Little Bus Company - BMR2 - AEC Bridgemaster / Park Royal (30ft Forward Entrance)

LITTLE BUS COMPANY

6 Appleyard, Haworth Close,
Halifax, HX1 2NN.
Tel: 01422 301600
E-mail:

www.little-bus.com

BMR2
AEC Bridgemaster / Park Royal
(30ft Forward Entrance)

The AEC Bridgemaster was developed, under AEC auspices, by Crossley Motors as AEC's low-height alternative to the low-floor Bristol Lodekka, which, at the time, was only available to Tilling Group operators. The Bridgemaster was conceived, from the outset, as an integrally constructed bus, with separate front and rear running units, in a similar way to the London Routemaster.

Five prototypes, with a stylish, typically Park Royal body, were produced in 1956/1957 but a transfer to a steel-framed body, much inspired by MCW's Orion, resulted in the box-shaped body of the production Bridgemaster. Only 180 Bridgemasters were built, in long, short, rear entrance and front entrance versions, before AEC production changed to the Renown, which used a conventional separate chassis.

The forward entrance Bridgemaster was introduced in 1960 and a demonstrator, 2211MK, was paraded in Birmingham livery before passing to Osbornes of Tollesbury.

The model is based on the three East Kent Road Car vehicles, which were used on Dover town service 129 to St Radigunds. To simplify conversion, the model does not include the offside illuminated advertisement panel, which was fitted to EKRC and COMS buses. Models of other operators' vehicles may need modifications to destination screens, beading, ventilators, trafficators, number plates etc. East Kent and South Wales buses will also need addition of wire handrails either side of the passenger entrance door.

An excellent reference for detail photographs is the booklet produced by the Oxford Bus Museum, from which the fleet details have been extracted.

The following 30-foot forward entrance Bridgemasters were built:

Operator	Year	Registration	Fleet No.	Comments
Osbornes of Tollesbury	1960	2211MK		Ex-demonstrator
South Wales Transport	1960	WVY888-892	1208-1212	Some SWT vehicles to
South Wales Transport	1960	XWN161	1214	Yorkshire Woollen
South Wales Transport	1961	YCY795-801	1215-1221	in 1969
Rotherham Corporation	1960	VET137-139	137-139
Rotherham Corporation	1961	YET940/941	140/141
Sheffield Corporation	1961	1925WA	A525
City of Oxford MS	1961	306-315MFC	306-315
East Kent Road Car	1962	YJG807-809
Baxter of Airdrie	1961	78BVD	78
Red Rover, Aylesbury	1962	6116BH	3	Ex-Baxter order
Scottish Omnibuses	1962	9962SF	BB962	Ex-Baxter order
Smith of Barrhead	1961	29-30EGD

The following require a substantial modification of the kit to incorporate inward-sloping upper deck windows to Beverley Bar profile and a rounded rear dome:

Operator	Year	Registration	Fleet No.	Comments
East Yorkshire	1962	9716-9730AT	716-730
East Yorkshire	1963	3742-3756RH	742-756

'Afterlife' disposals included South Wales vehicles to Yorkshire Woollen and the Baxter vehicle to Eastern Scottish. 78BVD and 9962SF later passed to Highland Omnibuses and adopted an attractive peacock blue and red livery. At least one of the Smiths vehicles passed to Whippet of Fenstanton.

(Additional photos of Kit BMR2 for comparison with Kit PRV30 - AEC Regent V with Park Royal Body. BMR2, which is the vehicle lowest in height, displays route 129 on the destination blind, in each case.)

There were also 13 short 27' 8" forward entrance Bridgemasters, which were delivered to COMS in 1963. A saw job could produce these from the kit, 316-328NJO, fleet Nos.316-328. Most of these nefariously changed allegiance in the early '70s to the 'place the other side of Bletchley', to serve many more years with Premier Travel at Cambridge.

Examples from the Oxford, East Kent, East Yorkshire and Sheffield fleets have been preserved.

Credit is acknowledged to the Oxford Bus Museum and to the owner of East Kent YJG807, whose preserved vehicles assisted in the production of this model.

Tony Swift, Kirribilli NSW, Australia, July 2005

Master for the model designed and built by Tony Swift for Little Bus Company

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6 Appleyard, Haworth Close,
Halifax, HX1 2NN.

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