Omnibus 162 - February 2005
DISPOSAL NETLLE GRASPED
The unexpected arrival of the trolleybus back from St Helens highlighted again our critical problem of undercover accommodation. The timber-framed trolleybus, kept dry for over two decades in St Helens, had to go inside and again we had to decide what went out. Something nicely painted? Something less tidy but highly relevant?
We can be sure that we will be offered other irresistible vehicles and the problem will be repeated. Not for the first time did we consider our collecting policy and see which exhibits no longer fitted it; we have had more 'advice' on this subject than football managers about their players! The difference this time is that the Trustees and Committee decided to grasp the nettle and settle the controversial issue once and for all with the remaining buses assuming a permanent place at Wythall under a formal process known as 'accessioning'. The end result of the exercise is that three vehicles are leaving Wythall.
London AEC Regent RT624 is unrestored and arguably would always give way to a local bus in the restoration queue for the foreseeable future. There are plenty of reasons to want to keep it - it's a design classic and the AEC 9.6 litre/preselector is a classic sound - fortunately the RF makes a similar melody! It was the very last one to run into Barking garage the night RTs finished but that means more to Londoners than us. Logic dictated that the RT deserved a good home where it would get some priority - thus began a long search. Museums specialising in London buses were contacted and an announcement made at a meeting of the National Association of Road Transport Museums, thus we could feel happy that we had fulfilled our obligations in our disposal policy towards other museums. Some interest was shown by operators who would return it to Class VI status but we were concerned about its long-term security, particularly after the Harry Potter disaster when several RTs were hacked about to create a couple of triple-deckers.
In the end RT624 was purchased in December by a partnership, the majority shareholder being a Transport for London senior manager with links to the LT Museum at Covent Garden, with a minority stake being held by Ensign Bus Company. The bus is to be restored to the livery relevant to its moment of fame; that carried in 1979. Ensign is to move shortly to a new state-of-the-art facility in Purfleet that will include a vehicle museum and these secure premises should be the new home for RT624. We feel that the arrangements proposed offer a much better future for it.
With knowledge that RT624's days at Wythall were numbered, its intended source of spares was, in fact, sold ahead of it. The Bedfordshire buyer has experience of rebuilding sickly RT bodies and he approached the Museum with an intention to restore the bus, RT3865, thus again offering a better future than our proposal to break it for spares! He finally removed RT3865 from the site in September.
Two other vehicles were identified as surplus to the collecting policy. The first is the NBC liveried Midland General Bristol RE, which was considered insufficiently different to the Cheltenham RE. Despite its appearance, the restoration of the Midland General vehicle was never completed. Bob Lewis was the prime mover of the restoration carried out so far so it is very pleasing to record that it has been sold to a group including Bob. The final surplus vehicle is the Royal Blue Bristol RE coach, which has no local connection and drifted into the collection when the Museum first started running services. It is in very good condition, having been maintained to Class VI test at one time, and we will be equally concerned that it goes to a good home.
Malcolm Keeley
