Sightings

Just a few sightings of note to report this week. Trident 343 was noted back at Bus and Coach World in Blackburn parked next to the virtually complete 344. 343 is understood to be receiving minor rectification work and it is hoped 344 will be delivered shortly.

Solo 280 made an unusual appearance on route 14 (Fleetwood to Mereside) on Friday morning while sister 254 is back in service after its fleet livery repaint.

Tridents at ten



332, the last new Trident purchased, heads through the pedestrianised St John's Square.

2012 will mark the tenth anniversary of the Blackpool Dennis Trident. Late 2001 saw an order placed with Dennis for nine Trident chassis to receive East Lancs Lolyne bodywork. UK operators purchased "Trident 2s" which were not the second version of the type, but the 2 referred to the axle count. The chassis was unveiled in 1997, but the first did not enter service until the start of 1999. Over 2,000 had been produced before Blackpool's arrived. 

301 - the first Trident on a short working Line 14 in July 2006

Dennis went through several owners since the 1982 Lancets - Blackpool's only other buses from this maker. At the time it was part of Hestair (who also owned Blackpool coach builder Duple) but passed to a management buyout (t/a Trinity) in 1989. It was sold to Mayflower in 1998 who also bought Alexander. In 2001 a merger with Henleys (owner of Plaxton) saw Dennis become part of Transbus International. The Dennis brand was later dropped but parent Mayflower entered administration and Transbus was rescued in May 2004 as Alexander Dennis (less Plaxton which was sold to other owners).
Blackpool's first Tridents were badged as "Dennis" vehicles and on 10 May 2002 301 arrived from East Lancs - the first new double decker since 1994 and the first East Lancs body since the 1989 Olympians. Like the Atlanteans before, the number series restarted at 301. Its two predecessors were Burlingham bodied Leyland Titan PD2 301 (LFV301) which ran from 1957 to 1970 and Atlantean/East Lancs 301 (BFR301R) which ran from 1977 to 1989. It seems highly likely that 301 will have a much longer service life in the town.

The other eight vehicles followed with 304 arriving on the 14th, 303 16th, 305 17th, 302 20th, 306 on 22nd with 307/9 on 28th and finally 308 on 29th. The launch date was 31 May when the buses were lined up at North Pier. They were all dedicated to Line 14 and received its dark green and yellow livery - the first buses to be delivered in a Metro livery. After the launch all nine entered service, symbolically replacing Atlanteans at Corporation Street on Line 14 journeys. The 14 required 16 buses on weekdays, 10 working Fleetwood to St. Annes and 6 working Fleetwood to Blackpool. The nine Tridents typically worked St. Annes trips supported by Atlanteans of two generations earlier. These, Blackpool Transport's first low floor double deckers, were 10.5m long and seated 77 (nine less than the Atlanteans) with 47 upstairs and 30 down. Cummins engines were fitted.

Brand new Tridents 317 (l) and 315 (r) in base livery prior to branding on 9 May 2003 just after arrival from East Lancs

301-309 clearly impressed as nine more were ordered for 2003 delivery they arrived as 310-318 between 1 May and 15th May, ahead of a launch on 23rd May. 310, 312-317 entered service the following day on Line 14, with 311 noted by the 29th after minor damage repairs and 318 on the 26th. Like their sisters 310-316 were in Line 14 green and yellow, but 317/8 introduced a new black and yellow pool livery. Tridents had so far been restricted to Line 14 with the odd appearance on schools work and tram replacement duties but 317/8 were now 'go anywhere' buses - though blinds covered only 11 and 14 destinations. On 5 June 317 was noted on Line 11 for the first time. Both black Tridents have tachographs allowing private hire duties.


The first Line 11 Tridents lined up prior to launch these became 326, 323 and 325 left to right.

2004 saw a third batch of Tridents, this time seven strong. First to arrive was 319 in black/yellow on 30 April, while six painted in turquoise and yellow followed in early May for Line 11. These were numbered 322-327 as 320/1 were to be reserved for two more pool buses which never appeared. 319 entered service on 25 May, followed by the Line 11 six on 29 May. 2005 saw no further Tridents arrived and in 2006 the fourth and final order was delivered - 328-332 arriving in June and with four entering service after launch on 23 June, with 332 following on 26th June. 322-332 allowed half of the Line 11 PVR of 22 to be rostered for Tridents. At the launch 332 was named 'Arthur Topham' in tribute to a late Blackpool Transport traffic manager. Two further Tridents followed with 331 named 'Les Kersh' after a Blackpool Councillor who served on the company board and passed away in 2008. 330 is named Colin Baker after a former bus driver.


Side by side in service - Line 11 was often beset by late running and bunching as 323 overtakes 322 at Starr Gate

1 November 2007 and 334 and 336 are on route learning/driver familiarisation duties prior to their deployment on Line 1 four days later - as well as the extra length these featured rubber mounted windows, not bonded glazing like their new sisters

 Blackpool has since turned its attention to buying second hand Tridents with 21 so far acquired - though not all are in service. Blackburn Transport purchased five near 12m Tridents in 2002 and its successor (Lancashire United) sold these to Blackpool in August 2007. These leviathans - Blackpool's biggest double deckers, seat 90 with 53 upstairs and 37 downstairs. They were painted into orange and yellow between September and October and entered service on Line 1 - the new year round Promenade service on 5 November 2007. Flickr link: 337 with Blackburn


The length of the Blackburn buses is apparent from this interior view of 336

 The following year saw a pair of redundant London Tridents acquired. Unusually they were new to Independent Blue Triangle of Rainham, but by the time of purchase the operator had been bought by Go-Ahead and had been used almost exclusively on route 248. TL911/3 (PO51UMG/UMJ) were purchased through Ensignbus dealership they arrived on 20 October 2008, however the former suffered the ignominy of being rescued from the hard shoulder of the M55 by Blackpool's tow wagon having suffered engine failure. They were new in September/October 2001 and featured an older style of bodywork. They were dual doored seating just 66 - 46 up and 20 down. TL913 entered the workshops immediately and was converted to single door and upseated to 75 (46/29) and received new Blackpool style roller blinds. It received Line 1 orange livery and fleet number 339 in February but did not enter service until 15 June. 



338 ready for repaint in May 2009

  TL911 became 338 and conversion work similar to 339 commenced in February and was completed with a repaint into Line 1 colours in May. After this a replacement engine was sourced and fitted but it was not until December that work was completed allowing 338 to make its debut on 5 January 2010.



339 in Line 1 colours but debranded on route 11

 Two sister buses were dispatched from Ensign on 15 February 2010 as the former TL919/20 (PO51UMT/V). TL920 duly arrived but had left a defective TL919 on the M6 in the Midlands. This was recovered to Ensign for repair and eventually arrived on 25 March as seen here. TL920 became 341 and was converted to single door as per 338/9 but received LED destination displays. It was repainted in the new fleet livery during May. TL919 became 340 and was completed in July. 341 entered service on 21 August with 340 following around 2nd September.



Ex South Lancs 342 heads through Lytham with a defective destination display

 A tenth second hand Trident arrived on 15 April 2010. Blackpool's new 342 was new as X80SLT to South Lancs Transport and was another 90 seater like the ex Blackburn's - indeed it was built alongside them being licensed in December 2002. SLT kept the cherished plate and 342 became PL52XAD. A repaint into the new fleet livery followed in June/July and it entered service on 28th August. Flickr link: 342 with SLT at Fleetwood Freeport and 342 at Leigh with SLT

Blackpool has since turned to the Isle of Man with 11 Tridents on the way, with 343 first to arrive after refurbishment and repaint and it entered service in December 2011, with 344 expected to follow. Once all are in use later this year this will take Blackpool's Trident fleet to 51.

In the Metro era Tridents were used on the 1 (333-339), 11 (322-332) and 14 (301-316) with pool buses 317-9 standing in when required. These occasionally appeared on other Metro routes such as the 2, 6 and 7 and all would put in turns on school service when required. Under the current network, Tridents dominate routes 9, 11 and 14 and see regular use on the 1 at weekends and one works routes 2/2C on weekdays.

Routine repaints commenced with 304 in February 2009 and all of the first batch received a full repaint in Line 14 colours by December 2009. Only three of the second batch have yet been repainted with 314 treated in June 2009 after front end accident repairs, 310 in February 2010 and 311 in April. Accident damage to 310 saw a second repaint, this time into the new livery in September 2011.


Like 338, 340 failed on delivery but was reactivated much faster than its sister. The second pair of ex Blue Triangle buses were fitted with LED destinations.

 The new livery premiered on 340-342, but surprisingly it was the orange ex Blackburn buses which were next to be repainted after four years in service. 333/4/5/7 were treated between September and November 2010 with 336 following in January 2011. The 2006 Tridents were all treated between November 2010 and February 2011 with the 2004 Line 11 examples 322-327 treated from February to July 2011. 338/9 were then treated in August/September 2011.


New Years Day 2004 sees 317 working a South Pier to Blackpool journey on normally minibus worked Line 2

Presently 301-309, 311 and 314 retain Line 14 livery after their first repaint, 312/3/5/6 retain their original coat, 317-319 retain pool livery and have yet to be repainted with 322-344 all in the new scheme.

The Dennis Lancets

598 on its familiar 2/2A duty at Poulton

Candidates for the most unusual Blackpool bus are the four Marshall Camair bodied Dennis Lancets operated between 1982 and 1988. They came about through a tendering procedure whereby manufacturer bid for a contract to supply vehicles. There was little on the market that was compatible with the existing Blackpool fleet which comprised Leyland engined Atlanteans and AEC engined Swifts. Dennis and Marshall were presumably the lowest bidder. Dennis supplied its new high floor Lancet chassis, which proved to be something of a flop. Only 87 were completed between 1981 and 1990 and that included 12 mobile libraries!


598 starts the climb of Anchorsholme Hill on route 3 to Mereside

 Blackpool's were amongst the first taking chassis 106, 107, 109 and 111 in a series starting at 101. They were intended to arrive earlier in 1982 and registrations ORN596-9X were booked and fleet numbers 596-599 were allocated. In the end the first, 596, did not arrive until 22nd July 1982 and was tested on trade plates prior to licensing as VCW596Y on 1st August. 597 arrived on 14 August; 598 on 19th and 599 20th, all with matching VCW---Y plates. At least 599 carried its ORN599X plate as it featured in a trade press article in June 1982, prior to completion.



596 demonstrates the high steps onto the platform and again into the saloon that blighted underfloor engined buses such as the Lancet

 The Lancets were commonly used on routes 2/2A (Blackpool to Poulton) which needed two buses with a third at peak times. They also appeared on other single deck routes such as the 3/3A, 8, 16, 19, 23/23A and 26 when available. Such availability was not always high as the vehicles had to return to Dennis for warranty work in their first few months. The Perkins V8 engines were found to be very heavy on fuel, and somewhat noisy, reputedly leading to complaints when they operated the night tram service.
After deregulation, the Lancets saw some use on newly acquired tendered services such as the Kirham Roamer, 165 (Preston to Lytham), 173 (Blackpool to Kirkham) and 180/2 (Preston to Poulton and Fleetwood). Single deck 'town' services now comprised the 2A (Poulton to Bispham), 3 (Mereside to Bispham), 4 (Blackpool to Wordsworth Avenue), 15 (Staining to Bispham), 23-25 (Hospital to South Shore/Mereside) and 33 (Cleveleys to Marton).




596 leaves Depot to work route 173 to Kirkham in the new livery. Later repaints on Leyland Nationals featured cream rather than green window surrounds (Donald MacRae)

 Routine repaints commenced in May 1987 when 599 became the first single decker to receive the new livery, followed by 596-8 over the next two months. 597 had suffered accident damage prior to repaint and emerged with slightly revised front end glazing. 596 suffered similar damage in late 1987 and was rebuilt in house in early 1988. February had seen the withdrawal of the final AEC Swifts and it was a great surprise that 596-599 were suddenly withdrawn in March 1988 and all four left on 20th having been sold to Redby of Sunderland, who also bought similar Camair bodies on Dennis Dominator chassis.




June 1988 and 599 is seen still in Blackpool livery with Redby of Sunderland (Dave Hatcher)

 

They ran in Sunderland in various liveries until summer 1993 when 596/7/9 left to go to Tanat Valley of Pentrefelin. 596/7 saw use on Oswestry Town Services, but 599 became a source of spares. 598 meanwhile was purchased by Knotty of Stoke-on-Trent where it was later rejoined by Swift 583. Further disposals took place in 1995 with 596 moving to Pioneer of Rochdale in February and 598 to Bluebird of Middleton in April. 597 was bought by enthusiast Graham Oliver for his Thames Valley Training fleet. It returned to Blackpool Transport for a repaint in its original livery (adopted by Thames Valley for its fleet of mainly ex London buses). 599 was sold on for scrap.



Sister 598 in a later Redby livery in South Shields - it was later repainted green (Dave Hatcher)



598 later joined 596 with Pioneer in October 1996 but was sold onto a dealer in April 1997 and was presumably scrapped. In 2000 596 moved to the Abundant Life Centre, a church in Bradford and lasted until February 2003. 597 passed to a preservationist in Hexham in 2000 and was viewed by the author in 2004 in poor condition. By then the last survivor its current circumstances are not known.



596 in the vivid Pioneer livery in Rochdale shows the modified quarter lights fitted by Blackpool Transport to this and 597 after accident damage





The sad condition of 597 in March 2004 stored on a farm near Hexham



And then there was one



Excel 217  under refurbishment back in 2009

Optare Excel 223 has departed today to Teesside to receive its new engine at Cummins. This will leave sister 225 as the only original specification Excel in use. Sister 226 will be the return load from Cummins tomorrow. The refurbishment programme commenced in summer 2007 when 210 was treated and it returned to use in September. The programme, which also involves body work overhaul and, usually a repaint has involved the following vehicles with their completion date and livery.

• 1  210   September 2007 (Line 7 livery, since into new livery)
• 2  211   November 2007 (Line 7 livery, since into new livery)
• 3  212   March 2008 (Line 7 livery)
• 4  213   August 2008 (Line 7 livery)
• 5  220   October 2008 (pool livery)
• 6  216   January 2009 (Line 7 livery)
• 7  218   November 2009 (no repaint, kept pool livery)
• 8  217   November 2009 (Line 7 livery)
• 9  219   February 2010 (pool livery)
• 10 215  June 2010 (Line 7 livery)
• 11 212  January 2011 (new livery)
• 12 224  February 2011 (new livery)
• 13 221  September 2011 (retained pool livery but soon repainted into new livery)
• 14 222  December 2011 (new livery)
• 15 226  returned January 2012 (for new livery)

 Meanwhile Solo 254 is nearing the end of its repaint into the new fleet livery.

More from the Isle of Man

Bus and Coach Buyer 6 January 2012 features a profile of Bus and Coach World which includes a shot of what is believed to be Bus Vannin 50 under refurbishment for Blackpool as 344. Its new front end is in place and the roof panels have been repaired (50 having suffered roof damage). Since then the bus has been completely repainted.

The magazine also reports that ten of Bus Vannin's DAF DB250s with East Lancs bodies are also due to follow the Tridents. These should be their 89-98 (FMN298, 503, 618-23, 835/6J) with the option for two more batches to follow in later years. This will bring in 21 mid life low floor double deckers allowing great inroads into the 26 strong closed top Olympian fleet. 

The article notes that the Manx Tridents are low height (13'9" v 14'3") have Voith gearboxes rather than ZF and have been down seated to by one (H45/26F) and that the purchase and refurbishment is costing between £45,000 and £50,000 per bus.

Click here for the Bus and Coach Buyer website. You can subscribe for free downloads, and chose the 6 January issue with the Blackpool article on pages 12 to 14.

The Blackpool Routemaster

Five Routemasters ran in London livery and here is 523 having received the minimum necessary preparation for service, without repaint,or destination blinds. It is seen here at St John's Church working a 5 to Grange Park

Towards the end of 1985 Blackpool Transport surprised many by announcing the trial of a London Transport AEC Routemaster with a few to purchasing six as part of its post deregulation strategy. Blackpool's actions followed those of Clydeside Scottish who had tried a Routemaster in 1985 prior to introducing a large fleet on services in Greater Glasgow ahead of deregulation. Sister business Kelvin Scottish did likewise as did Stagecoach - then a small independent operating in Perth.

RM1583 travelled up from London Bus Sales at Fulwell to Blackpool on 6 January 1986 and after an inspection entered service on routes 5 and 5A (Halfway House to Grange Park) two days later. It retained faded London Buses livery, a symptom of storage since July 1984. It was allocated number 500 which was reserved for demonstrators. It duly impressed and was purchased as the first of a batch of six and allocated number 521. Mid April saw it enter the paint shop for repaint into the 1930s lined red and white livery used on PD3 507 to commemorate the tramway centenary. This was adopted for the Routemasters, rather than the standard green and off-white livery and accentuated their age. An idea of how they may have looked in fleet livery is available on this flickr page.



RM1650 waits at Easington Crescent terminus on routes 5/5A. Destination and fleet numbers are displayed in the cab windscreen

The batch featured Leyland O.600 engines - compatible with Blackpool's PD3s but non standard for London as most of its Routemasters had AEC engines with around 400 having Leylands and these were early candidates for disposal. 521 was joined by RM848, RM1627 and RM1650 which arrived on Saturday 12th April and entered service on 15th/16th April on an emergency tram replacement service before settling onto services 5/5A. They entered service in London livery with numbers 522, 523 and 525 (resp) displayed on cards in the windscreen. Early May saw RM1640 arrived as 524, followed by RM1735 on 16 May as 526. 

526 was the only one of the first six to be repainted before use. It is seen here in the paint shop having its lining applied. Behind it is 522 which has received extensive repanelling

Brief details of their life in London are in the table below showing the dates new and the last depot and withdrawal date in London service. Routemasters were completely rebuilt every few years and bodies, engines and chassis units were separated and a vehicle would arrive at Aldenham works and its identity be applied to an overhauled bus which would then return to depot. Several vehicle identities were lost for several years while the overhaul process went on and emerged again when it finished! As a result, the buses which arrived in Blackpool did not feature the same body or chassis units as when they were built and the final body numbers are shown in the table.

No	LT No	Reg	New	Wd	Last Depot	Body No	Arrived
521	RM1583	583CLT	5/63	7/84	Croydon	B1354	7/1/86
522	RM848	WLT848	7/61	12/85	Stamford Brook	B847	12/4/86
523	RM1627	627DYE	6/63	6/84	Stockwell	B1892	12/4/86
524	RM1640	640DYE	6/63	1/85	New Cross	B1556	6or7/5/86
525	RM1650	650DYE	7/63	2/85	Bow	B1608	12/4/86
526	RM1735	735DYE	10/63	12/84	West Ham	B1821	16/5/86



Routemasters 521 and 524 relax in depot on Sunday 2 November 1986 after the first week or deregulation and several 40 minute round trips on route 12. Alongside is a later generation of AEC - Swift 595 that would be withdrawn nine years before the two Routemasters.

521 made its debut in its new livery at the 'Leyland 90' bus rally in Leyland on Sunday 17th May and entered service a few days later. 526 became the second to be repainted, entering the body shop without seeing service. It was completed in early July and was followed by 524 and then 522 with 525 treated in August. 523 was the last to run in London livery on 30 August and went back into use in red and white in October.

The inhospitable atmosphere of Talbot Road Bus Station in January 1987 is brightened by 521's red and white livery. Route 14 departed from the centre of the Bus Station for many years - next to the hose for the radiators! Driver and guard would amble out from the canteen door just next to the Fylde Atlantean just before departure time

The 5/5A was the Routemaster's prime home, but they also ran on other crew routes 14 (Blackpool-Fleetwood) and 22/22A (Cleveleys-Halfway House and Lytham). They could be seen out until close of service on the 5/5A, whereas PD3s tended to be allocated to daytime only workings.  Deregulation in October 1986 saw the 5/5A withdrawn so Routemasters were reallocated to route 12 (Blackpool to Airport) from Monday 27th. This required four buses and was increased to run every 10 minutes with the journey time reduced from 20 to 17 minutes as crew buses could achieve faster end to end times than the OPO buses used previously. The two spare buses could often be found on the 14 and 22.


The sylvan setting of Ballam Road, Lytham disguises the Guardian Insurance offices as 522 starts its 75 minute long journey from Lytham to Cleveleys on route 22A.

In July 1987 the 12 was extended to St. Annes and PD3 512 was painted red/white and with 507 and the Routemasters providing a pool of eight matching buses for the six bus workings. The frequency was later reduced to every 15 minutes needing four buses and the Routemasters once again dominated.


Routemasters 531 (left) and 533 (right) in different stages of repaint on 14 May 1988. Sister 530 had just vacated the space in the foreground

1988 saw the doubling of the Routemaster fleet as Blackpool chose to respond to Fylde's introduction of a Promenade bus service with its own route. Six more Routemasters were purchased and arrived in pairs during April. With six weeks to prepare the buses, they were treated to a simplified version of red and white livery to expedite the repaints. 528 was the first to be painted, noted in the paint shop on 24th April and was outshopped in early May followed by 527 and then 530 which left the paint shop on 14 May. 531 followed then 533 and finally 529 which was in the paint shop on 22 May. There was no 532 as this number was still used by a PD3. Launch day for the new service was Saturday 28 May and the six buses made their debut with promotional adverts and "Beachroamer" branding applied. Numbered 55 the service ran every 10 minutes on a daily basis from Starr Gate to Gynn Square and required six buses. The Sunday operation of Routemasters on the 55 is believed to have been unqiue at the time as neither London Buses nor the other provincial Routemaster operators used them on Sundays. 


Painted and lettered, final pre service preparation takes place on 531, 527 and 529 in the bus compound

No	LT No	Reg	New	Wd	Last Depot	Body No	Arrived
527	RM879	WLT879	1/62			B1322	12/4/88
528	RM1357	357CLT	12/62			B1306	12/4/88
529	RM1966	ALM966B	7/64	12/87	Victoria	B1975	29/4/88
530	RM1989	ALM989B	8/64	2/88	Camberwell	B1967	22/4/88
531	RM2071	ALD71B	11/64	5/86	Croydon	B1954	22/4/88
533	RM2089	ALD89B	11/64	11/87	Victoria	B1984	29/4/88



First day and Routemaster 528 with a first batch bus behind awaits time at Starr Gate as Fylde 101 heads past on their Beachcomber service

The 55 ran until the end of the Illuminations and for the winter 527-531/3 were reallocated to crew duties on services 12, 14 and 22/22A alongside the first batch and replacing the PD3s which were placed into store, initially for the winter but never to run again. Between February and May 1989 their livery was modified to match the first batch. The Promenade service - renumbered 40 - resumed on 3 July 1989 but operating Monday to Friday only between Harrowside and Gynn Square operating until 29 September when it ran Saturdays only until the end of the season! With only four Routemasters required during the winter it was decided to store several examples and 521 523, 524, 525, 527, 528 and 530 were declared redundant. In this context it was surprising that a 13th Routemaster joined the fleet in November. Former RM1123 had been used as a promotional vehicle by Burton's Biscuits who sold it to Blackpool Transport for a nominal sum in exchange for it retaining their promotional livery for Royal Edinburgh Shortbread. Numbered 534 it entered service on 4 January 1990 and uniquely for Blackpool featured an AEC engine.

No	LT No	Reg	New	Wd	Last Depot	Body No	Arrived
534	RM1123	123CLT	5/62	11/86	Stamford Brook	B507	Nov 89



"The Biscuit Tin" 534 operated in this promotional livery for Burton's Royal Edinburgh Shortbread as part of the deal that led to its acquisition. (Donald MacRae see his Victory Guy photo albums for more from his collection)

Despite the rather half hearted operation in 1989, route 40 was back with a vengeance for 1990. Blackpool Transport secured access rights to Pontins Holiday Centre (held by Fylde in 1988/9). The 40 resumed at Easter (12 April) and ran every 10 minutes using five buses in the day with an evening service introduced every 30 minutes between Pontins and Tower using one bus. A daily service was provided. The stored Routemasters returned to use during March and April. 521 and 522 had been repainted in January and March - the latter featuring a promotional livery for Pontins on its sides and rear. 

522 carried this promotional livery for Pontin's from 1990 to 1993 in return for exclusive access to Pontin's forecourt. (Donald MacRae see his Victory Guy photo albums for more from his collection)

At the end of the 1990 season 521-526 were placed in store. Surprisingly 521 was repainted again in November, followed by 523 525 and 526 by the end of the year with 524 treated in January. 526 saw occasional use after repaint, but the remainder remained stored until the 40 resumed on 28 March 1991. The service pattern remained the same, but new destination blinds were fitted to 521-526 restricted to Promenade only destinations, condemning these to seasonal only operation so they were stored again in November. 527-31/3/4 were similarly relegated after service on 7 December as route 12 was converted to Atlantean operation due to Union complaints that these newer buses were in store while the elderly Routemasters ran in service. March saw the 12 converted to One Man Operation precluding a return for the Routemasters. 534 would never run again for Blackpool Transport though it remained in store for several years. The storage allowed 527-31/3 to receive a repaint between February and April.


521 waits time at Pontin's in 1990 for another journey along the Prom to Gynn Square. Note how the white border to the fleet number has been dropped.

The 40 resumed on 16 April 1992 and was shortened to run between Pontin's and Tower requiring only four buses, though the evening service was increased to every 20 minutes. 13 buses for 4 duties meant that only half the fleet was required in future seasons. 1992 saw Pontin's bus 522 joined by the newly repainted 527-31/3. 522 suffered engine failure in June and missed several weeks as its Pontin's signwriting was also updated during its absence. 525 was reinstated briefly as a result and 526 later bolstered the fleet. 521/3/4 and 534 spent the year in store.
8 April 1993 saw the 40 resume and this time 521-526 were allocated with the second batch confirned to depot. During the summer side adverts for Opal Fruits were applied replacing the in house Travelcard adverts carried since the Routemasters were first repainted.

For 1994 the 40 started on 1st April and 527-531/3 were the featured vehicles. All had been repainted between December 1993 and February 1994, 527 emerging in Pontin's livery, relieving 522 which was painted red and white so it could sparkle in storage. 534 was returned to Burton's on 18 March 1994 after 832 days in store. On occasions the odd Routemaster appeared on route 14 in the summer - with blank blinds - as operation had been restricted to route 40 since 1992. 527-31/3 now had yellow and black blinds which only showed route 40 destinations.

6 November 1994 was the last day of the 40 as the takeover of Fylde by Blackpool saw efforts focused on Fylde's route 1 from 1995 and the Routemasters remained confined to depot. 1996 saw the Open Golf championship held at Royal Lytham St. Annes as part of the rotation around various courses in the UK. Four Park and Ride bus services would be in operation and it was decided to reactivate the Routemasters to help provide the necessary capacity.

All were prepared for service and on from July 1st they took-over route 21 (Tower- Zoo) with two buses required to bed them back in. On 6 July 521/5 did the honours and on 7 July 527/31 performed. 526/8/31 had to be drafted onto the Promenade to replace the tram service due to an emergency on 4 July.


525 seen on Blackpool Road, St. Annes while on Open Golf Park and Ride duty

Routemasters appeared for the Open Golf between Wednesday 17th and Sunday 21st July 1996 and all 12 vehicles made an appearance - 522 making its debut in its March 1994 paint job - surely a record. With the contest and services over, all 12 returned to store. They were renumbered 421-431/3 at the end of the month to release the 5xx series for minibuses absorbed with the Fylde business. 

Routemaster 422, showing off its 1994 repaint without fleetname on the Zoo service in September 1996

August saw all 12 confined to depot but 421-424 were reactivated at the start of September to operate route 21 with 422/3 noted in use on the 1st. These four returned to store with their sisters with the end of the 21 for the season on 27 October. This Indian Summer also saw occasional journeys on route 14/14A by now extended to run form Fleetwood to St. Annes with one bus each day from 25 to 27th September with 422 noted once (as seen here). 422 was destined to be the last Routemaster to operate for Blackpool Transport when it was hired to Granada TV for a 'Gladrags' charity collection campaign in February 1997. This was cut short by the sale of the Routemasters so PD3 driver trainer 507 had to deputise.


With limited blinds, Routemasters had these basic posters in the front nearside window for the 21 during 1996

The Routemasters were advertised for sale in January 1997 and all 12 were purchased by Reading Mainline, who had built up a fleet of 32 on services in competition with Reading Buses. All 12 were painted into Reading's red and cream livery at Blackpool Transport from February.

This ended the career of the Blackpool Routemaster with 429, 431 and 433 the last to leave on 29 June. Over the previous 11 years the fleet spent almost as much time in store, on average active for 51% of their life in the fleet. Reading deployed the first buses to be collected almost immediately with former 523/4/6/8/30 all in service by May. Others were deployed more progressively with 525/7 not entering service until May 1998. 522 and 529 did not see service with Reading - 522 reportedly needed a replacement rear sub frame, perhaps reflecting accident damaged suffered in Blackpool in 1991.

Mainline was purchased by Reading Buses in 1998 and continued as a separate entity until 22nd June 2000. The Blackpool Routemasters, many converted to AEC engine were progressively withdrawn during 1999 and 2000 as the operation contracted but 36, 42 and 43 (526/31/3) all operated on the last day with 36 the official last bus back into depot.

Reading Mainline Fleet - click on Reading fleet number for a flickr picture

No	BT	Collected	Service	W/drn	Disposal	Final Engine	Current
33	530	9/3/97	15/3/97	1999	Preserved	AEC	London Heritage Travel
34	528	9/3/97	20/3/97	ea 2000	Royal Navy	AEC	London Bus Hire
35	524	23/3/97	2/4/97	2000	TfL	AEC	First London
36	526	30/3/97	12/4/97	22/7/00	TfL	AEC	First London
37	525	20/4/97	19/5/98	lt 1999	Farm	AEC	First London
38	523	20/4/97	15/5/97	99/2000	Brakell	AEC	First London
39	521	20/4/97	17/9/97	99/2000	Walkabout Inns	AEC	Preserved LTT
40	522	?/6/97	never	n/a	TfL	AEC	Preserved
41	527	?/6/97	19/5/98	99/2000	Export	Leyland	Poland
42	531	29/6/97	16/1/98	99/2000	TfL	AEC	East London
43	533	29/6/97	29/11/97	99/2000	TfL	Leyland	East London
44	529	29/6/97	never	n/a	McKindless	Leyland	London Bus Company



530 during its brief period in Preservation in its 1988 Promenade livery

Early disposals from Reading saw 530 pass into preservation in 2000 and it was eventually repainted into an approximation of the 1988 Beachroamer livery. It has since changed hands and is now back in PCV use with London Hertiage Travel of Rettendon on private hires. 528 passed to Royal Navy Sea Cadets and had its interior modified to represent a submarine as a recruitment vehicle. In 2009/10 it was restored to bus condition by a collector and sold to another vintage hire firm - London Bus Hire of Raglan, South Wales.
523 was sold into private ownership, 525 to a fruit farm in Kent, 521 to Walkabout Inns as a promotional bus, passing to LTT after a visit to Blackpool in March 2003. 527 was exported to Poland while 529 went to Mc Kindless of Wishaw before passing into Preservation and it is now operating with London Bus Company of Northfleet.

Return to London
Most of Reading's final Routemasters were purchased by Transport for London who were expanding bus services and needed more Routemasters. The spares donor 522, plus operational 524, 526, 531 and 533 went directly to TfL who also bought 523 and 525 from their owners

The Routemasters were sent to Marshals in Cambridge for refurbishment which included hopper windows replacing half drop windows and an interior refurbishment. New Cummins engines with Allison gearboxes were fitted and the first emerged in summer 2001 with London Sovereign on route 13 including 523, 526, 531 and 533.

December 2001/January 2002 saw 524 enter service with London Central on route 36 and 525 with First on route 23. 522 emerged last with an experimental gearbox and joined London United. 525 was one of a handful of buses wrapped in gold vinyl for the Queen's Golden Jubilee in March 2002 and reverted to red in December 2002. First painted it Silver in March 2004 to recreate its role in 1977 as part of the Queens Silver Jubilee fleet. Despite the investment in refurbished buses, Routemaster operation was run down from 2003 and 524 moved to First on route 23 in February 2003 and onto Arriva (route 38) in November. 522 also moved to Arriva having operated on the last day of route 9 with London United in September 2004.


522 returned to use in 2002 with London United. Between 1993 and 2002 it only saw service use between July and October 1996. It is seen at Aldwych operating route 9.

Route 13 ceased Routemaster operation on 21 October 2005 with former 531/3 in use. Route 38 ended on 28 October with 522 and 524 joined by 525 on loan from First in use. Mainstream Routemaster operation ended in December but two short heritage routes covering parts of the 9 and 15 started on 14 November 2005 with First London on the 9 with ten Routemasters including former Blackpool 523-526 (with 525 still in Silver) while 531/3 joined Stagecoach East London on the 15. 523/4/6/31/3 all saw service on the first day. London Bus Hire's 528 also put in a one-off appearance on the heritage routes in 2011 as part of a running day.

Since 2004 former 525 has carried its 1977 Silver Jubilee livery with First London. It is seen here on 25th July 2004 on its way to Finsbury Park for the RM 50 event.

Meanwhile 534 also returned to London. Burton's sold it to a non psv operator in 1996 and it was used to promote Motarola mobile phones. It was sold via a dealer to a private owner in 2000 and emerged restored to London red at Wisley bus rally in 2009. On New Years Day 2010 it featured on a running day in Southend on the license of Autocar, Tonbridge and remains active in their "Special Days Bus Hire" fleet.

521 partly repanelled and partly paint stripped while under restoration with LTT in 2004

 Back in 1986 it was a surprise that Blackpool turned to the Routemaster, but its equally unexpected that six of its purchases are amongst the surviving Routemasters operating in Central London service (523-526, 531/3). LTT has preserved and restored 521 in Blackpool, while 522 is preserved in the London area restored to its 2002 condition. 527 may still be in Poland, 528, 529, 530 and 534 are in heritage operating fleets - 528 in South Wales and the other two in Greater London.



First trip out after repaint, but with finishing touches outstanding, 521 stands at the Fleetwood terminus of route 14