McLaughlan, Perth Ford R1014 TSL 94S
Chassis Ford R1014 chassis no. BC04SR53376
Body Duple Dominant C45F body no. 821/4004
History
Typical of the kind of lightweight coach delivered to many independent operators in the 1970s, this bus was ordered by the well-known firm of Southern Coaches, Barrhead, but was never delivered to them. First registered by S & N Motors of Bishopbriggs, presumably in a dealer capacity, in December 1977, it was bought by the firm of McLaughlan, Perth, in January 1978 (the firm is no longer active in coaching, but remains in business as a road haulier). McLaughlan kept the bus in Southern’s livery.
McLaughlan’s sold the coach in September 1982 to E & D Hunter of Edinburgh, trading as ABC Transport. They sold it to SMT, the Glasgow dealer, in 1985. The coach passed later that year to JW Blair & Sons, Guthrie. It stayed there for a decade, and was sold to a farmer at Janeston, between Arbroath and Friockheim, in July 1995 for use as a rest room and transport for soft fruit and potato workers. The farmer sold it in 2007 to a member of the society.
Restoration
A full restoration of the bus was recently completed by The BusWorks in Blackpool (the town in which its body was originally constructed). The bus was towed south at the end of December 2007. Although the original intention was simply to repanel the vehicle, it soon became clear that the frame was badly corroded (a typical problem for Duple bodies of this vintage). Work has included a complete lower half reframe and repanel and a new floor, as well as a full brake and axle overhaul. A short summary of the work undertaken can be found on the BusWorks blog.
The coach has benefitted from a relatively short service career, avoiding any major bodywork attention and retaining all its lights and chromework . This has aided the restoration considerably. The interior remains in more or less original condition, and with the exception of the new floor has required very little work.
The vehicle has been finished in the original coach livery of Tayside Regional Council. Although the coach never carried this livery in service—in fact it never carried its original operator’s livery either, as it was delivered and kept in Southern Coaches’ colours—it mimics the Dominant-bodied Bedford YRQ, OJR 107M, which was Tayside’s first coach.
Photo gallery
More photographs of the vehicle’s journey home after restoration in April 2010 can be seen here.
