3right coaches bring light into Blackpool's gloom
Page 25
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
IGH STANDARDS of todern luxury coaches at last eekend's National Coach ally in Blackpool contrasted ith the sheer misery of a tin-soaked Lancashire Aiday resort. Those whose solve was not broken by the eather or the strong arms of eir wives and girlfriends finled the event on Sunday by king shelter in the decaying alkways of the town's iddle Walk.
For Loughborough-based .nch Executive Coaches it as a rewarding experience, r its £60,000 Plaxton-bodied )1vo B58 swept the board to come National Coach of the The distinctive yellow blue 26-seater, with nost E20,000 worth of body tras, echoed the company's ccess at Brighton last year, d pushed another Volvo — -Smiths-Happiwayencers of Wigan — into • -ond place.
Vational Driver of the Year alcolm Stephenson is a rnparative novice. With only months' experience driving aches, he still kept ahead of other entrants, and beat employer Peter Bibby of Bibby and Sons of Ingle' by 0.3 of a mark. Bibby is a g-standing supporter of the ickpool event, and had .ee coaches entered this tr, two of which made it to driving finals on Sunday 3rnoon.
Vhile the spirit of competin was as keen as ever, fly operators were happy to the event as a flag-waving Tcise either for themselves for the coach industry in ieral. New Plaxton reme IV bodies were entd in strength, several disying bold and colourful ries which showed off the r body lines to maximum :c.t.
:inch's winning Volvo ked good almost despite If, as the yellow body with diagonal stripes helped home an image of someig unique. Liveries are, of rse, a highly subjective ter, but I was attracted particularly by Ellerm an Travel's new orange/white/ green style for its Bee Line and Salopia fleets.
At the bottom end of the scale, midibuses (particularly Bristol LHS6Ls) were more common than van-based minibuses, but one of the smartest in the latter category was a Bedford CF for Glob Luxury Coaches of Barnsle: which, like a 53-seat YM' entered by the same company had a Plaxton body. That oi the CF was by the company' service division and was buil with several Supreme parts.
Scottish operators ha' neither the size of entrync the measure of success whicl they enjoyed at last year' event. Weekend holiday busi ness kept most away, and onl: 1978 Driver of the Year Ali: dair Ross of Allander Coache was there to win a concour award for his one-year-o14 Bedford YMT.
The main awards presentet were:Concours d'Eleganc( Section A (Independen Coachways, of Horsforth Fort Transit with own body); Sec tion B: (Globe Luxur■ Coaches, Barnsley Plaxton bodied Bedford CO; Section ( (Moxon Tours, Worksoi Plaxton-bodied Bristol LHS) Section D (Moor-Dale, New castle Plaxton-bodied Bedfort YLQ); Section E (Allande Coaches, Miingavie Duple bodied Bedford YMT); Sec tiuon F (Smiths-Happiway Spencers, Wigan Duple bodied Volvo B58), als( runner-up to Coach of tht Year; Section G (Kind Executive Coaches, Loughbo rough Plaxton-bodied Volv( B58), also Coach of the Year Section I (Regent Travel o Morecambe 1964 Plaxton bodied Bedford VAS); York shire (National Travel Easi Duple-bodied Bedford YMT).
Driving: Section A (Trevor Hawley of Newsome's, Barnsley); Section B (John Newsome of Newsome's, Barnsley); Section C (Malcolm Stephenson of Bibby, Ingleton), also Driver of the Year; Section D (Terry Shaw of Shaw's, Barnsley); Section E (Charles Griffiths of Shadwell's, Warrington); Section F (David Matthews of H and M Coaches, Walsall); Ladies (Celia Phillips of Phillips and Young, Halesowen); Yorkshire (John Newsome of Newsome's, Barnsley).