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Bristol Omnibus, City Line & Badgerline discussion
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TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
Nice Mk1 Fiesta and a good pair of legs in shot too!
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
Was Overland and Country that, through various business changes/failures/takeovers, could be where Faresaver comes from?
g4mby
Member
The service was actually numbered X8 and gradually evolved into services X69, X29, X27 and the current X46. As far as I can remember the service served South Yate (much of North Yate didn't exist at this time), Station Road, Stover Road and then presumably Winterbourne, Hambrook and the M32.
I'm sure I was on the first service which proved to be extremely popular as the slow stop/start journeys through Fishponds, Downend or Frenchay were avoided. I can't remember whether the X8 was ever changed to serve North Yate but certainly the replacement X69 did and was most often double-deckers.
Browsing through the various years at http://bvbg.org.uk/Routes.htm makes interesting reading.
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Fosseway in my day. They had a lot of DxxxLTA Dodge S56s that came from Plymouth and ran evening and Sunday contract services into Bath.
Weston and Wells country bus routes from May 1983 timetable. http://www.railforums.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=19868&stc=1&d=1412491767
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Digging up some old Bristol, Badgerline and Avon County Council Bus timetables has reminded me of the fares anomaly that arose. Many evening and weekend services in the late 1980s were subsidised by Avon County Council with route numbers prefixed in the 500 - 800 range. For example the bus service to my house was the number 4. This became the 804 when subsidised.
For the subsidised services Avon set their own fares which, to begin with matched the existing operator. However at fares revision time, while Badgerline, Cityline and others rounded their fares to the nearest 5pence Avon did not leading to different fares being charged at different times of day even if Badgerline had the contract for the subsidised service as well as running the commercial service.
An Avon subsidised school bus I drove had fares of 34p and 28p. Every child would get on with a £1 coin. I used to go to the bank or the amusement arcades on Regent St in Weston and load up with copper.
For the subsidised services Avon set their own fares which, to begin with matched the existing operator. However at fares revision time, while Badgerline, Cityline and others rounded their fares to the nearest 5pence Avon did not leading to different fares being charged at different times of day even if Badgerline had the contract for the subsidised service as well as running the commercial service.
An Avon subsidised school bus I drove had fares of 34p and 28p. Every child would get on with a £1 coin. I used to go to the bank or the amusement arcades on Regent St in Weston and load up with copper.
http://www.railforums.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=19883&stc=1&d=1412697863
Weston-super-Mare was the first town to totally convert it's town bus operation to minibuses in June 1985. This is the route map from the original timetable. I had forgotten that the 105 Worle Sainsburys to Oldmixon Estate via Worle High St had operated as the number 2 minibus for a few years before becoming the number 7 using full size vehicles.
Weston-super-Mare was the first town to totally convert it's town bus operation to minibuses in June 1985. This is the route map from the original timetable. I had forgotten that the 105 Worle Sainsburys to Oldmixon Estate via Worle High St had operated as the number 2 minibus for a few years before becoming the number 7 using full size vehicles.
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Hi,
Posted this originally on the wrong thread,
The first buses I travelled on in Bristol would have been c1965, a 40 from Redland Station into town, then c1966 a 19 from Blackberry Hill, Fishponds into town, little single deck buses, or the 11, Lodekka's from Fishponds shops into the centre, happy days, I was a South London boy so holidays to Bristol were a treat and all the strange busesand accents!!
Regards
Mike
Posted this originally on the wrong thread,
The first buses I travelled on in Bristol would have been c1965, a 40 from Redland Station into town, then c1966 a 19 from Blackberry Hill, Fishponds into town, little single deck buses, or the 11, Lodekka's from Fishponds shops into the centre, happy days, I was a South London boy so holidays to Bristol were a treat and all the strange busesand accents!!
Regards
Mike
g4mby
Member
For me, just a year later - September 1966.
From memory, KSWs, LDs, FSFs and FLFs on 36s and 98s to Patchway and the school services to/from Filton High School.
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The red RE back in post 61, TUO262J, was operated by Somerbus. Ran on the Hartcliffe route 80, which was the 565 when it first went out to tender. Originally it was the Hartcliffe Flyer in pre deregulation days operated by the Roe bodied Olympians in blue livery.
Class 33
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I can't actually remember it being numbered the 565. But I do remember it back in late 1986 and 1987 as the limited stop City Clipper X65 Hartcliffe-Cribbs Causeway service. Via (roughly) Hartcliffe Way, Bedminster Road, St, John's Lane, Malago Road(I think), East Street, Redcliffe Hill, Centre, M32 to Eastville Roundabout, Bell Hill, Park Road, Coldharbour Road, UWE, Parkway Station, Little Stoke, Stoke Lodge, and Patchway. Terminating at Carrefoure. Operated by those lovely lovely and much missed orginal Leyland Olympians. Only about a year later though, the service was ammended. The Hartcliffe to Centre part of the service was axed, to be replaced with Westbury to Cribbs Causeway, via Henbury, Lawrence Weston, Shirehampton, Portway, and Hotwells, Centre, then as per the mentioned route to Cribbs Causeway. Westbury to Cribbs Causeway by road via the direct route is only 3 miles, but this service was probably about 15 miles! And a journey time of about 1 hour 35 minutes!
A similar sort of service in that respect was the 57 as it was pre October 1986, a Stockwood-Keynsham service via Brislington, Temple Meads, Centre, Broadmead, Old Market, St George, Hanham, and Oldland! Yet the direct road route from Stockwood to Keynsham is only about 2 miles!
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I don't remember the calling points of the X65/565 between Hartcliffe and the Centre. Does anyone here happen to remember? Journey times were really good though, only about 22 minutes between Hartcliffe and the Centre.
I do now vaguely remember when it became the 565 Hartcliffe-Broadmead Lewins Mead service, when the X65 was changed to terminate at Westbury. For Southbound services departing Lewins Mead, it was routed via Marlborough Street and Colston Street to avoid the crowds and extra journey time of routed via and calling at The Haymarket.
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TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
You can walk it, up Stockwood Hill past the garden centre. Cycled it a few weeks ago - bloody tough up that hill :cry:
Dennis
Established Member
From midlandred.net http://midlandred.net/fleetlist.php?type=national&operator=bmmo&find=nha262m
262NHA 262M9/19739/1981New (9/73) to Birmingham & Midland Motor Omnibus Co. Ltd., Smethwick as F/No: 262. To service (9/73) KR. Passed to Midland Red (West) Ltd., Worcester at formation (6/9/81) as F/No: 262. To service (6/9/81) KR. DH (2/90) Withdrawn (4/90). On hire or loan to Badgerline Ltd., Weston-Super-Mare (1/6/90-31/7/90.). stored (at Badgerline, Bath depot). Passed to Badgerline Ltd., Weston-Super-Mare (10/90) for spares not operated.
262NHA 262M9/19739/1981New (9/73) to Birmingham & Midland Motor Omnibus Co. Ltd., Smethwick as F/No: 262. To service (9/73) KR. Passed to Midland Red (West) Ltd., Worcester at formation (6/9/81) as F/No: 262. To service (6/9/81) KR. DH (2/90) Withdrawn (4/90). On hire or loan to Badgerline Ltd., Weston-Super-Mare (1/6/90-31/7/90.). stored (at Badgerline, Bath depot). Passed to Badgerline Ltd., Weston-Super-Mare (10/90) for spares not operated.
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
Thanks for posting that. I've never seen a photo of the entire building. One quick question... was the yard on the left also part of the bus station?
Weston is one of my least favourite places to wait for a bus. I wish they'd redevelop the town centre and incorporate even a small bus station.
The other side at ground level.
The area to the left of the bus station was used as a car park by bus drivers in the period I remember from the early 1980s. From photos I have seen I know there was a small cottage, 2 storeys but barely half the height of the house attached to the bus station before then but I do not know when it was demolished.
It was a large building going back as far the car park on Carlton St. The road to Birnbeck Court flats between the Salvation Army and Scallys Pub was a rear access to the maintenance area at the back of the bus station. In front was a parking area then, behind the travel centre was a single barrier with gaps for the bus stands waiting area I would say approximately 100'X100' which, after minibuses started in June 1985 was used for parking the 'baby Badgers'.
Buses would go in and set down through the doors to the right of the photo and exit through those on the left. Bristol buses departing from the bay just inside the door. The photo has thrown up a question for me as the loos were on the far left of the building (:eek:Walking across a lane where a bus moved at 5mph about every ten minutes :roll
In my memory the doorway was flush with the wall which would make the actual facilities in the attached house. I will have to ask my father. I wouldn't hold your breath for a bus station in Weston. The closure was unpopular at the timea and a half hearted version of the bus focus round the carrot at the junction of High St and Regent St took 20 years.
Badgerline's depot in Searle Crescent 1987. Parking and maintenance after the bus station closure.
Bath did have a few oddities. A couple of LDV Sherpa conversions which must have been fun on the hills and in the background of your second photo is the rare (in bus guise) third generation Ford Transit with Mellor bodywork if I recall correctly.
View attachment 20027
The other side at ground level.
The area to the left of the bus station was used as a car park by bus drivers in the period I remember from the early 1980s. From photos I have seen I know there was a small cottage, 2 storeys but barely half the height of the house attached to the bus station before then but I do not know when it was demolished.
It was a large building going back as far the car park on Carlton St. The road to Birnbeck Court flats between the Salvation Army and Scallys Pub was a rear access to the maintenance area at the back of the bus station. In front was a parking area then, behind the travel centre was a single barrier with gaps for the bus stands waiting area I would say approximately 100'X100' which, after minibuses started in June 1985 was used for parking the 'baby Badgers'.
Buses would go in and set down through the doors to the right of the photo and exit through those on the left. Bristol buses departing from the bay just inside the door. The photo has thrown up a question for me as the loos were on the far left of the building (:eek:Walking across a lane where a bus moved at 5mph about every ten minutes :roll
I wouldn't hold your breath for a bus station in Weston. The closure was unpopular at the timea and a half hearted version of the bus focus round the carrot at the junction of High St and Regent St took 20 years.
View attachment 20028
Badgerline's depot in Searle Crescent 1987. Parking and maintenance after the bus station closure.
When the badgers started appearing on buses in Cornwall a driver I knew was once asked by an elderly female passenger "what is that half a skunk doing on the side of the bus"?!
After that episode the company was nicknamed Skunkline by some of the drivers.
In Weston the Transits were known as skunk trucks.
From the Weston Mercury the report of the opening of the maintenance depot on Searle Crescent replacing the sea front bus station and the delivery of the Alexander bodied Volvo Citybuse liked by passengers and drivers and still in operation in Cornwall albeit decapitated.
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