Buses manufactured then not registered or used on the road for many years

[37114]

Prompted by the comment on the "24 plate buses" thread re one of the ADL e400FCEV's now being registered on a 24 plate despite being manufactured in 2022, what other buses have had a lengthy wait (over 18 months?) between manufacture and being used on the road?

A couple of other ADL/Dennis offerings,

MC56HAM - A 1998 Dennis Dart SPD Pointer Mk1 a development bus that was not registered until 2006

MC56HAM Hams Travel

Barton Park, 23rd Feb 2019, Noted outside Hants & Dorset Trim.

www.flickr.com

KBK750 (LW08MMJ) - A 2008 Enviro200 which was used as Hybrid/Euro 6 testbed and racked up less than 3,000 miles on internal roads before being sold to Faresaver in Chippenham. Although nominally an 08 plate it wasn't used on the road until 2019 and is now the oldest bus in the Faresaver fleet even though it is one of the lowest mileage

Faresaver - KBK 750 - Chippenham Bus Station

Alexander-Dennis Enviro200, new as an ADL engine test mule, before being registered for the road in 2019 as LW08 MMJ. Seen here at the end of a route X34 service from Frome.

www.flickr.com

 

[Roger1973]

The record is possibly held by London Transport's Routemaster RM 8 (VLT 8) - it was registered in normal sequence in 1958/9, but did not enter passenger service until 1976, having been kept as a test rig for mechanical modifications at Chiswick Works, although presume it ran on the public highway in that role. It was replaced at Chiswick by RM 1368 (368 CLT) which had lost its top deck (can't remember now if it was the result of an accident or a fire) and was rebuilt to single deck, which wasn't a problem for its new role. Both are now in preservation.

A handful of mid 1970s coaches were not sold by a dealer, and only surfaced in 1987 and received E xxx XXX registrations (photo of 1975 Ford E903 DRG on Flickr - not mine - here.) I understand this one went in to preservation after some years with Brylaine of Boston, Lincs, although not sure it has survived.

I think the rules were different then about vehicles being registered as 'new' if they were manufactured some years before they were first registered (or first registered in the UK.) Your example with an 08 plate suggests they do now register to date of manufacture not registration.

I remember one or two buses appearing on the preservation circuit some years back with ABC 123X style registrations, which were a lot older (one was an ex London Transport RT or RTL), but had been exported then given new registration numbers on their return to England. DVLA will now try and give a vehicle its original registration number back on re-import if possible.

 

[APT618S]

What happened to the BZL demonstrator VDE2751 at Metroline London as I don't think it was ever used in service ? There seem to be only a few pictures / videos of it running under test with trade plates and "BZL" on the actual number plates but this was back in Jan 2023.
Is this the same demonstrator that was registered BV23 NNT and has been with at least First SY and Lothian ?

 

[318266]

What happened to the BZL demonstrator VDE2751 at Metroline London as I don't think it was ever used in service ? There seem to be only a few pictures / videos of it running under test with trade plates and "BZL" on the actual number plates but this was back in Jan 2023.
Is this the same demonstrator that was registered BV23 NNT and has been with at least First SY and Lothian ?

BV23NNT is complete with Lothian specification interior, so probably not.​

 

[DunsBus]

A handful of mid 1970s coaches were not sold by a dealer, and only surfaced in 1987 and received E xxx XXX registrations (photo of 1975 Ford E903 DRG on Flickr - not mine - here.) I understand this one went in to preservation after some years with Brylaine of Boston, Lincs, although not sure it has survived.

I think the rules were different then about vehicles being registered as 'new' if they were manufactured some years before they were first registered (or first registered in the UK.) Your example with an 08 plate suggests they do now register to date of manufacture not registration.

The story I'd heard about these coaches was they'd been built for stock, then stored and weren't uncovered until the dealer's premises were being cleared after its proprietor died.

 

[APT618S]

BV23NNT is complete with Lothian specification interior, so probably not.​

Yes you will be right as I just thought of the obvious that VDE2751 is London spec with double doors whereas BV23 NNT is front door only. So decided to see if they were listed on Bus lists on the web. Only one Volvo BZL double decker with double doors is listed that was new in 2023, chassis number - YV3U1W129MA204444 with no registration.
BV23 NNT chassis number is YV3U1W129NA207104.
Note, Go-Ahead's MVB1 is a different bus still.
So presumably VDE2751 is still unregistered.

 

[Snex]

Not as long as others but, the ALX100 Vario's at Arriva Northumbria were built in 1998 but weren't first registered until Dec 2000/Jan 2001. Ironically some of their sisters from Arriva Scotland West turned up later, which were registered when built, even known they were the same age.

 

[busesrusuk]

This will probably fit the bill. This enviro 500, built as a test bed by Transbus in 2001 (but not completed until 2004 based on info gleaned form the web), finally entered service with Ensignbus in 2021 after conversion to open top:

Ensignbus 368 Aug21

Leigh-on-Sea, Aug 2021

www.flickr.com

 

[co-tr-paul]

Mention must be made of the Ford/Duple Viceroy kept at its Ford dealership and occasionally seen at shows on the back of a truck. Understand can't be registered because does not meet modern safety regulations !

 

[83G/84D]

Mention must be made of the Ford/Duple Viceroy kept at its Ford dealership and occasionally seen at shows on the back of a truck. Understand can't be registered because does not meet modern safety regulations !

Is this what you were referring to? It's seen arriving at Showbus 2018. There was also a cream coloured Plaxton bodied Mercedes Benz there wearing a plate "MB 0303". It may have been a show plate but I didn't see it arrive so not sure.

 

[318266]

Is this what you were referring to? It's seen arriving at Showbus 2018. There was also a cream coloured Plaxton bodied Mercedes Benz there wearing a plate "MB 0303". It may have been a show plate but I didn't see it arrive so not sure.

Given the chassis is the MB O303, and MB0303 is not registered, I'd imagine it would be a show plate

 

[83G/84D]

Given the chassis is the MB O303, and MB0303 is not registered, I'd imagine it would be a show plate

Thanks, that's what I suspected.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

It's been mentioned on another thread recently but special mention of Cleveland Transit. They bought a batch of Leyland Fleetlines in 1978 of which many were bodied and registered that year but the others were stored and bodied in 1982/3.

So you had the registrations and 78 prefix chassis numbers (of which below in an example)

116 YVN516T 7801175
154 YAJ154Y 7801176
118 YVN518T 7801212
124 YVN524T 7801213
117 YVN517T 7801214
123 YVN523T 7801253
122 YVN522T 7801254
150 VEF150Y 7801255
151 VEF151Y 7801301
152 VEF152Y 7801516
121 YVN521T 7801552
157 YAJ157Y 7801553

The YVNs all entered service in March 1979, whilst the VEFs were Aug 1982 and the YAJs in Dec 1983 (so could've been A regs). They did the same in 1979 with another load of chassis purchased and stored. So whilst 154 and 157 were 1978 chassis but bodied in 1983, 155 and 156 were 1979 ones (7901627 and 7901628) whilst 135 GAJ135V had chassis 7904352.

Can only assume that they essentially had 15 unbodied Fleetlines because they weren't convinced of the Dennis Dominator; they bought a pair in 1979 and then did eventually buy another 20 from 1982 onwards.

As I say, this is a well known story and @DunsBus will recall it. However, whilst looking at buslistsontheweb something else caught my eye. After buying the first pair of Dominators (201/2), they then took another pair (202/3) that apparently had chassis built in 1982 but with an entry to service of 1983, that's not unreasonable. Yet the next four (204-7 - delivered late 1983) have chassis numbers that were between Leicester and SYPTE vehicles that were delivered in early 1982 and are earlier than 202/3.

So did Cleveland Transit not only stockpile Fleetline chassis but also had some Dennis Dominator ones also hanging around for 18 months before bodying? Or is that chassis numbers for these DON'T correspond to manufacture but to order date?

 

[RJ]

GM03 TGM, a Nimbus in London service had a 1998 chassis I believe.

 

[MotCO]

The May 2024 of Buses magazine notes that Bakers Dolphin of Weston super Mare has just placed in service a Van Hool EX15M integral coach which was first registered in June 2022, reg WX22GVU.

 

[DunsBus]

J250KWM, a Leyland Lynx built in 1988 but which didn't enter service until October 1991 with Halton as its number 37.