AEC Regent with Roe H30/26R bodies, bought secondhand in 1946.
| 247 UG1029 | 248 UG1030 | 249 UG1032 | 250 UG1033 |
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SCT '61 Southend Corporation Bus Fleet Details 242-250 |
| 242-245
AEC Regent with Weymann H30/24R bodies, bought secondhand in 1946.
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| 246
AEC Regent with Park Royal H30/26R body, bought secondhand in 1946
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| 247-250
AEC Regent with Roe H30/26R bodies, bought secondhand in 1946.
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To help cope with the post-war increase in traffic nine second-hand 1932 AEC Regents were acquired in 1946 through Norths of Leeds; four had been new to Mansfield District (242-5); one was ex Nottingham City (246) and the other four came from Leeds City Transport (247-50) - these 4 had Roe bodies, a make not seen before or since in the SCT fleet. All were highbridge which must have made a welcome change from the claustrophobic lowbridge deckers which dominated the fleet but it did cause some restrictions on their use; they were often to be found on the 62, Central Station to the Plough at Westcliff.
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The ex-Mansfield machines, 242-245, cost Southend £350 each; three entered service in 1946, but 242 did not take to the road until January 1948. The four ex-Leeds Regents were more expensive, at £455 each, so one presumes that they were in superior condition! The solitary ex Nottingham Regent was the cheapest of the second-hand deckers, at only £290 and was also the last to enter service, two years after acquisition, in May 1948; no doubt those two facts were not unconnected!
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UG1032 is seen here during the war in Leeds livery while on loan to London Transport - Click on the photo for a larger image - .... |
... and UG1030 in service with Southend |
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All nine second-hand Regents were withdrawn between 1950 and 1952. Surprisingly, 246 was the only one of the second-hand purchases to see further service, for after withdrawal by Southend in 1952 it then ran for Worth's of Enstone (near Oxford) until 1954.
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There had nearly been some earlier second-hand deckers, for at the end of 1944 Huddersfield Corporation offered Southend 6 AEC Regents for £2,500 the lot, but upon inspection they were found to be in poor condition and the purchase fell through.
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Many thanks to Richard Delahoy for his kind permission to include extracts from his book in this page and also to Ian Banks for supplying some of the pictures. |
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