Lincolnshire Road Car Company
1950
Bedford OB
Duple B27F

LTA 752 is a Bedford OB with Duple B27F body, new to Western National in 1950, but seen here in Lincolnshire colours as a ‘semi toastrack’ for seafront duties at Skegness. The first views shows it in winter guise, while the second view shows it in summer guise. The first view, taken on the 1st January 2009 shows it visiting the King Alfred running day in Winchester, while the second view shows it in the Alton rally on 18 July 2010. I understand that, by 2012, it was with that very well maintained historic fleet of Lodge, High Easter.

Photograph and Copy contributed by Pete Davies

03/11/16 – 06:24

Like many Sheffielders at the time, the Dickinson family had holidays in Skegness. Four of these OBs were employed on the Skeggie sea-front service. Two were open both sides, the other two were only open on the nearside. Numbered 2091/2/3/4, the one pictured was 2094 at the time and came to LRCC, along with 2091, from Western National. 2092/3 came from Eastern National. For this young enthusiast they had to be ridden on each holiday.

Les Dickinson

03/11/16 – 06:25

LTA 752 is indeed with Lodge, Coaches of High Easter. lots of pics of it on Flickr.
It now has an entrance door to comply with latest rules & regulations. (cant have passengers falling out can we) Its the only survivor from those OB’s modified (by Duple) as open siders for Lincs Road Car on Skegness sea front service

John Wakefield

03/11/16 – 08:21

Oooh! I’d have insisted going to Skeggie as a child rather than as an adult if I’d known these beauties were doing the seafront duties! And all for 2d each way!

Chris Hebbron

04/11/16 – 06:20

The other plates were as follows;- 2091 -HUO 692; 2092 – ONO 88; 2093 – ONO 89. The first from 1947, the other two 1950. All these three to LRCC in 1958 I believe.

Les Dickinson

05/11/16 – 06:25

Just think 110 miles South and 2d to go "All The Way" would have a quite different connotation.
I’ll keep the day job!

John Lomas

17/11/16 – 07:07

Was this the bus which appeared on Watchdog tonight-but blue: the seats are distinctive…

Joe

17/11/16 – 10:52

Here are a couple of shots of mine of LTA by now in the Lodge era, arriving in style at the LVVS Open Day event, March 2013. During the day, it was offloaded, and the window panels removed, revealing the full “toastrack effect”

Rob Hancock

Lincolnshire Road Car Company
1958
Bristol MW5G
ECW DP41F

Another photo taken in Scarborough coach park of a Bristol ‘MW’ series single decker but this time in the fleet of the Lincolnshire Road Car Company Ltd. This vehicle was classed as ‘dual purpose’ meaning it was a bus with ‘nearly but not quite’ a coach standard of interior. I do like the paint work on this bus the step in the cream ¾s way down the side makes a big difference. 
The ‘5G’ after the ‘MW’ in the ‘MW’ series letters above means that this bus had a Gardner 5HLW engine which was a 5 cylinder 7.0 litre horizontal diesel engine. If the ‘MW’ had been followed by ‘6G’ it would of had a Gardner 6HLW engine which was a 6 cylinder 8.4 litre horizontal diesel engine. As far as I know only these two engines were available with the ‘MW’ series, meaning no Bristol engine, if you know different let me know.

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Although as you rightly state, the Bristol MW was only available with the Gardner 5HLW or 6HLW engine, one was fitted experimentally with a Bristol engine, but never operated in service as such. This was an early MW chassis bodied by ECW with a bus shell, and it was returned to Bristol Commercial Vehicles as a test-bed vehicle. The engine was in itself experimental – being a horizontal version of the BVW 8.9 litre unit and known as the BHW. In 1963, the MW6B (as it would have been known) was re-engined with a Gardner 6HLW unit. Its body was then completed to 45-seat bus layout, and it entered service with Red & White as their U1563 (228JAX). Another BHW-engined Bristol test-bed vehicle appeared in 1963 in the shape of a prototype RELH chassis fitted with an ECW coach shell. Whether this was fitted with the engine from the MW I do not know, as apparently Bristol had built several BHWs for experimental use. The engine in the RELH6B test vehicle also had a turbocharger fitted to increase power. However, the BHW engine never entered production, and later the vehicle (chassis number REX003) was given a Gardner 6HLX engine and its body fitted out to full 47-seat coach specification. It then entered service with West Yorkshire as its CRG1 (OWT241E) in 1967.

Brendan Smith