Now firmly established in the enthusiast calendar, this year’s Buses Festival — the fourth organised by the events team at Key Publishing — attracted a record 100 modern and preserved vehicles and an estimated 3,000 visitors to the British Motor
Museum at Gaydon in Warwickshire.
The buses and coaches, ranging from a 1922 London General S Type single-decker to some of this year’s latest deliveries, represented fleets from all four home nations of the UK, and also drew entries from vehicle owners based in the Isle of Man.
For the first time, trophies were awarded this year for four categories of entries. Judged the Best Modern Vehicle was one of 30 Alexander Dennis Enviro400CBG City-bodied Scania N280UD biogas double-deckers delivered to Nottingham City Transport, part of an order for 53 due to be completed early next year to help improve the air quality of the East Midlands city.
The trophy for Farthest Travelled Vehicle went to East Coast Buses, the Lothian Buses subsidiary, for one of its Wright Eclipse 3-bodied Volvo B8RLE 13.2m coachseated single-deckers. There are 15 of these vehicles, the first Eclipse 3s with wrap-round windscreens and ‘Stealth’ fronts, entered service in April on commuter servic…
