History and restoration of the Northern SOS bus

Ian Bean, Friends of Beamish Projects' Director, explains the history and restoration of the 1928 Northern SOS bus.
The bus has been painstakingly restored by the Friends of Beamish and features regularly during events.
The bus is one of 65 QL type buses supplied to Northern General Transport. Ours worked right through until 1949, retired from Consett Depot and was used for some time as caravan at Bardon Mill.
It was rescued for spares in the early 70s by Robert Atkinson, and that’s when the restoration began in the late 1970s. It’s powered by a 4 1/4 litre side valve engine of SOS’s own design. Engine & gearbox have rebuilt, new radiator, and the bus was stripped down to its chassis before being rebuilt.
Nobody is certain what SOS stands for, but the theory is it stands for Shire’s Own Specification - possibly!
The Friends of Beamish support museum projects via donations and volunteer time - over £800,000 has been donated since founding in 1967! You can be a Friends of Beamish member without being a volunteer - simply by joining you're giving vital support to the museum.
For more information please visit; www.beamish.org...

[@Dazck9s]

I remember working on this bus back in the 80s

[@cannadineboxill-harris2983]

As I am not comfortable asking the depot why they stopped running the London Suburban Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Gardner 6LX and Gardner 6LXC Diesel Engine Olympian ECW’s on routes 30, 121, 230, 271, 349, N279 And 158 why can’t we make the same make of the Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Gardner 6LX and Gardner 6LXC Diesel Engine Olympian ECW Buses but Modernise the insides of these Buses. Also, make it low floor up and down and also extend the middle body part of these vehicles a little bit more so there will be more space for the wheelchair users. By the way, if you could remake and Modernise these vehicles could they also make them into a Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Gardner 6LX and Gardner 6LXC Diesel Engine Olympian ECW Version that if it will be possible to Modernise the insides of these Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Gardner 6LX and Gardner 6LXC Diesel Engine Olympian ECW’s make it low floor up and down and also extend the middle body part of these vehicles a little bit more so there will be more space and even a London Suburban 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Scania N230UD Enviro 400 MMCs and 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Gardner 6LX Diesel engine Enviro 400 MMC’s and also extend the middle the body part of these vehicles a little bit more. Why couldn’t we have those London Suburban Buse's Pale red on the top roof Pale red again on the top middle Milk Chocolate brown on the middle Creamy white on the Bottom Middle and Milk Chocolate Brown again on the Bottom on most of those kinds of those Particular Double Decker Vehicles? Could you put the Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox in the Scania N230UD Enviro 400 MMCs and also put the Loud 3-Speed Voith Diwa Gearbox in the Volvo TD102KF Engine East Lancs Olympus and also extend the the middle body part of these vehicles a little bit more and also turn most of them to London Suburban Buses. By the way, could you also make the routes 349, 121, N279 and 271 into London Suburban Buses and have a a mixture of a Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Scania N230UD Enviro 400 MMC and Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Gardner 6LX and Gardner 6LXC Diesel Engine Olympian ECW Versions. Could they also transfer the Arriva Bus Depots from Hackney to Stagecoach company so they can replace all the Arriva buses so that all of them can go to Birmingham and Leeds and they can be replaced by Stagecoach Loud 3-Speed Voith Diwa Gearbox Volvo TD102KF Engine East Lancs Olympus and also Extend the Middle body part of these Vehicles and that includes A Mixture of a Stagecoach Loud 3-Speed Voith Diwa Gearbox Volvo TD102KF, Gardner 6LXC and Gardner 6LXCT Engine Northern Counties Palatine One and that Includes a Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Gardner 6LX Diesel engine Enviro 400 MMC’s and Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Scania N230UD Enviro 400 MMC Vehicles A Little Bit More? Can Arriva London Bus Company Replace Most of their Wight Buses so they can also transfer them to Birmingham and Also Manchester so they can be replaced by Loud 3-Speed ZF Ecomat Gearboxes Volvo D10A Engine East Lancs Olympus and also Extend the Middle body part of these Vehicles A Little Bit More Thank You Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Much. Oh by the way could the bus Factory Companies also Make More of Those Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Gardner 6LX and Gardner 6LXC Diesel engine Olympian ECW Vehicles And that also includes Those Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Cummins L10 Enviro 400 MMC And also Extend the The middle Body part of those Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Gardner 6LX and Gardner 6LXC Diesel Engine Olympian ECW Vehicles and the Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Cummins L10 Enviro 400 MMC Vehicles and that also includes The Loud 3-Speed ZF Ecomat Gearboxes Volvo D10A Engine East Lancs Olympus A Little Bit More And Paint Those 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Cummins L10 Enviro 400 MMC Vehicles and also those Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Gardner 6LX and Gardner 6LXC Diesel engine Olympian ECW Vehicles and that also includes The Northern Counties Palatine One with a Volvo TD102KF, Gardner 6LXC and Gardner 6LXCT Diesel engines with a Loud 3-Speed Voith Diwa Gearboxes and The Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Scania N230UD Enviro 400 MMC Vehicles and also The Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Gardner 6LX Diesel engine Enviro 400 MMC Vehicles to the Grey Green Colours Just Like The Other Original Scania Grey Green on the Bus Route 125, 173, 313 and 103. If all of the 14 Leyland Titan B15s are Fully Red and even Mostly Red, could they also Repaint All of Those 14 Leyland Titan B15s into Grey Green Colours Just Like The Other Original Scania Grey Green on Bus Route 313 so they can Reuse them for Only Every Seven and a Half Months and also Reuse them on those Rail Replacement London Bus Routes if that will Be Alright for Only Just Every Seven and a Half Months, starting from the beginning of October and also Reuse Those Buses Only on the London Bus Routes which are The 341, N41, 34, 123, N29, 149, 221, N73, 121, 86, 30, 262, 147, 396, 41, 56, and N26 so Please make sure that the builders can do as they are told!!!! And please do something about these Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Important Professional Ideas Pretty Please? Prime Minister and also includes the Mayor of London.

[@phil3380]

My Grandfather drove busses for Maxways of Birkenhead from the 20s and into the 30s on express routes to Glasgow, London and Caernarfon.. I would love to ride this bus to hear the sound of constant mesh gearing and petrol engine... how do I find out when to visit

[@busesinprofile2114]

Are you going to bring it go showbus