1969 Bristol RELH6G Bus - Royal Blue | Southern National
April 12, 2001
The following photo(s) are © copyrighted by Bryan Sharpe (UK)
Bernie,
I was surfing the net for bus related things and saw yours...........it kept me busy for ages.
I've attached some pics of the bus/coach I own which is a Bristol RELH6G built new in 1969 for "Royal Blue" which ran express services from the South West of England to all parts. I have restored her into it's 1977 guise working for "Southern National" It's one of a small collection of "Bristol" chassis we keep here in Derbyshire and take them to events and rallies all around the country. For info some of the photos are taken my mate Richard Waterhouse!
I hope you find this interesting, keep the site looking well........I'll pop back soon,
Bryan Sharpe



Classic Bus (101)
on Jan 25, 06 | 12:48 pm
Reader Comments
During the years 1974-76 I drove for Eastern National at Basildon Depot. If memory serves me correctly three of these vehicles were based here and I think their depot numbers were BN1510, BN1511 & BN1512.
When on late turn I would try to obtain one of these for my shift instead of the vehicle allocatted.This was not always possible because of the limited seating capacity compared with other vehicles at the depot. After having taken my meal break I would then go down to the shed yard and pester the running forman to allow me to comlpete the shift in one of these as after the evening peak loadings were always very light.
A particular favourite route of mine for one of these was the route to Tilbry Ferry ( can't remember the number)as this was of reasonable distance and contained some straight stretches on which it was possible to acheive a reasonable? turn of speed.
Some of the drivers at Basildon either could not or were reluctant to engage 6th gear. It always gave me a sense of achievment and pride when I engaged 6th because then I knew we were off and running! I was equally at peace trundling about Wickford, Ramsden Bellhouse, Ramsden Heath, Billericay, etc,etc as long as I had one of these under me.
Compared to the other OMO vehicles at Basildon at that time,i.e the "trams" (Bristol LS's & MW's) an RELH6G was the height of luxury with it's power steering and air bag suspension and 6 cylinder engine and high gearing.
Eventually along came the bus type RE's and Leyland National's but nothing ever "done it" for me like an RELH6G
I wonder if I will ever get to sit in one again and maybe, perhaps maybe, be invited to sit behind the wheel again and take one for a spin.
Why does nobody make a model of this classic vehicle or does somebody out there know different
They featured the manual gearbox which was not an easy box to handle, especially when cold, could be difficult to actually locate the required gear at the right time
I do have a friend of mine in the Ely, Suffolk area that has a nice example of an ex Eastern Counties RELH with a semi automatic gearbox and i have driven that one a year or so ago, goes very nicely, thank you very much
I chat a lot about the old days and speak with great fondness about these great vehicles. thanks for reading. Steve.
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