It’s not only railway enthusiasts who have access to information about their subject that reaches into interminable depths. Those interested in buses have it too: two organisations, the Omnibus Society and the PSV Circle, have kept tabs through their members on the fate of British buses for more than 50 years.
The Oxford Bus Museum knows the fate of most of Oxford’s local buses. Remarkably, a bus made in 1949 still exists and resides in the foothills of the French Alps and a slightly younger one has made Munich its home. Australia, too, has old Oxford bus residents. But it was in the US where bus OFC 395 was found, not far from the Niagara Falls.
There was quite an appetite for old London buses in the US in the 1970s and, let’s face it, most double decker buses looked alike back then. An enterprising company made the most of this opportunity by buying old AEC (Associated Equipment Company) half cabs (where the driver sits by himself alongside the engine), painting them red and writing the name London Transport on the side. A few well-known London landmarks on the destination screen completed this crafty deception.
Bus OFC 395 was used for a long time in San Francisco as a bus service alongside the Queen Mary before being acquired by an algebra professor from Buffalo. The bus was driven up to the professor’s home from the south with no apparent problems – British engineering at its best.
Securing it from the enterprising professor proved surprisingly straightforward. Negotiations were conducted by email, and payment was made by a bank transfer.
Bringing it home was even easier: a helpful Hampshire company arranged transport door to door, from the US, across the Atlantic, back to the bus’s birthplace in the UK. Donations paid for the exercise and OFC 395 is now in store awaiting restoration.
Chris Butterfield is the director of the Oxford Bus Museum
The Oxford Bus Museum knows the fate of most of Oxford’s local buses. Remarkably, a bus made in 1949 still exists and resides in the foothills of the French Alps and a slightly younger one has made Munich its home. Australia, too, has old Oxford bus residents. But it was in the US where bus OFC 395 was found, not far from the Niagara Falls.
There was quite an appetite for old London buses in the US in the 1970s and, let’s face it, most double decker buses looked alike back then. An enterprising company made the most of this opportunity by buying old AEC (Associated Equipment Company) half cabs (where the driver sits by himself alongside the engine), painting them red and writing the name London Transport on the side. A few well-known London landmarks on the destination screen completed this crafty deception.
Bus OFC 395 was used for a long time in San Francisco as a bus service alongside the Queen Mary before being acquired by an algebra professor from Buffalo. The bus was driven up to the professor’s home from the south with no apparent problems – British engineering at its best.
Securing it from the enterprising professor proved surprisingly straightforward. Negotiations were conducted by email, and payment was made by a bank transfer.
Bringing it home was even easier: a helpful Hampshire company arranged transport door to door, from the US, across the Atlantic, back to the bus’s birthplace in the UK. Donations paid for the exercise and OFC 395 is now in store awaiting restoration.
Chris Butterfield is the director of the Oxford Bus Museum
