Cheltenham & Gloucester Running Day 31st May 2014
Saturday 31st May 2014 was a very
special day
for buses in the Cheltenham and Gloucester area. Bus company Stagecoach
West
put on a superb running day to celebrate 85 years of the Cheltenham
District
Traction Company and to mark the retirement of it’s “bus enthusiast”
Managing
Director, Ian Manning. Our cameras were
on hand to record the event for all to see.
There were over twenty five ‘heritage’ vehicles operating alongside the
normal allocation of buses for the day.
These ranged from Bristol Lodekkas, MWs and REs, a Daimler CVG, Guy
Arab, Leyland Royal Tiger as well as AEC Routemasters and AEC Regents,
of which two of
them were once operated by the Carris company of Portugal, both left
hand drive! Vehicles previously operated
by Bristol Omnibus, East Kent, Eastern Counties, London Transport,
Clydeside Scottish, Thamesdown and Alexander Midland were amongst
those operating the heritage services.
Filming starts at
the beginning of
the day in Cheltenham. Centring on Royal
Well Road and the Promenade, we see the buses arriving and setting off
into
service for the day. We have included
the current Stagecoach vehicles and local operators in this programme
to offer
a comparison with the heritage buses and coaches. There is plenty
of action for you to enjoy. Our first ride of the day is on board
preserved, former Carris, Portugal AEC Regent III of 1954,
255 (GB-21-07) on the free service to Cheltenham Racecourse (GWR
Station). It is fascinating to ride on the ‘mirror
image’ Regent, sounding like a London Transport RT but with driver and
stairs
on the ‘wrong side’! We return to the
Promenade on former Carris AEC Regent V of 1961, 426
(HH-97-96), again sampling the sights and sounds of this remarkable
bus. This is probably the only time that these vehicles will run on UK roads carrying passengers. Filming continues on this busy Saturday
morning in Cheltenham on Royal Well Road and the Promenade. Our
next ride is to Gloucester on board
former Bristol Omnibus Bristol LD, L8515 (969 EHW). This type of
bus would have been a regular on
this route in the 1950s and 1960s. Once
at Gloucester we film the action in and out of the bus station and on
Market
Parade. There is plenty going on with
the regular Stagecoach services intermingled with our heritage buses
offering a
great variety for the enthusiast and the general public who were
genuinely
fascinated by the visiting buses! Our
return to Cheltenham is done in style, on board preserved 1952 Leyland
Royal
Tiger, PC1 (BMS 222) in the cream and blue colours of Alexander
Midland. This beautifully restored coach offers a
comfortable ride back to the action on the Promenade in
Cheltenham. With more action recorded on Royal Well
Street and Clarence Street where we see Bristol RELL6L, 1000 (KHW
306E), the
first service bus RE operated by Bristol Omnibus, turned out in the
smart dark
red and cream livery of Cheltenham District.
Final scenes are shot on the Promenade at the end of this very special
day.
|
|
Filmed
: |
2014 |
|
|
Duration
: |
63 minutes (approx). |
|
|
Price
: |
Within UK - £16 |
|
Rest of world -
£18 |
|
|
Format
: |
DVD -R |
|
Picture Aspect 16:9 |
|
|
Order
Ref : |
D202 |