The Isle of Wight Bus & Coach Museum - all aboard!

Our visit to the excellent Isle of Wight Bus and Coach Museum in 2022 is the subject of today's video. Having travelled over to Ryde on the Isle of Wight by hovercraft (see previous videos), we continued our travel-related day out with a stroll over to the bus & coach museum to admire the exhibits that this volunteer-run museum on the IOW has put together over the years.
The museum was established in 1997 by a group of enthusiastic bus and coach owners, and for the last few years the exhibits have been housed and displayed in the highly-appropriate former Southern Vectis (bus company) building - itself a historic survivor, having been built in 1937/1938.
Incredibly, this collection of classic coaches and buses is free to view, although donations are of course very welcome. If you're visiting Ryde on the IOW, please call in to the museum and help support its future. All museums have had a challenging time of things over the last few years, due to you-know-what, so will only survive if the public continue to support their endeavours.
Numerous transport museum visits feature across the Old Classic Car KZbin channel now so please have a look around when you're finished here. Likes, subs and comments welcomed as always.
Channel homepage: / @oldclassiccaruk
Channel videos list: / oldclassiccarrj
If you know of anyone else who might find these vids of interest, please forward one of the above links to them.
Thanks for watching.
#isleofwight #classicbus #museum

[@oldclassiccarUK]

Hi, thanks for watching, a full list of the videos on the channel is here: kzbin.infovideos Channel homepage: kzbin.info/door/KaTg9fPUvmUQi94FcnDbrg If there are any petrolheads that you know that might find this kind of thing interesting, please pass on one of these links, thanks!

[@wonyankeesays5661]

VERY COOL,,,SERVICE VEHICHLES ARE MUCH OVERLOOKED AND NOT THOUGHT ABOUT

[@paulsmith2946]

Fantastic once again my kind of entertainment, many memories stirred.Thankyou

[@craigsibley8161]

Great video 👍👍👍 Great museum 👍👍👍 Great video 👍👍👍

[@tomhiggins4124]

Hi you both, old school rocks !!!!!!!!!!!!, and will always !!!!!!!!!!.

[@allanriches9381]

Some proper machines in that lot

[@martindoman6385]

I also went to school on a Bedford OB, Horseshoe Coaches, Kempston. Two-tone blue livery.

[@michaelwhite3688]

Thank you a nice Video tour

[@owensmith2518]

I joined S.V.O.C. in May 1956 probably drove a lot of the buses in the museum i left in December 1978 good old days

[@colvinator1611]

Excellent video! Thanks a lot. Great memories.

[@oldclassiccarUK]

Glad you liked it Colin, the vehicles were quite tightly packed so it was tricky to get a proper look at many of them, but the vid came out ok.

[@williamredfern5504]

My favourite is the AEC Matador, I have done miles in the BartoN Transport Ltd Chilwell Notts one on Breakdown-recovery and that company was an enthusiasts dream,did 28 years for them garage and part time driving to me it was the best bus/coach company,of them all,, look them up,

[@petejacob2513]

Probably been on some of those. I grew up on the island between 1960 and 1970

[@nigthetig]

agreed! the bedford OB is a fantastic looking machine. as a functional vehicle it didn't need to be that stylish. great to see all these vehicles being preserved after the end of their commercial life.

[@kenfry6367]

I travelled on a good many of those when they were in service. I recommend visiting again on one of the museum's running days, when some of them come out to give free rides, together with other vehicles visiting from the mainland.

[@oldclassiccarUK]

We'd certainly like to re-visit the IOW sometime, thanks for watching

[@tomcat7525]

I have the Bedford OB Duple Vista 1/24th scale Sun Star model, a lovely thing. I own a Mercedes O308 bus which will one day be converted to a camper. The Duple Vega would make a fabulous motorhome conversion, very stylish.

[@soarornor]

I have that too and it is very beautiful. A well crafted, finely detailed model. I also have lots and lots of Corgi British buses and trucks. I’m American but I love that era of British vehicle design.

[@briandobson9272]

the bedford coach you like so much,has a special memory for me. when i was young my mum and dad took me on a caravan holiday at withernsea. one day e decided to go on a coach trip to bridlington,further up the coast.the coach was a bedford,,,,,,,,, .the coach was almost full so the driver let me sit up front next to him on a single seat. woooooooow i remember that as if it was yesterday. brian d.

[@jonathangriffin1120]

Sixty years ago I used to go to school on a Duple bodied Bedford OB (Alfords, Coleford, Somerset) I know it's been said before but although other coachbuilders built bodies for the OB none looked as 'right' as the Duple. There's a Bedford OB that was operated by Leathers of Maiden Bradley, Wilts. It was owned by Leathers from new, Duple colour co-ordinated the upholstery to match the customer's livery, in Leathers case dark blue and cream, it's now in preservation and still owned by the Leathers family.

[@andrewsnoozy]

Yeah, my favourite here would be the Bedford OB. Underpowered, but the gearbox makes a fantastic noise, happy memories. The older buses have so much style and class. My favourite buses in general are Bristol Lodekka FLF6LX, with Leyland 600 and semi-auto and the Albion Lowlander with Leyland 600 and semi-auto and some of the AEC's. These buses are the most tuneful because of the semi auto transmission. Happy memories, days when a bus ride was an experience, makes modern buses so boring, thanks for showing.

[@petergardner2334]

thats great museum

[@nickjung7394]

An excellent video, well narrated, at the right pace without the "over enthusiasm" that sometimes features in some videos. Background music was unobtrusive and your comments were factual and useful. I will certainly visit when next on the Island. Thank you!

[@williamriley661]

Many thanks for a most enjoyable trip down memory lane. Our family took several holidays on the Island around 1950 /3 staying in a cottage in Brighstone. We were served by Southern Vectis and a smaller outfit - Shotters Coaches. I much preferred Shotters as I could sit and, being a nosy small boy, able to watch the driver as he double/declutched through the gears on what must, today, be considered a primitive form of transport. But I loved Shotters Coaches! Do Shotters get a mention in the museum?

[@oldclassiccarUK]

It was a few months back but I've a feeling I read that name on the huge wall dedicated to all the island's bus and coach operators.

[@soarornor]

This was when vehicle design was drenched in character. In this case, very British character. I miss these times.

[@petersmith4455]

hi there, great to seethe AEC matador with a different body,and i remember some of these coaches from the late 50s and 60s but no of them come near to a lovely Southdown coach which i have travelled on in the 60s

[@roystonvasey5471]

The Mercedes minibus was driven by my Dad for Ganges back in the 80's. Spent many hours with him riding shotgun picking up workers and tourists all around the Island.

[@michaelkeen5010]

56 years ago I used to travel to school on a couple of OB’s, FVB 383 and MYC 801, operated by Stour Valley Motors/Lehane Motors of Sturry near Canterbury

[@andyscorgie9713]

Ah Richard I can’t resist a Matador it’s interesting that the commonest conversation was to timber tractors and a close second was to bus recovery vehicles.

[@Vince_uk]

Another nice one OJ.

[@oldclassiccarUK]

Thanks, RJ :)

[@Vince_uk]

@@oldclassiccarUK RJ, my fat fingers

[@stephenricketts7764]

I went on a Bedford OB for the first year or so of my school days, in the Midlands, happy days! I love old coaches and buses it is great that they are saving a good number of them even the old Daimler, fantastic.The Transit bus was known as 'the Hopper' where I lived, on the edge of the New Forest, you just put your hand out and if it was safe the bus would stop and you hopped on! When my Dad was young his family had a guest house on IoW so he spent some of his childhood there. When he married and I came along we moved to the Southampton area as there was a lot of work there and not so much in the Midlands. Thank Rick for another interesting video.👍👍

[@rydermike33]

Great video thank you. I always used to love visiting Crewe as a child and riding on Crosville's Bristol Lodekkas out to my grandfather's village.

[@pops557]

This video brought back some memories, the Bristol lodecca you went inside was the same type of bus I learned to drive and pass my test way back in 1978 almost 45yrs ago and I am still driving buses to this very day (part time) the company I worked for was United Counties Omnibus in Bedford and because they had all types of buses you had to take your test in a D/D with a manual gearbox, (to obtain the Any Type Licence) which in the Bristol is a 4 speed crash box, the people who learn now have it easy with automatic boxes and heating unlike the Bristol which had one little blower about the size if a eggcup overhead by the front widow which rarely worked but those were the days.

[@julianowens4071]

Fantastic video, thank you

[@oldclassiccarUK]

Thanks for giving it a watch!

[@davidanderson8407]

Another cracking video .Wonderful museum and free!! The forward door BristolDRT reminds me of the early 70s and the introduction of busses without conductors and the discussions at the time around the safety of the driver being distracted by having to deal with the fares act. Also the traffic delays caused by the increase in boarding times.What I recall most though is seeing my first one and thinking how ultra modern it looked!!!!!! 50 years ago!!! Thanks again for your brilliant channel.

[@lawrence5117]

Back in the early to md sixties I used to travel to school on a selection of old coaches, I remember Leyland Tiger Single cabs, Bedford OB's and Bedford Duple Vegas. The fleet then modernised to Bedford Panoramas and such.

[@laszlokaestner5766]

A couple of interesting points for viewers. Moss Motors (the Vega) later bought out Paul's Tours (I seem to remember Paul's went bust). In time Moss themselves went under and the company was purchased, like so many of the independents by Southern Vectis. The vehicles however found their way to Gange's. The Mercedes shown at the beginning however was Gange's from new. The Paul's SB3 shown managed to make the journey through all three companies although I don't think Gange's ever ran it in service (he was a bit of a collector). Another point is that as some of you will have worked out "DL" was the registration for the Isle of Wight which is why so many of the vehicles carry DL registrations. The reason for the Lodekka and most of the other double deckers being low height vehicles was the preponderance of low railway bridges on the island making routing almost impossible for full height buses. The independents often chose to purchase Bristol buses and Bedford coaches because that was what Southern Vectis used almost exclusively. SVOC had all the best repair shops so it made sense for the smaller companies to standardise in step with them to make parts and assistance on major repairs easier to come by. A good example is the Seaview Services Bedford YRQ which they purchased new. Finally the location of the bus museum is the former Ryde works of Southern Vectis where many of these vehicles would have been serviced back in their working lives.

[@alexthomas637]

😎😎😎👍

[@oldclassiccarUK]

Thanks Alex

[@robertp.wainman4094]

Nice video - thanks! Was hoping you'd show more of the Lodekka named 'Tadpoles' that operated to and fro between London and Kathmandu for the Top Deck company - a truly amazing tribute to the classic Bristol/ECW/Gardner combination, that after spending years trundling around the IOW, this and many other Lodekka's ended up ploughing through the Baluchistan desert in their retirement!

[@a11csc]

lovely place,i would swing with the bristol vr and the national as i learned in both and passed in a vr

[@simonhuntley6352]

I'm not sure if you knew this, but the Leyland National was at the time the only bus that you could replace every single part of ,I personally thought they were great . Many thanks for the video & when I get some time I will definitely be going.

[@northstar1950]

The duo blue coach belonging to Moss as you pointed out, had a Duple vega body. They were often referred to as 'butterflies' and if you study the front grill shape you can see why.

[@wonyankeesays5661]

U GET. 20 out of 10 from me

[@oldclassiccarUK]

Thanks!

[@marinedrive5484]

"No, they certainly don't make them like they used to," RJ. The 1950s were a bit of a heyday for the coachbuilding of buses, especially the Art Deco-influenced designs with their lashings of chrome and streamlined shapes. Bedford buses were a common sight in New Zealand eons ago. 🚌🚐

[@leeallen1407]

Bristol RELH Coach missing fitted with a Duple Commander body, southern vectis wonder where it's gone

[@davidcope9612]

Fleas do not smoke.

[@eddkennedy6458]

Remember those leyland nationals with that 510 headless engine pouring out black smoke all around Manchester, not a good engine.

[@johnwebberley6710]

Regardless of the sceptics these old coaches like the cars and lorrys all have style and character which is totally lacking in modern day vehicles and they were built to last (more the=an the 3-4 years life span of modern stuff

[@wonyankeesays5661]

AND NOW INSTEAD OF BUSES,,,,THEY WANT THE 15 MINUTE CITY GARBAGE

[@jellybean8167]

Shame, great place to go, very badly filmed and presented, 8 out of 10 for the idea but only 3 out of 10 for the resulting video. `Must do better´ are the last words for this report.

[@oldclassiccarUK]

My humblest apologies

[@wonyankeesays5661]

A 10 of 10 to me

[@northstar1950]

It's never easy making recordings like this in confined conditions.

[@oldclassiccarUK]

@@northstar1950 I was going to point that out, it's quite tight in that building and standing back to get a broader view of things is not easy, plus the lighting isn't really ideal for my camera. Thanks for watching :)

[@jellybean8167]

@@oldclassiccarUK Yes, i understand all that, but still your performance was not good enough, if you can`t do better stay out of those tight spaces and make vidios in fields or on deserted beaches somewhere. I`m afraid in this case your humblest apology is not good enough, so no `like´ from me this time, but don`t let that demorolise you, get out there and take some pics and vids and you might get better. There is still a `like´ from me sometime if we both live long enough!.