News from Oxford
High Wycombe & the surrounding areas

update Sunday, June 20th 1999 by Malcolm Crowe
with Stop Press Update on Oxford Bus fleet additions 21 June 1999

THE news this weekend is the delivery of more Dennis Tridents to Oxford Bus plus the first arrivals of the new Volvo B10BLEs with Wrights bodywork. As these notes are being written the staff at Oxford Bus are very busy preparing the vehicles for entry into service tomorrow morning, Monday 21st June. The first route to get the Tridents will be the heavily used 300 road from Redbridge. to Peartree. 52 road is of course the recipient of the new Volvos. Also in the garage were a number of Wycombe Bus vehicles including 301, 302, 234, 980 and 999 from the full size fleet and 717 and 727 from the Merc fleet. Many changes are due at Wycombe and we will hope to keep you up to date with same. In workshops 607 had just entered the paintshop for a repaint. 228 was out of service and will be now converted to single door and transferred to Wycombe along with 229. Of interest is the fact that 975, one of The Oxford Bus Museum vehicles, has been in use as a driver trainer for the past few weeks. This bus is now dressed in the livery it carried on first entering service with The Oxford Bus Company. Finally and unusually Park&Ride Olympian number 226 was seen by reader Steve Annells working a student contract into Abingdon on Friday morning 18th June and again Steve passed the Thames Travel depot at Hithercroft, Wallingford last Saturday evening where he found Metrorider G781MFC with Thames Travel fleetnames but still in Oxford bus white blue and red.

On the Stagecoach front deliveries of the new Tube coaches has slowed and only 45 awaits entry into service as these notes are written. 44 has gained chrome wheel trims and looks much better but 48 is still with black wheels. The latest issue of buses Magazine for July has a picture of ex Tube coach Volvo 9258VC in service with United Counties bedecked in Virgin Rail livery. The report by Philip Lamb states that the interior has been retrimmed and looks very smart. We must try to get some pictures on this page of these migrants. Stephen le Bras has emailed to report that  382 and 913 were on the X39 coming through Windsor a week or so ago. He says that although timetables for the service are available in Oxford Gloucester Green they are nowhere to be found in Windsor. He comments that it was a pity that 913 had a blank screen with a paper X39 and he hopes that the local unitary authority money to finance the service does encourage more passengers than it seems to have had up to now. 

I am delighted to include in this weeks PICTURE REPORT photos of the new Oxford Bus vehicles being prepared for service on Monday. Please come and revisit this site on Tuesday for an update with in service photos. I have left the Stop Press as updated on Friday for those who may not have already seen the information released by Oxford Bus.

Click here to see P&R Trident launch - Dateline Tuesday June 1st 1999 and you can also view the New MAN Tube launch report here.

Photographic Report

New arrival !
    803 , one of 15 new Volvo B10BLEs with Wrights bodywork is seen undergoing
pre service preparation on Saturday 19th June 1999 at Cowley Road Depot.
This involves the fitting of two way radios, ticket machines and various other
items required by the company on all its buses.

The interior view facing forwards shows the flat floor layout and two single inwards facing seats
immediately behind the driver. For comparison on the Alexander ALX300s of Stagecoach, these
seats face forwards. The layout of the interior on the Oxford Bus vehicles follows the same
pattern as that applied to the earlier Darts, 401-410.

A picture of the earlier Darts is included for comparison and interestingly seems to show
that 406 has worked the 35 service, which if correct would have been most unusual.
edges past the crowds.

The "PSV Shop" as it is known was very busy on Saturday morning with all hands
working on prepping the new buses for service. Present were Volvos 801, 802 and 805
with Tridents 102 and 104.

Finally the latest issue of Buses magazine mentions that the Oxford Tridents
are the first with a spiral staircase which can be seen in this interior photo of 101.

One of the more recent changes to Oxford Bus vehicle allocation is that
of Darts replacing Metroriders on the 51 Greater Leys service.
505 is seen here loading in Queen Street last Saturday morning,
19th June 1999.

We have mentioned that Tube 50 is the first coach to feature "contravision"
on the passenger windows, within the livery concept. This night view taken
a little after 1030 pm on Sunday 20th June 1999 shows the effect.

This shot is even more indicative of the effect.

Seen earlier in the day, a view from the inside out on the upper deck.

PHOTOGRAPHIC UPDATE 21 JUNE 1999
New buses enter service.

803 operates the 0845 from Blackbird Leys to the City.
Seen passing through the Estate.

801 leaves Cowley Road Garage stop after a mid morning crew change.

104 heads towards Redbridge after the morning rush hour.
It seems that only 101 has wheel trims. This bus and 102 also
lack the green vinyl around the destination screens. Note also
that the Dennis badge is repositioned on Oxford Tridents to
allow the Park&Ride logo to be applied.

A "victim" of the new deliveries and seen here losing its P&R vinyls
is 209, now leaving the fleet after nearly 20 years service.
The destination reads "SORRY" as if to say I dont want to go !!!!
These Olympians have been good workhorses, if not loved by all.

781 is now "off fleet" and awaiting departure to its new owners.

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