Ribble 100 - Morecombe Vintage Bus Day 2019
The Ribble Vehicle
Preservation Trust’s Morecambe Vintage Bus Day is always an event to
enjoy. This year was no exception, as
there was even more reason for celebration – the 100th anniversary
of the formation of Ribble Motor Services!
Apart from the usual excitement of the buses running along Morecambe
promenade from Carnforth to Heysham Village there were four routes to enjoy as
well as a superb display of Ribble and other buses and coaches at the Globe
Arena, which is also the home of Morecambe Football Club. On the promenade there was a display of
modern contemporary buses displaying former liveries carried by Ribble
buses. These buses are operated by
Stagecoach, Arriva and Transdev, the latter with an interpretation of the original
Ribble livery 100 years later. Of the
visiting preserved buses and coaches, there were at least 24 bus companies
represented, too many to mention here – you will have to watch the DVD and
count them for yourself! The same
applies to the vehicle types present, again too many to mention. All of these vehicles would have passed a
Ribble bus or coach on the highway at some time in their operational
lives. A truly amazing gathering.
Our filming begins at the Globe Arena as the
buses and coaches arrive and ‘check-in’.
Unfortunately the weather was appalling with driving rain hindering the
filming, but we managed to film almost all of the vehicles without the camera
getting too wet! We then board 2101 (GFR
101W), a former Ribble Leyland Olympian with an ECW body for a ride to Heysham
Village and then onto the Winter Gardens on the promenade. Here we film the action on the windswept sea
front and see the buses on display here.
As the weather begins to improve we jump in the cab of former Ribble 1775
(RCK 920) a Leyland PD3/5 with MCW FH72F bodywork for a lovely ride to
Carnforth.
Our
filming continues at
the Winter Gardens and then moves to the Globe Arena to see the
visiting
vehicles departing for home. One of the
highlights is to see the rare 1929 Dallam Motors ‘Vulcan Duchess’ (EC
8852)
moving towards the low-loader that would take it home. Dallam
Motors was taken over by Ribble in
1950. We also see the RVPT’s Leyland
Lion moving around the arena, also awaiting it’s transport back to
Freckleton. Our final scenes are filmed on the promenade
by the Winter Gardens. Here we witness
the departures of some of the modern-day heritage-liveried buses from
Arriva
and Stagecoach in the late afternoon sunshine as well as the final
journeys being
operated before the day comes to a close.
We would like to extend our thanks to all involved in producing this
extra special Ribble Morecambe Vintage Bus Running Day in 2019 – 100
years on
from the beginning of such a well known bus company.