Setra rocks Brighton at biggest-ever rally
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Coach of the year was a surprise decision at this year's major get-together. Noel Millier reports on the weekend's events
"COACH of the Year 1984" eluded British coachbuilders once again at Brighton as the coveted award went to what must have been considered a rank outsider — the Setra Rational from Farnham Coaches.
The impressive entries included the Marton 28-seater Plaxton Paramount 3500-bodied Volvo B1OM that took the Coach of the Year award at the Blackpool Coach Rally last weekend and Trathens' £250,000 Van Hool Astral bodied Starrider Gold Sleeper coach, which was making its first public appearance before becoming a rolling hotel for the Status Quo pop group.
Local NBC subsidiary Southdown had a good rally with its new executive standard Leyland Tiger Duple Caribbean Southdown Statesman winning several awards including best livery. It was finished in probably the most subtle version of the new and varied NBC corporate livery.
Southdown also won class F for the best coach built before 1979 with over 500,000km on the clock, with its Duple Dominantbodied Leyland Leopard delivered in 1978. Its driver, too, was among the Coach Driver of the Year finalists.
New Bedford coaches were much in evidence in the rally and several operators that had switched from Bedford coaches last year have turned to the marque once more.
The award for the best coach in all classes and its driver went to a new Bedford YMT Plaxton Paramount 3200 operated by Banstead Coaches in Surrey and driven by Dudley Haynes.
Banstead Coaches also won awards for the top team on the road, the top Bedford in the rally and the top independent coach operator. Last year Bansted Coaches' rally award-winning coach was a new Daf.
Surrey coach operators had a good day and the supreme driving accolade, the Coach Driver of the Year award, went to Nick White of Harding's Coaches of Betchworth. Mr White was driving a Plaxton Paramount 3200bodied Bedford YNT. Runner up was Blackpool winner Terry Shaw driving a Volvo B58.
The list of entrants in the rally contained some particularly interesting vehicles including a National Express Rapide MCW Metroliner double-decker, the second Ensign Enterprise, which' is a purpose-built sightseeing double-decker based on an exLondon Transport Daimler Fleetline skeleton, two lrizar Pyrenean-bod led Volvo B1OM coaches including one in the livery of PPR of St Albans and the other with Greyhound of Dundee.
Four Leyland Royal Tiger integral coaches were entered although none was fitted with Leyland's own Doyen coachwork.
Grey-Green, National Travel East, Chambers of Stevenage and Jacobs of Southampton entered Royal Tigers and all but the Southampton vehicles had Plaxton Paramount 3500 bodywork. The Jacobs vehicle was a "super high" Van Hopi Alizee coach.
Other coaches made their first Brighton apperances as operators' working vehicles including a Youngs of Cambridge Dennis Dorchester with Duple Caribbean body and several Bova Futuras. London Country's entries included its first-ever Daf MB200 with Berkhof Everest coachwork and finished in Green Line livery.
Cedar Coaches of Bedfordshire entered its first Wright Contour-bodied Bedford YNT.
The trade exhibit section at Brighton seemed larger than ever and took every available inch of space in Madiera Drive. Although the display was impressive and included a large number of coaches making their Brighton debuts, there was little that had not appeared elsewhere before.
Of special interest though were the first Moseley Caetano Algarve bodied Volvo B1OM and making a surprise and unexpected British debut, a French operated Renault FR1.
Yeates of Loughborough was displaying a right-hand drive Mercedes-Benz 0303 and an example of its special pack Daf as well as LAG Galaxy-bodied coaches. Other coaches making Brighton debuts included the MCW Metro-Hi-Liner, a Dennis Dorchester with Duple Caribbean body, an Irizar Pyreneanbodied Volvo B1OM, a righthand-drive Setra Imperial executive style double-decker in an allbrown livery, soon to be operated by Two's Company of Merstham, Surrey, and Leyland Olympian ECW double-deck coaches in the livery of NBC subsidiaries London Country and Maidstone and District for Green Line and Invictaway commuter services.
Erringtons of Evington displayed a Smit-Orion-bodied Daf SB which was also in Brighton for the first time.
Few of the manufacturers competing for the British market were not present at Brighton, only Alexander being notably absent. In fact, since its TC coach made an impressive debut at the last Glasgow Motor Show and it was revealed that Caledonia Coach Sales would supply to the independent sector, the Scottish coachbuilder has kept very low profile.
Minicoaches in the display included a Talbot Express, a Devon converted Volkswagen LT31 and a Reeves-Burgess-bodied Mercedes-Benz. Robin Hood exhibited lveco Daily minicoaches and Davis of Sevonoaks showed a very luxurious Renault Master coach specially equipped to carry the disabled.
Slightly higher up the scale were midibus exhibits by ReeveBurgess with a MAN Riviera luxury coach and Wadham Stringer with a Leyland Cub welfare bus. Among the coaches appearing for the first time in operator livery were the Kirkby Superstar Ajokki-bodied Scania and a Van Roojjen Odysee-bodied Volvo B1OM.
Daf, which was represented by a display including rear and midengined coaches and the first Jonckheere P99 bodied doubledecker to be supplied to Youngs of Cambridge, announced an upgrading of its service support for UK based coaches with its "Spider" network of 40 specialist European coach points on European holiday routes.
Leyland Bus displayed a number of Tigers and Royal Tiger coaches including an integral Plaxton Paramount 3500 Royal Tiger and a Doyen in the livery of Warner Fairfax of Tewkesbury.
Non-coach exhibits included a number of travel industry displays as well as a selection of garage equipment. There was little at Brighton to suggest the much predicted end to the coach industry's shuttle boom and the move to the higher specification coach was still very much in evidence.