Copyright Ray Soper

Bournemouth Corporation
1939
Bedford WTB
Duple B25F

This shot is from the Ray Soper ‘Gallery’ contribution A Trolleybus tour in Bournemouth click on the title if you would like to view his Gallery and comments to it.
The shot is shown here for indexing purposes but please feel free to make any comment regarding this vehicle either here or on the gallery.

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23/02/12 – 09:47

Bournemouth 183 A Bedford OWB with a Duple body was exported to the USA after service in London. It has just been reported in the PSV sheets as changing owners in late 2006 in San Francisco.

John Ashmore

21/07/13 – 07:35

Did some of the late Bedford WTB’s have the OB bonnet style or was this an attempt to modernise the front?

Chris Hebbron

21/07/13 – 08:03

Interesting point, Chris. The OB replaced the WTB in 1939(?) and almost immediately became the war-time OWB, The OB returned in peacetime – around 1946. So is this a WTB or is it simply a pre-war OB?

David Oldfield

21/07/13 – 11:15

This style of bonnet and radiator grille was introduced in 1938 on the WTB and also on all the rest of the W-series range. These were replaced by the K, M and O-series the following year.
The WT-series had no external radiator filler cap, and high mounted headlamps, whereas the O-series had an external filler cap and lower set headlamps. This is generally a good way of telling them apart, but in later life it was not at all uncommon for operators to mix and match parts – so it is not 100% reliable.

John Stringer

22/07/13 – 11:26

Thx, John S, for the answer.

Chris Hebbron

10/11/16 – 07:30

This bus was preserved by the Poole and District Model Railway Society.
I have a couple of pictures of FEL 216 after restoration in 1967.

Bruce

10/11/16 – 10:37

FEL 216 went from Poole & District Model Railway Society to Tim Salter of Wareham in 10/98 along with sister FEL 218. FEL 218 was later (circa 98) broken up for spares, with the intention to restore 216. From what I can gather very little progress has been made on FEL 216 & it is still owned by Tim Slater.
Whilst on the subject of these Bournemouth WTB’s EEL 46 a 1938 Burlingham WTB is now just a rolling chassis after acquisition by Cyril Kenzie in 5/08, the body deemed to bad to restore. The chassis is still with Kenzie.

John Wakefield

10/11/16 – 13:50

Here are a couple of shots after FEL 216 had been preserved by the Poole and District Model Railway Society.

Bruce

25/08/22 – 05:47

Here is a picture of No.15, FEL 218, taken on an HCVC Brighton Rally in the very early 1970s. As John Whittaker comments, this bus was broken up for spares for preserving FEL 216.

Roger Cox

31/08/22 – 07:04

Just an aside, but I read that Yellow Bus, successor the Bournemouth Corporation, went bust on August 4th.

Chris Hebbron

01/09/22 – 07:03

….. and More bus stepped in and seamlessly provided replacement services. They didn’t "take over" Yellowbus in any way, just stepped up.

David Oldfield