Bus Shite

[Remspoor]

Been trying to watch Ripley. After 2 episodes I am still not convinced it is something I can watch much more.

Still the bus has me hooked, what a glorious sound.  All it does is snarl.

Fiat 626, I believe.

[Stroller133]

On 10/08/2025 at 13:05, McRusty said:

Afternoon bus experts - What's this? Captured on dash cam last night.

I saw this Saturday morning, arriving at Market Bosworth Train station (serves preservation railway only). 
I thought it look older, I'd say a National for example looks more modern. 
 

Just checked their website and it was a Model railway weekend , so wondered why this bus was there, but it was running a service bringing people from Hinckley and Nuneaton mainline stations. 

[SunnySouth]

8 hours ago, Stroller133 said:

I saw this Saturday morning, arriving at Market Bosworth Train station (serves preservation railway only). 
I thought it look older, I'd say a National for example looks more modern. 
 

Just checked their website and it was a Model railway weekend , so wondered why this bus was there, but it was running a service bringing people from Hinckley and Nuneaton mainline stations. 

I’d be inclined to agree that a National is a more handsome thing; oldschool Alexander bodies though were never really ‘styled’, they tended to be rather functional things. This is a later effort, a P Type (no idea how that comes after a Y Type!); it is unavoidably as ugly as f*ck…

Although some of their 1960s/70s/early 80s Atlantean bodies were a tad more pleasing:

(Not my photos…)

[danthecapriman]

What was the deal with these;

Obviously a Dodge, but were they a bus custom built in small numbers for Matchbox (and possibly other companies?) or were they more numerous and used by bus companies somewhere?

Im considering trying to make one in 1/43 scale to go with my Regent model!

[cms206]

5 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

What was the deal with these;

Obviously a Dodge, but were they a bus custom built in small numbers for Matchbox (and possibly other companies?) or were they more numerous and used by bus companies somewhere?

Im considering trying to make one in 1/43 scale to go with my Regent model!

Thankfully there are quite a few photos of them! I've seen them variously quoted as being a batch of 5 or 6, I think the latter as OMK 818-823R. They were bodied as I think 42-seaters by Rootes of Maidstone on Dodge Commando G08 chassis.

 

Rootes predominantly built Welfare bodies; Dumfries & Galloway Regional Council also took similar examples to the Matchbox ones into the 1980s.

[martc]

This bus manufactured in Granton near Edinburgh. That's all I know.

[martc]

A convoy of LAZ 695 coaches is being escorted by a GAZ 24 police car; which is missing the roof bar which should contain the flashing lights, spotlights and a loud hailer.