1929 Leyland TS2

 click to enlarge

Visitors to the recent Coach & Bus Live Exhibition at the NEC will have seen a splendid 1929 Leyland TS2 on display. The Tiger was built by Ransomes of Ipswich, and bought new by East Yorkshire Motor Services (EYMS). It was registered RH206 and numbered 158 in the EYMS Fleet. It was converted to run on Producer gas during World War II, and eventually sold by EYMS in 1946. It was later adapted and used as a dwelling and by the 60's & 70's it was used as a allotment shed.

In the late 1970's lecturers and students from Hull Technical college rescued it with the intention of restoring it and teaching students engineering skills, .

The timber frame body was too much for the college to cope with so it was dispatched to a timber frame specialist in Derby. Tragedy then struck as the specialist lost a hand in a timber cutting machine. The project stalled for several years until Carl Ireland the bus restorer and exporter acquired it, who then passed it on to Bluebird for continued and final restoration.

Bluebird Vehicles eventually took on the project using it as a training exercise for apprentices and now the vehicle is complete and was shown to the public at the Birmingham show. The Bluebird website shows many pictures of the restoration process.

http://www.s175030809.websitehome.co.uk/index.html

Nick Shakesby