she bought in 1942 when she began teaching. At that time (during World War II) it cost £30 which was two months pay.

Both bikes were well used when Gran and Grandpa were younger, but when they moved house in 1995 the bikes were handed over to Mum and Dad, and haven't been used as much since. They get an annual dusting and oiling to keep them running and both are still great bikes! Mum still uses this bike occasionally, hence the recently added reflectors and stand.

This is my Grandpa's Raleigh bicycle apparently with two frame numbers: 2747 and 210295 P. I don't know the exact age of the bike but Gran remembers Grandpa visiting her in 1946 on it when he left the Army aged 29.

As far as I can tell, the bike is in pretty much original condition, other than the reflectors, which are a recent addition!

After one of the inner tubes broke its valve in 2009, I found that the old one was stamped "Ministry of Supply – War Grade Rubber", evidently still the original inner tube (With a grand total of 28 patches over repaired punctures).

Both bikes were well used when Gran and Grandpa were younger, but when they moved house in 1995 the bikes were handed over to Mum and Dad, and haven't been used as much since. They get an annual dusting and oiling to keep them running and both are still great bikes!

New to Harper, Whitburn in 1949. Sold to David Buckly (showman)  in 1965. Sold to W. White in 1985. Intended to be fitted with a Luton body.

SX 6864, as cureently preserved at Bridgeton Garage. © I. MacGregor.

The Albion FT103 'Clansman' was a lightweight six- wheeler introduced in 1949 primarily as an export model.

55 BD 10 is one of 60 of the type supplied to the War Department from 1950 as mobile workshops, many of which saw more than 30 years service with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. This example was retained in storage by the National Army Museum at Beverley, passing to the Biggar Albion Foundation in 2006.

The recorded mileage is presently just 10,700 miles.

Displaying its original military number plate at a rally. © P. Adams.

This Foden FG 6/12, with S18 V-fronted cab, was supplied new in March 1951 to E.W. Watts (Haulage) Ltd. of Sutton Coldfield who were primarily livestock hauliers – it is presumed they used it as a livestock float. At this time, it was supplied with a S18 flat-fronted cab and this model could arguably be considered one of the best and most modern-looking post-WW2 lorries on the road.
It was sold in 1955 at a British Road Services dispersal sale in Sutton Coldfield to McBride’s Haulage of Broxburn where it worked on both long distance and local work, before being sold in 1960 to showmen. During the latter period of McBride’s ownership it was involved in an accident at Breich crossroads in West Lothian, and since repairs were done through insurance the later style V-fronted S18 cab was fitted.

Whilst the lorry’s exact history, and dates of ownership, from its time on the shows is unknown it is understood to have been in the ownership of the Billy Lovatt for a period where it apparently operated as a bingo stall, before being sold to George Morrison at Broxburn who used it for storage. It was purchased in approximately 1985 by Jim Nisbet who restored it as a platform lorry in the colours of his family’s haulage company, Nisbet’s of Kirknewton. In 1991, it was sold to Alex Anderson, the well-known sawdust and wood-chip contractor of Bo’ness, and painted into his colours – and one of its first outings in Anderson’s livery was on the 1991 London to Brighton road run.

Tennent’s of Wellpark Brewery, Glasgow has a long and varied history dating back to 1556 with Tennent’s Lager first being produced by the company in 1885 by the then owner Hugh Tennent. The history of Tennent’s transport is as interesting as the history of the company itself and fortunately considerable photographic records exist of this transport from over the past 120 years – from horse and cart drays to early lorries (including Caledons, built along the road from the brewery on Duke Street, De Dion Boutons and Sentinel steamers) and from 1930s to 1960s Fodens, Albions, Fordsons and Bedfords to the Volvos of the 1980s before the company outsourced its transport in the 1990s to Tradeteam, which is now part of DHL. More recently, as of 2018, the company ended its contract with DHL and has re-established in-house distribution for secondary deliveries, the majority of which is achieved with DAF vehicles.

Whilst this particular lorry was not original to Tennent’s, it was purchased to match one owned by Tennent’s (registration KYS 332) and to represent a fine and interesting example of Tennent’s haulage history. Sadly, of all known original Tennent’s vehicles, none are believed to have survived. This type of lorry would have supported the company’s international export business through delivering from the brewery to Glasgow docks, as well as carrying out brewery-to-depot shunts and picking up materials from suppliers for the manufacturing process at the brewery.

This lorry was completely restored with great skill, over several years, by Dominic Hannon (son of the well-known lorry restorer Ted Hannon, who provided Dominic with guidance and input where needed on historical detailing) near Durham, with the lorry stripped down to two chassis rails, and every single component thoroughly overhauled and calibrated or replaced as required, including chassis, cross members, springs, differentials, braking system, gear box, engine, radiator, cab components, etc. Great care has been taken to ensure historical accuracy and involved input on the colour choice from Donald Smith who worked for Tennent’s his entire life, having been born in the brewery and ended his career as distribution director.

Currently undergoing restoration after many years as a box wagon.

In 1830, Robert Barr of Falkirk started a cork cutting business servicing the local trade. This venture flourished for a while until the innovation of more modern bottle closures caused a decline in the need of cork. This prompted his son, also named Robert, to set himself up as an "aerated water manufacturer" in Falkirk in 1875, supplying to a local population of 40,000

In 1887, his son, Robert Fulton Barr, started a soft drinks business on his own account in Parkhead. Although the Glasgow base was an offshoot of the Falkirk establishment, it had a much larger population to supply. It was this business that was subsequently taken over by brother Andrew G. Barr, who gave his name to the present company.

In 1901, the famous Iron Brew (as it was then spelled) was launched. The two streams of the Barr family business continued separately until 1959 when A.G. Barr & Co. Ltd purchased the older company, forming one family business.

By 1963 Barr had seven branches in Scotland and had started implementing the move south of the border by buying Hollows of Bradford nine years earlier. This was followed in 1965 with the purchase of Frucose Ltd of Sunderland. Also in 1965 A.G. Barr & Co. Ltd became a public company, quoted on the London Stock Exchange.

Two years later, with the acquisition of Stotherts Limited of Atherton A.G. Barr expanded into the canned drinks market. With the purchase of Tizer Limited in 1972 A.G. Barr substantially increased their share of the UK market.

The 1980s brought further growth for the business with the acquisition in 1983 of Globe Soft Drinks of Edinburgh, and in 1988 Mandora St Clements of Mansfield.

Today the company manufactures an extensive range of products including Irn-Bru, Tizer, D'N'B and Orangina and in 2012 was merged with Britvic to form one of the biggest soft drinks manufacturers in the world.

Delivery lorries such as this Bedford could once be seen everywhere loaded with coloured plastic crates of bottled drinks for numerous small shops around the country.

MGE 810Y, seen here in Bridgeton garage. © I. MacGregor.

The Austin FX4 was originally introduced in 1958 and continued in production until 1982 when the design was sold on to Carbodies, who continued building the same basic design until 1984 when the design was sold on again to London Taxis international. In 1989, an updated model of the FX4 was named the Fairway, which continued in production until 1997, when it was replaced by the TX1.

More than 75,000 taxis to the same basic design (updated across its 39-year lifespan) were built, generally known as "London Taxis" even though many were used in other cities without going anywhere near London.