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Page 55
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iLL 13ftigittag
Whilst I was pleased, as an entrant, to receive a copy of your journal featuring the' HCVC/Foden 1978 London to Brighton Run, I was surprised and disappointed to see that you omitted any mention of vehicles manufactured since 1939 — my own amongst them!
Of course, I admire the grace and elegance of 1930s designs, possibly the most beautiful ever produced, but I would have been very happy to settle for a splendid coach built with Thirties know-how and post-war mechanical advancements — the Leyland Tiger P52 which I first saw when it was almost new in 1950 during a day excursion to Bournemouth.
During a chance visit in 1968 to see the last trolleys I spotted it again, much to my surprise, and duly laid seige to its pending retirement — which took two more years before it was finally offered for sale, • In the eight veP's since JLJ 401 retired and became "44" again it has been repainted, both inside and out; it has visited most parts of England on holiday and travelled 20,000 miles in the cause of preservation.
On one notable occasion it was operated on hire to National Travel over part of an express route from Farnham to Portsmouth, a service that has since succumbed to demands for economy.
It has appeared on TV a couple of times and featured in an episode of Man Alive in 1973. Today it looks every bit the classic vehicle it is, complete with bulkhead clock of appropriate shape and vintage.
Perhaps the nicest story I can relate is how a complete stranger saw the bus one day in Surrey and anonymously returned its original "Leyland" radiator badge so that it might be reunited in preservation — a touching gesture.
"Handsome is as handsome does" and my Tiger PS2 with a quarter of a million miles to its credit offers the ultimate in traditional design before the great leap forward into underfloor and rear-engined traction so familiar to everyone today.
Synchromesh gears and a husky 9.8-litre motor were quite something in 1949 and I, for one, should not be sorry if production of such reliable, economical or beautiful vehicles had never ceased. D. FEREDAY GLENN, Vintage Transport Association, Fareham, Hampshire.