Bristol Commercial Vehicles Enthusiasts

This website is for anyone interested in the products of Bristol Commercial Vehicles, a manufacturer swallowed up by British Leyland and a tragic victim of the politics of the 1970s and early 1980s. The specific model we deal with in most detail is the Vertical Rear-engined (VR) double decker although we also cover all surviving Lodekka half-cab double deckers as well as single-deck RE and LH survivors. VRs are now very rare in normal service but current operators of the type are listed here. By contrast there are now well over 200 VRs recorded in various states of preservation in the UK with many more continuing to earn their keep in a multitude of uses overseas. Ever-faithful Lodekkas continue to earn their keep in all corners of the World, many of them now well past their fiftieth birthday!

Last Updated : May 15th 2012 (FFR174S, 378RNN, REU326S, LFJ862W, WRC831S, SPM22, HRU680E and TRB576F "pizza bus" on eBay. LFS296F, 431FHW, VVV63S and KDL203W for sale)

This week's interesting non-Bristols on eBay:

UPDATED *** Ex-London Transport Routemaster RM1262 *** UPDATED
Open-top Leyland Atlantean in Poland AUP371W
AEC Routemaster WLT759
Ex-Strathclyde Atlantean UGB193W
Ex-G.M. Buses Atlantean SND508X
"ACDC Experience" Olympian B14CDC
Leyland National 2 AFM2W
Ex-Alder Valley Leyland Olympian/ECW coach B577LPE
Ex-Badgerline Leyland Lynx H615YTC
Leyland National "Cyber Bus" JHJ149V
Unusual Van Hool "Jumbulance" JPB738V
Dennis Lance/Alexander Strider WDZ1033
Ex-Oldham Corporation Atlantean OBU163F
Unknown Bedford/Duple Dominant
Leyland Atlantean A761HNB
Ex-London Routemaster WLT951 in Florida
Ex-London Routemaster RM719
Leyland Atlantean JSC869E
Leyland Lynx 2 H35HBG
Leyland National THX193S
Dennis Dominator K37XNE
Leyland National UPB331S
Leyland Olympian Open-top A146OFR

Bristols For Sale
I do not charge any fees for listing Bristol vehicles for sale on this page, but I regret I cannot advertise events due to lack of available time. I do however list Bristols advertised on eBay in the hope of alerting buyers who may otherwise miss the opportunity and have added a few additional links to interesting eBay categories such as those for Photos and Models at various points on the website.

Parts Wanted and Parts for Sale
PartsMart - bowing to popular demand I also now advertise parts for sale and also parts required for specific vehicles. The same principles apply as for the vehicles for sale page - there is no charge for this service but I would be grateful for a small donation towards the upkeep of the website if you make a sale, and do please let me know when I can remove your entry from the page.

Mission Statement
The aim of this website is to be the up-to-date reference point for all Bristol VR, Lodekka, RE and LH vehicles. Ultimately it is the intention to have a profile page for every one of these vehicles that were built including photos with every owner in every livery. Obviously this is a lifetime's work and will not be achieved without the help of a great many contributors - these kind folk have already helped to swell the number of photos held for publication to over 21,000, many of which are already in use on the site. With the dramatically reduced activity in the Bristol vehicle world in recent years I now record all major vehicle changes and items of interest on the Recently Recorded Changes Log.

Please help to support this website by using this link. Anything you buy (not just bus-related items) on eBay, having clicked through from here, results in a commission payment of a few pennies which I put toward the cost of having this website professionally hosted.

Operator Focus (April 20th 2012)

Rapson of Brora

An interesting operator of VRs was Rapson of Brora in northern Scotland. Their smart livery was applied to several vehicles including this unusual Series 2 MGP226L which was new to the Department of Transport in London. Cliff Essex is thanked for this and a great many other very interesting views.

Operator Focus - Archive

The Operator Focus Archive contains a log of previously featured operators. If you can contribute to fill any gaps or correct any mistakes I'd be delighted to hear from you.

Photo of the Month (May 2nd 2012)

Fans of Eastern National are very fortunate to have such good representation of the fleet in preservation and the very active Castle Point Museum at Canvey Island. The company is very unusual in having a number of surviving "firsts" and "lasts", mostly down to the efforts of Paul Harrison over the years. Paul has the last Lodekka (beautifully restored FLF coach AVX975G) and is also safely storing the last VR (XHK234X). He also saved a favourite of mine - the very first ENOC VR, 3000 (CPU979G) - which is seen here in the first photo through the camera of Chris Stewart last weekend at a very well-organised running day based on the 251 service between Southend and Wood Green in London. The VR was new in a special livery for these interurban services but currently carries standard NBC green with Eastern National fleetnames in the care of the Blackwater Preservation Group. It is showing off its rear "inverted T" destination and number blinds very well in this view. I am quite partial to a rear blind having reinstated the aperture at the rear of my own VR (JOU161P) during its 2008 restoration as captured in the second photo by Peter Cook at the 2010 Harbourside rally in Bristol. These blinds on 5031 were never used in service however, having been panelled over soon after delivery to Cheltenham District. I wonder how many other VRs actually feature blinds at the rear these days?

Photo of the Month - Archive

This is the latest photo in a regular feature intended to showcase the work of some of the very kind contributors to this website to whom we are very much indebted.

Operator Focus

For a few years now I have been adding Illustrated Fleet Histories for operators who have run VRs, REs, LHs and/or Lodekkas at some point, ranging from large groups to tiny one-vehicle operations. Those added so far are listed by county on the Operator Cross Reference page (including an indication as to whether or not the list yet contains all the details and photos in my possession), but I now plan to showcase operators as I work on them. The purpose of highlighting them on here is both as a means of promoting the pages but also as a request for viewers to send in any photos that fill in the gaps in the Photo Archive sections on each page. The aim is to illustrate every vehicle in every livery with every operator and I want to thank all the very many kind individuals who have already made such contributions to this website.

The Illustrated Histories Log page details those vehicles that have already been processed. More are added each week. If you can help to complete any with either additional information or photos I would be delighted to hear from you, either through the submission of photos or slides for scanning, or through the email of digital images. You will find my Contact Information at the foot of this page.

ILLUSTRATED CURRENT SURVIVORS LISTS

VRs in Service

All current VRs operated around the UK.

Non-PCV VRs

Playbuses, exhibition units, caravans, etc. They're all here.

Preserved VRs

Over one hundred and eighty VRs are already in preservation. Keep up with their progress here.

All RE Survivors

Lists by original owner of all RE survivors from around the World

All Lodekka Survivors

Lists by original owner of all Lodekka survivors from around the World

All LH Survivors

Lists by original owner of all LH survivors from around the World

COMPLETE TYPE LISTS

BRISTOL VR

Here you will find all VRs that were manufactured, listed by original owner. The lists show the current location of all survivors, all others being marked as scrapped.

BRISTOL SU

Although we do not cover the Bristol SU, you will find very comprehensive comprehensive coverage on Gerry Tormey's website using the above link

BRISTOL MW

Gerry Tormey has also now completed a superb site devoted to the Bristol MW. Follow the link above.

BRISTOL SC

Further offerings from Gerry Tormey now include this site for the Bristol SC....

BRISTOL LS

...and this one for the integral Bristol LS model.

BRISTOL J and BRISTOL L

Here are Gerry's two latest websites, dedicated to these grand old Bristol single deck models.

eBay items index

Contact Information

Your webmaster would be delighted to hear from you about anything Bristol/ECW-related. His email address is rob@robsly.com.

This site is best viewed at a resolution of 1024 x 768 or higher

Bristols on Video
Following the use of JOU161P on free services in and around Cheltenham on Saturday 12th September 2009 a video of it appeared on YouTube, thanks to the prolific camera of Simon "Video47". This has prompted me to add a new page to this website where I will add links to videos of Bristol VRs, REs, LHs and Lodekkas across the Internet. If you find any more do please drop me a line at rob@robsly.com and I will build up this library of material.

Facebook Page
I thought it might be nice to have a forum whereby readers could easily comment on and raise issues about the website, chat with me and with each other and help with information and photos for use on the website. I have therefore added a page on Facebook where I will periodically post photos and information that might not normally make it onto this website. I have started off with four photos of Bristol Lodekkas which I hope we might be able to identify and thereby add to the historical record on here. Do please become a fan of this website - you can even receive updates on Twitter - I look forward to seeing you there!

The Doctor Who story has been moved here

Special Feature - a Bristol VR at the 2010 World Cup

Morocco Special Bulletin

Fantastic news is that after 22 years "missing in action" Series 1 flat-front VR BYG851H, former West Yorkshire VR44, has been spotted in good condition in Morocco. It was parked just off the main road heading back into Tangier from Cap Spartel and the "Caves of Hercules". Unfortunately Clive Williams (whose quick thinking provided enough of the registration to check its identity on this website) was on a tour coach at the time so it was impossible to get a photo. My request to readers is for anyone who finds themselves heading out to Morocco to keep their eyes peeled for this one (and to carry a camera with them!!).