Jersey Motor Transport
1947
Bedford OB
Mulliner B28F

J 6986 was new to Jersey Motor Transport in 1947. She is a Bedford OB with Mulliner B28F bodywork and fleet number 57. She’s seen passing Beaulieu while taking part in a vintage vehicle run through the New Forest on 20 August 1978. The registration shown is LTR 336R but she is noted in the PSVC listing for 2012 as being LSU 857.

Photograph and Copy contributed by Pete Davies

05/10/13 – 17:05

Here is a shot of J 6986 – 57 when in service with JMT it is seen here at the St Helier – Weighbridge Bus Station.
As with all of JMT vehicles of that era, it has adverts for ‘Jersey’s own Brew’ Mary Ann. It is waiting to depart on Route 22 to BEL ROYAL via (Victoria Ave).
A 5 day Rover Ticket was 25/-, JCT (Jersey Coach Tours) All Day Tour 12/3 with meals 19/6. The window bill is advertising ‘The Sound of Music’, whether this was the film or a stage production is not known.
No.70 behind is displaying notices for ‘Flat Fare please pay 6d in the SLOT – Children 4d’.

Stephen Howarth

06/10/13 – 08:08

Thanks for the response, Stephen.
Certainly when I visited the island in the mid 1970’s, the buses were still advertising that brand. The cars in my posting are waiting to visit the oversize garage which Lord Montagu has in his garden!

Pete Davies

06/10/13 – 08:08

No. 70 is a 1948 Morris Commercial CVF 13/5 with Wadham FB27F body.

Chris Hebbron

08/10/13 – 07:50

This is a lovely little bus, the Mulliner body makes a change from Duple bodies on OB chassis. I have always thought it a great shame that so many enthusiasts tended to ignore Bedfords and Fords. To me they were fascinating vehicles which kept many small independent stage operators using them on rural stage services.

Don McKeown

08/10/13 – 11:24

I agree with you entirely Don. Not only were the OBs (and even more so their "War Effort" OWB siblings) fascinating but their performance from a 28hp petrol engine was unbelievably impressive. They were often in addition subjected to the most abominable overloading which they handled without a whimper. As far as their aural talents were concerned they were unique and magnificent – the lusty tuneful roar in the first three gears was classical music to the ears, followed by calm and quiet in top gear when their gentle rear spring twittering was most enjoyable. They were also very comfortable indeed, considering that the suspension was completely basic, and economical to run and simple to maintain – well, we’re talking legends now and legends they were for me.

Chris Youhill

08/10/13 – 12:53

More than once, Chris, I’ve heard folk, unacquainted with the gearbox crescendo, associating this with the engine noise and make comments such as, ‘If he keeps flogging the engine like that, he’ll have the big ends go!’ I agree with the unbustability of the mechanicals of these little gems so affectionately held in high regard. I sometimes went out of my way to travel on the Portsmouth Corp’n OWB’s, not so satisfying, because in their latter years they were on short routes, some only 10-15 mins long! But a kind driver would let me do a return journey or two if nicely spoken to! Fortunately, no inspector ever came aboard, perhaps because it was an unrewarding pastime on fringe routes! Route 13, Milton (White House) to Locksway Road was the usual one, busy solely for the mental hospital it served.

Chris Hebbron

12/10/13 – 08:05

I have found a near side view of J 6986.

Stephen Howarth

24/11/13 – 07:42

The nearside view of J.M.T. Bedford OB with Mulliner bodywork was taken at the Snow hill bus station in the early 1960’s just after a re-paint loosing its characteristic cream stripe below the windows which was bordered with a green stripe. originally she had a cream bonnet top and the cream on the front ran down to the mudguard level.She entered service in June 1947 and withdrawn in July 1969. Originally used as a coach from new until March 1951 and there after as a bus.
She ran from 1947 to 1951 in the B.E.A. livery of grey and red before being painted in the green and cream bus livery. She came from S.C.S ( Safety Coach Service) as a chassis and new in 1946, she was going to be bodied by Jersey Motor Panels for S.C.S but the company was taken over by the J.M.T in November 1946.
The chassis was sent up to Mulliner for the bodywork to be fitted. The first vehicle in Jersey to have Mulliner bodywork.

John Luce

10/03/17 – 07:30

My dad used to own what was J 6986 or LTR 336R. He bought her from a man called Sandy in New Milton Hampshire early 70s. She was in rather a sorry state, as it was being used as a green house. Dad brought her back to Breamore near Fordingbridge, where he was curator of the countryside museum there. He completely stripped her down to rolling chassis, repaired and renewed timber frame where needed. He managed to save the panels and beading on the body, took some straightening. Gradually she came back to life. He put her back in her Jersey colour green and cream and named her Maralyn. We used to do Bournemouth to Bath road run with her. Great fun, have to see if I can find some photos. Dad retired about 1979 and moved down to Tiverton Devon with me. Then in 1981 we all moved to Wellington Somerset needless to say the bus came to. Unfortunately dad had to sell her, can’t remember where she went, but not long after we heard she was sold on again, I think she went up to the Kent area,. Dads name was Pat Wale if anyone has the logbook to her. Lost dad 2003, Hope this is of some interest.
Does anyone know where she is now?

Shirley Williams

10/03/17 – 08:40

Thanks for your contribution, Shirley. I lived in Blackfield at the time of my original posting. I see you mention Tiverton. My wife’s side of the family has a branch there, in sight of the canal. Small world!

Pete Davies

10/03/17 – 17:31

Hi Peter my family came from Blackfield my aunt still lives there. We used to live at the Mazery at the top of canal hill Tiverton. We had the bus parked out the back of the house.
Any relation to Richard Davis from New Milton Hampshire.

Shirley Williams

10/03/17 – 17:35

LSU 857 passed to Dr Mark Sleep t/a Ages Past of Eversley 8/08 and is now part of his wedding hire fleet. Now painted Green & White there are numerous pics of it on Flickr.
Previous owners in reverse order are:
John Yonge, Kew 4/07
J M Poultney, Minster 11/89
Thorpe, Herne Bay 6/83 (re regd LSU 857 5/88)
Legg, Bishops Lydeard by 11/82
Pat Wale (Countryside Museum) Fordingbridge -/78 (regd LTR 336R)
New to JMT as J 6986 3/47

John Wakefield

11/03/17 – 07:25

No relation at all to the one you mention in New Milton. I have the Welsh spelling (IES) where he has the English spelling (IS). My grandfather was actually a Welshman!

Pete Davies

11/03/17 – 07:26

Chris Y correctly gives the stated output of the OBs petrol engine as 28 hp, but this was the RAC rating, an absurdly inaccurate and outdated method of measurement from the early years of the 20th century that some manufacturers seemed reluctant to ditch. The 3519 cc engine actually developed 72 bhp, not that far short of the 85 bhp of the Gardner 5LW in many 1940s/1950s double deckers. In the early post war years, a Bedford OB with the Mulliner body could be bought for £1290, which compared well with the £1415 that was asked for one with a Duple Vista coach body.

Roger Cox

12/03/17 – 07:42

Despite the obvious price advantage in having the attractive OB Mulliner coach body, it remained relatively rare, compared with the Duple ones.

Chris Hebbron

12/03/17 – 08:06

I took this photo of the delightful J 6986 at the end of the Bournemouth to Bath Rally in about 1977.

John Stringer

12/03/17 – 17:35

Thanks to all its lovely to know the old girls still going strong dad would be very proud. I see in the photo she still has her lucky heather in the grill mum put that there when we took her across the New Forest. Now I will have to find those photos won’t I.

Shirley Williams

13/03/17 – 16:29

Roger, the RAC formula was used to determine vehicle tax until 1947. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_horsepower

Stephen Allcroft

14/03/17 – 06:48

Stephen, I confess to being astonished that the RAC engine formula was still being used for vehicle taxation purposes as late as 1947. I suppose in the early years of the 20th century using the cylinder bore measurement was a roughly consistent method of assessing horsepower when long stroke engines were the norm, but the RAC formula very soon became hopelessly inaccurate as engine design was refined. Its retention until 1947 in official taxation circles seems barely credible. It just goes to show how remote from reality are our politicians cocooned in their Neo Gothic ivory tower at Westminster.

Roger Cox

15/03/17 – 07:04

DVLA still get engine capacity wrong. They often get Cubic Centimetres mixed up with Cubic Inches which of course engines of most buses & commercials are quoted in. So we get 330cc in the case of a 330 cubic inch Bedford engine.

John Wakefield

29/03/21 – 07:03

During my research on Daimler Freelines I was pointed to this page in regard to Mulliner bodies. No less than 22 Gardner-engined Freelines with Mulliner B56D bodies were supplied to JN Zarpas, in Lagos, Nigeria in 1957/8.
I have only recently found a low-res scan of 3 of them, which I will try to attach.
Would I be correct in thinking that these bodies would have been built on the Daimler chassis in Birmingham and exported as complete vehicles, or would the bodies have been supplied CKD like the Saro bodies for New Zealand?

Jim Neale

Booth & Fisher
1948
Bedford OB
Allsop C29F

Boothies ran a wonderful eclectic collection of O type Bedfords built by a range of different firms. MNU 80 is an example of less common Allsop bodywork, and is seen, I think, outside Sheffield’s Midland Station.

Photograph and Copy contributed by Les Dickinson

30/11/12 – 07:49

MNU is a Derbyshire registration from 1948. I suppose it would have been new to B&F.

Geoff Kerr

30/11/12 – 13:32

According to the Booth and Fisher fleet history on the Peter Gould site, this vehicle is described as C29F. The vehicle was new in 1948 and withdrawn in 1968. The location is Sheffield Midland Station and the vehicle would probably be operating on hire to British Railways to ferry train crew etc to Tinsley or other locations in the Sheffield area.

Stephen Bloomfield

Thanks Stephen ?s corrected

01/12/12 – 07:33

Greyhound (Alexander) used to have that contract I think, but not sure if that was before, or after, Boothies. Thanks for the info.

Les Dickinson

01/12/12 – 11:49

East Midland and Sheffield United Tours also operated this contract. For a time in late 1968 BR ran ex Mansfield District AEC Regal KRR 261 operated the service. It was still in green and cream but carried the BR double arrow symbol. See previous discussion on this site re this operation

Stephen Bloomfield

02/12/12 – 07:26

Fascinating stuff! Does anyone have details of who had contract year by year? It obviously got shared around a bit over the years.

Les Dickinson

13/07/13 – 08:00

Where were Allsop bodies built and what was the full title of the company, any one please?

Mike Holloway

03/10/13 – 08:44

The following site gives a tiny amount of information about Allsop (about two thirds of the way down):- //nonsequitur.freeforums.org  
Thomas Allsop Ltd., Penistone Road North, Sheffield, Yorks., active from 1926 to 1949.

Roger Cox

03/10/13 – 14:32

It would be interesting to know what their production amounted to during their active years. They bodied two Daimler CVD6 coaches for Trumans of Shirebrook in 1947 (LRA 558/9) which were quite attractive and I seem to recall a former employee of Naylors of South Normanton telling me that Allsop’s carried out some refurbishment work for them on their pre-war coaches after WW2.

Chris Barker

04/10/13 – 15:07

Booth & Fisher used to run to Coal Aston via Brammall Lane. They went to Meadowhead, took a left then right down Dyche lane to Coal Aston. All very countrified in the 50s & early 60s. I remember this coach. They sometimes ran a bus type bodywork, with the emergency door at the rear. I do not know where their stand was in town, but maybe it was just outside the main bus station, being a small operator.

Andy Fisher

04/10/13 – 17:16

Whilst ever Halfway was in Derbyshire and Booth & Fisher were independent, they were condemned to outer darkness. Their stop was on Ellin Street, off Eyre Street, off the bottom of the Moor. Nowhere near Pond Street bus station.

David Oldfield

08/10/13 – 07:46

Just searching through views on the Stilltime Collection recently referred to on this site, I found a picture of sister Booth & Fisher Bedford, MNU 79 together with Royal Tiger SNU 435. I just entered Derby and Bus and it was on the last page of thumbnails.

Chris Barker

03/02/14 – 07:27

It’s Thomas Allsop Ltd (only one P)! I should know as it was my great grandads business! I don’t know a great deal about it, but my uncle knows a bit. I have a picture of an old vehicle (pick up truck with solid rear wheels) that was sign written at Matthew Street Sheffield. They then started at Penistone Road and was in partnership with a guy called Kitson?

Neil Allsop

03/02/14 – 08:24

Great to hear from a direct descendant Neil. I have seen in some of the PSV Circle listings that historically, many vehicles went to Allsop, Sheffield for scrapping. Do you know if that is the same business, or a related business, as your Great-Grandad as an operator? Would really like to know more about the company if you learn any more from your uncle. I wonder if the Kitson was the one that was a founder-member of the firm that eventually became Sheffield United Tours?

Les Dickinson

Copyright Michael Wadman

Leather’s Coaches of Maiden Bradley
1951
Bedford OB
Duple C29F

The ubiquitous Bedford OB / Duple Vista of course, but GWV 101 is interesting in that it spent its entire operational life with Leather’s Coaches of Maiden Bradley, Wiltshire. Leather’s was one of the last surviving traditional village bus operators with origins as horse-drawn hauliers. Basil Leather was still the proprietor when he bought GWV 101 new in 1951. He sold the business to Donald Newbury, one of his drivers, in 1962, and it subsequently passed to Don’s son-in-law and daughter, Len and Sylvia Cooper, but the fleetname of Leather’s Coaches was retained throughout. In latter years GWV 101 was only used on special occasions. On 17th October 1992 it operated, by prior arrangement, on the “small bus” duty on Leather’s bus service between Gillingham, Frome, and Warminster. Len and Sylvia were driver and conductress for the day, and are seen here with the coach after arrival in Warminster.
Len and Sylvia retired in January 1998 but kept GWV 101 as a preserved vehicle.

Photograph and Copy contributed by Michael Wadman

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29/07/12 – 16:31

Yet another pristine example of this most legendary model. I absolutely loved them for their utter honesty – economical, gutsy beyond belief, handsome, and the providers of some of the finest acoustic delights one could wish for. I’m sure many, like me, simply drooled over the pure but sharp "top of the scale" whining and howling in the lower three gears – occasionally including a forgivable "back fire" – before settling into the trolleybus like top gear. Thereafter one would sail along with a bit of timpani, not annoying in the least, from the twittering rear springs that very one of these little gems displayed. Oh, for a trip to the seaside in one right now, or perhaps a ride to Town in one of the utility service bus variants whose unbelievable performance when often grossly overloaded was yet another legend.
I make no apology for this glowing accolade – our little heroes richly deserve it.

Chris Youhill

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30/07/12 – 07:02

Still in a lovely condition. I saw it on Wednesday 25th July at a gathering at Longbridge Deverill, Wiltshire.

Paragon

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30/07/12 – 07:03

Chris, I’ll ‘second’ every word you’ve said. The OB sound still sends shivers up my spine. The only other things to do that are the sounds of a straight cut geared manual AEC box and a fly past by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight!

Eric Bawden

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30/07/12 – 11:07

I have a special soft spot Eric for one little Bedford in particular – this was in the RAF and was 00 AC 62. It was stationed, like me, at RAF Patrington and for some odd reason, especially at a top secret establishment, was driven usually by a civilian driver, Sam, who lived nearby in the Village. Our daily journeys to and from shifts at the radar site, some five miles away at Holmpton, were on board Bedford QL lorries (acoustic divas in their own right), or brand new Bedford SB petrol/Mulliner buses (coach, service, convertible to ambulance, Bedford 4 x 2, Mulliners Ltd.^) or the little star of the Station. Sam drove it exceptionally well with skill and affection and, as in many other cases, why on Earth didn’t I take some pictures. I can though still picture those well worn light green canvas type seats.
To avoid any confusion, our living quarters at Patrington Haven are now a rather fine holiday home village, and the Radar site at Holmpton is now the National Defence Archive and is open to the Public – but you will have to just imagine those glorious Bedford sounds as you make you way there by car !!

Chris Youhill

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30/07/12 – 11:08

And for those such as myself who live a long way from the nearest active OB there’s always EFE’s 1/76 scale model of this very vehicle. Haven’t bought it yet due to financial constraints – I also want one of EFE’s Silver Star double-deckers to go with it!
Looking at the picture I suddenly realised that it’s been 45 years since I last rode on one of these lovely machines in ordinary everyday service – during a two week holiday in Cornwall in 1967 I rode on them at least twice each day on Hawkey of Wadebridge’s services to the coast. Good times.

Neville Mercer

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30/07/12 – 15:59

I’ve never seen a bus empty so fast as when stationed in Nicosia in 1957 the driver of our Mulliner SB admitted he hadn’t done a bomb check that morning!

Jim Hepburn

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30/07/12 – 16:00

I can still remember the ride I made with my Dad to go on holiday in 1951 to Bridlington from Bradford. The coach was a Bedford OB on a private hire trip from a local textile mill. My sister, who suffered travel sickness and my Mum went by train but I jumped at the idea of going by coach. As Chris Y says the music from the Bedford transmission was something never to forget. Happy days.

Richard Fieldhouse