The trip overseas

Our last trip out for 2013 was our usual trip to the Isle of Wight Bus Museum in Newport on the island. The trip to the island is very different to any other bus rally as a ferry trip is needed to get to the island.

This year may have been the last rally at their site in Newport as they hope to move to Ryde to a former bus depot which will gave them more opportunities than their present site in Newport. The morning of Sunday 20^th started at our yard (‘Mini Portswood’) where 289 – E289 HRV and 402 – KOW 910F were started and got ready for the trip, and it was just after 8:45am the bus left the yard and headed into town and picked up a few members and friends en route. Arriving at the ferry port at around 9:30am there was time for those who needed to get a ticket to get one and then it was time to be loaded onto the ferry. The ship for our crossing to the island was the Red Falcon. The crossing takes an hour so there was enough time for a coffee and time to relax. As one of our members works for Red Funnel, we were treated to a visit to the bridge, where the captain talked about how the ship moves and different aspects of crossing the Solent.

 

(289 at Yarmouth Bus Station)

 

Arriving on the island just after 11am we made our way to the bus rally in Newport. The quayside was full of buses, and some were on display, while others were operating service to various parts of the island. 402 was on display and 289 was used in service to Yarmouth. 289 itself has not returned from having a new engine fitted and there are still a few jobs left to do but for the time being 289 is fine to use. One job that is hoped to be carried out over the winter is to fix the electronic number destination blind that it has, and a general tidy up will also be carried out. The trip home started at 2:30pm when we left the rally site and headed for the ferry home. A good day was had by all and next year the trip to the island may be to the new museum at Ryde and we wish all involved in the move good luck.

 

(289 & 402 arrive home seen coming of Red Eagle)

Time flies when you're having fun...

So it’s been over 2 months since we lasted updated our blog and the last two months have been a busy couple. Because of this we've not had much time to update our blog, so here’s a look at what we’ve been up to and a sneaky peek at what's coming up next year:

Back in our last blog we mentioned about the Running Day that was taking place on Sunday 8^th September in Southampton; the event which was organised by one of our members Phil Blair of PB Bus Marketing. The event saw 8 Southampton buses running different routes that went via Portswood. Another 7 buses ran on the event, and a wonderful day was had by all. In total £500 was raised for Naomi House Hospice and Jack's Place at Sutton Scotney. Thank you to all who donated.

(Buses in Pound Tree Road on Running Day)

 

The following weekend (Saturday 14^th and Sunday 15^th September) saw another buses weekend; that being the Heritage Open Weekend, which sees heritage venues open to the public. This included the SS-Shieldhall which is located in Dock Gate 4 in the City and not normally open to the public. 1 – JOW 499E was used on the shuttle on the Saturday, the Southampton Tram Group and Dunkirk Little Ships were also open on the Saturday. 71 – LOW 217 was used on a City Tour from Tudor House and stopped off at different places around the City Centre where a talk was given about the different locations where the bus was stopping. Places that the bus stopped were the Titanic Engineers Memorial, SeaCity Museum and various other locations.  71 – LOW 217 was used on the free shuttle on the Sunday. It’s hoped that both the tour and shuttle bus to S.S Shieldhall, Southampton Tram Group and Dunkirk Little Ships may return in the future.

(1 - JOW 499E & 71 - LOW 217 in Dock Gate 4)

An annual event we do is provide a free bus service from Alton Railway Station on the Mid-Hants Railway to Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. This year 71 – LOW 217 was used on Sunday 29th September on the service. The vintage bus service is operated by our friends at Medstead Depot Omnibus Group, who are one of three groups under the Working Omnibus Museum Project Ltd, and some of the fleet is stored at the depot. On Saturday 5^th and Sunday 6^th October 432 – NLP 389V was out and about; this time back home from when it was in service with First in Cosham but this time it was used on a free service from Cosham Bus Station to North Harbour where our friends at the Fareham and District Model Railway Club were holding their annual show. There is just time for our last trip of the year and we're off to the Isle of Wight for the annual Isle of Wight Bus Museum Running Day. This is one of our favourite events of the year, and this year it’s hoped that 289 – E289 HRV & 402 – KOW 910F will attend the event.

 

(432 - NLP 389V at 1000 North Harbour)

 

The last few months has seen our storage area tidied up and sorted out as it was getting a bit messy. 367 – BTR 367B has also been raised up onto blocks so the gearbox can be removed and fixed. It's hoped that 367 will be back on the road early next year ready for the 2014 season. We’re already planning for next year some dates for your diary: 1st January 2014 is the Friends of King Alfred Running Day in Winchester and Saturday 22^nd and Sunday 23^rd February will see the annual free bus service for the Solent Model Railway Show at Fleming Park, Eastleigh. This is the service that stops at Eastleigh Train Station and Southampton Airport Parkway, running every 30 minutes throughout the day. A few other new things will also be launched in 2014 so be sure to look out for them. Over the next coming months on this blog we will be looking back at how the S&DTHT website started and will have some guest blogs as well. Thanks for reading our blog and for your continued support.