Tayside Regional Council 204 (OSR 204R)

History

Tayside Regional Council was formed in 1975, and the Transport Department’s first orders for buses were split between Volvo and Bristol. There were 25 Bristol VRT/LL3 (long wheelbase, low frame) with dual-door Alexander bodywork: a rare combination. 186-205 had Gardner engines and semi-automatic gearboxes (later converted to fully automatic control), while 206-10 had fixed-head Leyland 501 engines and fully automatic gearboxes (later converted to manual control!). The batch was used to introduce one-man operation to Whitfield routes 15/17/30 in February 1977.

Dundee Corporation had bought only AECs and Daimlers since 1935, but with Fleetline deliveries chaotic Leyland could only supply Bristol VRs. The Scottish Bus Group had rid itself of its early Bristol VRs as quickly as it could, and Tayside fared little better. They were unpopular with crews and maintenance staff, and had particular problems with overheating. Tayside stored the entire batch during 1978 to force Leyland to rectify the problem (borrowing Leyland Titans from Lothian to cover), but the vehicles had all been sold by the early 1980s, subsequent orders for the VR were cancelled, and Tayside standardised on the Ailsa.

Batches of these buses were sold on to Burnley & Pendle, Lincoln City Transport, Red & White and National Welsh. (The society had purchased two of the National Welsh vehicles for preservation in the late 1990s but their condition was so poor that they went for scrap.) Many of the buses sold to large operators stayed with them for a long time (many Burnley & Pendle and Red & White examples survived well into Stagecoach ownership), but 204 had a nomadic career. Sold initially to Proctor of Fenton (Stoke on Trent), it then went to Tally Ho! Kingsbridge, in whose ownership it is pictured here, along with sister vehicles 192 and 194 (photo courtesy of Simon Wellington). All three buses were sold to Nottingham Omnibus in 1993. When that business ceased trading the following year 204 was sold to Cedar Coaches, Bedford, who had already owned a number of former Tayside Fleetlines including 180. The Club bought the vehicle from Cedar Coaches on 14 December 2000, and it made the journey north under its own power.

Restoration

Unlike most of the other vehicles in the batch 204 retained its centre door for its whole life. Its front dome was replaced at some point with one from an Ailsa; recently the entire front body skin has been removed in preparation for it to be returned to original condition.

© 2007–2008 Taybus Vintage Vehicle Society. Scottish Registered Charity no. 032525