A short documentary about coach travel with a fascinating variety of vehicles including some rare birds, which takes little notice of continuity and opens (of course) with a Wild West stagecoach, followed by a British stagecoach:
Next seen is an Italian Viberti Monotral CV24, of which more later:
Very old footage shows a number of parked and passing charabancs:
These are followed by a rare bird, OLL948, a 1954 Leyland Tiger Cub OPSUC1/1 chassis modified to a PSUC1/2 before being bodied by Bellhouse Hartwell coachwork and owned by Blue Cars of London. This was an export chassis originally intended for a Danish operator. It's parked at London's Victoria Coach Station next to a 1954 East Kent Dennis Lancet UF with Duple body:
Southdown 1620 (LUF620), a 1952 Leyland Royal Tiger PSU1/15/Leyland, is backed out in front of an unidentifiable half-cab coach:
The camera peruses a number of coach fronts, including an Eastern National, a Ribble or Standerwick and two East Kent, including the Dennis Lancet seen earlier.
....but the only one clearly identifiable is Scottish Omnibuses B675A, a 1959 AEC Reliance/Alexander:
A change of location: no identifications possible here, even of the distant double decker:
At least one AEC Regal III, a Bedford SB/Duple and LVX399, a 1947 Leyland Tiger PS1/1 with Duple body, belonging to Grasshopper Coaches of Ilford:
Returning to Victoria, seen across a crowd boarding an unseen coach is a Maidstone and District AEC Reliance/Harrington Wayfarer:
We see no more than this of Standerwick 146 (FFR690), an all-Leyland Royal Tiger PSU1/15:
A Royal Blue liveried Bristol LS/Eastern Coachworks sets off, with that same Maidstone and District Reliance parked up:
...and a second Royal Blue LS; this one is Southern National 1292 (MOD979), new in 1952, seen passing Cronfield of London's DBV320, a 1951 Bedford SB/Duple:
OXT916, a 1954 AEC Regal III with full fronted Plaxton coachwork operating for Grundon of London; in the background is East Kent NFN334, a 1957 Beadle bodied AEC Reliance:
Imperial of Bromsgrove's MUY141, a 1954 Plaxton bodied Bedford SBO:
Footage of the open road: a London Transport AEC RT leads two coaches:
The coach park seen earlier is seen again as the coaches start to leave. I would assume the lead vehicle here is Grasshopper Coaches LVX399 previously seen. It's followed by BRN425, a 1948 Leyland Tiger PS1/1 with Duple body new to Scout Motors of Preston, operator here unknown, then those AEC Regal IIIs:
More footage on the road, this time apparently heading for the North West coast:
LTJ866 is a 1957 Commer Avenger III/Plaxton operated by Fieldsend of Salford:
Sharp of Longsight KNE445 is a 1949 Daimler CVD6/Harrington:
LVU469 is an Austin CXB with oddly proportioned coachwork:
We only see the rear of 116GMA, a 1959 Ford Thames 570E/Duple new to Roberts of Crewe but operating for Smiths of Wigan:
There is a glimpse of coaches parked at the seafront at Brighton, many of them from Southdown:
The film now returns to the Blue Cars Leyland Tiger Cub, seen loading at Victoria Coach Station for a Continental tour:
The tourists are taken to the airport and fly out; on arrival they transfer to the Viberti seen earlier, apparently in Belgium:
Unclear what these are:
This rear view shows how the Blue Cars name is on a plate bolted onto the coach:
Back to UK coaching, and heading for Blackpool is Lancashire United 554, a rare Roe bodied Atkinson Alpha PL745H bus new in 1955:
North Western 752 (LDB752), a 1958 AEC Reliance/Willowbrook bus, follows two coaches:
The film concludes back at Victoria Coach Station, with South Midland 553, a 1950 Windover bodied Bristol L6B, following a Maidstone and District AEC Reliance:
