The Bedford SB: A True "Super Bus?!" [UK Bus History]

In 1951, Bedford introduced a new bus and motorcoach chassis to replace its aging Bedford OB model. The SB was to become one of the most numerous buses ever built - 54,000 were manufactured, and they served all over the world in various capacities.
One of the most interesting aspects to the SB was the sheer variety of bodywork - the styles ranged from the super-stylish to the very austere.
Production ceased in the late 1980s. The Bedford SB is truly one of the most interesting buses ever built!!
#buses #vehiclehistory #vehicledesign #vehicletransportation #publictransport #modernbus #transportationhistory #transportationdesign #transportationtech #generalmotors #gmc #leylandbus #britishleyland #ukbuses #ukhistory

[@patricko4964]

Thanks

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello!!!! Thank you so much!!! I really appreciate this very, very much, and I'm so happy you like my videos!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

[@bobanob1967]

Reasons to watch your videos: Number one! Very concise. Number two! Very accurate. Number three! Very informative. Number four! Very enjoyable. Keep it up!

[@derekantill3721]

You described Jeffrey’s video’s perfectly. I myself always watch ‘em.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! What a great comment! I'm so happy you find my videos enjoyable to watch!!! Thanks so much for the positive feedback and thanks so much for watching again!!

[@jeffclark2725]

@@bobanob1967 well said

[@briankay4713]

Number 5 !! I watch them constantly...excellent, informative but best of all enthusiastic ....superb Jeffrey

[@ian_b]

I love them, and it appeals to me to see an American so enthused by British buses!

[@alanrobertson9790]

Its odd that an American has one of the best UK bus channels. I love the stylish delivery and enthusiasm.

[@johnburns4017]

The British had such a variety of styles of interesting buses, unlike the USA.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! I'm so glad you like to watch my videos, thanks very much for the positive feedback!

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

How true!!

[@ericwolff6059]

Thanks for highlighting the NZR Bedfords. A number of them are still on the road in the form of house buses. I remember as a school kid, groups of us would go to the Murder House (dental clinic) in them. And schools hired them for class and school outings, such as picnics, field trips, etc. I later became a bus driver, but these had long ago disappeared.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Oh yes, could not leave out the NZR bedford SB buses!! And thanks for relaying your experience with them - very interesting!! Thank you very much for watching!!!

[@grahamdavidcowley]

Another excellent video. I wished that it could have been longer. The versatility of the SB was legendary. Service bus/coach/truck etc. I remember them so well with local operators in South Yorkshire. Wigmores (buses only for their Dinnington - Sheffield Route, Riley's of Rotherham, Gordons (also Rotherham). They were also used by major operators. Southern Vectis had some, as did Barton and East Yorkshire.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! I'm really glad you liked the video - yes, I agree it should probably have been longer, but it's a huge effort just to do an eight-minute video, LOL. Thank you very much for watching!!!

[@dfishpool7052]

I took my Public Service Vehicle test in October 1964 driving a Bedford SBG Duple coach (I passed!!). As far as I can remember it had a petrol engine and a four speed gearbox but no synchro between first and second gear. No power steering and drum brakes which suffered from brake fade on long descents when fully loaded. Thank you for your videos - all very interesting.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! I'm really glad you liked the video and thanks for your experience with the SB! Thank you very much for watching!!!

[@1man1guitarletsgo]

I wonder if I ever travelled in one of these when I went to school in the 1970s. The bus company was Vagg's Coaches of Shropshire, and to me, their buses were ancient! One driver always smoked a pipe, with its quite pleasant aroma permeating the whole bus.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! LOL, that's quite amusing - the driver smoking. Try that today! Thank you very much for watching!!!

[@007JHS]

Great and informative clips... The Bedford SB in such a long production run, in such numbers and across the world make them the VW Beetle of the bus world.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Glad you liked the video!! Yes, it's like the VW Beetle...but better!! Thank you very much for watching!!

[@robertmatthews8302]

Thank you Jeffrey for such an informative and detailed résumé of the Bedford SB range. 😊

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! I'm really glad you found the video interesting!!! Thank you very much for watching!!!

[@JTA1961]

Nice...very impressive

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Thank you so much again!!!! I very much appreciate your super thanks every time!!!! It certainly does mean a great deal to me! Thanks again!

[@danieleregoli812]

This is amazing Jeffrey!!! I remember seeing sooo many of these in Malta!!! You absolutely have to do a video on the iconic old Malta busses. Thank you so much.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! I'm very happy you really liked the video!! Oh yes, Malta would be a great subject for a video! Thanks so much for watching again!!

[@danieleregoli812]

@@JeffreyOrnstein your videos are top notch 💯💪

[@bustersw1760]

Another really interesting video. In my 40 years of coach driving, I always had a soft spot for Bedfords of all chassis and body types. They were real plodders. Underpowered with the 330, 466 or 500 non turbo, until the 500 turbo came along, but they were reliable. Over the years I drove vehicles from almost every body and chassis makers, both UK and Continental. But I always like the underdog, as before driving coaches, I drove busses, and must be the only driver who actually liked the AEC Merlins, though not so much when I was freezing to death due to the grotty heating systems.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Very glad you liked the video and thanks for relaying your experience in coach driving, very interesting!! Thank you very much for watching!!!

[@PPA2000]

I used to go to school on one of them in the late 70’s early 80’s in Auckland NZ. They were yellow Auckland Regional Authority buses and I remember the big hump next to the driver and the gear stick was behind him with the lever poking forward. Thank you for your great videos Jeffrey.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Thanks for relating your experience with the SB, very interesting!!! Very glad you liked the video and thanks so much for watching!!

[@robt2151]

In 1966 i lived in Wythall (think bus museum); school was 12 miles away and the school transport contractor had several old SB coaches. Two incidents come to mind: the first being having well over the 41 passenger limit on a regular basis with one occasion reaching 101 persons onboard, and second being forced off the road on a foggy day by an oncoming lorry and ending up at 45 degrees in a ditch. All the passengers (again overloaded) had to exit via the driver's door which was by now more than 5 feet above the ground. IIRC, the name of the company was 'Reliance' but probably not the one at 05:40. Thanks for the memory!

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Wow, thanks for sharing your memories of the SB, very interesting!!! Thank you very much for watching!!!

[@davidjones332]

These were the archetypal small rural operator's vehicle. Dead simple, cheap to run, easy to fix without needing any special knowledge, and most service items available off the shelf at your local Bedford dealer. The petrol version still had 12-volt electrics too.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Thanks for relaying your experience with the SB! Thank you very much for watching!!!

[@jeffclark2725]

Agreed, you could have made a huge video covering all the years of this line,all the upgrades and improvements throughout the years of building, great video thumbs up

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Glad you liked the video!!! To cover everything would have taken weeks and weeks to create a video, LOL. Thanks very much for watching again!!

[@flatslide3250]

I remember using that Dunedin City Library bus as a kid in the 70s. It used to park by the Liberton Post Office on a prescribed schedule.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Well, then it's great that I got that picture into the video, LOL! Thank you very much for watching!!

[@DomingoDeSantaClara]

I remember those NZ rail buses very well, quite common back in the 70s-80s, more common than the trains by then.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Oh yes, the SB did seem to be common in NZ back then! Thank you very much for watching!!!

[@crabbymilton390]

Holy crap the BEDFORD SB really has a rich and long history. Many attractive versions. As always Jeffery, your video lived up to its billing.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Oh yes, it's such a varied bus it was impossible to show everything! I'm really happy you liked the video and thanks so much again for watching!!

[@northstar1950]

The back bone of many independent coach operators in the 50s and 60s. I remember talking to a local coach operator back in the 90s, Howard Homer of 'Homer's of Quarry Bank' in the West Midlands. He told me if they wanted to make a round trip with the petrol powered version to London, without refuelling, it was necessary to have twin fuel tanks.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Very interesting to hear that about the fuel tanks! Thank you very much for watching!!!

[@AntMan-b8l]

I finished my school years in Cyprus In 1985 as a British expat. The buses that did the school run were either engine and mudguards/fenders ahead of the passenger coachwork with the driver siting behind the powerplant assembly or they were full length bodywork with the driver position to the right of the engine/gearbox arrangement. The latter style had a long arched gear lever mounted to the gearbox far behind the driver. Here's the deal though, the former type of bus had a front end that looked like a British dump truck from the 1950's with a bus body behind it, probably locally built. I reckon they were Bedford chassis' Great video as always, love the format.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Really glad you liked the video!!! Oh, yes that bus must have been a Bedford, LOL. Many of them have truck-like fronts! Thank you very much for watching!!

[@StephenAllcroft]

@@AntMan-b8l The normal control ones were on Bedford TJ lorry chassis.

[@AntMan-b8l]

@@StephenAllcroft thanks for that. A quick Google search revealed fond memories of the green and red village buses with the roof mounted luggage rack. They ran those buses as late as the mid 80's, a 1940's design. Who did the coachwork I wonder?

[@AntMan-b8l]

@@JeffreyOrnstein Hi, thanks for reminding me of a bus I haven't thought about in a very long time.

[@theenergyflowtribejamesbro1302]

Incredible production run! An excellent concise summary, Jeffrey, thank you.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Really glad you liked the video!!! Thank you very much for watching!!

[@NickRatnieks]

The SB was derived from the 1950 Bedford S heavy lorry known as the " Big Bedford" and made as a Dinky Toy. I have just remembered during the pre-Xmas postal rush in Portsmouth back in the late 60s, a local coach firm which called White Heather Coaches would supply an SB and driver to deliver parcels. This would come down our road stuffed full of parcels with casual seasonal workers- students, dropping off the parcels. On that basis this coach was a mail bus! You could make a great bug-eyed cartoon character bus from the bulbous looking SB coaches- a bus version of Thomas the Tank Engine or Budgie the Little Helicopter.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! That's really interesting about that parcel bus! Before UPS or FedEx, LOL! Thank you very much for watching!!

[@ManxAndy]

Good afternoon Jeffrey….I’ll bet there’s more of these than anything else from that era , still going strong today…👍👌🇮🇲

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Oh yes, there's numerous SB buses in preservation today!! Thank you very much for watching!!

[@StephenAllcroft]

​@@JeffreyOrnsteinThere's lots of SBs preserved around the world but the most preserved bus is the London Transport Routemaster.

[@jadeboswell-rz2ly]

Hi Jeffrey, You did an excellent job, to create a video of such a diverse vehicle as the SB. Well done.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Thank you for very nice comment, and I'm really glad you liked the video! Thank you very much for watching!!!

[@maestromanification]

Another excellent video Jeffrey. I remember duple and plaxton bodied ones from late 50s early 60s taking us on school trips in the 70s Cheers Russ

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello Russ! I'm very happy you liked the video!!! Thank you very much for watching!!!

[@tactikzzF1R3]

Another brilliant video! Thank you so much, Jeffrey!

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! I'm very happ you liked the video! Thank you very much for watching again!!!

[@christopherfranklin972]

Another brilliant video Jeffrey,really enjoyed it,thank you!

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! I'm really happy you liked the video!!! Thank you very much for watching again!!!

[@nadermansour7487]

Rode on many of these in Malta during the late 80's and Early 90's. Buses in Malta were a unique experience back then.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Oh yes, Malta had really great buses! Thank you very much for watching!!

[@WOFFY-qc9te]

I remember travelling on a "Huggins Coaches" (Wirral UK) Bedford SB to go to collage ( 1980) , very bright interior with roof windows comfortable seats and a constant aroma of petrol (gas) leaking through the engine covers by the driver. The gear stick was long with some gears on the other end of it but it required an experienced driver to find them.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Thanks very much for your memories of the SB, very interesting! Thank you very much for watching!!!

[@NickRatnieks]

When I was a kid we moved to Portsmouth and there were loads of Royal Navy SBs chugging about. I believe that some had Mulliner bodies- it must have made a nice change making these bus bodies instead of those swanky Rolls-Royce bodies for rich folks! You went all metric at the start Jeffrey and I was waiting for you to start speaking French but suddenly, we were back with feet and inches, so "normal service" had been resumed. When you do a video- if you haven't done one yet on those Paris Renault STCRP vehicles, I expect that to be in French with subtitles! Zut alors! I cannot wait!

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

LOL, I took french for four years in junior high and high school. Not sure I remember most of it, or enough to do a video, LOL.

[@nasa2824]

Did my training as a mechanic on these.they will be always in my memorie

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Thanks for your memories of the SB! Thank you very much for watching!!!

These coaches were very common in the 1960s. I know several of the coach companies in the town where I grew up (Coventry) used them. I'm sure I must have travelled on one or more of them in my younger days.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! With so many that were built, it was more than likely you rode them, LOL! Thank you very much for watching again!!

[@thestocktonflyer4059]

Great video Jeff 😊

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! I'm so glad you liked this video! Thank you so much for watching again!

[@johnherring4863]

The Australian army had a fleet of SB3 buses from the early 60's to the early 70's, these buses were fitted with the Bedford petrol engine renowned for fuel atomisation problems when hot and were fitted with 4 speed crash gearboxes. The army apprentice school then at Balcombe Victoria where I served from Jan 1976 to November 1979 had 5 of these buses and 1 ford R20 fitted with a ford diesel engine and an epicyclic transmission.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Very interesting to hear you experience with the SB while in the service!! Thank you very much for watching!!

[@bob_._.]

The one you chose for the thumbnail is a beautiful bus.

[@StephenAllcroft]

A very unusual example, one of two bodied in Rochdale by the Trans-United Coachcraft concern.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Yes, it certainly is a beautiful bus!! Thank you very much for watching!!!

[@kensherwood4866]

Love your enthusiasm, detailed explanation and pairing of facts and information. Never miss an episode. One piece of feedback, I often watch using headphones and wish you had a mic muff to cut out the popping during your vigorous delivery of the details 😊

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! I'm really happy you like my videos!!! I do apologize for the popping sounds - I'm trying to work on that - a bit challenging while speaking enthusiastically, as you mention!! Thank you very much for watching!!

[@anthonyg638]

Pretty certain our bus that took us home in the afternoon was the GMH Bedford SB. 33 Passengers LOL, try 60 smelly, sweaty primary school kids in the Australian sun and stuff all ventilation. Horrific. It got replaced by a Leyland National and we all got sit down, with ventilation. Heaven 😍

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! LOL, Leyland National to the rescue! Thank you very much for watching!!

[@ROCKINGMAN]

Another successful design in the bus world. A few were on hire at school in the early 70's, I was aware of their great style as well as the Ford Thames. The Plaxton bodied SBs were really nice and fairly modern with 60's styling. Remember the SB5 hired by schools and authorities, I think it replaced the mucher nicer VAS and its bigger brother the VAM. The VAS was very nice. Nice little video.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Really glad you liked the video!! Oh yes, the VAM or VAS may be a good subject for a future video!! Thank you very much for watching!!

[@StephenAllcroft]

Thanks Jeffrey for another grand video. The width options were the same throughout the vehicle's production, it's just that coachbuilders added extra width when the law allowed, the length on the other hand started at 27'6" because that had been the maximum permitted length for a two axle single deck bus since 1931. Suddenly in mid 1950 length was relaxed to 30ft. Bedford could not move as quickly as the specialist makers but Duple and a lot of the other coachbuilders extended the rear overhang to increase seating to 37 or 38. It was in late 1954 that the standard length 30ft version entered production and there was no length option after that. Both in Australia and the UK coachbuilders modified the chassis by setting back the front axle to provide a front door, Bedford then introduced the VAM to cover the market for a 10m bus or coach. The initial masterstroke though was that Bedford and Duple instructed their dealers to sell a 33 seat SB coach for the same price as the outgoing 29 seat OB. Nobody could compete with that.

[@StephenAllcroft]

After 1970 Vauxhall and Bedford had a new computerised inventory system installed, and it led to continuing chassis being re-coded, after 1970, the SB3 was the NFM and the SB5 was the NJM, everyone still called them SBs though.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello Stephen! Thanks so much for all of this detail on the history of UK bus dimensions - it's quite interesting!! Very glad you liked the video, and thanks so much for watching again!!

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Oh yes, I did see that in my research, but it seems nobody - even enthusiasts - ever refers to the SB in those codes, so I left it out. I think it was based on GM's coding system at the time. Thanks again!

[@peterlau4683]

There were some private bus companies in Hong Kong bought Bedford SB buses with local built bodywork for hiring service and school bus during 60-70's and still can see at least a few in early 90's if I remember.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Oh, I don't think I saw pictures of the SBs in Hong Kong. I would have included a picture of one if I did!! Thank you very much for watching!!

[@paulnolan1352]

Thanks Jeffrey, I do remember seeing these but didn’t realise they were so prolific. See you on the next one 🤙

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello Paul! Oh yes, there were so many of them built!! Glad you liked the video and thanks very much for watching!!

[@CharlesTimothy-en7to]

Drove the SB in West Germany whilst in the British Army easy to drive and pretty fast

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Great to hear your memories of the SB! Thank you very much for watching!!!

[@thomasrose7713]

So many variance, so concisely presented enjoyed it very much. The shutter click sound effect not so much, but an excellent video.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Glad you liked the video!! Except for the clicks, LOL! Thank you very much for watching!!

[@angelsone-five7912]

I liked the Bedford/Duple Super Vega so much that I adopted the name for my Ebay handle.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Wow, that's really interesting, LOL! Thank you very much for watching!!

[@colincar6823]

Another great video Jeffrey

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! I'm really glad you really liked the video! Thank you very much for watching!!!

[@SteveMillar-t3f]

Lovely motors I drove a SB lorry Perkins deseil for about 4 yrs as the firm used to run their vehicles into the ground it just kept on going.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Thanks for your memories of the SB! Thank you very much for watching!!!

[@getinthevantim]

Thanks Jeffrey, an excellent video as ever but this one was particularly interesting as I once owned an Australian 1964 SB5 with the 2 door Comair bodywork, ex-Latrobe Valley Bus Lines. Its destination blinds still included the now 'vanished' town of Yallourn.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Really happy you liked the video!! Great that you once owned an SB! Awesome!! Thank you very much for watching!!

[@whitbygaming2474]

beautiful video explains the sb bedford realy well

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! I'm so glad you like my video and thanks for the nice feedback!!! Thank you very much for watching!!

[@Scots_Diesel]

Yet again you nailed it

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! I'm so glad you really liked the video! Thank you very much for watching again!!!

[@sutherlandA1]

We used to have a 1970 bedford Comair camper conversion in our family, originally using a holden straight 6 it was swapped out for a chevy 350 small block running on LPG

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Sounds great to have owned one of those!! Thank you very much for watching!!

[@glenjones6980]

Another outstanding video, lots of details and great mix of the different body styles and uses. It may have evolved over time but the long production run sys something about the initial design and the multiple uses it served just backs that up even further. I almost ended up driving a mobile cinema around Scotland at one point but ended up back on transporters, the bodywork of today with extending pods and such sound like nightmare compared with the simple tried and trusted bodywork of days gone by. The same being true of transporter too, it' all fine and dandy carrying twelve but the miles of hoses and dozens of rams are a pain when they fail in use.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Really happy you liked the video! And thanks for relaying your vehicle experience! Thank you very much for watching!!!

[@superted6960]

In the 1960s, when I was very young, my parents took me on holiday a few times to the Isle of Man. Usually arranged on Douglas promenade would be coaches operated by a variety of independent operators, operating half day tours to various beauty spots and places of jnterest around the island. The Bedford SB was pretty standard fare. I remember a company called Corkills (who still trade after all these years) and photos can be tracked down on the internet of at least one SB in their service

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Thanks for relating your experience with the SB - very interesting! Thank you very much for watching!!

[@nameless5413]

that is borderline insane, better part of 4 decades. was its chasis that good or how did it cope with changes in well almost all technology? did they update the underpinnings with each major technical advancement or was it reliabiliy/price kind of solution?

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Yes, it sounds a bit crazy that it lasted that long! I didn't read about any updates to the chassis in all those years except for newer engine options. I guess it was the same for all those decades! Thank you very much for watching!!

[@StephenAllcroft]

@@JeffreyOrnstein After the 5 speed gearbox (at the same time as the 330 cubic inch engine) the only further developments were a more upright driving position and a remote gear change lever in the early 1970s to cope with more angular bodies. There were a handful of NLMs built (SB75 in the old system) very fast by all accounts but a bit under-braked.

[@briankay4713]

These were everywhere when i grew up in the UK Jeffrey ...as were the bigger offerings .....but never knew they built 54k ....just wow ....huge amount ...

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Oh yes, it's amazing there were so many of them built! Thank you very much for watching!!!

[@robredz]

Anotrher great synopsis of a UK bus and coach that was a first choice for many operators in North Wales Creams and Royal Red coaches used Duple bodied SB's one or the other of those operators also had a Commer with the two stroke engine. The Storno van with trailer incidentally is parked outside the Royal Arcade on Mostyn Street Llandudno.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Really glad you found the SB video interesting!! Thank you very much for watching!!!

[@billybobbruce]

St Mark's College Bedford Western Australia had a Bedford bus similar to 5.04 Rockhampton, in black and yellow livery circa 1983-1985. Ex MTT bus I was told. 😊

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Thanks for the info on the Bedford SB in Western Australia!! Thanks very much for watching!!!

[@007JHS]

Would make a good book with a combination of technical, historical and photos

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Oh yes, a good book with lots of photos of the SB would be great!! Thank you very much for watching!!

[@derekantill3721]

I traveled many miles on Duple bodied Bedford SB fitted with Leyland 0.350 engines. A bus well up to the job required.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Great to hear your positive experience with the SB! Thank you very much for watching!!

[@rayjennings3637]

I drove the Army version a couple of times during my time in the Forces and it was a decent enough vehicle to drive but with just a pressed metal cover over the engine it was very noisy up front! Part of that problem was the oil bath air inlet filter - it hissed like a scalded cat all the time!

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Very interesting to hear your experience with the military version of the SB! Thank you very much for watching!!!

[@patricktrakzel9657]

Indeed Jeffrey. The sheer amount of bodies is almost impossible to discover. Let alone making a video about them. It would be 8 hours long.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Oh yes, in fact, it would take forever!! Thank you very much for watching!!

[@TheNewTriStateGuy]

Gotham would love these buses.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

LOL, maybe it would!!! Thank you very much for watching!!!

[@AJ-yo5ew]

When I worked for New Zealand Railways in the 1980's, who had a significant bus fleet, The Bedfords got a major overhaul every 22,000km. In comparison, the Hinos were overhauled on average every 180,000km. The Volvos on the other hand had never been overhauled, and their fleet average was 750,000km.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Wow, that's interesting - the comparison of the SB to the other models in the fleet! Thank you very much for watching!!!

They probably had dozens of greasing points whereas the Volvos greased themselves.

[@northstar1950]

Volvos we're far more expensive too. Horses for courses!

[@peterwiremuormsby9383]

Are you sure about 22,000kms for the Bedford? I find that figure hard to believe. I'd believe 220,000.

[@northstar1950]

@@peterwiremuormsby9383 totally agree.

[@stanleybest8833]

The movie Billy Elliot has a bus library. With a diversion, Billy has to steal a ballet book from the adult only section.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

LOL, I should check out that movie! Thank you very much for watching!!

[@johncourtneidge]

Lovely, as always! Thank-you! Where, please, were they made?

[@stephenboulter4727]

Luton in Bedfordshire UK, same factory as Vauxhall cars are/were made, both brands bought by GM in 1925, (now owned by Stelantis), Bedford was discontinued as a brand in 1992, vans since then have been branded as Vauxhalls and truck, bus and coach production has ceased altogether, very sad.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! I'm really happy you liked the video!!!! The chassis were assembled in Luton. Thank you very much for watching again!!!

[@jonathansmyth9249]

In 1962 the Ulster Transport Authority bought Bedford SB5 with their own body work using Metal Sections frames in 1965 they bought more this time with Duple bodies. CIE also had some with their own body work later some with Van Hool M C Ardle bodies built in Ireland both types for school buses. They where still around in the 1980s when I visited CIE depots on ITT trips. A true classic if GM hadn't killed off Bedford I think the SB would have sold well in GB 1986 bus private bus operators.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Thanks for all the info on the SB in Ireland! Irish buses are quite interesting! Thank you very much for watching!!

[@jonathansmyth9249]

@@JeffreyOrnstein my pleasure your videos are fantastic.

[@johnrafferty8087]

Love Them. REALY easy to Rldrive. . Well the one I drove was

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Great to hear you had a good experience with the SB! Thank you very much for watching!!

[@johnrafferty8087]

@@JeffreyOrnstein realy enjoy your content!!

[@johnmontgomery9149]

Check out MacBraynes, they had a large fleet of bus and coach variants of SB’s

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Ok, will do!! Thank you very much for watching!!!

[@timbounds7190]

The original versions had 110bhp! Even small cars have as much as that these days! Those 'cinema' buses look a bit alarming!

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! LOL, I guess some of the SBs were a bit underpowered! Thanks so much for watching!!

[@StephenAllcroft]

If you think the standard versions were underpowered Eastern Counties Omnibus Company had 16 in 1954 with Gardner 4LK engines, 3.8 litres and 60bhp. Good job their operating territory was flat.

[@timbounds7190]

@@StephenAllcroft Even the original Mini had 34bhp! Those SBs must have struggled to make progress into a strong headwind!

[@Pinzpilot101]

I drove various lengths and seating capacities of them..in the Army..always the same dashboard same gearstick.........All the army ones could quickly be converted to ambulance configuration.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Thanks for relaying your experience with the SB! Very interesting!! Thank you very much for watching!!

[@Pinzpilot101]

@@JeffreyOrnstein I never drove a civilian SB but it was such a nice drive, just so easy to slip into...even easier than the Military Bedford RL because the views all round were a little better.....I drove a coach based on the Ford D series, so a generation later...and I would say the SB was a nicer drive.

[@david5845]

Thank you! What makes a North American interested in UK Buses? Canadiain?

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! The sheer variety of UK buses is extremely interesting to me!! I'm from New York City, and all we had in America was the GM and Flxible New Look buses, for the most part. What a bore. Thank you very much for watching!!

[@1208bug]

👍

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Glad you liked the video!! Thanks very much for watching again!!!!

[@scottyg7284]

Love the videos buddy, could you at some point cover the large Mercedes buses of the 50’s to the 70’s!

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Really happy you liked the video! I'll look into the Mercedes of that time period! Thank you very much for watching!!!

[@robertsmith9810]

USED to ride to school curtsy of cooksway coaches every day later had chines six ,

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Great to hear!! Thank you very much for watching!!!

[@des_smith7658]

I was the man on the Clapham omnibus

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! That's awesome!!! Now you are famous, LOL! Thank you very much for watching!!

[@des_smith7658]

@@JeffreyOrnstein network here I come

[@mikeburton7077]

Passed my psv test in my dad's sb with a Leyland Comet engine, reg no 1 DOR ,have you survived?

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Glad to hear you passed your PSV test in an SB! Thank you very much for watching!!!

[@JTA1961]

Slow down already... could have been easily twice as long in-between pictures of these remarkable variations. Obviously built with pride & quirky features that make them unique. Thankz ...JTA

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Will try!!! Thanks again for watching, as always!!

[@Ptm6569]

that's a nice model is that a corgi

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! The model you see in the video is made by Iconic Replicas. It's a 1:43 scale NYCTA fishbowl. Thank you very much for watching!!!

[@jamesfrench7299]

They were very basic even primitive designs with barely enough power to move themselves. I used to catch one in the late 80s. I always looked forward to the Perkins powered Bedford VAM which would be on the route two or three days a week.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Hello! Thanks for your experience with the SB!! I guess not all of them were up to the job, LOL. Thank you very much for watching again!!

[@jackcole3146]

I spent half my working life at a Bedford dealer in the UK, and as far as I'm aware there was never a Perkins engine fitted to the VAM. They all used Bedford petrol or diesel engine, or in the case of the VAM14, a Leyland 400 diesel, which was replaced by the Bedford 466 in 1967.

[@jamesfrench7299]

@@jackcole3146 they were based in Sydney's north west and dated from the very early 70s with CCMC (Cycle Components Manufacturing Company) bodywork. This company had about five of them with minor variations to the body. I used to love when they climbed the hill and had to down change the gears. I used to mimic it in bed! Jeffery, they were up to the job, just not muscular like a more heavy bus. Just enough power for the job. They used a third the fuel of a heavy duty Leyland or AEC or other.