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Felly Magic

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FAB drawing, to continue the Gerry Anderson theme. You already answered my question, was that the coach used in The Italian Job?

 

Cheers Pompei! I was going to elaborate that the coach in the Italian Job was a VAL with Harrington Cavalier bodywork, but it isn't. Googlification reveals it as a Harrington Leigionnaire.

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In the past you could check in for your Heathrow flight in central London, and then be transported by bus to the terminal. where you could go straight to the gate.

 

Not only did BEA have a fleet of routemasters for this purpose, BOAC also ran a bus fleet - culminating with a fleet of Leyland Atlanteans.

These ran from the Britsh Airways building in Victoria, opposite the coach station.

 

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This one lives at the Brooklands museum. Like the RMs, they ended up as British Airways buses. Here's one at the Victoria terminal.

 

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Earlier generations of BOAC buses included these Harrington integral-bodied coaches with Rolls-Royce engines

 

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Before the Routemasters, BEA had these beauties, AEC Regal IVs with special bodies - the higher rear floor allows luggage under the floor - just like a modern coach.

 

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Fabulous find, there, Mr Quicksilver! This photo is now the star exhibit in the VAL's flimsy history file. It's clearly received desultory showers of love and attention over the last few decades. The parties responsible get a B for effort, but a C- for taste.

 

The state of its sister vehicle is truly alarming. If it was maintained to the same level as mine, then the chassis and mechanicals were probably in good order - perhaps explaining why somebody filched them and dumped the body. Perhaps they now live beneath a far more valuable Italian Job-spec body?

 

Although I am a 'distressed look' fetishist, the coach is going to require fairly intensive restoration to prevent the from body dropping to bits when subjected to Britain's failing infrastructure. As has already been pointed out, these were barely structurally sound when new. My long-term plan is to make it shiny - possibly orange - and sensitively convert the pikey interior into a Seventies modernist palace.

 

Sam

 

OH. MY. GOD. I think you've just won this thread with that baby, it takes shabby chic to a whole new level. I've always loved those VALs and Viceroys are very rare now as Duple bodies of that era seemed to be made of balsa wood panelled in cardboard.

 

It had a sister too, which apparently now has even less structural integrity.

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Non-PCV Bedford VAL70 VDX115K at Manby Showground, June 1994 by Scatmancraig1974, on Flickr

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On the subject of Airport Buses, check out this one!

 

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Apparently a prototype used at Budapest airport for a while. I remember a local bus company bought a few of Ikarus's city buses, none seem to survive now though, I liked them as they seemed just a bit more 'european' than the usual Darts and Lynx's that my local operator used.

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They are rather lovely. Though how's this for wacky? Also AEC Regal. Not sure what the fin is all about!!

 

Phwoorr... bus fin. I've suddenly realised what the Flxible Visicoach was lacking.

 

i040850.jpg

 

...the other bus on my 'dream car' list (unless we're talking ugly Soviet minibuses, of course).

 

Sam

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  • 2 weeks later...
I vote for anything bodied by East Lancs prior to the Cityzen!

 

 

I quite liked the East Lancs European, however I will agree that 99% of everything East Lancs ever did was somewhat severe looking. I shall illustrate using our recently acquired and somewhat fearsome looking Volvo Citybus...

 

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DJ International - A308 RSU by cms206, on Flickr

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