As usual we were at the Solent Model Railway Group Show at Fleming Park in Eastleigh over the weekend of Saturday 22nd & Sunday 23rd February, providing the free shuttle bus between the show and Eastleigh Railway Station and Southampton Airport Parkway Station. As it always is, it was a good weekend and 1 – JOW 499E was used for the shuttle.
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| (No. 1 waits at St Catherine's Park & Ride site) |
64 – FTR 511 head to Riverside Park in Bitterne on Saturday 12th for a community event. 71 – LOW 217 was on display at the Watercress Line for the Thomas the Tank Engine event being held at the railway.
After being off the road for
much of last year 133 – TTR 167H attended its first event of the year where it
went to Berrywood Primary School in Hedge End on Friday 2nd May,
where they were having a Car Fest to help their pupils learn more about
vehicles. Tuesday 6th May 1 – JOW 499E attended the unveiling of a Red
Wheel plaque at the former Southampton
Terminus Station, which is now a casino but was once the main station in
the City. No 1 was out again over the weekend of Saturday 17th May
and Sunday 18th May where it attended the Bill
Target Steam Rally.
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| No 1 at the Bill Target Steam Rally |
One such event it was needed for was the Commonwealth Games Baton Relay celebrations that took place in Guildhall Square, Southampton on Wednesday 4th June. 64 is still owned by Southampton City Council along with 71 – LOW 21 and looked after by us on behalf of them. On Sunday 8th June, the Copythorne Steam & Vintage Rally took place; an annual event we go to every year with buses. 64 – FTR 511 was used to do tours of the New Forest. Whilst 1 – JOW 499E and 432 - NLP 389V were both used on the Park & Ride service to and from the event.
2014
was the celebration of 50 years of Southampton holding city status and on
Sunday 22nd June a party was organised at Bedford Place in the
City Centre. The event was organised by the Bedford Place Traders and the
event was themed as a Vintage Family Festival. 64 was on display at the
event and a good day was had by all.
On
Saturday 28th June, 133 - TTR 167 made a visit to Wordsworth School,
who were having a summer fete and invited us to bring a bus along to the event.
The day after on Sunday 29th June, 289 - E289 HRV was out and about
this time; making the trip to Ringwood where the Wessex
Transport Society were
having a bus rally in the town.
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| (64 - FTR 511 in Bedford Place) |
During
July we took part in two carnival, 133 – TTR 167H took part in the Hedge
End Carnival
on Saturday 5th and then on Saturday 12th July it took part
in the Totton Carnival. Sunday 13th July 289 – E289 HRV & 432 –
NLP 389V attended Fort
Nelson where CPTTD were having a rally. Both
buses were used in service with 289 going to and from Cosham Bus Station and
432 to Fareham Railway Station. The event at Fort Nelson was the first to
be held there and a great day was had by all.
The
biggest rally to take place in the south is the Alton Bus Rally, which took place on Sunday 20th
July. The event saw 6 Southampton buses on display at the event. The buses
which were on display were: 71 - LOW 217, 133 – TTR 167H, 274 - KOW 274Y, 335 -
335 AOW, 353 - 373 FCR & 367 - BTR 367B. 133 was used in service on the
Alton Town service.  |
| (Southampton Buses at Alton Bus Rally) |
September
saw us take part in the Heritage Open Days on Saturday 13th, where a
free bus service linked heritage venues in Southampton, with the free bus
starting at SS
Shieldhall
and then going via Tudor
House and then
to the Southampton Old Cemetery which is located on Southampton Common. 71 LOW 217 was also
out at the event doing free guided tours of the City from Tudor House. It is
hoped that the event will be repeated in 2015 with more things to do.
We
had one event taking place in Southampton on Saturday 4th October,
that being Music
in the City
where a number of venues were open including Castle Vault, Westgate Hall
and SS Shieldhall, and music was being played. 71
– LOW 217 & 133 TTR 167H were out in the City providing the free shuttle
service between the venues. A great time was had by all and the buses were well
used by the public. The event is being planned for 2015 and it's hoped the buses will be out
again helping with the event.
The
other event we were at over the weekend of Saturday
4th & Sunday 5th October was the Fareham & District Model
Railway Club
'Railex 2014' which took place at 1000 Lakeside, Western Rd, Portsmouth,
Hampshire. We provided a free shuttle from Cosham Railway Station to the event
via Hilsea Lido Bus Interchange. 289 - E289 HRV was used at the event and an
enjoyable weekend was had by all.
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(133 - TTR 167H at SS Shieldhall in Southampton Docks)
|
Sunday
19th October saw us head overseas for the last event of the season for us, as
we attended the Isle
of Wight Bus & Coach Museum for their last event at their Newport home before they
move to their new home in Ryde. The day started with getting on the 10am
ferry from Southampton and heading out and over to the island. Arriving at
East Cowes at 11am 289 - E289 HRV & 367 - BTR 367B headed in convoy
along with another ex Southampton 274 - KOW 274Y to Newport. 289 was in service
at 12pm on a Myster Tour whiles 367 & 274 were on static display. We would
like to take this opportunity to wish them well at their new home.
In
other news:
111 – G111 XOW, 141 – WOW 531J and 268 – FTR 268X which all for many years have been stored next to the M27 at Jct 3 have been moved to a new location so that work can be undertaken by their owners. 274 – KOW 274Y has also got a new owner after being sold by its owner. The coach seats that were saved by us from The Newport Inn, Braishfield, Hampshire have gone to a new home in Leicestershire, where it's hoped they will end up back in a restored coach.
There's always room for the fleet to get bigger and when a deal comes up
sometimes it has to be taken, and that was certainly the case with 167 - EOW
400L which has been bought by two of our youngest members. 167 has been off the
road for many years and it's hoped it will be back on the road in the near
future. Fleeces with the Trust logo on are now available along with many other
products from Carolines T-Shirts in Portswood. Contact us for
more information about the fleeces or other products with the Trust logo on. .jpg) |
| (289 - E289 HRV in East Cowes) |
111 – G111 XOW, 141 – WOW 531J and 268 – FTR 268X which all for many years have been stored next to the M27 at Jct 3 have been moved to a new location so that work can be undertaken by their owners. 274 – KOW 274Y has also got a new owner after being sold by its owner. The coach seats that were saved by us from The Newport Inn, Braishfield, Hampshire have gone to a new home in Leicestershire, where it's hoped they will end up back in a restored coach.
So if 2014 was a busy year what has 2015 got in store?
Well as there was no event on New Year's Day in Winchester this year, we decided to have our own run out. Out for a run was 1 - JOW 499E, 133 - TTR 167H, 271 - FTR 271X, 274 - KOW 274Y, 402 - KOW 410F & RM2037 - ALM 37B. We reiterated the former 6 route which took us from City Centre to Shirley, General Hospital, University, Portswood, Bitterne and then returning back to the City Centre. The day was enjoyed by all and it's hoped that another members and friends laid back run out will happen in the summer.
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| (Southampton buses in Mayflower Park) |
Our 2015 dairy is filling up and you can check which events we will be at on our website. Don't forgot we also have our Facebook Page and we also tweet on Twitter.
Here's to a successful and prosperous 2015.
Very informative sharing! You should also go for Southampton airport car parking
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