Wednesday 5 March 2014

Call The Midwife & The Real Z-Cars!


A recent episode of BBC's 'Call The Midwife' featured a story about an old bus. The vehicle was one of the Cumbria Classic Coaches fleet, with 'make up' that made it look rusty and uncared for.
The bus was hired out to the film studio for over a month as it was included in many shots during the episode and was very much part of the story, being seen parked under a railway bridge, being repaired and made ready for the road by the actors and then breaking down whilst it was taking a party of Scouts on a day trip.
The vehicle in question was 1946 ex Preston Leyland PS1 CRN 80 with East Lancs bodywork. It was originally bought new by Preston Corporation Transport and retained by them until 1968. Cumbria Classic Coaches acquired it in 1999 and Class VI tested it.

Cumbria Classic Coaches re-painted it into original colours and now use it for wedding transport, film buses, bus services and coach hire. 'Rosie' as it is called, has appeared on 'Island at War' and a recent documentary on the life of Wainwright.
Since returning to Cumbria the bus has been treated to a re-paint and looks nothing like the bus that appeared in the episode!




The episode can be seen on the BBC I Player click here

To finish with though, a few images of 'Rosie the Tiger' in her nowadays usual habitat, roaming the fells, hills and dales of Cumbria and North Yorkshire




Police vehicles from Scotland Yard's historic fleet tour the capital on their way to their new home




A convoy of historic police cars from the past six decades took to the streets of London for the last time today before being moved to a new home.
The iconic vehicles included a 1948 Wolseley used to patrol the Queen's coronation and an armoured vehicle fitted with bullet-proof glass.
Along with a number of classic police bikes, they were driven from a Metropolitan Police garage near Hampton Court to Scotland Yard's driving school in Hendon.
Hundreds of people lined the roads of the capital to watch the vehicles make their final journey.
Detective Sergeant Phil Hames, manager of the collection, said: 'These vehicles are much more than old bits of metal - they are the heritage of the Metropolitan Police Service and all Londoners.'





All the above images provided by Russell Young as some of the cavalcade departed from New Scotland Yard

Read and see more here

Some may question as to why this posting should appear on a transport related website. Well, who knows who has been transported in any of the vehicles illustrated, for whatever reason one way or another?