Lancastrian Transport Trust LTT News


	Rapid Progress with Railcoach "279" The interior bus seats have been removed from Railcoach 679, the lower side panels removed and both Towing car cab ends stripped down and removed as part of a rapid start on the restoration of car 679 back to a streamlined English Electric Railcoach, No. 679. The next phase of work will involve dismantling the cab end underframes and removing the flush mounted glazing ready for restoration of original inset glazing and half drop windows. (28 May 2009)
	Lytham 19's makeover The BusWorks is now making good progress with the framework repairs, repanel and repaint of Lytham PD1 19. It is hoped to have the bus back in use for the Totally Transport event later in June. (28 May 2009)
	Railcoach 679 moves for restoration 679 was moved from Rigby Road depot to the LTT's Brinwell Road premises on the morning of Saturday 25th April. 679 was acquired by the LTT in November 2008 for restoration back to a streamlined English Electric Railcoach. New pointed end cab underframes will be fitted and a steel framed streamlined end (similar to those fitted to refurbished Balloon cars). Original style glazing, half-drop windows and swingover seats will also be fitted as part of the restoration. Work will be completed in time for "279" to return to the tramway in 2010 for the 125th anniversary year.
	Ribble 1805 returns to the road Ribble Atlantean 1805 returned to the road on Sunday 22 March for the LTT's Ribble themed depot open day after successfully passing an MoT test. 1805 has received lower framework repairs and repairs to the illuminated advertisement panelling. Upon removing the advert panels an original advert for "Robertsons - for bread baked locally" on the reverse side and this has now been restored for display. Further work on 1805 is required prior to a full repaint in Ribble's cherry red. (22/03/2009)
	Blackpool 'Metrorider' acquired A Blackpool 'Metrorider' no.590 has been acquired for preservation and has arrived at the Busworks for storage. 590 was only recently withdrawn from passenger service after an operational life that started in 1995. It is planned to restore the bus to the 2001 mustard, yellow and grey 'pool fleet' livery. (20/02/2009)
	Coronation 304 gets repaint Preserved Coronation car 304 has entered the paint shop for a full repaint in original livery. 304's last repaint was back in November 2002 when it was hastily repainted to make its debut on Channel 4's "Salvage Squad" programme, screened in January 2003. (09/01/2009)
	Ribble 1997 ready for repaint Ribble VRT No.1997 is almost ready for repainting in cherry red and cream livery after the refitting of its glazing. The bus is expected to be repainted by the BusWorks early in 2009. Prior to repaint 1997 will receive a chassis repaint and receive new rear fibreglass corner panels. (24/12/2008)
	Ribble 1805 returns to Blackpool depot Ribble 1805, the first vehicle to join the LTT collection back in 1982, has returned from storage at our Weeton base to Blackpool. The condition of some corroded framework sections will be assessed with a view to effecting repairs and a complete repaint in 2009. The work has been prompted by Ribble's 90th anniversary year in 2009 and 1805 is expected to participate in a series of events alongside Bristol RE 366 and Bristol VRTs 1995 and 1997. (05/12/2008)
	Final tour for Railcoach 679 679 made a farewell outing on the tramway on Saturday 29th November on a specially commissioned tour with Coronation car 304, prior to restoration to a genuine EE Railcoach. 679 operated Tower to Thornton Gate with 304 allowing enthusiasts to swap vehicles. Bus 529 from the LTT collection also shadowed the tram shuttle, allowing unique photograph opportunities. Unfortunately, a problem with the trolley head on 304 prevented it's last trip to Fleetwood but 679 and bus 529 coped with the 84 tour participants. (29/11/08)
	A Paladin pair Two ex-Fylde Transport 'Paladins' have returned to the Fylde coast after a period of exile on the South coast with Shamrock Coaches in Poole. A bid to save one of these unique buses for preservation resulted in the LTT being given two for the price of one! Both have serious engine problems that resulted in their withdrawal by Shamrock and had to be towed to Blackpool. The buses were rebuilt by Northern Counties in 1993 with 'Paladin' single deck bodies on 1972 Leyland Atlantean chassis as a low-cost way of improving the 'Blue Buses' fleet prior to takeover by Blackpool Transport. The best of the two will be restored to two-tone blue livery but the future of the other vehicle has yet to be decided.
	Ribble 366 repainted Ex-Ribble RE no.366 has been repainted in NBC-style poppy red livery by the in-house BusWorks team. 2009 is Ribble's 90th anniversary and 366 will hopefully be joined by other Ribble vehicles at celebratory events around the north west. Ribble VRT No.1997 will soon be repainted and plans are in hand to return Atlantean 1805 to the road. From 2009, Bristol RE 366 is expected to also be available for commercial work with trading subsidiary Classic Bus. (08/11/2008)
	Lytham 19 withdrawn for overhaul Lytham 19, our 1946-built Leyland bodied PD1, has been withdrawn for repanelling, a repaint and internal refurbishment over the winter period. 19's last duty was a wedding hire on Saturday 1st November and it is not required to return to duty until May 2009.
	Blackpool Railcoach secured for preservation English Electric Railcoach 679 has been secured for preservation by the LTT. It becomes the first of the once 45-strong class to be preserved and with the intention of rebuilding the tram to its original streamlined appearance with pointed ends. This design vanished from the Blackpool scene back in 1974 and car 679 is one of ten that were rebuilt for trailer towing in 1960/1. The tram has been 'mothballed' since 2004 but remains in operational condition. It is hoped to restore the tram in time for the car to operate at the 125th anniversary celebrations in 2010. It is anticipated that the majority of the rebuilding work will be undertaken at the BusWorks premises on South Shore Business Park.
	529 returns to service Blackpool PD3 No.529 has finally passed its Certificate of Initial Fitness (COIF) and now has a 12-month Class VI MoT certificate after a protracted period of mechanical preparation by the Busworks team in between other projects. 529 returned to passenger carrying use for the LTT's October open day. It is expected that the bus will operate during 2009 on the summer only Sea Front 12 service in addition to private hire and open day duties. (26/10/2008)
	More progress on tram 143 See Progress Reports
	Sea Front 12 - in Bournemouth! LTT's trading company, Totally Transport, has become an equal partner in Classic Southdown Omnibuses Ltd. with preservationist Eric Stobart to operate Bournemouth's "Sea Front 12" service in partnership with Transdev Yellow Buses (TYB) .Seafront 12’ will run every 20 minutes between Bournemouth Pier and Boscombe Pier for three months from June 28 until the end of September. The buses, which date from the 1980’s, were prepared at the BusWorks in Blackpool. The new service replaces the former route 12 open top service between Christchurch and Sandbanks in Poole which was operated by TYB during the summer holidays. The shorter route between Boscombe Pier and Bournemouth was selected after detailed analysis of previous travel patterns revealed it was the busiest section.
	Sea Front 12 - resumes for Summer The summer season promenade service between St.Annes and Lytham has returned for 2008 following its successful 2007 season. However, due to budget cuts no funding from Fylde Borough Council is possible for 2008. Operated by trading company "Classic Bus Lancashire", SeaFront 12 is being run on Sundays and Bank holidays from Sunday 25th May until Sunday 28 September. See classicbus/seafront12.html for further details.
	Ribble 1997 progress Work has progressed on Ribble Bristol VRT 1997 which now awaits only the reassembly of the front and rear fibreglass panels and fitting of new window rubbers. 1997 will return to use this summer, complete with a completely re-upholstered set of seats, thanks to a generous donation from Gerard Butler. 1997 moved to the new BusWorks premises on 22nd February for further restoration work to be undertaken.
	Ribble 366 Returns north... Ex-Ribble Bristol RE 366 has now joined the LTT collection and returned north on 7th February after many years in Hastings. The bus last operated in 2000 but made the journey to Blackpool without any problems. The bus is in very good condition and it is hoped to have the bus repainted by BusWorks before the summer season. NBC poppy red livery is expected to be applied.