COUNTRYBUS A historic and nostalgic look at country buses including Dorset, Normandie and the Faroe Islands as well as Somerset, Hampshire, Wiltshire and Lincolnshire too Welcome aboard! |
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| When
you have worked in the bus industry for most of your life, it gets in
your blood in a way that is sometimes hard to explain. There are many sites on the internet about buses but the interest for me has always been in the history, routes, timetables and service planning rather than the vehicles themselves. |
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| That is
not to say
that the hardware, the buses and the coaches, are devoid of interest,
but rather that I tend to look to the uses to which they are being put,
and how well they (and their drivers and conductors) are being
employed, utilised and scheduled. Over the years, I have worked for several of the Dorset operators in the list below, and although I have always preferred the country bus to its urban counterpart, I have not let the name of the web site preclude me from including some town services with which I have been acquainted. Also included are some of the other interesting British and European operations that I have come across in my travels and researches over the years. Many children of my generation dreamed of becoming an engine driver when they grew up, but as a child I dreamed instead of running my own bus company. That ambition was realised in part as I was fortunate enough that my transport career led me to become manager for a time of two of my "favourite" operations (Rossmore and Stanbridge). Before all is forgotten, why not click on a link or two and take a pleasant ride with me down and along the winding lanes of nostalgic memory? |
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| SOME
OF THE COUNTRY BUSES OF DORSET
Bere Regis
& District Motor Services
-
the ubiquitous
brown buses on Dorset's roads
List
of operators acquired by Bere Regis & District over the years Route development of Bere Regis & District bus services from 1949 to 1979
1949 timetable booklet
of Bere Regis & District Motor Services Bere Regis at 80 - the commemorative run on 1st November 2009 Mid Dorset Coaches - the buses run by the three brothers House from Hilton A Pearce & Co. - the buses of Cattistock Passenger with Pearce - reminiscences of some rural rides in 1972 F Legg & Sons - the Evershot Bus Service J Crabb and A Lovell - the buses of Sydling St Nicholas Ernie Toomer - the first buses that served Witchampton and Crichel Stanbridge & Crichel - later buses around Witchampton and Crichel Saturday Driver - a 70s Saturday on the Crichel - Wimborne route Victory Tours
- the Adams family and the buses of Sixpenny Handley Wimborne and Cranborne - the other independent bus operators in the east of the county Dorset Queen
- the buses that were run by Percy Webb and his
family Herrison Hospital -
the daily bus that ran
without a licence for 42 years Interbus - from Thomas Hardy's Casterbridge across the Dorset heaths Dorchester - a bit of serious history about the development of country bus routes Dorchester 1932 - a list of routes of the Dorchester and District Carriers Association Can you help me? - you may have information of interest for this site |
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MORE (AND NEWER) COUNTRY BUSES IN DORSET Blandford Bus Company - a new starter in the deregulated 1980's, the story of John Cumming's buses Weaverbus - the tale of Rory's buses and the Dorset Linkrider services Oakfield Travel - based in Blandford Forum - like Topsy, they just grew and grew and grew Shaftesbury & District- almost thirty five years operating around where Dorset meets Somerset and Wiltshire Verwood Transport - blue buses around Verwood over the years Ray Cuff - an illustrated fleet list by Paul Welling Ray Cuff - thirty years service to the people of North Dorset recalled by Michael Wadman |
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COUNTRYBUS WEBSITE - ELEVEN YEARS ON THE INTERNET RESEARCHING AND RECORDING THE HISTORY OF RURAL TRANSPORT |
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If you would like to write to me or have any further information about the operators featured please e-mail peterATcountrybusDOTcom
The latest updates and additions to this website were made on 22nd January 2012 Please note: this is a site of historical record and does not contain current service information |
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| Grateful
thanks for all the help and encouragement over the years from Roger
Grimley, Henry
Frier, Derek Persson, Mervyn House, Geoff Toomer, John Pitfield, Michael Wadman, David Grimmett, Simon Brown, Dave Crowter, Allan Frost, Jon Stagg, Chris Warn, ParisLJM, Eric Steil, Martial Leroux, Jean-Louis Wahart, Clive D'eath, John Carman, Malcolm Chase, Richard Burton, David Gillard, Maurice Norman, PA Menant, Sylvain Gardie, Andrew Waller, Colin Miller, Valerie Woodcraft, Michael Marshall, Cédric Auvrouin, John Cummings, Margaret Beards, Barrie Edwards, John Brogden, Laurie James, Andrew Tucker, Trevor Kenward, Geoff Currie, Clare Staines, Nick Webster, Colin Hallett, Mike Watts, Gordon Sharp, Steve Oxbrow, Gerard Delpeuch, Peter Brown, Peter Messer, John Law, Mark Self, Andrew Wood, Paul Welling, Ken Jubb, Mike Burt, Barry Thirlwall, Jason Hartley, Kenneth Marvin, Jeff Grayer, Mike Lanham, Ken Cameron, Malcolm Knight, Patrick Collins, Nick Phillips, James Bunting, GG, Jean-Paul Machuré, Jean Pierre Choubrac, Busing, Norman Hudson, Brian Hague, Malcolm Thompson, David Quayle, Vøgg Guttesen, Mikkjal Helmsdal, Jens Tummas Naess, Poul Laust Christiansen, Finnur Johansen and Sólvør Henriksen. If you would like to add any information or make a comment follow this link to the Countrybus blog For ongoing topical discussion about the bus business you might like to read and contribute to the highly recommended Omnibuses blog |
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All
copyrights and trade marks freely and gratefully
acknowledged. Information compiled with thanks from
a miscellany |
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