THE SHOWBUS LONDON BUS IMAGE GALLERY
London Central non low floor doubledeckers
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 London Central 14 (LN7270) is the oldest restored British built motorbus, a 1908 London X2. Lovingly restored as part of Mike Sutcliffe's "The Leyland Bus Man" collection it is seen at the Regent Street "Year of the Bus" diplay in June 2014. Picture ref A3417 |
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 The Leyland was just one of many stunning buses that filled Regent Street that day.
Picture ref A3417 |
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 A close view of 14. The chassis was fitted when new with a two year old body by Thomas Tilling. Tillings had been awarded a contract for the Royal Mail to convert a number of buses to mail vans, so the bus bodies were surplus to requirements. London Central became New Central and was later taken over by the London General Omnibus Co. from 1913. This bus lasted in service for about 5 years, after which it had become obsolete and replaced by the Leyland lightweight ST model. As with many others, it became a store shed until being rescued for preservation.
Picture courtesy of Nidhi Sharma |
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 SHOWBUS 2015 at Woburn Abbey was a fabulous opportunity to showcase the Mike Sutcliffe Collection which is housed at Mike's nearby Totteridge home. We were invited to view the collection in July, before the Woburn event in September. The bus is seen in its garage surrounded by many bits of Leyland memorabilia.
Picture ref B295 |
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 The Mike Sutcliffe Collection arrived at Woburn Abbey on the Saturday and were stored securely overnight. The X2 is on the end of this trio comprising the 1914 London & North Western Railway (LNWR) Leyland Torpedo charabanc used in north Wales, CC1087, and the Barnsley & District 1913 Leyland S3.30.T combination car HE12 used to inaugrate Thames Valley services from Reading. Sadly, with advancing years, Mike was having to disperse his collection and chose the occasion of SHOWBUS to hand over the first of three vehicles to the Covent Garden Museum, namely the Torpedo. The London Central X2 was also destined for Covent Garden.
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