J S Simpson Rosehearty

Here are the pictures I promised Peter Simpson on the 'Simpsons EPL 628' Best Bit. All photos are by Ron Doig and copyright Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust, the scans are all taken from postcard sized reprints made in the early 1980s, it's likely we'll do higher res scans when the original 120 prints and or negs are located.

Stephen Allcroft
09/2016

The first one is BGA 23, a former Glasgow Corporation Transport Weymann bodied Leyland Titan.
I think there may be an Alexander's garage in the background.

Two views of RG 8115 an Aberdeen Daimler COG6 with a Weymann body.

Next a Strachan Lowbridge Guy Arab new to Simpson in wartime.

A fine Roe Dalesman AEC Reliance down in Dundee.

Both of the all-Leyland Royal Tiger PSU1/13.

A classic Harrington bodied AEC Regal III...

...and a rather uneasily dolled-up Albion Valkyrie.

A Tilling Stevens...

...and a Leyland Cub, Riverside Drive Dundee.

Ex Yorkshire Traction Leyland Royal Tiger PSU1/9 with Brush body.

An ex London Transport RT and a former Yorkshire Traction Leyland Tiger PS1 Park Royal re-body. The latter after sale of the service licences to Alexander (Northern).

These Postcard enlargements by the late Dr Doig were all rather contrasty and sadly he didn't copy any original caption information.

17/09/16 - 05:13

Thanks for posting these. One small correction: HHE 319 was actually rebodied by Roe, although clearly to Park Royal design.

Peter Williamson

17/09/16 - 18:41

First comment is quite right. Next time I will look up the bus details more thoroughly before I post a gallery to Peter.
Two questions, was the Willowbrook-bodied Tilling Stevens H5LA4 the most northerly of these thinly spread unfrozen buses?
Secondly anybody know who built the bodies on the Valkyrie and the Cub? I am guessing Duple for the latter but the former has me stumped.
Best Wishes and please enjoy

Stephen Allcroft

18/09/16 - 06:54

Stephen, thank you very much for posting such a fascinating selection of photos. The RT and the double-deck Leyland Tiger look splendid in Simpson's livery and the Tilling-Stevens and Leyland Cub are just endearing. Sadly the same cannot be said about the Guy Arab with Strachans utility bodywork. The poor quality of wartime Strachans bodies is well documented, but even allowing for utility specification constraints of the time, the Strachans offering is very severe and almost 'cobbled together' in appearance. The equivalent Duple body for example, was a much more balanced design, managing even in the dark days of World War II, to have a certain elegance in my view. That said, if a Strachans utility-bodied Guy Arab turned up on my local bus route tomorrow I'd be on it like a cork out of a bottle!

Brendan Smith

20/09/16 - 07:17

There were twelve of those Tilling-Stevens H5LA4 buses which were a wartime frustrated order for the China General Omnibus Company in Shanghai. All were bodied in 1941/42 by Willowbrook with B30F or B26F coachwork, and, as Stephen says, they were scattered all over the country. The CMB took several of this model before the outbreak of hostilities, and most of them lasted a full twenty years in service, albeit with new bodywork, surely a tribute to their rugged construction. More pictures of the Simpson fleet may be found here, second entry down:- https://public.fotki.com/boballoa/1/

Roger Cox

20/09/16 - 07:18

Thanks very much for posting these photos of Simpson's fleet. They bring back lots of memories for me. Should I find out who built the bodies on the Valkyre and the Cub I will post it here.

Peter Simpson

20/09/16 - 13:24

The first photo does indeed show Alexander's Depot in the background.
The Valkyrie FSA 516 was rebodied by Simpson's in their own body shop around 1958.

Peter Simpson

25/09/16 - 05:39

Thanks very much Peter for the details of FSA516. I see (courtesy Bus Lists On the Web) the Valkyrie was a four cylinder model CX9 and fairly late for the type, being delivered in January 1950. The short life of the original Federated Industries body suggests it was too worn out to re-certify.

Stephen Allcroft

27/09/16 - 06:01

The sheet metal firm, Federated Industries of Aberdeen, still exists, and it built a few bus and coach bodies between 1949 and 1951. These included a couple of L27/26R double deck bodies on AEC Regent III 9621A chassis, registered GAV 68/9, delivered in June 1950 to Burnett of Mintlaw, Aberdeen. An example of a Federated Industries body on an Austin K2 operated by Macrae of Glenbrittle, Isle of Skye, may be seen here:- At this link

Roger Cox

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