Southdown Motor Services was formed on the 2nd
June 1915 with the coming together of four local operators; Brighton Hove &
Preston United Omnibus Co. Ltd., Worthing Motor Services Ltd., Sussex Motor
Road Car Co. Ltd., and the London & South Coast Haulage Co. Ltd. It is fitting that a special bus rally was
organised on Southsea Common, near Portsmouth to celebrate 100 years of the
Company on Sunday 7th June 2015.
The independent transport videos cameras were on the
Common bright and early to capture the event for you to enjoy. The vehicles began arriving from 8.30 on this
bright and breezy morning. Of course the main stars of the day are those from
Southdown that covered a period from 1915 to 1989 when the company was taken
over by Stagecoach. This included
Leyland Titans, Tigers, Leopards, Nationals, Atlanteans, Bristol REs, VRTs, a
Guy Arab and a Volvo B10M. Newer
vehicles from the current Stagecoach fleet were also represented, especially an
Enviro E300 single decker in traditional Southdown apple green and cream livery
and a double decker Enviro E400 representing the WW2 livery of green and
grey.
There was also a vast array of
buses and coaches from other local and national fleets including Xelabus, Wilts
& Dorset, London Transport, Royal Blue, East Kent - the list goes on! Our cameras capture nearly all of the
arrivals and then take a brief visit around the common to see the vehicles in
place. There were two bus services
running on the day. Our cameras boarded
National Bus Company liveried Leyland Atlantean 731 (SCD 731N) with a Park
Royal body for the 100 service to the Hard bus station in Portsmouth. Here we are treated to the comings and goings
of the preserved buses on this special ‘100’ service as well as the normal
operations of Stagecoach and Firstbus running in and out of the bus
station. For added interest Stagecoach
were operating a ‘Rail Replacement Service’ using mostly fairly new E400 double
deckers. We return to the Common on
board traditional liveried Bristol VRT, 510 (UUF 110J) with an ECW body. We now
take a look at the Southdown exhibits parked on the common, showing how much
bus and coach design has changed in the last 100 years. To finish our celebration programme we
position our cameras at the exit of the common and see the buses and coaches
leaving for home, as they turn onto Eastern Parade in the late afternoon
sunshine, which is surely the end of a perfect day!