Anyone who fancies the 3-cylinder roar of the Commer TS3 may be in for a treat this weekend as a guest coach, powered by a distinctive two-stroke diesel engine, is lined up to visit our depot at Bishops Lydeard. It may also appear on one of the free bus services.
Other visiting vehicles may also attend but, as with all heritage buses and coaches mentioned here, only if available and serviceable!
Instant news updates: follow us on Twitter @quantockms
The first free ‘Open Weekend’ shuttle service from Taunton railway station, south side, will leave at 09:40 on Saturday 28th May. Further departures will be at 09:55, 10:10 and at frequent intervals thereafter. The same times apply on Sunday 29th May.
Full details for these and all other free bus services are available in the Programme/timetable leaflet which can be obtained from conductors on the Taunton buses and at the depot gate for £5.00 each. Entry to the depot, where visiting buses and more vehicles from the QMS heritage fleet will be on display, is by programme only.
At the time of writing there will be 13 heritage buses operating services from Bishops Lydeard, including 2 guest vehicles.
New timetables for the service 300 ‘Coastal Explorer’ to Lynmouth, service 39 to Porlock Weir and service 400 ‘Exmoor Explorer’ are now available on the Scheduled Services page.
Due to the unfortunate unavailability of GNU750, the Blue Bus Services Daimler COG5, one of a number of other vehicles from our commercial heritage fleet may now appear in its place. Depending on private hire bookings and weather conditions, one of the following double deck buses may deputise:
HJA965E - Stockport Corporation Leyland PD2
DPV65D - Ipswich Corporation Regent V
VDV752/753 - Western National Bristol LDLs (open top)
Free bus services from Bishops Lydeard:
1 – BISHOPS LYDEARD - TAUNTON RAILWAY STATION via Silk Mills, Wellington Road & Castle Way for Bus Station 2 – BISHOPS LYDEARD - TAUNTON Castle Way for Bus Station via Greenway Road and Railway Station.
(Return via Staplegrove Road & Norton Fitzwarren) 3 – BISHOPS LYDEARD - SHEPPY’S CIDER CENTRE CIRCULAR
4 – BISHOPS LYDEARD – LANGLEY MARSH CIRCULAR
For those who want updates about our Running Weekend delivered straight to their browser or phone, we’ve set up a Twitter account. Just follow “quantockms” and get updates on late breaking news in the days leading up to the event and during the two days of operations.
If all goes well, we plan to keep followers up to date with news of delayed services, replacement vehicles or duplicate/additional journeys. Most of the updates will be posted by the Depot Despatcher but, if his workload is high, updates may not be posted immediately.
If you have any questions about using our Twitter feed, please contact the Webmaster.
Four heritage bus routes have been confirmed, all running from our depot at Bishops Lydeard.
Town Service 1 runs to Taunton Railway Station via Silk Mills and Wellington Road. It also calls at Taunton Bus Station (Castle Way).
Town Service 2 also runs to the Railway Station but out via Greenway Road and back via Staplegrove/Bindon Roads. It will also call at our former depot at Norton Fitzwarren on each inward journey where some of our modern coaches will be on display.
Country Circular 2: Halse, Langley Marsh, Bishops Lydeard. Passengers will have up to 20 minutes at Langley Marsh to view heritage vehicles on static display and under restoration in our workshop.
Arrangements at Bishops Lydeard will be the same as last year: passengers will alight outside the depot. Those who have bought a programme/timetable sheet (£5.00 from conductors) will be able to access further static displays, visiting vehicles and society/trade stands inside the depot. If you wish to visit on both days you will need 2 programmes.
All heritage bus services are free. Those wishing to travel without visiting the depot can join buses at the bus stop opposite the Farm Shop.
Plans are coming together for the Taunton Vintage Bus Running Weekend on May 28th/29th. Vehicles we plan to use are being brought out of winter storage and put through their MOTs in readiness for service (see the Bus Rallies page for a provisional list of vehicles taking part).
We plan to run two services to and from Taunton during the weekend, one which runs direct to Taunton Railway Station and one which also calls at our former depot at Norton Fitzwarren, where part of our modern fleet will be on display.
Other services running from the new depot may include our restoration base at Langley Marsh, Sheppy’s Cider Farm and Hestercombe Gardens.
This year’s Depot Open Day and Heritage Bus Running Days are to be held over the Whitsun Bank Holiday, Saturday and Sunday 28th and 29th May 2011.
Featuring a range of vehicles from the heritage fleet - dating from 1937 to 1967 - free rides will be offered on both days, plus access (on purchase of a programme) to trade stalls and static displays in the depot.
A satisfied customer has sent us details of a video shot mostly on board our Service 300 ‘Exmoor Coastal Link’. The video was taken during a journey by open top bus to the Lynton and Lynmouth Music Festival in June 2009 and gives an excellent impression of the ride, including stunning views of the coast and moorland en-route.
Also seen briefly in Porlock is our Service 400 vintage open topper, which also runs regular tours over Exmoor. Eagle-eyed viewers may be able to spot TWO conductors on the top deck!
Plans for our Depot Open Weekend on May 1/2 are at an advanced stage and details of the services we hope to run, together with a list and photographs of the vehicles we hope to use, are on the QMS Bus Rallies page. Further details will be added as soon as they become available.
