Showbus Flyby 2020
One of the highlights
in the September calendar of the UK bus enthusiast is the Showbus rally. Now in its 48th year, its appearance in 2020
looked in doubt due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. However the organisers came up with a novel
idea to stage the event as a ‘flyby’! So
on Sunday 27th September the buses and coaches would be on the road
albeit following government guidelines!
It meant that they would run empty along the A40 road, with some
vehicles starting at one end in Wheatley, just outside of Oxford and at the
other end from the Beaconsfield M40 Services.
They would all pass through High Wycombe where a ‘traders market’ was
set up in the town’s Market Square and in the High Street.
The independent transport
videos cameras went along to record the event filming the vehicles as
they passed through High Wycombe and Beaconsfield. As usual we were there at beginning of the
day to see the first vehicles from Beaconsfield passing through the High Street
in High Wycombe. Further filming took
place on Oxford Road, Church Street, Oxford Street and at the town’s busy bus
station. During our filming we purposely
filmed the contemporary buses running in service in the town. The two major operators are Arriva (The
Shires) and Go Ahead’s Carousel Buses Ltd. that is part of the Oxford Bus
Company. Both companies operate Mercedes-Benz
Citaro buses and a number are seen on this programme. Some of the Carousel buses are also filmed in
the pretty town of Old Beaconsfield as we head to the M40 Services at
Beaconsfield to complete our filming of this excellent and novel event. Here we are in the company of three generations
of London buses. A BYD Enviro400 City
electric double-decker, Metroline’s BDE2647 (LJ19 CVX), a ‘New Routemaster’
represented by Metroline LT762 (LTZ 1762) and two classic AEC Routemasters,
RM613 (WLT 613) and the superb former
‘Kingston Show Bus’ RM254 (VLT 254) immaculately turned out. A fitting end to the day.
We conclude this programme with footage from
Showbus events from years gone by. First
is 2002 at the Imperial War Museum Duxford, Cambridgeshire, where we see the
parade of buses celebrating HM The Queen’s Golden Jubilee. In 2003 we look at a new Volvo Super Olympian
with Wright Gemini bodywork about to head to Hong Kong and returning from Hong
Kong a former New World First Dennis Condor with Duple Metsec bodywork. In 2005 we see a former Bristol Omnibus
Bristol Lodekka in action. We conclude
our look back with film from 2008 where we recorded the Bristol Commercial
Vehicles centenary parade, again at Duxford.
Enjoy!