premiere travel nottingham

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View all all photos tagged premiertravel.

Please see below for a description by the photographer, Barry Lime.

Ok, that opinion is subjective I know, but it was certainly a far better place than it is nowadays I think anyone would agree.

I bought this wonderful photo and several others from the nice chap who's been selling off the archive of the erstwhile 'Bus & Coach' trade magazine. It instantly appealed as it featured two excellent Premier Travel AEC Reliances with Alexander 'Y Type' bodies when brand new in the mid '60s and the whole scene exuded the Britain of my childhood. Needless to say, the original was black & white but I'd also bought it with a view to colourisation. I'd successfully avoided doing the latter until this last weekend as I thought perhaps it was a trifle ambitious with my levels of patience, equipment and skill. Its true to say that I could have gone on and on with it as many of these things are like a model railway whereby you can never actually declare it to be finished.

Anyway we also get a quiz aspect with this one. For bonus points which town do we see 1966 built FCE 132D and its duplicate powering away from? The adjacent Ford Anglia has a Manchester registration, but that's no real guarantee of it being in the North West.

A splendid Premier Travel Alexander Y-type bodied AEC Reliance 2U3RA. It is seen parked between duties at Oxford Bus Station in the late 70s

Returning to a theme from a few weeks ago, that of Premier Travel Reliances, here's an offering now from Clem's collection.

What a hobby ours used to be, when you could go out, witness, savour and photograph scenes like this where every bus and coach in the shot was British made and where there was pride in the product.

Here, VER 261L, a 12m Alexander Y Type bodied AEC Reliance from the Premier Travel fleet passes a parked ex Trent Metro Cammell bodied Leyland Titan from the Whippet fleet. Drummer Street bus station also plays host to an ex City of Oxford AEC Bridgemaster (wearing the new Premier Travel colours), a United Counties Bristol RE and an Eastern Counties Bristol VR. Nice reference to Oxford Aerodrome on the Y Type's destination blind.

KUC 989P leads a line up of the 5 ex LT DMS bought in may 85 at the depot. All had a similar livery with differing adverts for the in house travel agents

Premier Travel were the main NX contractor through Bedford in the early eighties, the steady stream of Reliance Leopard Tigers and Metroliners throughout the day B245 JVA on of very few Metroliners suplied to a Private operator here on a summer saturday afternoon, I wander how many reliefs were attached to it. The use of bay 12 came about during this period, before then all services used the express bay 15, now the taxi rank.

This picture sort of links subject matter from a few days ago with my comments yesterday. We had a few Premier Travel of Cambridge AEC Reliances hereabouts, albeit ones with Alexander Y Type bodies. By the mid '70s, the Cambridge based firm had moved on to more coach like Plaxton bodies of which WEB 410T was their penultimate AEC.

In the mid 1990s it came my way via fellow Flickrite 'SemmyTrailer's dealing business and became part of my Knotty Bus & Coach fleet. Like KVE 909P and the three other 'WEB's which came with it, it was an excellent performer. By the end of 1999, I'd become disillusioned by being an operator and so sold that side of the business. WEB 410T passed with the others to the buyer of the business. He too packed up some six months later and 410 was purchased from the finance company by another local operator. When that company also folded WEB 410T found a home with Bowker's Coaches of Church Lawton where I again had chance to drive it on school contracts . . . one of which was the job I was operating yesterday with the Volvo B12M.

Getting out of bed in a morning was never a chore when I was allocated this Reliance. It had just enough equipment to do the job proficiently, oodles of power and wonderful 'Express / Grant doors' where you didn't have to stop, apply the handbrake, press the button, bide time for various things to un-latch then await the pleasure of the air system to swing the door out into the faces of the waiting kids. With 'grant doors', you could be on your way again before an equivalent plug door was open!

Copyright © John G. Lidstone, all rights reserved.

You are warned: DO NOT STEAL or RE-POST THIS PHOTO.

It is an offence under law if you remove my copyright marking, or post this image anywhere else without my express written permission.

If you do, and I find out, you WILL be reported for copyright infringement action to the host platform and/or group applicable.

The same applies to all of my images.

My copyright is also embedded in the image metadata.

Clem Smith, a Staffordshire native, commuted to Cambridge on a semi-regular basis to visit a friend. Whilst there of course he exercised his photographic equipment, usually at either the railway station or Drummer Street bus station. Some of his earlier shots captured the Premier Travel with second hand AEC Bridgemasters and early Reliances, but here we are in the era of privatisation and a re-modelled Drummer Street. Premier Travel as an independent business hadn't long left and neither had its long association with the AEC marque.

NEB 346R was an early 'R reg', being new in September of 1976. The AEC Reliance '760 chassis carried a 49 seater Plaxton Supreme 'Express' body. Premier specified a curious mix of older style 'Elite' stainless trim on the sides of their Supremes and with it, an unusual downward curve at the rear where most would head upwards.

The bus in shot is a Cambus Leyland National whilst in the distance a silver liveried Premier Travel Leyland Leopard coach loads.

Quite by coincidence, back in 1979, I captured sister Premier Travel Reliance to that in yesterday's posting, LJE 992G.

I believe that back in the early history of my Flickr photostream I have shared this before but at lower res. I've chosen to offer it again in the light of discussions about livery which sprung up in the comments on the preceding offering. It shows the latter day blue based scheme when both shades were actually blue. I'll leave it to the reader to decide for themselves which they actually prefer. I wouldn't personally mind either scheme if I could go out and see sights like this again!

I took the photo in Cambridge's Drummer Street bus station as the coach was about to set off for Oxford. The Mrs to be and I were about to set off in almost the opposite direction towards Haverhill courtesy of an early Eastern Counties Bristol RE. We'd travelled from Stoke on Trent on a Premier Travel AEC Reliance Plaxton Supreme of the RVE . . . S delivery to begin our two week NBC Wanderbus' ticket odyssey around the coast to Torquay. A Yelloways Reliance would take us home.

Clem visited Cambridge on several occasions and when I asked him why, he looked at me, sighed and said in his inimitable way that it was 'because a young lady of his acquaintence lived there'.

Well, Im rather glad that he did venture to the East Anglian City as he was quite thorough with his camera recording snapshots of the area's bus and rail history.

Here, turning on the roundabout in Drummer Street Bus Station is one of Premier Travel's ex City of Oxford Motor Services AEC / Park Royal Bridgemasters, 318 NJO.

Oxford were unusual in specifying the short 27ft length forward entrance version which resulted in the odd small window at the front of the upper deck sides. Someone appears to have committed the crime of painting the upper deck front window rubbers on this one . . . something I personally never liked to see.

WJ16 KBN is a Van Hool TX16 Acron C53Ft coach, new to Storbrook (Premier Transport), Crawley, West Sussex in May 2016.

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Copyright © P.J. Cook, all rights reserved.

It is an offence under law if you use or post this image anywhere else without my permission.

East Kent no 8192 (XSU 912, formerly B192 JVA)

MCW Hiliner, new to Premier Travel

4th July 1993

Ok, I know I've shared this one before too, but as we're in Premier Reliance mode, lets go for a hat trick.

This dates back to my earliest years of bus photography and would have been most likely have been 1977. It was taken at the Oxford end of what I believe was Premier Travel's first express service, that from Cambridge. The exact location is Gloucester Green Bus station which appeared to have shrunk considerably when I last visted it three or four years ago.

Alexander 'Y Type' bodied AEC Reliance VER 262L has a Worths of Enstone Bedford (?) Duple Dominant and an Austin 1800 'Land Crab' for company.

Peterborough Bus Station

Leyland Titan PD2 / 3 - East Lancs FL49RD

New to Ribble Motor Services ( 1243 ) during December-1950 . Coming in to this fleet a few weeks previously in early May-972 .

DCK214 is parked out of service in Drummer Street , Bus Station , Cambridge .

Former Simonds Country Link, Arriva NW & W 7907, and Premiere Travel 3306 Reg KV03 ZFJ stands in Mardens yard waiting its turn for attention. Unfortunately hemmed in by the Irizar.

12 November 2014

Former Premiere 3322, Arriva NW & W and Arriva Merseyside 7908 Reg KV03 ZFK stands in the road outside Mardens shortly after arrival

14 November 2014

AEC Bridgemaster . 2B3RA - Park Royal H65F

New to City of Oxford Motor Services ( 320 ) during January-1963 . Coming to this Operator the previous month , April-1972 .

322NJO has just arrived into Drummer Street Bus Station , Cambridge , working on Route 1

Preserved AEC Reliance with Harrington Grenadier bodywork on the Hertfordshire Showground Redbourn, during the allegedly last Showbus rally.

New to Ribble Motor Services 1248 during 1951 . Coming into this fleet during November-1966 from Reliance Motor Services , Newbury , Berkshire .

DCK219 is parked on waste land adjacent to Cambridge Railway Station .

Premier Travel 341 : Plaxton Paramount 3200 bodied Volvo B10M. The first Paramount/Volvo in the Premier fleet, a former Volvo demonstrator and of note as having a very early dot-matrix destination display. It had been scrapped by 1995, a very short life for a B10M so presumably an accident victim?

A better view of Former Simonds Country Link, Arriva NW & W 7907, and Premiere Travel 3306 Reg KV03 ZFJ in the road outside Mardens during a reshuffle of the yard

Seen on display at Showbus 2022, held at the Hertfordshire County Showground is HLP10C. A Harrington Grenadier bodied AEC Reliance which is preserved in the livery of Cambridge based Premier Travel.

The vehicle was new to Surrey Motors, Sutton.

Sunday 25th September 2022

Park Lane, 7th August 2018.

Former Premier Travel Nottingham 3305 Reg FJ09 PXO in the road outside Mardens ready to leav e in its new coat of paint

17 December 2013

Recently arrived, Former Premier Nottingham 3308, Enviro 300 Reg KV 03 ZGM sits in the road outside Mardens during a reshuffle of the yard.

19 June 2013

Waterloo Rd, 12th June 2018.

Scania Omnicity bus Reg YN 56 NNA which is a formerly with Premier Travel Nottingham and before that Arriva Midlands Couintry Links, Fleet No 3550.

It has just arrived at Mardens and being parke in the yard.

20 June 2013

NEB348R (SFL373R) Aec Reliance Plaxton Supreme new to Premier Travel Cambridge

Seen at the AEC rally at Wollaton Park Nottingham with Viscount in the mid 90s

Premier Travel VER262L, AEC Reliance/Alexander AY C49F, at Drummer Street Bus Station, Cambridge

Leyland Leopard PSU3F/5R - Plaxton Supreme IV Express C49F

New to Premier Travel of Cambridge ( 288 ) in May 1980 .

CJE452V appears to be working as a "Relief Car" on National Travel Route 355 in Sheffield.

From my purchased print collection date of shot unknown to me .

This coach was an AEC Reliance with Plaxton C49F body, new to Premier Travel in August 1975. fleet number 252. The vehicle is seen on a wet day working a 4 Town Service, presumably in Cambridge.

Peter Shoesmith 1982

Copyright Geoff Dowling & John Whitehouse: All rights reserved

Image scanned from a slide/negative purchased on Ebay with copyright included.

8th May 1996.

New three months before the photo was taken, Premier Travel 280 (WEB 410T) is seen in Colchester Bus Station in May 1979. This was a Plaxton-bodied AEC Reliance 6U3ZR.

Premier Travel 286 - having been staunch AEC buyers, Premier turned to Leopards (with ZF boxes) once Reliances were no longer available as seen here with this Plaxton Supreme IV Express example.

Former Premier Nottingham 3308, Enviro 300 Reg KV 03 ZGM sitting in Mardens yard looking resplendent in its new Coaches Excetera livery even with finishing touches still to be completed.

3 July 2013

Premier Travel was one of the early non NBC fleets to paint into National Express livery VAV 257X and early Tiger is at its Cambridge base

HLP 10C a Harrington "Grenadier2 bodied AEC Reliance 2U3RA was one of a pair which were new to Surrey Motors, Sutton in 1965. Preserved in the colours of subsequent owner Premier Travel, Cambridge it is seen at Oxford Services, Wheatley taking part in he SHOWBUS flyby rally on September 27th 2020.

Former Premier of Nottingham 3352, Strawberry Buses, and Dawson Rentals, Enviro 300 Reg KW02 DRO in the road outside Mardens shortly after arrival

5 November 2014

VER261L was an AEC Reliance 6U3ZR / Alexander Y Type C53F new as Premier Travel of Cambridge number 231 in September 1972. It passed to Percival's in September 1981, and was re-registered as VWL817 in September 1983. On disposal it was re-registered as ABW89L.