The independent transport videos cameras have been invited back again to record the Ribble Preservation Trust’s fourth Lytham Hall Running Day that took place on August Bank Holiday Monday, 28th August 2017. As usual the event was centred on the magnificent Georgian Grade 1 listed Lytham Hall and it’s beautiful grounds, offering a superb backdrop to the fine vehicles owned by the Trust as well as the visiting vehicles. Our filming begins early in the morning at the RVPT’s Freckleton depot as we see the run out into service of the participating vehicles. This is a good chance to study the vehicles as they are manoeuvred carefully from their sheds and lined up ready for the drivers to take them out. Our cameras board 1775 (RCK 920), a Leyland Titan PD3/5 with MCW FH72F bodywork for the journey to Lytham Hall. We get both the passenger and driver’s views as we motor along the deserted roads and streets to our destination.
On arrival at the Hall we see the buses and coaches taking up their positions. A ten-minute service was operated from the Hall to St Annes, via Lytham town centre and Fairhaven Lake. This ensured that preserved vehicles were in sight for most of the day in both towns and along the sea front. We have also captured on film the contemporary buses of the local operators, Stagecoach and Blackpool Transport. This allows us to compare modern vehicle design and livery application against that of the older preserved buses and coaches running in service. Of particular interest are the new ADL400 City double-deckers recently introduced into the Blackpool Transport fleet painted in their new grey and lemon colours of the ‘Palladium’ brand. Our next filming location is in Lytham town centre. We capture the action at the Market Square and along Clifton Street before moving to Central Beach to see the buses running along the sea front. Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancashire have recently repainted one of their permanent open top Dennis Trident/ALX400s, 17012 (S812 BWC) into a Ribble ‘White Lady’ heritage livery this was in attendance at the event. It can be seen many times throughout this programme adding further interest to this excellent event. It is now time to visit St Annes and what better way to travel than onboard former J. Fishwick & Sons, No.5 (528 CTF), a low-height Leyland Titan PD2/40 with Weymann L58RD bodywork. At St Annes we film the action in and around the Square before boarding open-topped ECW-bodied Bristol VRT, 1995 (OCK 995K) for the ride back to Lytham Hall. This VRT is now owned by the Trust and is currently in the guise of Eastern Counties OT5. With more filming completed at the Hall we have a final run around the route to St Annes onboard 75 (B75 URN), a Leyland Atlantean AN68D with Northern Counties bodywork in the livery of Seagull Coaches, which was new to Fylde Borough Council. Returning to the Hall footage is shot along the lovely long driveway leading to the Hall, offering a super backdrop for these fine vehicles.
We film some of the departures from the Hall before boarding 1568 (RN 7824) the beautifully restored 1936 Leyland Cheetah LZ2 with comfortable Brush C31F bodywork for the ride back to Freckleton. This time we have a camera in the cab for you to enjoy the driver’s experience on the journey back to the depot. On arrival we film the vehicles being put away at the end of a perfect day and say thank you to the Ribble Preservation Trust for providing an excellent event, which we hope you will enjoy on this programme.
Produced by - Independent Transport Videos
Running time - 110 minutes (approx)
Format - 16:9 Widescreen
DVD only
Release date - September 2017
Brighton & Hove Buses 2017
It is some six years since the independent transport videos cameras visited the Sussex coastal resort of Brighton to record the bus scene. A good deal has changed making the contemporary bus scene just as enjoyable in 2017 as it was in 2011. In 2017 the bus services are still chiefly in the hands of the Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company which is part of the GoAhead group. We also see buses from Stagecoach, Compass Bus, The Big Lemon and Metrobus, as each company operate services into and out of the city. This programme covers two visits our cameras made to the city, the first in April and the second in July 2017. We begin filming at Old Steine where we see the spectacular lime green and mid-blue liveried, Wrightbus StreetDeck double-deckers operating the frequent route 12 group of services that run along the coast connecting Brighton with Eastbourne. We continue filming around Old Steine and view most types of the contemporary Brighton & Hove fleet as well as the Enviro400 double-deckers of Stagecoach on the frequent 700 Coastliner service that links Brighton with Portsmouth to the west. Our cameras then move to Castle Square, North Street and the busy Churchill Square. Look out for the new low-height Wrightbus StreetDeck double-deckers on service 1 and the silver liveried Wrightbus StreetDeck demonstrator, numbered 293 (SN64 CTU). We also see the Volvo B9TL Wrightbus Gemini 2 double-deckers in the smart purple/maroon and buff livery that operate on the Regency route linking Tunbridge Wells with the city. Filming continues along Queens Road and York Place to the Railway Station to catch up with the action at this busy interchange. St George’s Place, Gloucester Place and Grand Parade are our next locations where we view the buses as they go about their business. Further filming along Pavilion Parade and Old Steine takes us to Marine Parade where we catch up with the action here. We see the Coasters running alongside the red and cream liveried buses in the Brighton & Hove fleet. Our April visit concludes with filming on Eastern Road and Edward Street as well as catching up with the evening rush at Old Steine, North Street and Churchill Square. Look out for the former GHA Coaches Volvo B7RLE, a Wrightbus Eclipse Urban, registered BA58 GHA now with Compass Bus. Our cameras return to the city on a hot day in July 2017. Again our locations are similar to the April visit taking in Old Steine, Castle Square, North Street, the Railway Station area and Churchill Square. Now it is time to sample the Coaster service! We board 940 (BX15 ONS) a Wrightbus StreetDeck with a H81F body for a ride along the coast to Seaford Library on service 12X. We pass a number of similar vehicles as they head towards Brighton. At Seaford we film the action on Sutton Park Road, Station Approach and Clinton Place. Our cameras then return to Brighton on board 925 (BX15 OMY) arriving at Marine Parade. Our final scenes are at Old Steine where we also see the solar powered Optare Solo of the Big Lemon company, YK55 ENM, together with buses from Stagecoach and of course Brighton & Hove buses. We hope you enjoy your visit.
