A VINTAGE coach returned home to Trowbridge and Dilton Marsh for the first time in over four decades recently, as part of its 50th birthday tour.
The 1962 Bristol SUL4A – owned and restored by BBC radio presenter David Sheppard – visited all six of the depots from which it worked during its time with much-loved West Country bus company Western National in the 1960s and ‘70s, including the old Trowbridge garage at The Conigre.
David said, “Wherever it goes the coach instantly unlocks all sorts of memories for people. I wanted to mark its 50th anniversary by taking it back to the places where people would remember riding on it.
“We even met an old driver who remembers running out of fuel on a long journey up north. I’ve taken this as a cautionary tale and haven’t passed a forecourt since!”
The coach worked in Trowbridge between 1968 and 1970, and ran on bus routes to Dilton Marsh, Frome, Upper Westwood and Broughton Gifford. It also worked from Kingsbridge, Taunton, Bridgwater, Newton Abbot and Weymouth.
David added, “The site of Trowbridge bus depot has now been redeveloped as flats, but we were able to recreate a few old photographs with British Row and Conigre Mews in the background. You may have seen us driving round and round the block trying to get the shot just right!”
Other than a minor problem with a throttle-return spring – which snapped on the A30 and had to be repaired at the roadside – the coach behaved well on its 452 mile round trip, averaging an impressive 22.5 miles per gallon of diesel.
David concluded, “The tour is a tribute to all those who have kept the coach alive over the last 50 years – drivers, fitters, cleaners – they’ve all done their bit. I guess it’s over to me for the next 50…”
Find out more on the tour blog: www.270KTA. co.uk
