News from Oxford, High Wycombe
& the surrounding areas

last updated Friday, September 18th 1998 - 2200hrs

I am now able to bring you details of developments within Oxford Bus & Stagecoach Oxford, courtesy Philip Kirk of Oxford Bus and Alex Carter of Stagecoach Oxford.

As previously mentioned Oxford Bus have five Volvo B10M-62's on order for Citylink services. These coaches are due in the second half of 1999 and we can now reveal that they will have Plaxton Excalibur bodies to the same specification as the last batch,5-12. These coaches will be numbered 14-18 and will replace 59-63, the ex Sheraings coaches currently branded for the X90 service. An added feature will be sculptured seating making for an even better ride than the latest coaches. The three Titans presently with Wycombe Bus on loan will shrtly be withdrawn and have been sold to Kymes, the home of several more of the same type.  Mercedes 708 and 718 have been withdrawn by Wycombe Bus and will join the fleet of Chiltern Queens, the home of a number of Leopards and Tigers from the Oxford stable.  Finally two gas buses are to be tried next month.These come from DAF and are being compared with the "Green Buses" already operated by Oxford. Full details of the Oxford "Green Buses" appear in a news release on the Oxford Bus web site.

Stagecoach Oxford have released details of their plans for the next few months and we have promise of some very interesting days ahead. Twenty seven MAN 6wheel double deck coaches with Jonckheere bodies will start to arrive in December and will be delivered at a rate of six per month through until March. The livery will retain a flavour of The Oxford Tube, being an adaptation of the corporate livery. It will be quite distinctive and the sight of 27 new coaches plying between Oxford and London along the M40 promises to be quite spectacular. First coaches to be replaced by the new fleet will be 1,2,5,10,11,15 and 17, so get your photos of these soon. The dispersal of the Dart SLFs is now to hand and these are as follows.

801-805 : Busways
806-811 : Devon (These will the first to go)
812-820 : Cambus
821-829 : Western SMT

These Darts are to be replaced on a one for one basis by the new MAN A69s with Alexander ALX300 bodywork. The first of these buses are expected next week (Week 39 - 21 thru 26 Sept.) Numbering details are:

913-941     S913-941CFC

A further addition to fleet is an ex Busways Atlantean, 251 (SCN251S) with Alexander highbridge bodywork. This bus, numbered 551 in the Stagecoach Oxford fleet, has been acquired to act as a spare for the two Olympians to be used on the Brookes University contract recently gained by Stagecoach. Two of the Witney allocation will return to Oxford and it is not yet known which ones these will be. They cannot be one of those with special advertising livery on the rear.  Another event is to be the reseating of the ex Manchester Volvo B6LEs to conform to the standard wheelchair layout.

Finally disposals are 308,314,318 & 323 going to Midland Red South at Banbury, 703-8 to go to Selkent in exchange for more Alexander Dash Darts, numbers not yet known and there will be three more Wright Darts, to be 748, 749 and 750 plus eventually two 9metre Darts ex DW14 and 15 to be 714 and 715. These last two are not expected until next year. 350-354 will eventually go as will all the Mercedes not yet repainted into corporate colours.

Stagecoach Oxford has received further Mercedes Vario 0-814's including 382 and it is possible by the time these notes are read all the batch will have arrived.

Oxford Bus works is host to Wycombe Olympian 235 now in the paintshop in company with 504.    507, 203, and 622 are currently receiving bodywork attention.

The updated "Front Page" with a new graphic,  which we hope you will like, includes Oxford Bus 11 and 401 with Stagecoach Oxford 12 and 825 in a "bursting with buses" montage !

Unusual workings have featured to a greater extent than normal over the past week, and an Olympian on Stagecoach's route 1 is pictured below as an example. Even more unusual was the appearance of Dennis Lance/Plaxton Verde 903, normally confined to the Woodstock and Chipping Norton services, on the Blackbird Leys service on 16th September. Unfortunately, despite efforts by both editors, we were unable to obtain a photograph! Volvo/Paladin 908 was also on the 1 the same day.

Not to be outdone, Oxford Bus had Dart SLF 409 on the 15 Wood Farm route the following day, Thursday 17th September; this is the first time David has seen this happen. Also on the 15 was one of the Marshall-bodied Darts, formerly the mainstay of the route but now ousted by Volvos. The Dart/Marshalls have been making quite a few appearances on unusual routes recently, examples being noted on 52, 2A and 4A as well as both Park&Ride routes.

Finally, a welcome sight on Arriva's 300 service was Mercedes Vario 2197, which was in Oxford both 16th and 17th September.

We hope you continue to like this short section, which will give us the opportunity to comment on the local scene in an informal way. Please Email  Malcolm Crowe with any comments.