Eastbourne Classic Bus Running Day 2019
This is the second
visit by the independent transport videos cameras to this most
enjoyable running day organised by a group known as ‘Eastbourne Classic Bus’. The event took place on Sunday 7th
July 2019 and was centred on the town’s Victorian railway station. A total of ten routes were operated with an
interesting mix of preserved buses and coaches, many from the Eastbourne area. There were three former Eastbourne
Corporation vehicles, namely 42 (AHC 442), the 1951 Bruce-bodied AEC Regent
III, 72 (BJK 672D), a 1966 Leyland Titan PD2A with East Lancs bodywork and 84
(DHC 784E), a similar Leyland Titan PD2A but with its East Lancs body converted
to open-top. Other operators represented
were Southdown, Brighton Hove & District, Maidstone & District, East
Kent, London Transport, Metrobus and even an open-top AEC Regent V with a
Metro-Cammell body from Devon General.
Our filming takes place at the hub of the action at the railway station
and on Terminus Road, where we see the vehicles going about their duties with
healthy loads of happy passengers.
Our
cameras take a ride on 42 (AHC 442) on service 8 from Eastbourne Station to
Hampden Park and back to the Station. We
can hear the tuneful engine notes as the bus re-creates a service it would have
run when operating in its heyday. Our
second ride is a real treat. We put a
camera into the cab of 72 (BJK 672D) for a spectacular journey on a complete
‘rounder’ of service 6. We also have a
camera on the upper-deck to get the passengers experience of the journey. The route takes us from the station to the
Foot of Beachy Head, along the seafront, past the pier to Princes Park. The return journey takes the same route back
to the station. It is a joy to watch our
driver battle with the traffic, a crash gearbox and the twists and turns of
this picturesque route. We hear the
sounds of the engine first hand just as the driver does, and did in years gone
by. Our final scenes are filmed along
the seafront adjacent to the pier and the lovely ‘floral carpet’ that has
adorned Eastbourne seafront for many years.
To complete our nostalgic journey we have some cine film for you to
enjoy. Taken by Malcolm King in the
1970s we see Leyland Panthers, Titans and Atlanteans in service along with AEC
Regents – pure nostalgia. We hope you
enjoy our programme!