RVPT Forum

Some of you will already know that RVPT members Ray Bignell and Gerard Butler have bought former Ribble 1793, a Leyland Titan PD3/5 with MCW bodywork (new to Ribble in 1962). 1793 had been owned by Dennis Bagshaw (formerly Bagshaw Coaches) of New Whittington, Chesterfield. I believe it did a day trip to Scarborough with some school children in 1986 and, on return, was parked up in the open at the rear of Mr Bagshaw's premises. There it remained until 31.07.09.

After purchase by Ray and Gerard, work started to get her running. Once this had been achieved, a plan was devised to extract her from her resting place and tow her to a new home at a temporary storage facility in Central Cheshire. 'Extraction' was to be an interesting exercise as 1793 was parked towards the back of the site with her nearside against boundary vegetation; a Bedford Coach and fire engine to the rear; two Mercedes Benz cars, a crane, the flat bed and headboard off a lorry and a gearbox of unknown origin on the offside, and a tow wagon, three coaches, an engine block and a pile of bricks in front! Our access to the back of the site was a strip of land about 12 ft wide. This was, of course, blocked by a Leopard. I should mention at this stage that none of the vehicles surrounding 1793 was able to move under its own power.

On Friday 31.07.09. two groups of us set off from the North West with the plan to meet up at the site and 'extract on the Friday - recover on the Saturday'. Fortunately, the weather was kind to us on the Friday and all went well. The obstacles were removed and 1793 moved, under her own power, to hardstanding at the front of the site. Work then started preparing her for towing. Unfortunately, we had to be off site by 1730hrs and by this time had only replaced the front wheels.

We returned on the (rainy) Saturday morning to change the rear wheels and prepare 1793 for the tow. All went well on the journey and 1793 was reversed into her new home, under her own power, late on Saturday afternoon.

Ray will write an article about 1793 and the recovery for RVPT News No48. In the meantime, here are few photographs:

[attachment=742] [attachment=741] [attachment=743]
General views showing some of the things surrounding 1793.

[attachment=745] Recovery truck and three coaches to the front of 1793.

[attachment=747] [attachment=748] Out in the open.

[attachment=749] Hooked up, ready to go.

[attachment=750] Nearly there ........ Coffee stop.

I was asked today to include a few photos of the inside of 1793.

The driver's cab: [attachment=755]

The lower saloon: [attachment=753] [attachment=754]
The upper deck : [attachment=751] [attachment=752]

1793 was sold by Ribble in December 1981 and it still retains a Ribble, Preston destination blind and all three number blinds, which were showing " PD3 Preston ". This was later changed to the R.V.P.T. adopted standard number and destination display of " 85 Knott End ", which did not take much effort to change, as Knott End was the next destination on the blind after Preston has been wound upwards.

Although the vehicle is complete and looks a good restoration project from the outside, the occasional shower of rust from behind the outer skin when the bus is moved shows that all is not well underneath. The floor area near the emergency door might also need a little attention before it returns to service !

On our journey home with 1793 on Saturday, we met up with Tim Stubbs at our coffee stop to hand over some tyres to him.
Tim took the opportunity to photograph 1793 and some of the team involved in the recovery.
He has kindly made the photos available for inclusion on the website.

[attachment=756] 1793 behind the wrecker

[attachment=758] (l - r) Dave Moss, Mark Prescott, Gerard Butler and Ray Bignell.

Always nice to see another PD3. At least it's a bus with the engine at the right end! Looking forward to seeing it arriving at Freckleton! Will it jump the restoration queue ahead of the Burlingham bodied PD3?

For clarification, 1793 has been bought by Gerard Butler and Ray Bignell on a private basis, with the intention of securing a Ribble MCW PD3 for preservation and possible restoration. It may or may not join the RVPT collection in the future, dependent on a number of factors, including space at Freckleton, availability of other examples in possibly better condition etc. The decision will ultimately rest with the RVPT trustees, who assess factors such as importance of a vehicle in the Ribble story, vehicle condition, resources and funds for restoration when an application for a vehicle to join the RVPT collection is made. At the time of writing, no application for 1793 to join the RVPT collection has been made.

Re the point about a restoration "queue" (which implies vehicles that have been with RVPT longest should be restored first) threre is no such thing! The trustees set restoration priorities based on work slots available, resources, funding, likely duration of work etc. Whether it is a trust owned vehicle or one privately owned, the fact is money and time have to be available to enable a restoration to take place. Trust vehicles require sponsorship, the private vehicle restoration costs have to be met by the owners. Burlingham PD3 1523,like 1793 and a number of other vehicles in the collection is privately owned. It is the vehicle owners who ultimately decide when they are in a position to move their vehicle's restoration forward, and then they make respresenation to the Board of Trustees

Hope this clarifies the position.

The PSV Society lists of what happened to former Ribble buses lists 1793 as sold to A.Aldam of Leyland for preservation. Tony Aldam, who is Fishwick's Tours Manager, was asked today if the "A.Aldam"was him? His reply - as a native of Doncaster - "why would I want a Ribble bus? It was not me". There cannot be two A .Aldams in Leyland who are also bus enthusiasts! Thereby hangs a tale!!

(10-08-2009 08:57 PM)Bill Ashcroft Wrote: [ -> ]The PSV Society lists of what happened to former Ribble buses lists 1793 as sold to A.Aldam of Leyland for preservation. Tony Aldam, who is Fishwick's Tours Manager, was asked today if the "A.Aldam"was him? His reply - as a native of Doncaster - "why would I want a Ribble bus? It was not me". There cannot be two A .Aldams in Leyland who are also bus enthusiasts! Thereby hangs a tale!!

Bill

This is interesting. I've started to pull together info for an article on 1793 for RVPG News and I saw that the PSV Circle history gave this disposal and I was told it would be Tony. So, was this - a false report, - another A Aldham, - or has he forgotten he owned it!
The related point is how did it go from 'A Aldham' to Bagshaws? Any contributions to this question are welcomed
Ray

I remember driving 1793 frequently when it was based at Carlisle during 1963-4. Good to see that it has been rescued and hopefully restored to its former in service condition. Is it still fitted with a centrifugal clutch?

(15-08-2009 11:03 AM)Leyland600 Wrote: [ -> ]I remember driving 1793 frequently when it was based at Carlisle during 1963-4. Good to see that it has been rescued and hopefully restored to its former in service condition. Is it still fitted with a centrifugal clutch?

It has a fluid flywheel fitted (presumably at some point in its long life with Ribble)