Bournemouth Corporation
1955
Leyland Tiger Cub PSUC1/1
Park Royal B42F

RRU 901 was originally Bournemouth 264 – a Leyland Tiger Cub PSUC1/1 with Park Royal B42F body. It started life in Bournemouth 96 with an open rear entrance and front exit with doors in 1955. It was rebodied around 1957 for One Man Operation. It lasted until 1971 when it was sold to Burton on Trent (Maroon and Cream) and then transferred to East Staffs when Burton disappeared. It went into preservation in 1977 and went back to Bournemouth colours. It has had a bit of a chequered life in preservation and was in a sorry state in the early 2000’s.
Around 2008/9 it moved to Scotland where it was extensively re-panelled and repainted in a Western Scottish style livery, which is the way it is currently.
It had an overheating problem at Kirkby Stephen this year, but was in service on the Saturday, and since then the water pump has been removed and found to have been well and truly bodged by someone previously with a metal pin and black silicone mastic. It is seen in resting between duties at Kirkby Stephen West.

Photograph and Copy contributed by Ken Jones, with additional information from Malcolm Davies

02/06/15 – 07:15

That livery wouldn’t look amiss in Southport!

Pete Davies

10/06/15 – 09:05

Compare this to Stockport’s Tiger Cubs, built by Crossley to the same basic design. Some have said the Stockport version has more than a passing resemblance to the RF and the Monocoach.

Phil Blinkhorn

12/06/15 – 06:31

A sister vehicle, RRU 903 is preserved in Yorkshire in Bournemouth Corporation livery. These photos show it in Grassington (in company with a much newer preserved bus, Pennine Dennis Dart R717 YWC) and a rear view at the farm near Skipton where the vehicle is kept. The rear end is very unusual, with the emergency door on the offside. I had the privilege of driving this bus a few months ago. It was the first crash gearbox bus I had driven for many years, and it was a great relief to feel the gears engaging without a "crunching" sound.

Don McKeown

13/06/15 – 06:44

Did this bus (and the rest of the batch) originally have a rear door in addition to the front? This was the normal Bournemouth fashion for many years. Although now clearly removed, it might explain the unusual rear design for the emergency door. A study of the Western SMT liveried bus reveals a similar layout at the rear.

Michael Hampton

14/06/15 – 06:54

Bournemouth did convert it’s dual entrance Tiger Cubs to front entrance as early as 1957 and did the same with the 1951 Royal Tigers later on. The unusual rear arrangements probably result from that change.
For comparative purposes here is a view of a Crossley bodied Stockport Tiger Cub on Park Royal design frames dating from 1958.

Orla Nutting

08/08/15 – 06:57

This batch of buses all had a rear open platform entrance, rather than a second door. The buses didn’t last long in this configuration before being rebodied, hence the "two" windows on the nearside as opposed to the one on the offside. On mine you can still see some of the framework for the steps underneath. This original set up would certainly explain why the emergency door is on the offside.

Malcolm Davies

08/08/15 – 11:39

I am still puzzled about access to that rear corner emergency exit. How would passengers get to use it in an emergency?
Is the rear seat moved forward to creat a gap behind it, or is the rear nearside seat a ‘three seater’ with a space on the offside?
It’s all rather unusual, but an expert with knoweldge of the interior layout will hopefully be able to resolve this puzzle.

Petras409

26/10/20 – 06:33

Close inspection of the picture of RRU 903’s rear suggests the rear offside seat pair is away from the rear end. Presumably, that would facilitate access from the gangway to the emergency exit, with clearances compliant with the C & U Regulations prevalent at the time of modification.

Terry Walker

31/10/20 – 06:26

Thanks Terry. Your suggestion has put my mind at rest. That’s 5 years of uncertainty finally resolved!

Petras409

W Alexander & Sons (Fife) Ltd
1961
Leyland Tiger Cub PSUC1/2
Alexander C41F

RMS 714 is a Leyland Tiger Cub PSUC1/2 with Alexander body and was new to W Alexander & Sons (Fife) Ltd in 1961 arriving just as the Alexander empire was split into three separate companies. It was delivered in Alexander’s blue and cream livery but later received the new Fife livery of Ayres Red and cream. It worked initially from Dunfermline depot, moving to Newburgh in 1964. It was withdrawn and sold in 1977, becoming a stock car transporter.
By the time it was purchased for preservation around 1998 it had been re-registered JVS 541. It was restored at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum in Fife and was again re-registered OSC 711. By 2008 the then owner had managed to re-acquire the original registration RMS 714. It passed to an operator in Somerset in 2011, but was returned to Scotland by its present owner in 2013.

Photograph and Copy contributed by Ken Jones

07/05/15 – 10:50

Nice view, Ken. I’ll cross this vehicle off my list of possible future submissions. Just a small point, but isn’t the fleet number prefixed F for Fife?

Pete Davies

07/05/15 – 10:54

I found the fleet number on BLotW checked with BBF Scottish Bus Group and you are correct it should be FPD thanks for that Pete.

Peter

27/08/15 – 17:04

Some of these examples were used at Ardyne Point by G Wimpey to transfer workforce from Dunoon to the rig construction site.

Anon

25/03/17 – 10:53

This bus is now at Bridgeton Bus Garage under the care of Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust: //www.gvvt.org/

Stephen Allcroft

Green Bus Service
1964
Leyland Tiger Cub PSUC1/11
East Lancs B43F

The Late Graham Martin’s Green Bus Service (aka Warstone Motors) ran routes in rural Staffordshire. Here is an ex-Burnley Colne and Nelson Leyland Tiger Cub with East Lancs body it was fleet number 66 in their fleet. It is seen in this shot leaving the village of Brewood and has just crossed the Shropshire Union Canal.

Photograph and Copy contributed by Tony Martin

30/04/14 – 18:01

There is an ex-Burnley Colne and Nelson Leyland Tiger Cub for sale in the May edition of Bus & Coach Preservation’ magazine can not see a registration plate suspect it is one from the previous 50 – 59 1963 batch although the advertisement dates the vehicle as 1962.

Peter

11/03/15 – 16:36

The Company name was Green Bus Service – Knowing Mr Martin I’m sure he would want that corrected.

Phil Atherton

Sorry about that I have updated the posting.