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MIDSUMMER ROYAL BLUE RUN 17-19 June |
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Royal
Blue LL in Stroud in 2021 where coaches will pass
again (via a different route) in 2022.
© Carl Berry, in memoriam |
Get your cameras out ready for the 2022 Royal Blue &
Associated Motorways Run, as we finalise route
details and prepare the magnificent coaches. The
event celebrates VCS90 with a mass departure from
Victoria Coach Station on Friday 17th and
will mark 50 years since white National coaches
emerged on the scene as the run continues from
Birmingham on Saturday 18th. Salisbury
coach station is the traditional departure point for
the final leg on Sunday 19th. 15 or more
vintage coaches will follow authentic routes across
the coaching network throughout the weekend. Find
out more.
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Around Didcot on Great Western
Road Motors routes |
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Vintage buses & coaches, classic cars and heritage
trains made for a great day out at the TV&GWOT/Great
Western Society Transport Rally at Didcot on 22nd
May. TV&GWOT’s Thames Valley based bus fleet was
out in force showcasing the major restorations
completed recently thanks to Trust Supporters. A
few copies of the souvenir programme are still
available with an article illustrating the early GWR
Road Motors fleet and links to Thames Valley, the
National etc and thus TV&GWOT’s scope. Find out
more |
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Cornwall at Easter for the Penzance Running Day |
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Locals,
enthusiasts and holidaymakers alike enjoyed the TV&GWOT
& CBPS VR Revival and Vintage Bus Running Day on
17th April. Souvenir programmes (with a cover based
on the 1992 timetable from 30 years ago) are still
available. Read about the CBPS restoration of the
oldest remaining Bedford YRQ into Grenville guise;
marvel at the local bus transport heritage captured
in postcard images in the TV&GWOT feature article;
and hum along to The Modern Cornish Bus Driver’s
Song contributed by Gray Lightfoot. Find out
more |
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Victoria Coach Station celebrates 90 Years |
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On 10 March 2022, 90 years to the day after the
Grand Opening of Victoria Coach Station, TV&GWOT
helped Transport for London mark this significant
anniversary. Royal Blue Bristol LL6B was joined by
Maidstone & District AEC Reliance and East Kent
Leyland Beadle, providing the backdrop to the
official celebration. A programme of events through
2022 will celebrate the people and vehicles at the
heart of coach station operations in the past,
present and future. For more information about
what’s on and how to get involved see
here. |
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A busy TV&GWOT year beckons…… Entries now open… |
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Kicking off with Open Days for registered
Supporters in March, TV&GWOT then joins
CBPS in Penzance for the VR Revival and
vintage bus running day on Sunday 17 April.
On 22 May we join forces with the Great
Western Society to run buses on former Great Western
Road Motors routes around Didcot.
As part of the VCS 90th anniversary, the
3-day Royal Blue Run will depart from
Victoria early on Friday 17 June.
The weekend of 9/10 July will belatedly mark
the founding of Thames Valley Traction Co. in
Maidenhead in 1920.
On Saturday 17 September, the Kingsbridge
7’6” vintage bus running day will return to the
South Hams.
Find details and entry forms
here |
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Puzzle time – have yourself some fun |
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Throughout 2021 TV&GWOT has
been restoring Thames Valley LL 556.
Why not have some fun and have a go at piecing 556
together yourself?
Click here
Supporters
will be putting the final pieces of the real 556
jigsaw together in early 2022 – your support for our
‘final push’
appeal will enable the completed 556 to appear at
events through the year. |
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Diamond SUs seemingly run forever |
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Just like in
the 1960s, the (former) Western National depot in
Kingsbridge was the backdrop for SUs of all shapes
and sizes on 18 September 2021. Marking 60+1 years
since Bristol first manufactured the SU, coach and
bus variants, long and short, carried passengers
around the South Hams demonstrating their physical
(7’6” wide) and mechanical (gearing) suitability.
Authoritative articles by SU aficionado David
Sheppard in the running day
programme and Supporters’ magazine
To and fro’ 026 give technical insight and a
richly illustrated record of SU operations in the
West Country and Thames Valley.
© David Sheppard |
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Celebrating the introduction (!) of integrated
transport |
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Before the
Kingsbridge Running Day got underway on 18
September, TV&GWOT’s museum hosted Anthony Mangnall
MP, Kingsbridge and Salcombe Councillors, Tally Ho
Coaches’ MD Don McIntosh and colleagues, together
with Devon Country Councillors and officials from
GWR, to inaugurate their new through bus service
numbered 164: Totnes-Kingsbridge-Salcombe. Service
timings and frequency now make ‘days out’
connections to the national network practicable.
Formative services on the route over the preceding
century and more are chronicled in the running day
programme.
© Colin Billington |
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Restoration gathers momentum |
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Despite the
constraints of the pandemic, TV&GWOT Supporters have
pulled together to fund the acquisition and
transformational restoration of 1950 Thames Valley
LL 556 (FMO938). Government restrictions twice
delayed our celebration of the centenary of Thames
Valley Traction Co. Ltd’s formation but gave time to
bring the internal refurbishment to original
configuration within scope. The ‘Final Push’ appeal
target is within reach and having returned 556 to
Trust workshops (via Princes Risborough), Supporter
working groups are refurbishing and fitting seat
frames anticipating the first ride out.
Find out more about this Final Push and support
you can give.
© Colin Billington |
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TV&GWOT firing on all cylinders – in the archives
too |
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TV&GWOT events,
restoration working groups, and archive days are all
back up and running with appropriate Covid-safe
precautions. Archive teams meet monthly in Devon and
every three weeks in Berkshire. TV&GWOT has been
grateful to receive
donations from collectors and the estates of
notable photographers and researchers giving plenty
of interest for archive teams to explore and record.
This recently acquired map shows trolleybus
proposals for Paignton and is stamped for return to
the Chief Engineer, GWR, Paddington.
We are always
eager to hear from people with enthusiasm or
expertise wanting to get involved.
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