Stagecoach and Arriva had two more double-deckers prepared in heritage liveries in time for the Ribble 100 centenary gatherings in Morecambe on 25/26 May.
An Alexander Dennis Enviro400-bodied Scania N230UD in Stagecoach’s Merseyside & South Lancashire fleet has been painted in 1980s Timesaver livery from the latter days of National Bus Company ownership, while a Cummins-powered Enviro400 of Arriva North West carries NBC poppy red and white from a slightly earlier period, with NBC and Merseyside PTE logos signifying the way that services were coordinated before deregulation.
These join Stagecoach’s Enviro400 in Ribble privatisation poppy red and grey, Arriva’s Wright Commander-bodied VDL SB200 in BET era Ribble maroon and cream and Blackburn Bus Company’s Wright Eclipse Gemini-bodied Volvo B7TL in a modern interpretation of Ribble colours (Buses last month).
Private preservationists have also risen to the occasion, with two Ribble vehicles displayed at the North West Vehicle Restoration Trust’s event at Kirkby on 2 June.
Newly restored 249 (HRN 249G), a 50-year-old ECW-bodied Bristol RELL6G, has been given the same livery treatment as Arriva’s Enviro400 to coincide with 50 years of NBC. John Cherry …
