Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust Free Vintage Bus Service
Sunday 22nd June 2014 Glasgow West End Festival

If you are about the west of Scotland next Sunday (June 22nd) during the GVVT’s free vintage bus service in the West End of Glasgow I just may be your conductor.

The service is a circular, going three times each hour in both directions, starting roughly half-eleven in the morning from the Riverside Museum, Glasgow, the current Eurpoean Museum of the year (admission to-it is free). It is a distinctive twisted shed, clad in Titanium, designed by the award-winning architect Zara Hadid and less than ten minutes walk from Partick Railway Station. SPT (currently McGill) and City Sightseeing buses also call at-it from stops in central Glasgow and there are also GVVT feeder buses from Glasgow Killermont St, adjacent to Queen St Railway and Buchannan Bus Stations (see below).
Anticlockwise service starts 11-30 from Riverside museum via Byres Road, the Botanic Garden Gates, Anniesland Cross,Victoria Park, Broomhill Cross, Byres Road and back to Riverside Museum . Clockwise from 11-40 in reverse order of stops, at least three buses in each direction an hour with clock-faced departures from Riverside. Our Mobile-office Leyland Leopard Y Type will be at the Riverside Museum forecourt together with a static display of some other of our treasures, timetables will be freely and readily available, please come along if you can…Earlier journeys (10-50, 11-10 and 11-30)start Killermont Street (John Lewis) and then join the circle.

I hope they issue me with a Setright Speed ticket machine as I think I could work one of those, I don’t think GVVT have a Bellgraphic so I shall not have to write the fare with a pencil stub on a moving bus; the problem with an Ultimate is (if we use the ticket machine to count the passengers) everybody would have to get the same fare, and what if you then run out of that fare? I’m sure I do not want a bell-punch and rack. When, thanks to GVVT and the owner of once-Western SMT Leopard SCS335M I got to the May 18th Lathalmond running day I got a ride on the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum’s BMS222, Alexander PC1, the 1952 Alexander-bodied Coronation Coach Royal Tiger, and the conductor was issuing his tickets using a rack and an insert Setright, it was good but when the coach stopped at the Saline (which village pronounced sall-in) turning circle and he opened the folding centre-door, a gust of wind blew-in and took some of his insert tickets from his rack and some may be still in the field beyond or below the seats but I picked up most of them for him...

The last full circulars are timetabled to leave the Riverside Museum at 16-20 anti-clockwise and 16-30 clockwise, then a 16-50 anti-clockwise will run back to Killermont Street (alight by Buchannan Bus station) from Botanic Gardens and clockwise departures from Riverside at 1640 (1652 at Botanic Garden Gates), 1655 (1707) and 1710 (1722) will do likewise.

Maybe if I get good at it I’ll end my conducting career on a Blackpool Dreadnought tram! I think that would be (excuse pun) the ultimate!

Best Wishes, Hope to meet you on Sunday 22nd June!

Stephen Allcroft
Cardross
Scotland

What a great idea! Sounds brilliant.

It was good weather and loads were good despite publicity not being of the best. Besides the Venturer and Valiant on display we had the Highland Leopard recovery, the West Coast Supreme IV, Western Coach and Central Bus Y- Type Leopards, an early 1930s Austin 12 van a 1959 Ford Zodiac mark II Saloon, and the following fire engines: 1988 Strathclyde Scania, 1980 CEGB Dodge, 1955 Glasgow Dennis F8, 1968 Morris Minor LCV.

Running during the day were both Central Lodekkas, the Alexander Tiger Cub and Viking, the Glasgow PD3, open top PD2 and Daimler D217 as well as GGPTE Atlantean LA907, London Liveried RM2121 and Alexander Liveried RM EDS50A. Thus RM2121 excepted, all were in liveries appropriate to the territory.

I watched the display for a bit, guarded on RM2121 on an anticlockwise, then straight on to LA907 for a clockwise then a break then D217 anti-clockwise, all in all a good day professionaly brought to an appreciative public by our dedicated GVVT volunteer team, led by Gary and Gavin.

Stephen Allcroft

Cardross
Scotland

Thanks!