This Series III Bristol RELH carries the semi-coach (or dual purpose) version of ECW's standard bus body. The main differences were a higher floor in the front part of the body, the provision of coach seating and a repositioned emergency door (on the rear offside rather than centrally on the rear bulkhead) and transposed onto a new background.
Whilst the early Series III REs were delivered just in time to have received traditional United liveries, this L registered example was a product of the National Bus Company era. The olive green and cream coach livery did make a brief reappearance on selected vehicles in the late 1980s, including the RELL converted to open-top for Scarborough seafront duties. This image shows what an RELH would have looked like, similarly repainted for day tours from Scarborough (although it carries blinds for an express service working here). Like the RELL, it retains the NBC badge on its grille. This image is based on a preserved NBC-liveried vehicle photographed at the Gateshead Metrocentre.
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Tags: United Automobile Services Tyne Tees Thames Bristol RELH ECW
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This is a re-work of the accompanying Tees & District version in the livery of sister company Teesside Motor Services (legally Teeside Motor Services due to a spelling error during the registration process). The windscreen notice proclaims it to be on hire to Tees and it carries the same destination as the Tees version. The TMS operation originated as an offshoot of Trimdon Motor Services, which it outlived by several years. Under North East Bus ownership, it was re-equipped with a mix of new and second-hand buses, including brand new Optare Deltas and Vectras but, as far as I'm aware, all the Optare Prismas went to Tees & District (19-May-17).
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Tags: Optare Prima Mercedes 0405 TMS Teesside Motor Services
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The initial fleets acquired by DDS were perhaps unusual in that they were predominantly (and possibly exclusively) made up of heavy-weight chassis at a time when most independent fleets included a good proportion of lighter-weight types - such as this Mulliner-bodied Bedford, which began life with Favourite Direct Services of Bishop Auckland. It later passed to Maudes of Newsham near Barnard Castle, where Durham District had an outstation for many years. Notice the British Railways Fordson Thames behind.
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Tags: Durham District Services Bedford OB Mulliner
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The first manifestation of the National Bus Company’s corporate identity that I encountered was an elderly Bristol MW sometime in 1972. Sitting amidst a cluster of Tilling Red buses, the impact of the sparkling Poppy Red livery was dazzling, although the tables would soon be turned as the new colour faded and the old was swept aside. By this time, the venerable Bristol MW was, itself, on its way out but one example lasted on the X10 Darlington to Bishop Auckland service until the mid-70s, regularly failing at some out of the way location. United’s final MWs were generally replaced by Bristol LHs, the heavier duties having previously been taken-over by REs (04-Nov-18).
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Tags: 5024 HN Bristol MW ECW Eastern Coach Works NBC National Bus Company
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The short, high-frame RESH design was the rarest member of the Bristol RE family. Whilst of the same overall height as the low-frame variants, the RESH and longer REHL versions were more suited to coach or dual-purpose applications where a level floor avoided the need for bench-type seats over the front wheel-arches.
This fictional Durham District vehicle carries dual-purpose livery applied to a real-life batch of ECW bus-bodied Bristol MWs. Had they been classified as full coaches, they would have received maroon rather than green relief - a livery that I would rather reserve for something more coach-like.
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Tags: Durham District Services ECW Bristol RESH
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