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Felly Magic

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  • 3 weeks later...

This has been a great read, as in my youth I was a bit of a bus-licker.

 

I was in London Country land (St Albans) so during my youth was 'treated' to a mix of AEC Merlins, Swifts, Reliances (both Green Line coaches and buses), Nationals (short and long versions, but no National 2s), Olympians, Bristol LHs, Tigers (Green Line) and Leopards (Green Line) and probably a few more I've forgotten. We also had the privilege of being the northern most visited town by London Transport (route 84) so got treated to all sorts - Daimlers, more Merlins, Metros and various Euroboxes thereafter.

 

Thanks for the person who posted the cold-start National video - that took me back ! Just did a quick squiz on Google for a pic of a 'properly liveried' National and was delighted to discover one of my old 'clan' has been preserved (SNB 312)

 

Preserved_London_Country_%28NBC%29_bus_S

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I posted a huge message on here when I was still in my nappy (first 5 posts have to be approved, blah blah blah) and it never appeared which was a bit disheartening....

 

However, whenever it was (a few days back) I had avidly read through this entire topic as I was a bit of a bus licker in my youth (well it beat glue-sniffing and football hooliganism which were the only other activities available to me at that time).

 

Who-ever posted the vid of a National cold start, thank you - that brought back so many memories. I was in London Country territory (St Albans) and experienced a wide range of vehicles - AEC Merlins, Swifts, Reliances (bus and coach versions), Nationals, Bristol LHs, Tigers and Leopards (the last two coach versions). We also had the most northern-bound red bus route, the 84, which threw up all sorts of shite, again Merlins but also those disastrous Daimlers, as well as Metros and National2s. London Country even ran the red bus route for a while (bought in some shiny new Olympians) before it was farmed out to some company or other.

 

I suppose my lasting memory was of the Nationals - in St Albans you literally had every iteration going - standard Nationals (single and dual door) which London Country referred to as Long Nationals (LN/LNB/LNC class - the C laughingly referred to as Coach - with bus seats) and then the majority were shorter versions, all single door, with longer roof pods, shorter pods or no pod at all (SNB/SNC - this time the C was right to an extent as these Nationals had coach seats). The 84 also was run with National 2s by LT.

 

I got all nostalgic and have spent this afternoon reading up Ian Smith's excellent website at http://www.countrybus.org, and was delighted to see that one of the old St Albans-garaged Nationals has been preserved - SNB312

 

 

800px-London_Country_SNB_312.JPG

 

I like the back shot of these as all London Country Nationals seemed to have the Portman Building Society adverts - the other bus is one of the coach-seated Nationals, SNC168

 

 

London_Country_buses_SNB312_%28UPB_312S%

Somewhere lurking in my attic is all my bus-licking stuff from the 1980s - I may need to dig this out....

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Here's another ex-St Albans garaged National that's not doing quite so well

 

snb103_-_upe203m.jpg

 

In it's better days, pulling out from the garage

 

https://thetransportlibrary.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=42993&page=1324

I spot a Volvo powered Mk2 National with LT seats there

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Totally agree - it's a proper old school website (designed in Notepad), no Flash, HTML5 or other diverting buffoonery, just facts, facts, facts in a digestible form.

 

I spent most of Saturday afternoon (when I should have been fixing my fence) glued to his reports of the running days a few years back in St Albans - his use of words and photos made me feel like I was there - he picks out such level of detail in his observations, very easy to read.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Very late build Eastern Coach Works bodied Bristol VR. Judging by the hopper vents, it was one of the last built but as the body was pretty standard across many fleets around the country, it could have originally come from a number of places. Quite probably Gardner 6LXB engine but there were a small number built with the 6LXC or even Leyland 680 engine around that time.

Built around 1979-81.

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I've checked Rob Sly's site, and nowt's come up on it, the only late model VR that is a school library on there is ENOC STW30W, and that is red and has a BMAC PAYE sign on the front, there is a green VR in use as the same, but that is an earlier former Maidstone example and is 14ft 6

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That picture confirms my guess, as it was pretty much in that condition when last snapped for Rob Sly's website. He may be worth emailing with a copy of that photo in it's new guise

 

And this link 100% confirms it as the reg number is in shot

 

http://swallowfieldlowerschool.co.uk/library-bus-vandalism-three-counties-radio/

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