Wythall Busfest@Gaydon welcomes 700 visitors
Published: 05/07/2023
Yes it’s a whole year since that awful wet day that heralded the first Wythall Busfest@Gaydon in 2022 so thankfully, the weather gods were kind in 2023. Over 700 visitors turned up to see a varied display of 70 buses and coaches from across the decades, lit up for the photographers by sunny periods.
Transport Museum Wythall’s collection led a series of group displays including Birmingham City Transport Guy standards, WMPTE Daimler Fleetlines and an array of Midland Red double and single deckers in a variety of liveries.
The museum’s early Metrobus 1685, pre-production number 5, the vehicle that appeared on MCW’s stand at the 1988 Motor show, shared space with WM companions and three Volvo Ailsas sat alongside, one a Cardiff vehicle that now resides in the Midlands.
Contemporary buses and coaches were also represented, one from afar, the Citybus Volvo B10M Van Hool Alize from Hong Kong. TMW’s NatEx Optare Spectra, R1 NEG was Britain’s first low-floor, low-emissions, easy-access double deck bus to enter service in 1998 and will be the star of Wythall’s Step Free 25 event on August Bank Holiday Monday, August 28th.
National Express, a regular supporter of TMW events, brought its ADL Enviro 400 PRIDE bus, Wolverhampton liveried Transbus Trident 2 and Volvo B7RLE Wright Eclipse Urban in WMPTE Heritage livery.
As a prelude to TWM’s Bristol event on the weekend of July 8/9 commemorating 40 years since the Brislington factory closed, the Bristol line-up included OAX 9F, Red and White Bristol/ECW RELH-6L, NNN 7M, RELH-6L from Mansfield and District and GCL 349N RELH in National white.
Companions were the striking UHY 374, a Bristol KSW from Cheltenham and District and the rarely seen at rallies, TMW exhibit OWE 271K, an East Lancs VRT from Sheffield. Another unusual Bristol VRT sat amongst the WMPTE display, Fleetline lookalike NOB 413M, a VRT with an MCW body.
No doubt a star of the show was BV57 XHE, NatEx’s Scania Omnilink K23OUB Driver Simulator which was ‘queuing all day’ for those who’ve always wanted to be a bus driver. To the children, just one giant PlayStation! Thanks to NatEx for coming along and making the day for so many.
Bus rides around the museum grounds and further afield into the Warwickshire countryside were well patronised and a wide variety of trade stands emptied the wallets of many enthusiasts alongside a running display of trams and trolleybuses from James Knight’s collection.
And finally a big thanks to all the staff at the British Motor Museum who help to make the show happen. Wythall BusFest@Gaydon will be back on the last weekend of June 2024, a big year for Midland Red!
