Historic coach arrives at British Commercial Vehicle Museum in Leyland to become new exhibit
and live on Freeview channel 276
A historic 'East Kent' coach has travelled 300 miles north to the British Commercial Vehicle Museum in Lancashire.
The single-deck luxury coach, which started life in 1938 as a 'Leyland Titan' double-deck bus, will become a prominent new exhibit at the renowned museum located in Leyland.
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Hide AdThe vehicle had a varied life while in service with East Kent. Firstly as a double-deck regular service bus, then later as a single-deck tour coach which also provided an Express Service between several Kent towns and London's Victoria Coach Station.
After the end of World War 2 there was an increasing demand for single deck coaches, but orders for new vehicles met with long delivery times.
To ease the problem, the bodies were removed from pre-war double-deck buses and new integral single-deck bodies built and then installed onto the original chassis.
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Hide AdIn this case, the new body was constructed by J C Beadle Coaches of Dartford.
Today, the Beadle Group successfully operates with multi-franchise car distributors. After retirement from service, the coach was maintained and used by the "M&D and East Kent Bus Club.
The British Commercial Vehicle Museum has a rich history itself, dating back to the 1930s, and was formerly part of Leyland Motors as well as being part of the town’s motoring history.
Although still in full working order, the coach has a top speed of only 40 mph, so it was given a sedate but speedy ride to Lancashire on a specialist vehicle operated by Rochester based Neil Yates Recovery.
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Hide AdIt now proudly shares a display area which includes many rare and famous vehicles including the Popemobile built for John Paul II's visit in 1982,.
There are also several historic steam lorries dating from 1896, a large 1st World War gun tractor and a huge heavy haulage Scammell lorry.
You can follow the story further on the museum's website www.britishcommercialvehiclemuseum.com.
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