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KYY 535
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Here's a classic picture of London Transport AEC Regent
III RT1708 in service in 1960. One wonders which newspaper
was bought by busy people who didn't think. Photo
by Phil Davies.
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Former London Transport RT class
Regent IIIs were be found running the summer open-top service
on the channel island of Guernsey up to 2000. Number 14, original
registation KXW 123, was seen at work in the 1994 season.
With the demise of Guernseybus, the three open-top Regents
plus an unused closed top model and a brace of open-top Leyland
PS1 Tigers all went to dealer Nash of Weybridge for preservation
or resale. |
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Green London Transport Regent III
RT3775 spent some time as a member of the London & Country
(the renamed London Country South West) heritage fleet before
it passed into Arriva ownership. It was seen on a "Santa
special" duplicate working at Walton on the Hill in December
1994. This bus has now passed to Ensignbus of Purfleet. |
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Ex London Transport Regent III
RT3062 can still be found on the road, as it is fully PSV
licensed with Blue Triangle. Although generally confined to
special duties it can sometimes be found on emergency services
and tube replacements, such as when pictured at Finchley in
March 2005. |
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Also still fully licensed and in
use with another Essex based operator, Ensignbus owned RT1431
was seen at Lakeside shopping centre in December 2005 whilst
operating a christmas special duplicate working of the company's
X80 service to Gravesend. |
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A popular and increasing use for
classic AEC Regents and Routemasters is for wedding hires.
Ex London Transport RT1396, owned by AlphaBus, was seen in
this role at Putney in September 2006. Photo
by Mike Tamkin. |
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6801 FN
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East Kent ran a large fleet of
Regent Vs with Park Royal front entrance bodywork, and some
of these were even converted for one person operation in the
mid 1970s. After becoming redundant at Canterbury following
OPO conversions, 7801 was seen while on loan to sister company
Maidstone & District in May 1978 to assess the feasibility
of running these vehicles on crew operated services in the
Hastings area. This bus in now preserved by a member of the
Friends of the East Kent (FoTEK). |
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PFN 853
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The first batch of East Kent Regent
Vs had unusual full-front bodywork. Four of these outlived
the rest of the batch by being converted to open-top for the
Isle of Thanet service. After a spell in preservation, PFN
853 passed to London sightseeing firm the Big Bus Company.
It was seen at Charing Cross station in August 2004. It subsequently
passed back into preservation ownership in 2006. |
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MFN 941F
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Some of the last Regents went To
East Kent (although Douglas Corporation got the last).
One of the last batch, 7941 was seen at Folkestone bus station
in August 1982, some two years before it was eventually withdrawn
in 1984. Photo by Christopher
Chatfield |
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MFN 946F
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East Kent 7946 was withdrawn from
service early and spent many years as a ticket office at Hastings
for Maidstone & District and Hastings & District.
It was then returned to service, passing via Hastings Buses
to South Coast Buses, where it saw sporadic use on contracts
and reliefs right into 1999. Here it is on a Hastings
Pier service in the summer of 1994, still in H&D livery.
This bus has now been transferred within Stagecoach back to
East Kent and repainted in traditional livery, apperaing regularly
at rallies in the area.. Additional
info from Paul Houselander and M&D
and East Kent Bus Club. |
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JTE 546
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JTE 546 is one of a pair of ex
Morecambe and Heysham AEC Regents run by Quantock
Motor Services on their summer heritage services linking
in with the West Somerset Railway. It was seen at the
2000 Cobham rally. Photo by Malcolm
Crowe |
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YCY 804, a former South Wales AEC
Regent V with Willowbrook body, in service with Oxfordshire
independent Charlton-on-Otmoor services in 1977. This operator
still runs today, with a couple of rural routes into Oxford
and a number of school services. Photo
by Mike Penn |
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Provincial no. 34 is a 1937 Regent
I with 1955 Reading 56 seat bodywork, photographed in July
1969. During the NBC era Gosport & Fareham operated
as a subsidiary of Hants & Dorset, retaining a green livery
and the Provincial name, before being totally absorbed and
then reappearing as a separate company in 1985 with the split
up of H&D. Now the name has disappeared completely
following various takeovers, disposals and mergers along the
Hampshire coast. Photo by Gerry
Cork |
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