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Centenary events for Southdown and Wilts & Dorset have been high profile this year, but that of Thames Valley has been a quieter affair. Maybe it is because Thames Valley has no direct replacement, unlike the other two. The National Bus Company's reorganisation is largely responsible for the company's demise. It hived off its South Midland coach operations to City of Oxford in 1971 and a year later merged it with Aldershot & District to form Alder Valley. The two halves were separated for privatisation in the eighties, but both Alder Valley South and Beeline have been split into pieces. The Aldershot & District Guildford and Woking operations have ended up with Arriva and the rest with Stagecoach. Thames Valley's Reading and Newbury operations ended up with Reading Buses - and they are shortly to acquire the remnants of the Bracknell operations when First Berkshire closes what was Thames Valley's newest depot, built to serve the New Town. High Wycombe services are now with Arriva, having been with City of Oxford for a while. The last bit left is First Berkshire's Slough operations, which were a marriage of London Country North West's Windsor services with Thames Valley's at Maidenhead. Rather like Bracknell though, much of Maidehead's town network is now with Courtney Buses!
Nothwithstanding the Thames Valley & Great Western Omnibus Trust put on a great celebration in lovely weather last Sunday. Most amazingly Thames Valley's first bus was on display - Mike Sutcliffe's Leyland S3.30.T new to Barnsley and District in 1913 as their 5 (HE12). It was one of a batch trialled by British Electric Traction (BET) for tram replacement and the buses were loaned to BET companies across the country, 5 inaugrated Thames Valley's first service between Reading and Maidenhead. It was our Picture of the Week on July 19th and will be at SHOWBUS next month. The bus was on display in front of Reading Station with four other buses, two of which are seen here. Seen here is Tillings Stevens Express B9A 152 (MO9324) with a replica 1927 Brush body. Off to the left is a newly restored GWR Guy. The backdrop is probably all that is left of Reading Station, and maybe 152 once parked in front of it in service years ago, the new station ramparts are seen to the left. A flight of steps leads off to the right from the new forecourt towards the old Thames Valley Reading Bus Station which is in the throws of demolition, but the road has been nicely landscaped and provided an excellent terminus for popular free buses shuttling between Reading and Maidenhead, with shorts to Twyford. With Alder Valley Nationals, Reading Corporation AEC Regents and visiting buses mixed in glorious sites of three Bristol Ls and Ks could be seen recreating bygone memories.
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We have thousands of pictures to choose from for our Picture of the Week but you are welcome to send in your own. If we do not feature it here, it may appear later in our picture gallery.
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Please email to rally @showbus.com with "Picture of the Week" as the subject
See August 2nd's picture of the week here.
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