Volvo B10BLE

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182 was withdrawn from service on March 20, 2019 and on April 3 was collected by new owners Mark Loughlan and Ed Bonner and brought to GVVT, Bridgeton.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

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.