Manufacturer catalogue image - please note that pre-release images may be CAD renders or CGI images rather than photographs
Prototype Eras
Era 5 (1957 to 1966) British Railways Late Crest
Era 6 (1967 to 1972) British Rail Blue (Pre-TOPS)
Era 7 (1972 to 1982) British Rail Blue (TOPS)
Era 8 (1983 to 1994) British Rail Sectorisation
Manufacturer description
A two-piece set of period buses celebrating 100 years of the popular bus and coach company will undoubtedly please Southdown enthusiasts. The Leyland Royal Tiger, dating from the early 1950s, looks splendid in its green livery with lots of contrasting silver masking. The side and front boards are decorated in the company's signature cream colour and the lettering in red and black dropped shadow on the side indicates the vehicle as being the South Coast Express Service, while the destination board shows it heading for Bournemouth. Registered LUF 620, the bus wheels are masked in the other Southdown colour of Mid Brunswick Green, while the interior is moulded in mid brown. A final touch sees the Royal Tiger badge intricately reproduced above the radiator.
The second vehicle in the set comprises the Weymann Fanfare on a Leyland chassis, as opposed to the other Oxford Weymann Fanfare variant which has an AEC chassis, The Leyland casting features slightly different upper body proportions from the AEC with a wider flash round the front. The fresh two-tone light and dark green Southdown livery comes with contrasting silver masking round the windows, as well as the front, sides and back of the bus, even extending to the two external roof lights which are also highlighted with a silver surround. The Southdown logo on the coach sides is finished in gold and black dropped shadow lettering and the destination board shows that this single deck 37-seater coach is also going to Bournemouth as the South Coast Express, registered 8151 CD. Inside, the driver's compartment is moulded in pale grey, while the passenger seating is pale green.
The set is a great souvenir which evokes memories of fantastic day-trips in a time gone by.
Catalogue listing
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