Sunday 1st November 2015 – Lincoln Vintage Vehicle Show

My review of the Lincoln Vintage Vehicle Show yesterday;

R712 KGK – Central Station, Newcastle to Lincoln Vintage Vehicle Society Museum – (08:03 --- 12:05) – Scarlet Band R712 KGK – Dennis Javelin/Berkhof – ''All White''
A few weeks prior, Dan had asked me if I was interested in going on this trip, and so I decided to think about it. I would return from my holiday in New York on the Saturday morning, and decided this gave me adequate time to recover from any jet lag, meaning the outing on the Sunday was possible. Given that as another bonus, I was not at school on the Monday (today), as it was a teacher training day, I decided I would attend. Dan reserved three seats for trip, one for himself, me, and also Adrian. I woke up at 06:30, and my dad and I left in the car at 07:15. We arrived at Central Station for 07:40; observing several people still drunk from the previous evening, crawling their way across the Tyne Bridge (believe I saw Adam amongst them). The litter around Newcastle was surprising, with bus shelters covered in pizza boxes and smashed bottles of alcohol. After being dropped off, my dad headed home and I awaited the arrival of Adrian and Dan. The former was the first to appear, emerging from the Sainbury's Local with what I later found out were his ''emergency rations''. We stood and talked for about five minutes, before Dan came into view and joined us. ''Quaylink'' branded 8317 was laying over in one of the bus stops, so we crossed over the road to get some photos of it. Shortly after the 08:00 pick-up time, we sighted a white coach, with some red lettering on the front, and it came to a stop in the ''Quaylink'' stand. A small number of older enthusiasts were waiting with us. The coach was Scarlet Band's R712 KGK; a Berkhof-bodied Dennis Javelin dating from the late 1990s. Driver greeted us as we all boarded, and we observed the number of other passengers. Keith Lee was sat near the front, and other than that, I couldn't really name anybody else. Adrian led us to the back seats, as they were available, and took the left hand side seats. Dan went for the right hand side which meant I was left to contend with the central seat, and a view down the aisle of the road ahead. At least I got plenty of legroom. Over the course of the journey down to Lincolnshire; we discussed various topics. A 30-minute service stop at Wetherby took place, before we re-boarded the coach and continued on the journey. Arrival on the Industrial Estate that the museum is located at was just before 12:00; it appeared the rally had been divided into two sites, with a shuttle service operating between the two. We ended up parking on the other site, which seemed to contain a small number more buses than the other one, although the other one seemed to be the base for shuttle services. The coach itself provided a very enjoyable ride; it was very fast of the mark and produced a nice sound. I rarely travel on coaches, so it was a pleasant change. Scarlet Band have done a good job with this bus; it makes a change to one of their battered Optare Solos that I usually see operating the Chester-le-Street local services. 

A line-up of old coaches, mixed with a selection of buses, including a Plaxton-bodied Leyland Leopard, was our first port of call. After photographing them all, we moved across to Stagecoach's offering for the event; their ''Poppy Bus'', 27637. Similar to Go North East's 4949, I preferred 27637's livery as it retained the corporate fleet identity, unlike 4949. We had a walk up to the top of this site; Lee Garrett's Bristol RE; 6080, was present, along with a number of other Bristol products. A nice line-up of three vintage green double deckers were parked opposite a pleasant pairing of an East Yorkshire Bristol VR and an East Yorkshire Leyland National (LAG 188V – the one that appeared at the Seaburn Rally at the end of August). We wandered back down towards the entrance to this site, and crossed the road for a bus to the other site. After letting a bus go, which I think a few members of the coach party boarded, we hadn't been waiting more than two minutes before the next bus came along. This was in the form of Northampton Corporation's NCT 129; VV 8934, a Daimler CWD6 with a Duple body. We sat downstairs, this bus was of another age and consequently had stairs at the rear, and a conductor present on the rear platform. It was only a few minutes until our destination, so I can't really comment on this journey.

Shuttle – Lincoln Vintage Vehicle Museum to Railway Station, Lincoln – (13:13 --- 13:35) – Delaine Buses 159 – Volvo B5TL/Wright Gemini 3 – ''Delaine Buses''
We photographed all of the buses present, including the most modern vehicle at the event; Delaine Buses' 159 (AD65 DBL). Dan and I jumped on board to get some interior photographs; the two men who had been charged with the vehicle welcomed us as we made our way upstairs. When we came back down, one of them asked Dan if he had seen his new book, and flicked through a publication that showed various photos of Delaine Buses' vehicles. He appeared to be the figure of authority of the two, while the other man told us how he used to like OK Motor Services; ''up our way''. They had an Atlantean that was similar to one Delaine had, according to him, and was one of only a few built on that body or something. We were informed that 159 was next to go out on a shuttle, towards Lincoln city centre, so we got Adrian's attention (he was still stood outside), and headed upstairs; they allowed us to stay on board while we ferried across to the shuttle pick-up point. The interior was very nice; the seat moquette was similar to that of the National Bus Company. The ''new bus smell'' still lingered. This Volvo B5TL didn't get up to any great speeds, given the traffic, but was my second ride of the type; the first being the former-Lothian Buses demonstrator that Go North East trialled on the ''Pronto'' X21 and ''Toon Link'' 47 last year. When we crossed the bridge across the river, we saw the Stagecoach depot. We debated whether or not to pay a visit, and decided against it eventually. Got some photos of 159 while it was picking up it's next load; and then made our way across to the bus station exit for photos of the buses leaving. The sun was in a fantastic position which meant the photos came out very well; and as it was getting close to 14:00 now, we decided to head to a Wetherspoons for lunch.

The first Wetherspoons that we located; ''The Forum'', was pretty full, with glasses and dishes dumped on tables by staff. Adrian advised us that this meant we would be waiting ages to be served, and then we checked for another one nearby. One that was down on the river-front, ''The Square Sail'', was our next stop. Locating a table was easy, but we were confronted with the news that we were going to be waiting for an hour at the least for our food, so decided to just have a drink. Adrian and Dan were insistent on a trip to McDonalds, which we found was just a short walk away from where we jumped off the shuttle. I personally detest a massive corporate giant such as McDonalds, and use it only as a last resort; whilst Dan and Adrian are both frequent visitors... After stomaching the McDonalds, we headed back to catch the next shuttle. An AEC Routemaster was waiting to depart with a shuttle, which we were about to catch, but then we saw something green coming across the bridge... An NBC Green Bristol VR, with Lincolnshire lettering.

Shuttle – Railway Station, Lincoln to Lincolnshire Vintage Vehicle Museum – (15:44 --- 16:09) – Preserved Lincoln PFE 542V – Bristol VRT/ECW – ''National Bus Company Green''
We made our way upstairs, one woman was sat at the front. Dan and I shared the front seats in front of the staircase, while Adrian sat at one of the single seats to the side of the stairwell. About five minutes of idling passed before we set off. My limited experience of these buses is mixed; I really enjoyed the ride on an ex-Cumberland one at the ''Built in Workington'' event back in July, with Dan and citaro5284, but was not impressed by the ex-Cleveland Transit VR owned by the 500 Group, which didn't move an inch before breaking down, and then the open-top Alder Valley VR; which didn't get any higher than 25mph, the latter experiences were both at Seaburn. However, my opinion was changed by this VR, it was absolutely fantastic. It flew along the route, reaching 50mph easily, and the incredible noise of it's Bristol engine was excellent. Adrian commented on how these would be a suitable replacement for the ''Tyne Tees Express'' B9TLs. I need to get a ride on one of those soon, haven't been on neither the X9 or X10 in a long time. I'd certainly do the route if a Bristol VR was allocated. The fog became very thick, but also beautiful at the same time; with the setting sun shining through the thickness of the fog producing a very nice image to the eyes. I'd have stayed on for another trip, had we not been pressed for time; with the coach leaving the other site at 17:00.  

R712 KGK – Lincoln Vintage Vehicle Museum to Central Station, Newcastle – (17:06 --- 21:23) – Scarlet Band R712 KGK – Dennis Javelin/Berkhof – ''All White''
We photographed the vehicles that we had not yet photographed, due to them being either out on shuttles or due to the poor position of the sun. Amongst them was a rather nice looking Leyland National Mk2, in Nottingham City Transport livery. What amused me was that the destination was set for the 724 (being the fleet number of the bus), and then the blind read ''City Link''. After walking back to where our coach was parked, we sat waiting for about fifteen minutes before departing, in the meantime, Dan went into some bushes to urinate... Yes, that's the Site Administrator... What faith I have in this forum. The fog was still densely thick, which I imagine made driving conditions hard. Arrival back at Newcastle was scheduled for about 21:00, including the stop in Wetherby on the return for some Fish & Chips from the famous ''The Wetherby Whaler''. Got there at 18:45, and everybody was back on the coach for 19:30. A quick toilet stop took place shortly after, and we were back on the A1(M) for 20:00. Dan and Adrian remembered that the Metro station at Central was closed, and contemplated getting off at Heworth. However; at the Angel of the North, it became apparent that they were going through to Newcastle first. They ended up jumping off at Jackson Street in Gateshead, while I carried on to Central Station. I alighted here and located my dad in the car park; we were home for 22:00. I really liked the coach that was used on this trip; it was my first Dennis Javelin and I was very impressed by it. Certainly had plenty of power, and despite making a few strange noises from time to time, it was in excellent condition both mechanically and cosmetically. 

I plan to do this trip again next year, as it was a fantastic day out and something different for me. Was only £15 in total, rather than the £20 advertised fare; which I think was a very good price for such an outing. That also included admission into the event I understand, as we did not have to pay for anything otherwise. A look on their website shows that admission was £6 – which again, is quite good for such a well organised rally. One thing I've noticed with a lot of rallies outside of the north east is that you don't have every single rally marshal trying to be in charge, and overall, it makes for a much better experience. Looking forward to Manchester on the 14th November, then that's me done for the year for trips outside of the north east. Thanks for reading.

R852 PRG