A ride on ex Maidstone & District Bristol VR PKE809M

Filmed in November 2020 during a brief road test to make sure all was well following a spot of maintenance.
PKE809M was new to M&D in January 1974 and worked out of Tunbridge Wells with the rest of this batch. Withdrawn in February 1989 she later served with Berry of Taunton, Cedric of Wivenhoe and Ford of Althorne before passing into preservation in 2001. Apart from a few trips out, 5809 stayed sat in the yard of West Kent buses for many years until being acquired by Andrew Gadsby in 2016. He moved her Westerham and started work on her before passing her on to me as he wished to concentrate on his other projects.
5809 is currently a rolling restoration, and whilst she currently doesn't look too pretty with her half stripped paint, she's mechanically in good condition. There's a few areas that need attention such as the lower deck floor (which is why she'll not be carrying passengers for a while) but nothing too major.
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[@davidmansell5986]

Love that transmission whine. Pure poetry!

[@JakeSCOC]

Thanks David. It's the sound of childhood memories

[@johnUB4478]

I loved travelling on Bristol VRs as a child. United Counties and Southern National examples

[@drchrisdavies2941]

I used to travel on these all the time. Superb Gardner sound

[@JakeSCOC]

It's a lovely noise isn't it?

[@cidertom5140]

@@JakeSCOCyes it is and he knows how to driver her properly too. No banging the gears through

[@JakeSCOC]

@@cidertom5140 thanks

[@MrTech1210]

Driver….. I can’t stop watching this video because of how well you use that gearbox! It’s actually really amusing how well you can change and match the engine speed to the required gear. Pure art, you must know the characteristics of that VR like no other 👌🏻😊

[@JakeSCOC]

Thank. Yes she's one of my 'pet' buses and she does tend to out a little more than some of the others. She's also a lovely and fun drive.

[@MrTech1210]

@@JakeSCOC I admire your passion for the buses. Though im 35, I never actually drove one myself however my best friends grandfather owned a small business and we used to clean them every weekend for pocket money and we occasionally moved them around the yard. I had a massive passion for the VR series 3 since I was a young boy and my school bus driver saw this passion in me and he allowed me to change the gears on our VR school bus. Was such a pleasure to do that. I must admit that he treated it with care. Where some drivers used to slam through the gears without even taking their foot off the accelerator. Even at less than 10 years old I knew this was so wrong! Wish I had the opportunity to drive one. You know I saw a green Crossvile VR pulling out of a layby near Northwich a few weeks ago. I didn’t catch it’s number plate unfortunately!

[@JakeSCOC]

@@MrTech1210 Ahhh yes, you have to treat the gears with respect. Can get a bit messy if not as it confuses the box. I do love a Crosville bus. I used to own one at one point. FTU392T

[@MrTech1210]

@@JakeSCOC They were in service here in North Wales for years. I used to ride the 5x Caernarfon to Llandudno via Bangor regularly just to sit above the rear axle to listen to the music 😄 if you know what I mean. Where can I go and see some old buses? Is there any museums?

[@JakeSCOC]

@@MrTech1210 there's quite a few. Manchester has a good one if you're up that way.

[@MrTech1210]

Pure whine from that gearbox. A sound that is a pleasure to hear. I remember back in the early 90’s when the VR was a very common bus in service around North Wales. There was about 8-10 of them all in school service and general route services. Then suddenly, towards the millennia, they just disappeared, sadly. I always admired the Bristol VR, and if there was one with a gardener engine, I would go on the service bus just to sit in the back seat to listen to the engine and gearbox whining. Such a pleasure, like music to my ears 😄. Id buy one if I could, just to have a drive in it. I’m sure they are very characteristic to drive, particularly with the gear changes, matching the engine revs to the gearbox ratios. I remember some drivers absolutely thrashing up through the gears with the throttle fully down and then downshifting without rev matching, consequently jerking the engine. Even at 10 years old, I would be bothered by this way of driving. Nice driving from this driver 👌🏻 seems to understand the characteristics of this bus

[@JakeSCOC]

Thank you for your comments.

[@kevinwhelan8126]

You can’t beat the classic gearbox whine of the old Bristol VR!

[@JakeSCOC]

This one is very whiney too.

[@robdixon3953]

Such a familiar sound. When I started my apprenticeship in 1992 I used to travel to work on an identical one.

[@JakeSCOC]

Certainly the sound of a lot of people's childhood or youth.

[@cornishadz]

Lovely sounds! Miss these!

[@JakeSCOC]

Glad you liked it Adam.

[@evisresortatnggatiranaisla1673]

Mostly the whine from the drop centre rear axle that had straight cut teeth in the drop gearing. Gardner does sound great though!

[@rongeremy6970]

Looks like a fantastic drive,,

[@JakeSCOC]

Thanks Ron. She's great fun

[@davidmansell5986]

Used to drive similar for Cardiff bus. Not the fastest machine but ultra reliable (Apart from the heaters! Thermal undies needed. plus the under floor breezes!) Lovely predictable steering and braking. I seem to remember one of the best was 339. Pulled like a train.

[@bmused55]

Used to travel to school on this all the time. On one of them, every time the bus went over a pothole or speed bump, you could briefly see daylight coming through on the upper right hand side of the drivers windscreen frame!

[@JakeSCOC]

Yes I think it's a quirk of the BET curved screen. I've seen VRs with very little rubber holding the glass in place or very little rubber on the lip, but I've also seen a Alexander bodied Olympians and a Marshall body Swift doing similar. Not helped by heavy glass in a fibreglass frame.

[@davidmansell5986]

@@JakeSCOC The Olympians we had at Cardiff bus used to leak like a sieve!

[@brownbasset]

New to Tunbridge Wells Depot in 1973/4, I drove this vehicle for many a mile.

[@JakeSCOC]

Always good to hear from her former pilots 👍🏼

[@chrisbowman3675]

Jake, I also am sure she regularly worked on the 81 service from Tonbridge to Rusthall via Southborough Highbroms Tunbridge Wells and terminating at Rusthall.

[@JakeSCOC]

I think you're right. I vaguely remember seeing a picture of either her or 5807 on that route.

[@chrisbowman3675]

If I recall correctly this motor also worked out of Tonbridge depot as well as Tunbridge Wells.

[@JakeSCOC]

It may well have done Christopher. I'm discovering that a lot of the records or the allocations of my buses seem to be incomplete.

[@MrTech1210]

Why was it common to start off from standstill in 2nd gear with the Bristol VR? Was the gear ratio too short or something?

[@brianmelrose-fp8fu]

Because 1st is a crawler gear only used for take off on a hill. 2nd is the norm on the flat.

[@colliecandle]

i used to drive these (useless) things. Gutless on hills with a 3 bell load.

[@JakeSCOC]

I bet. The later ones were a lot better in service.

[@davidmansell5986]

We used them on the Ebbw vale Garden festival park and ride sevices with Cardiff bus. An hour from Leckwith depot in cardiff, empty and an hour back later and hardly ever had to carry a passenger, but Oh the overtime! Try getting one of these up the hill on the A470 around Merthyr Tydfil. Us drivers made ourselves really popular with other motorists! I was always worried that a snail may need to overtake! 12 hour shifts on great pay, hardly any work. Great days. Put the deposit down on our house on the strength of that. I won't have a word said against the Bristols.

[@cidertom5140]

@@davidmansell5986used to go to college and come home on a Daimler fleet line ex london transport Gardner 6lxb fantastic sound track