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Heritage buses and other vehicles

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KPT 909 is a double deck Leyland Titan PD2 model, chassis No. 494078, seating 26 downstairs and 27 upstairs. The upstairs seating uses long seats with a side sunken gangway, allowing the bodywork to be one foot lower than the conventional type to cater for low bridges.
The vehicle was first registered on 31 August 1949 by its original owner, the late Mr. Oliver Gibson, of "Weardale Motor Services", Frosterley, County Durham, where it was used until 1969. It was then stored before being acquired by Dr. Michael Taylor and driven down from County Durham to [[Bewdley ]] by Don Wilcox on 19 August 1970. The vehicle was sufficiently roadworthy to pass its MOT and convey a party of SVR members to Didcot for the GWS open day on 19 September 1970.<ref>SVR News 18</ref>
It was later repainted in original livery and advertising panels produced advertising the SVR services in 1971. It made a number of trips to other heritage railways and elsewhere.<ref name=SVR19>SVR News 19</ref>. This included a trip to the Crich Museum in 1977.<ref>[http://www.hatspics.co.uk/type_years_photos.php?type=SVR%20Social&year=1977 Alan Thwaites] (retrieved 15 July 2020)</ref>It sent some time in the [[GWR Bus Garage (Ex Bridgnorth)| GWR Bus Garage at Bridgnorth]].
The vehicle is now preserved as part of the Science Museum Group collection<ref>[https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co26318/leyland-titan-pd2-1-bus-1948-omnibus Science Museum Group] (retrieved 15 July 2020)</ref>.
===Midland Red UHA 255===
[[File:Midland 015 (15163955611).jpg|thumb|300px|right| UHA 255 at Wythall (Wikimedia Commons)]]
UHA 255 is a single deck Midland Red S14 built in 1955, fleet number 4255. It was mainly based at the Worcester Garageuntil withdrawal in November 1970.
The vehicle was acquired by Bob Sim in 1971, the bus company agreeing to the sale on the understanding that the bus would not be used for "private hire or gain" and would be well preserved in its original colour. The While at the SVR, the vehicle was based at Bewdley where it was used for railway maintenance work and from time to time as a general transport vehicle for company workers.<ref name=SVR19/> It was also used in conjunction with KPT 909 to bring private parties from BR railheads to [[Bridgnorth ]] for trips on the SVR.<ref>SVR News 20</ref>.
UHA 255 is now at the Transport Museum, Wythall, ownership having passed to the Museum's predecessor society in early 1977<ref>[http://www.wythall.org.uk/vehicles/vuha255.asp Wythall Transport Museum , UHA 255]</ref>.
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===Leyland Tiger JOJ 255===
[[File:S0700_JOJ_255.jpg|thumb|300px|right|JOJ 255 at Bewdley (David Cooke)]]JOJ 255 is a Leyland PS2/1 single deck bus, chassis no. 495585, body no. M4634, ex-Birmingham Corporation Transport no 2255. Birmingham City Transport bought 30 Leyland PS2/1 Tiger single deckers in 1950 with 'O.600' 9.8 litre engine and synchromesh gearbox. They were fitted with Weymann 34-seat front-entrance bus bodies and several distinctive features, including a route number indicator box half-way down the nearside roof. It was allocated when new to Selly Oak garage as no. 2255, and withdrawn from there in May 1969, yet transferred to West Midlands PTE when it absorbed Birmingham City Transport on 1 October 1969.<ref>[https://www.classicbuses.co.uk/bham.html Classic Buses website] (Retrieved 19 July 2020)</ref><ref name=PS>Information provided by Peter Share</ref>  It arrived on the SVR in 1971 in good working order having been acquired for preservation by SVR member John Berry.<ref name=SVR23>SVR News 23, p. 36.</ref> It is now privately owned elsewhere<ref name=PS/>.<br clear="all"/>
===Daimler JOJ 707===
[[File:Ruston Hornsby 402812 Yellow PerilJOJ_707_20200822.jpg|thumb|300px|right|2707 is seen at Wythall in the background of this 1975 photograph2020]]JOJ 707 is a Metro-Cammell bodied double decker, with Daimler double deck bus engine, built at Elmdon in 1952 and ex-Birmingham Corporation Transport no 2707. The 56-seat vehicle spent most of its life at Liverpool Street garage. It was arrived on the SVR in 1971 under the custodianship of the late Maurice Newman.<ref name=PSSVR23/> After several other owners it became part of the Wythall Transport Museum collection in 2017<ref>[http://www.wythall.org.uk/vehicles/vjoj707.asp Wythall Transport Museum JOJ 707]</ref>.<gallery mode=packed heights=150px style="text-align:left">Ruston Hornsby 402812 Yellow Peril.jpg|2707 is seen in the background of this 1975 photograph</gallery>
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===Guy Arab 1293 RE===
[[File:Guy Arab with Burlingham Seagull body first registered July 1959.JPG|thumb|300px|right|1294 RE, a similar Harper Bros. Guy Arab with Burlingham Seagull body (Wikimedia Commons)]]1293 RE is a Guy Arab coach with Burlingham Seagull body, ex-Harper Bros. (Heath Hayes) number 59. After Harper Bros. were taken over by the National Bus Company, the coach was sold to the [[SVRASVR Wolverhampton Branch|Wolverhampton Branch of the SVRA]] in 1975 for £150. It was used for three years, mainly on local outings, and was also taken to the National Tramway Museum at Crich and to shows at Bromyard and Bishop's Castle.<ref name=SVRA>[http://www.svr-wolverhampton.org.uk/trips/harper.html SVRA] (retrieved 15 July 2020)</ref>
In 1978 the coach was placed on loan to the Leyland Commercial Vehicle Museum. It 1994 it was then moved to Inskip for undercover storage and restoration.<ref name=SVRA/>. It is now owned by Bernard Rogers<ref name=PS/>.
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===Thornycroft 'Nippy' lorry===
[[File: FoKTS_Thornycroft_20150214.jpg|thumg|300px|right|Thornycroft 'Nippy' information poster]]A Thornycroft 'Nippy' lorry and a collection of spares were originally purchased by [[Paul Fathers]], Mick Osborne and Mick Yarker from a scrapyard in Shrewsbury on the late 1970s, with a tree growing through the cab by way of a bonus. It came into the possession of the [[Friends of Kidderminster Town Station]] in 2003.<refname="FoKTS">FoKTS [https://web.archive.org/web/20120205182426fw_/http://www.kfriends.org.uk/ Friends of Kidderminster Town Station website via Internet Archive Wayback Machine]</ref> The information poster shown was displayed by the Friends in 2014, at which time it was still in the course of restoration. 
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===Scammell Mechanical HorseThornycroft tipper lorry===[[File: FoKTS_Scammell_20150214.jpg|thumg|300px|right|Thornycroft 'Nippy' information poster]]Scammell Mechanical Horse ELH 490 is maintained by the [[The Friends of Kidderminster Town Station]]. This type in 2019 referred to this vehicle as a future project, the chassis and parts of three-wheeled tractor unit was used with a detachable open trailer. They were a common sight at main line stations such as [[Kidderminster mainline station|Kidderminster]] where they which were used in storage shed to move goods around the station yard dry out and enable them to make deliveries to local customers.examine in detail the amount of repair required<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120205182426fw_/http://www.kfriends.org.uk/projects/scammel.htm name="FoKTS website via Internet Archive Wayback Machine]<"/ref>.
===Scammell Mechanical Horse (3-ton).===In the early 1930s the LNER approached Napier & Son, the car and aero-engine manufacturers, with a request for a solution which would do away with the use of horses for local haulage purposes while retaining the manoeuvrability of the horse and wagon and the flexibility of changing the wagons.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scammell_Mechanical_Horse Wikipedia]</ref> The resulting three-wheeled tractor unit, known as a '''Mechanical Horse''', had a single front wheel giving excellent manoeuvrability in tight spaces. It was used with a detachable open trailer meaning that, unlike a lorry, the tractor unit did not need to stand idle while the trailer was loaded and unloaded. The GWR operated two types of these articulated vehicles in the 1930s, the Scammell Mechanical Horse and the Karrier Cob. They both had the same couplings and were available in 3-ton and 6-ton variants.<ref name=SVR33>SVR News 33</ref> They were a common sight at main line stations such as [[Kidderminster mainline station|Kidderminster]] where they were used to move goods around the station yard and to make deliveries to local customers.<ref name="FoKTS"/>A 3-ton Scammell Mechanical Horse (type M.H.3.) was the first restored Mechanical Horse on the SVR in preservation, arriving in 1970 having been acquired by Bob Timmins and Phil James. Several trailers of different types were purchased to fit the M.H.3 which saw regular use around the site at Bewdley.<ref name=SVR33/> The M.H.3. variant was powered by Scammell's own side-valve 1125cc petrol engine. {{As of|2020}} SVR member John Giles owns a 3-ton Mechanical Horse in roadworthy condition<ref name=PF>Paul Fathers via email</ref>. ===Scammell Mechanical Horse (6-ton)===[[File:Scammell ELH 490.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Scammell ELH 490 at Kidderminster. Photo: SVR]]In 1971 a derelict Mechanical Horse was purchased from Star Containers in Smethwick for the sum of £10 and moved to Bewdley to provide spares for the M.H.3. However on arrival it was discovered that this vehicle was the 6-ton (M.H.6) variety which had almost no interchangeable parts with the M.H.3. It lay derelict at Bewdley for a year before owners Mick Yarker and Paul Fathers decided to restore in 1974its own right. The information poster shown restoration was displayed completed by 1974, with a picture of '''BNX 833''' and the Friends owners appearing in 2014SVR News. It carried the fleet number C6314. Once restored it was used regularly around the site for clearing up and moving spares, even shunting two coaches at which a time.<ref name=SVR33/> A picture of BNX 833 can be seen on flickr [https://www.flickr.com/photos/aceanorak/8144663767 (External link)]. Some years ago Mick and Paul presented their Mechanical Horse to the [[Friends of Kidderminster Town Station]] and since that time it Mick has adjusted the cab and bonnet to a flat windscreen version.<ref name=PF/> The Mechanical Horse maintained by the [[Friends of Kidderminster Town Station]] is now numbered '''ELH 490'''.<ref>SVR Facebook, 3 June 2018</ref> Mechanical Horse '''ALN 367''' briefly appeared in the TV Series [[The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries]] filmed at Kidderminster and first broadcast in 1993. The Internet Movie Cars Database states this is a 1947 6-ton variant.<ref>[https://www.imcdb.org/v035795.html IMCDB] (retrieved 21 July 2020)</ref> Circa 2011, ALN 367 was receiving pictured on the FoKTS projects page with a major overhaulshort note "Some basic work has now started on buying in the hardwood required for the rebuild"<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110716052419/http://www.kfriends.org.uk/ FoKTS]</ref>. It therefore appears that BNX 833, ALN 367 and ELH 490 are the same Mechanical Horse at different times.<br cleargallery mode=packed heights=150px style="alltext-align:left">Inspector Alleyn screenshot Scammell.jpg|ALN 367 (Inspector Alleyn screenshot, 1993)FoKTS_Scammell_20150214.jpg| FoKTS information poster (2014)</gallery> ===Scammell Scarab===In the late 1940s the Scammell Mechanical Horse was superseded by an upgraded model, the '''Scammell Scarab'''. A larger 2090cc side-valve petrol engine was used for both the 3 and 6-ton models. Scammell also introduced diesel engines to the range, using the Perkins 4-199 for 3-ton and 4-203 for 6-ton models.<ref>Wikipedia</ref>
==On Circa 1974 a number of members of Highley station staff purchased a 1953 6-ton Scarab from the Halesowen Steel Company. They also acquired two conventional trailers and one logging trailer, in spite of the Buses events==In 2009 efforts of their "Bewdley Rivals". At the SVR ran a trial event time it was intended to see if there was there was an appetite for a restore the Scarab into BR 'busfestBlood and Custard' type eventlivery. From 2010 the <ref>SVR has held annual 'On the Buses' events News 34, "News from Bewdley Highley and Kidderminster. Typically it features visiting heritage or celebrity buses on display or offering rides between stations or around the local areaArley", together with sales and information stands selling a range of bus related items and memorabiliaBrian Moone</ref> It was also in green livery at one time<ref name=PS/>.
===Prior eventScammell Townsman===Early events took The Scammell Townsman replaced the form of a 'Classic Vehicle Day' or 'Vintage Vehicle Day' at Kidderminster which included cars and commercial vehicles as well as buses3-ton Scarab (there was no equivalent 6-ton version). In 1988 the <ref>Wikipedia</ref> SVR ran member John Giles owns (or owned) a separate 'Classic Vehicle Day' for the first timeTownsman<ref>Heritage Railway issue 267 (May - June), it having previously been combined with the autumn diesel galap. 87.</ref>SVR News 86<ref name=PS/ref> A number of these early events were held under the auspices of [[The Erlestoke Manor Fund]].
By 1992 the event ===Lister Auto-Trucks===The Lister Auto-Truck was being organised jointly by the SVR a small monowheel tractor built for moving light loads around factories, railway yards and the Worcester Bus Preservation Societysimilar sites. That year's 'Vintage Vehicle Rally' on 11 October at Kidderminster was attended They were built by more than 100 classic vehicles including some seventy busesR A Lister and Company of Dursley, Gloucestershire, thirty cars and a dozen commercial vehicles. Eight single decker and four double decker buses provided a shuttle between Kidderminster and Bewdleywell known for their range of small stationary engines.<ref>SVR News 106</ref>
The event continued in the same format until the twelfth and final 'Classic Vehicle Day' organised in conjunction with the Worcester Bus Preservation Society which was held on 14 October 2001. It included "...'Ex-Great Western Railway Lister Auto-Truck HWO 51 (743 UXF)'the usual 'Bewdley Shuttle' and Green Street 'Park & Ride' services''".<ref>SVR News 139</ref> The latter service allowed was purchased new by the SVR public to park GWR in about 1938 for use at Newport Station, and is a hired car park in the town and catch type SS3 fitted with a classic bus single cylinder 600cc JAP petrol engine. It was subsequently sold to a Caduggan’s flour mill at Usk who registered the Railway, while the classic vehicle event took place on the station car parkAuto-Truck (reg. In early 2002 the agreement HWO 51) in 1949 to allow it to use the town car park was withdrawn and the October 2002 event became cross a "Classic Car & Bike Day"public road. Shortly before that time, a passenger was injured after falling from In 2003 it turned up in the platform hands of a bus farmer at Usk in a derelict state and was bought for restoration and re-registered as it 743 UXF. It was pulling awaythen sold, unrestored, caused to Alex Thorpe who restored the truck. It was purchased by them doing something unexpected and that they should not have been doing or even consideringThe Friends of Kidderminster Town Station in about 2007. This uncovered an issue about the responsibility of insurance cover for the buses and other vehicles attending the festival, which contributed to its demise<ref>[https://forum.svr-online.org.uk/viewtopic.php?tname=1737&highlight=buses SVR Forum thread] (Retrieved 18 July 2020)<"FoKTS"/ref>.
An SVR member is also restoring an '''Auto-Truck at [[Bridgnorth]]'''.
==See also==
*[[AEC bus model]]
*[[The Severn Valley Railway in preservation]]
*[[Vintage transport events]]
==References==
==External links==
 
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