Eastern Coach Works 2012 Event ~ Special Feature

I know it's been ten days ago since the East Anglia Transport Museum held their ECW 2012 Event but I have received reports and photos from regular contributors Tim Major and Grahame Bessey

The event, held at Carlton Colville over the weekend of the 16th and 17th June, was used to mark the 25th anniversary of the closure of Lowestoft bus factory Eastern Coach Works.

Vehicles started arriving on the Friday before, with the first being a Southern Vectis Lodekka from the Isle of Wight.

The LD6G, registered

SDL268, is shown alongside former Eastern National K 1407 (VNO859) - complete with BE allocation plate.

The next photo shows Alder Valley Leyland Olympian Olympian B578LPE. 

Numbered 1510 in the fleet, it is the first 'commuter' style ECW coach bodied Olympian to be restored to its original appearance.

Also appearing was former Lincolnshire Road car Company's VR 1904 (JVL619H)

New to the operator in August 1969, it passed to PVS Carlton, dealer, towards the end of 1989.

It was subsequently secured for preservation in May 2002 after further use as a play bus and fun bus in the Milton Keynes area.

The last vehicle to be built at the works
was Olympian D367JJD, latterly with Blackpool Transport.

A feature on this vehicle appears on this blog.

Some former Eastern Counties vehicles featured at the event in various liveries.

Grahame caught LK374 (KNG374) arriving back at the museum from an outing displaying Yarmouth as its

destination!

Normally to be found at the Ipswich transport Museum, LK374 was new to Eastern Counties in 1949.

It was one of the standard lowbridge double deckers needed due to the number of low railway bridges in the area.

The second former East Counties bus is another Bristol VR.

172 (NAH135P) was new in April 1976 and lasted 20 years before withdrawal in December 1996.

It subsequently spent some time in the care of the Eastern Transport Collection before being acquired privately.

The final vehicle featured is RE 896 - one of my favourites!

A Bristol RELH 40 seater coach it was

delivered in June 1969.

SVF896G was one of many similar examples operating tours out of Great Yarmouth's Wellington Road depot for holidaymakers.

Following the closure of the museum on the Saturday evening, all the ECW bodied vehicles travelled to the site of the former Coach Works, which is now the North Quay Retail Park.

The entourage then proceeded to North Parade for a photo stop before returning to the museum.

Speaking on behalf of the museum, Tim says the event 'was very successful and it enjoyed some very favourable weather, much better than the previous weekend!'

My thanks to Tim and Grahame for their reports and accompanying photos