The summer is in full swing and we have been very busy over the last month or so attending rallies, moving buses and enjoying the hot weather. Take a moment to read what we've been up to.
The first bus rally we went to was the Alton Bus Rally and Running Day held at Anstey Park in Alton. We went along with 133 – TTR 167H and were also joined by 271 – FTR 271X & 361 - BTR 361B of the 393 peservation group. We left ‘Mini Portswood’ in convoy just after 9am and headed north toward Winchester and in an effort to save some time we decided to take a trip up the motorway. We arrived at the rally site just before 10:30am. A number of other ex-Southampton buses were also at the rally; them being 318 – 318 AOW, 353 - 373 FCR and 403 - ALD 993B. So in total there were 6 ex-Southampton buses at the rally on show. 133 was not in service until later so there was plenty of time to enjoy some of the other buses at the rally and take a look at the numerous stalls. After spending most of the morning looking around the stalls and talking to a number of friends, it was time to take 133 out for a trip. The trip would be to Medstead and Four Marks Railway Station, with a quick stop at Alton Railway Station, which is around 7 miles altogether. 133 was full for the trip, which was pleasing to see. After returning to the rally site it was time to head back to ‘Mini Portswood’. 133 performed remarkably well all day. 133 has since been withdrawn from the road as it's due its M.O.T in a few weeks.
Sunday 4th August saw the Provincial Society Bus Rally at Stokes Bay in Gosport. 432 – NLP 389V would return home to where it operated for a few years. 402 – KOW 410F, along with 271 – FTR 271X and 361 – BTR 361B of the 393 peservation group. would also attend the rally. This would be the first time in a few years that four buses went to a rally together. At one stage it was planned to take six buses but due to 133 – TTR 167H needing pre-M.O.T work and 1 – JOW 499E having been out and about a lot this year after returning to the road late last year it was decided to let it have a rest and just take the four. We left ‘Mini Portswood’ just after 9am and the first stop was for fuel, but then it was quickly onto the motorway and down to Gosport for the rally. All four buses were parked up together on the rally site, which as can be seen below made for a wonderful photo opportunity. 432 – NLP 389V and 402 – KOW 410F were used in service from the rally site to Gosport Bus Station, running passengers back and forth between the two destinations throughout the day. After returning from Gosport Bus Station on its last run 432's charging light, which had caused it many problems for most of the year had come back on. As a result, 432 was switched off so an investigation could be carried out under the bus, but nothing was found. So it was decided to turn it back on but it wouldn’t start and after scratching heads and help from others at the rally it was finally found that one of the relays was not working properly. After playing around with the relay, 432 fired back into life and headed back home.
432 – NLP 389V has been off the road most of this year suffering from electrical problems. which the team have been working to resolve, and a number of tests were done to find out what the problem was. It was thought that the starter motor was the problem so that was removed and it was then found that a number of other items needed to be replaced. The starter motor was then refitted to the bus but the electrical problem continued. The problem that it was causing was the charging light would not turn off after a few minutes. So next the alternator was removed and sent off to Leyland to be repaired. Once at the repairers it was found that it would be best that a replacement alternator was put onto the bus as the old one was in need of a lot of work. A few days later the replacement alternator arrived and was fitted. After being laid up with the electrical problem and a replacement alternator being fitted, 432 was finally fired into life, and after a few moments the charging light went out. 432 was then taken for a spin around the yard to make sure everything else was ok and thankfully it was. Whilst being off the road 432's M.O.T ran out. So an M.O.T was booked and on Thursday 1st August, 432 was taken to I M services for it to be carried out, and it passed, meaning it was back on the road and ready to head off to the Provincial Society Bus Rally at Stokes Bay in Gosport. 432 spent some time in the Gosport area before being retired from service in June 2004 after mechanical problems.
A number of other buses have been moved around. This has included 222 – GTR 484 which has been bought by member of the Trust. 222 needs to be restored as it was unfortunately damaged in a fire some years ago. 222 was first brought back to Southampton a few years ago by Phil Blair of PB Bus Marketing, who planned to restore it but due to other projects 222 was put up for sale. In July, 222 was moved from where it had been stored in Eastleigh to South East Coachworks in Faversham, Kent, where work would start on the next stage of restoration. 289 – E289 HRV, which has been on loan to Xelabus has also been off the road due to needing a new engine after the old one blew up. It has since received a new engine, which was fitted at Brijan Tours. More news on 222 & 289 will be announced soon.
As always with the modern world social media is at the forefront of most organisations and S&DTHT is no exception. We have recently launched on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and of course this blog. Since launching into the social world earlier this year it has proven very successful for us, and in the last few weeks we celebrated reaching 100 likes on Facebook, and over 50 followers on Twitter. To top it all off, this is also our 10th blog post, showing that we are continuing to grow and expand. We couldn't have possibly imagined where we are now, and the response to our entry into social media has greatly exceeded our expectations. Flickr has many pictures of buses so something we have been working on over the last few weeks is to get pictures of buses in and Southampton, and after a few hours work we have managed to get over 1,200 pictures in the group, and it continues to grow. It’s well worth a look if you fancy a trip down memory lane.
Finally, Sunday 8th September will see heritage buses return to the streets of Southampton as part of The Mighty Regents Running Day, which sees the recreation of 1970's bus routes with AEC Regent V buses and Guys, Leyland Atlanteans, Bristol K's & Lodekkas. Buses will run from 9:00 until 18:00, running several local Portswood routes to and from some of Southampton's Districts, the city & Docks. This will be the first running day in Southampton since May 2010, which marked the closure of the Portswood Bus Depot. More information about the running day will be on the website in mid-August. Until then, thanks for reading.
Finally, Sunday 8th September will see heritage buses return to the streets of Southampton as part of The Mighty Regents Running Day, which sees the recreation of 1970's bus routes with AEC Regent V buses and Guys, Leyland Atlanteans, Bristol K's & Lodekkas. Buses will run from 9:00 until 18:00, running several local Portswood routes to and from some of Southampton's Districts, the city & Docks. This will be the first running day in Southampton since May 2010, which marked the closure of the Portswood Bus Depot. More information about the running day will be on the website in mid-August. Until then, thanks for reading.
