THE HOME COUNTIES BUS IMAGE GALLERY
ALDER VALLEY | Leyland National
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 East Kent and Aldershot & District were both having birthdays at SHOWBUS 2006 and Stagecoach had painted some existing fleet members in old liveries. They were displayed at Duxford with the preserved Alder Valley South liveried Leyland National 251. |
ALDER VALLEY |
 Arriva 377 (PDZ6277) is a Leyland National Greenway. The Greenway project was the fruit of the British Bus/East Lancs tie-up. Donor Nationals were initially overhauled at the former Reigate headquarters of London Transport's country division, before being despatched north for bodywork. Alder Valley 161 (TPE161S) provided the donor bus in this case, it was given dual purpose seating seating and wore Green Line livery before Arriva colours. It is seen here in Kingston with First London Buslines and London United Darts. |
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 Arriving at SHOWBUS 2021 and undergoing restoration and painting in Stevenage Superbus livery - which it never wore in service - this Leyland National has had an interesting previous life. One of the first Leyland Nationals, it was new to London Country as LN8 (NPD108L) in NBC leaf green but was delivered direct to Nottingham for use on the new Central Area Service. After nearly a year it was sent to Reigate who immediately swapped it with Hants & Dorset for one of their Metro-Scanias acquired with the purchase of King Alfred which joined similar vehicles bought new for the Stevenage Superbus operation. After around ten years with Hants & Dorset as their 3625, it was swapped with Alder Valley for a single door model. Its new owner made use of the centre doors and converted it into a mobile information unit in white with red and black "venetian blind" stripes and numbered it 68. When the company was split the bus stayed with the southern half and gained the green and yellow of Alder Valley South. It was sold in 1992 to Club Cantabrica Coaches of Watford and used as a mobile booking office and waiting room at Scratchwood Services on the M1 ultimately passing into preservation in 1998 having had several owners since. Fittingly it is a sister to LN15 (NPD115L) which debuted at the Brunel Bus Rally in January 1973 from which SHOWBUS grew.
Picture ref 22-5307 |
 >Back at the Hertfordshire County Showground for SHOWBUS5O 68 had lost the nearside Superbus branding.
Picture ref 22-5307 |
 The bus also attended the first SHOWBUS at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre at Quainton in 2024.
Picture ref 24-NPD |
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