Now that the days are short and the nights longer, the bus rally and Running Day season in the main, draws to a close for another year. So the Focus website will take the opportunity to hopefully brighten a few of the grey days with several albums on the Flickr site from the rather splendid Showbus event held during September.
From humble beginnings way
back in January 1973 the event has grown year on year to the major national
event that we have today. And surely for such an event it should be held
somewhere in ‘Middle England’ in order that it be within the reach of as much
of the bus world following as is possible.
Dr.Martin Isles has been
through many highs and lows since 1973, one of the lowest probably Woburn in 2015, where had
he said that’s enough, who could have blamed him. But no, he stayed loyal and
found Donington Park
at the western end of the East
Midlands Airport’s
runway.
Located within reach of the
M1/A42/A50 road network, access to and from the site was easy for vehicles and
a frequent bus service linked in to the rail network at East Midlands Parkway. Car parking was
more than adequate especially when one considers that there are thousands of spaces
available for major events on the adjacent motor racing circuit.
Given the space allocated and to fit in several hundred vehicles on hard standing,
yes there were some parked close beside one another, but they had been
arranged so that when the sun shone, and boy it did so in the afternoon, most
vehicles were positioned facing the brighter conditions.
But it is not all about
photography, other visitors were there to look at and ride on a variety of
buses around the local area.
That said the finest hour for
some was from 3 o’clock onwards as the vehicles departed, when
Martin and his team’s plans came together to provide a splendid run out of all
but a handful of entrants, as they drove down the hill to the exit and passed
by the massed ranks of appreciative photographers. Despite
one short rogue shower and some cloud, the day was blessed with glorious sunshine.
NOW SEE THE LATEST ON THE NEW FOCUS FLICKR SITE
These two include the special feature of the Barton collection from nearby Chilwell and various other line-ups during the day. More will follow.
Date for the 2017 diary
Showbus 2017 - Sunday 17th September back at Donington
Date for the 2017 diary
Showbus 2017 - Sunday 17th September back at Donington
