2011 – Issue 2 of 4

FREE TO MEMBERS
£1 TO NON MEMBERS
ISSUE 2 0f 4 -- APRIL 2011
Thirty Years ago this month Cardiff had its first taste of
bus competition with the arrival of CK Coaches on the
streets of the City. A CARRIBEAN Read the HOLIDAY full story inside this issue.
1

CARRIBEAN HOLIDAY
Our latest acquisition is a former National Welsh Tiger / Duple Carribean Coach. (as A256
VWO above). Iit was re-registered in 1986 as AAX 305A. After 9 years with Blaengwawr
School (below) it will be sprayed white and await “National” decals……………………..
2

CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE
After a seemingly endless cold winter we are now, it seems overnight, just over two
months away from the Barry Festival of Transport (Sunday 12 th June). I have finally
received confirmation from the Vale of Glamorgan Council that they will support the
event again this year, I think we are rather good value for money. You will start to see
adverts in the enthusiast press and on Cardiff buses in the next few weeks. As always I
must appeal for your support at our largest event of the year, both in terms of organising
and supervising, please lend a hand on the day even if only for a few hours. Prior to the
rally we have a lot of tidying up and painting to do, please come down and help out on
Fridays or Saturdays.
Bus & Coach Wales will again be supported by Merthyr Tydfil Council, the event is
planned to be at the College this year on Sunday 4 th September.
In terms of the fleet, the Red & White Tiger is due to be MOTed hopefully by the time
you read this, and Pontypridd No.8 should be close behind it. Caerphilly 32 is now
returning to a green interior, we have purchased new window rubbers and removed all
the seats so they can the painted. The floor has been repaired and the outside prepared
for painting. Caerphilly 32 has received a lot of man hours over the last few years,
especially by Derek and Alan, but now with an increasing band of volunteers the end
maybe just in sight. The National Welsh Tiger has moved from Aberdare to Howells of
Deri where some mechanical work will be undertaken to allow the coach to be MOTed.
Paul Burgess has been working on the Swift to sort out a few electrical issues especially
with the middle doors and charging system, following that, and an investigation into an oil
leak, I hope the bus will be ready to go to a couple of rallies.
Anyone with vehicles off the road needs to be aware of some new legislation, the
Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) requires a vehicle to be insured if it is taxed
for the road and SORNed if it is parked on private land. Therefore any old cars or buses
that have been laid up must be SORNed to meet the requirements otherwise you could
get an unwelcome letter in the post.
You will have noticed our new CTPG logo on the cover of this issue. This has been
designed by Mac Winfield. We hope you like it. Readers will also notice we are using a
smaller typeface this time (Gill Sans 10pt.). If readers are happy with this, it will become
the norm. Then, there will be even more to read in your favourite (?) newsletter.
For those of you that enjoy your internet we have a Facebook page, I try to keep this
update with photos of the happenings at Barry, the site is open to all have a look and add
your own photos we have over 130 friends at the moment.
MikeTel: 01443 753227 (n.b. new number) Email : mikeystrad73@btinternet.com
3

COMMENTS ON RECENT NEWSLETTERS;
Dear Editor,
Comments on items published in recent newsletters may be of interest to the group.
Re. CARDIFF’s REGENT V’s;
Firstly, many thanks to Andrew Wiltshire for his excellent series on the vehicles bought
by City of Cardiff Transport. In the December article on the AEC Regent V he mentions
exposed-radiator examples which operated in England, but doesn’t mention those which
operated nearer to home. Bedwas & Machen U.D.C. had a single example, no. 9 (PWO
783) with a Longwell Green lowbridge body and the Rhondda Transport Co. had no less
than 27 examples with Weymann highbridge bodies – 298/9, 400-424 (STG 869-876,
TTX 984-998, UNY 4-7); all of these vehicles were new in 1956. I always thought these
vehicles looked rather odd, as the front dash was obviously constructed for a concealed
radiator!
Re. DWO 123;
Between 1903 and 1921, local authorities used differing systems to allocate vehicle
registration numbers. Some authorities used even numbers for cars and odd numbers for
commercial vehicles and buses, motor cycles were sometimes issued numbers 1-999 or
1-1999 in each series. Other local authorities kept three registers – one for motor
cycles, a second for cars and light commercials and a third for ‘heavy motor cars’
(commercials and road locomotives); these authorities either allocated blocks of
numbers for each type of vehicle or, more unusually, issued the same series of numbers
for each type of vehicle, leading to duplication. This was further compounded by most
authorities re-issuing the registration number of a vehicle officially notified as being
scrapped. Following changes in legislation in 1921, the re-issue of voided registrations
ceased and vehicles carrying duplicated registrations were re-registered to remove the
anomaly.
What has all this got to do with DWO 123 you may ask? Well, some authorities issued
registrations of the format xx-0nnn to heavy motor cars; examples being Norfolk issuing
AH-0nnn and Buckinghamshire BH-0nnn, this led to Hampshire omitting AHO and BHO
from its sequence of issues. I have seen one photograph (I can’t remember where,
unfortunately) of a traction engine or road locomotive carrying a registration in
Newport’s DW-0nnn series and this may be the reason DWO was not allocated to
neighbouring Monmouthshire. All two and three letter registration marks had to be
individually authorised by a ‘Statutory Instrument.’ DWO was eventually authorised for
issue in the 1990s when most previously un-issued (and non-abusive) combinations were
authorised, either so that an appropriate registration could be allocated to an historic
vehicle or, more usually, could be included in the DVLA’s ‘Sale of Marks’ scheme!
Regards, Mike Street (member 0306)
(Thanks Mike for your comments and giving us the most likely explanation of the nonappearance
of the DWO mark.)
4

MORE PHOTOS FOR CTPG;
Recently Mr. Ken Aubigne of Cardiff presented the group with his father’s photograph
collection. Well over 100 of these were amassed from the 1920s to the mid 1950s and
mounted on stiff card.
Alf Aubigne had over 45 years in the bus industry. (We also have his 45 year long service
badge in our museum room.) Mr. Aubigne started in 1919 at the age of 14, as a
conductor on his father’s bus at Barry. In 1926 he moved to Whites Motors as a driver,
a position he also held with Western Welsh until his death in 1967. In the 1950s he was
instrumental in encouraging our own Chris Taylor to become a transport historian.
In the collection was this impressive bus, new to Thomas White & Co. (Cardiff & Barry)
Ltd. in March 1933. It was an AEC Renown 664 with a 60 seat lowbridge body by Short
Bros. It featured an 8.8 litre diesel and preselector gearbox. Later numbered 599 with
WWOC it spent much of its life at Barry until withdrawal in Oct.1950. KG 2176
languished in a field adjacent to Ely Works until sold for scrap in April 1953.
Your editor recalls one occasion when travelling to the Barry Grammar School on this
bus one wintry morning, sitting upstairs on one of the long seats. Turning from Park
Avenue into St. Nicholas Road, a steep with an adverse camber, the driver missed a gear.
At once there were screams from almost 90 children as the bus began lurching as it slid
backwards towards the railway embankment. This outcry turned to cheers as the
second attempt to climb the hill was successful. But enough of my ramblings!
On behalf of the CTPG I thank Ken Aubigne for his gift to our group. Ed.
5

CARDIFF’S FIRST BUS WAR (The C.K. STORY):
The following article has been condensed from a 63 page study conducted by the Transport &
Traffic Studies Unit of UWIST. Grateful thanks to those students staff at UWIST in 1983 and
to the late, great ‘Gren’ of the South Wales Echo. The comments in italics are mine. (V.C.)
THE BACKGROUND;
C.K. Coaches (Cardiff) Ltd. took its name from its founders, husband and wife Carol &
Keith Morris. They established the firm in 1973 and built up a substantial contract hire
and tours business in the Cardiff area in the years up to the 1980 Transport Act. This
included a number of school contracts which they held for some years, some of which
South Glamorgan County Council (SGCC) had apparently had difficulty in finding an
operator, and which CK had taken on at short notice. In 1980 CK extended its
operations to include late night stage carriage services to the Cardiff suburbs and to
Barry and Penarth. Cardiff City Transport (CCT) made no objection as these services
did not compete with their own services. When the 1980 Act became law, CK further
extended its operations into Express and Stage Carriage activities. At its peak, CK
operated 21 vehicles with a garage at Portmanmoor Road, Splott. The maximum
number of staff employed was 38.
6
EXPRESS SERVICE;
CK started an express service
between Cardiff and Swansea on 13 th
Oct. 1980 with eight buses a day at £1
single and £1.50 return. A service to
Bristol was also announced. However
the Swansea service was suspended
after only three days allegedly because
the company was unable to agree
stopping places with the local
authorities.
In January 1981 CK applied for short
period licences (sp) to operate hourly
stage services within Cardiff to
Cyncoed and Llanrumney. The
proposed fare to the latter was 30p as
against 44p for CCT. On all services
CK planned to charge pensioners and
children a standard fare of 10p. Conductors would be used on all buses to speed up the
journey. The Cardiff Transport Committee Chairman commented “Anything they try to
do, they will have competition – you can bet your boots on that”.

Keith Morris said “There was no question of unfair competition with CCT as they know
that we are more efficient”.
As well as objections from CCT, objections to the Llanrumney service were received
from Newport Borough Transport (NBT), the Wales TUC and Wales Transport 2000.
On 17 th Feb. CCT’s monopoly under the 1930 Cardiff Corporation Act was revoked by
the Minister of Transport thus enabling others to run stage services within Cardiff.
CCT were hoping that CK’s application would be rejected. Solicitor for CK accused the
City Council of trying to “throw a spanner in the works” by blocking CK’s bid to rent
council owned land at Portmanmoor Road.
CARDIFF
COMMENCED;
SERVICES
The plan to commence services
in Cardiff on 1 st March had
passed when the application
was heard at the Traffic Court
on 23 rd March. The solicitor
for CCT told the court that
CK’s plans would be
uneconomic. Ronald Jackson,
Chairman of the Traffic
Commissioners (TC’s), called
on the solicitor to apologise to
CK for calling their service a
‘wart’, ‘piracy’, ‘marauding’ and ‘idiotic’. Mr Jackson commented that in his 19 years he
had never had the misfortune to listen to such and scathing attack on an operator.
Licences (sp) were then granted to CK for 6 months. CK started the service to
Cyncoed and Llanrumney on 6 th April with actor Stephen Lewis -- ‘Blakey’ of ‘On the
Buses’ -- officially launching the services. CCT planned to “fight fire with fire”, with new
‘Family’ and ‘Multiride’ tickets, possibly cutting fares and bringing in a new ‘Fastfare’
system. Carol Morris said “We are confident that we are going to do well, we believe
the people of Cardiff are behind us, since they want cheaper fares and conductors on the
buses”. Since some of their buses could not be operated without a conductor they did
not have much choice.
Also in April Keith Morris stated he was seriously looking into running certain services in
Penarth in respect of services recently withdrawn by National Welsh (NW). (One would
have thought he had enough to do in Cardiff.)
CK gave notice that they would also introduce family tickets, apply to run a service to
Llanedeyrn, and to increase the Llanrumney service to half hourly. Meanwhile CCT
applied to increase its Llanrumney journeys from 6 to 8 per hour. CK increased their
7

frequency on the Llanrumney service on 8 th May the day the licence was granted, but
CCT did not increase their frequency for another month. CK commenced running to
Llanedeyrn on 1 st June using some newly acquired LT Fleetline buses.
The press soon reported a ‘battle of the buses’ as CK and CCT raced for passengers.
Drivers from both sides accused the other of racing to stops, preventing overtaking and
pulling out in front of them. A collision occurred on 3 rd June at Maelfa Way when a CK
bus suffered broken windows and side panelling was damaged on the city bus. Keith
Morris sought a meeting with David Smith, CCT General Manager, to discuss the
situation, though Smith continued to deny any rivalry. Events suggested that many
passengers tended to get on the first bus that comes, regardless of operator or fares.
BED 724C a former Warrington PD2 showing the promotional 20p fare. (CTPG)
CCT gave notice that they would introduce a 20p off-peak fare from 8 th June. CK
followed suit a month later. Coun. Max Phillips was reported as saying that it was
‘almost certain’ that CCT would have cut bus fares without the competition offered by
CK. --- Hmm !
The TC’s were informed that all CK Sunday services would cease after 14 th June and that
evening frequencies would be reduced. By the end of June CCT had introduced their
‘Fastfare’ system on certain routes. David Smith said that “CK’s service plans could be
described as ‘instant reaction’ to CCT’s plans”. It seemed that CK lacked a cohesive
strategy on routes and fares. If they had, it seems unlikely that they would have chosen
the routes they had. (Cyncoed was never going to be a money spinner)
8

An MMC report stated that CK thought their services were profitable until the effects of
CCT’s reduced fares were felt. After August 1981 they were probably losing £500 per
week. An application by CK for a licence for a Sunday and Bank Holiday service to
Barry Island brought response from CCT, N/W and NBT who operated a weekday
(school holidays) service to Barry Island from 27 th July, the day after CK began their
service. NW offered a reduced fare on their 354 Sunday service on the journeys
affected by CK’s service.
SCHOOL CONTRACTS ROW;
During the summer of 1981 both CK and CCT tendered for several school contracts.
CK lost 5 which it had held for 6 years. Their tender price was the same as in 1978 but
CCT tendered for the 5 at a vastly reduced price. It was reported by the Monopolies
and Mergers Committee (MMC) that in one case a tender was 60% less. CK accused the
council of using ratepayers’ funds to undercut competition. The Labour led council
denied this and accused CK of using cash from school contracts to subsidise their stage
services. In events to come the recent change from Tory to Labour control at SGCC
would seem to favour the larger bus operator and not the private operator.
I
n September 1981 substantive licences were granted to CK for 3 years (instead of 5) and
from 21 st Sept. they extended their Llanedeyrn route to Pentwyn. CCT replied with a
new 51 service to Pentwyn. On 11 th Nov. an application was lodged by CK for a licence
(sp) to operate from Castle Street to Michaelston Road, Ely. Two days later CK took
advantage of a one day strike by CCT drivers by running extra buses over their 3 routes.
9

David Smith estimated that competition from CK was costing CCT about £90,000 per
year but admitted that the 20p flat fare was likely to cost £250,000 in the first six
months,
DECLINE AND FALL;
In January 1982 CK applied to convert their peak services to one person operation and
to curtail evening services on the Cyncoed route. Severe snowfalls paralysed Cardiff
and CCT buses were suspended at 18.30 on Fri. 8 th Jan. CK could not afford to lose
revenue and continued to run where possible on the snow-bound roads and were the
only buses running in the city. Even they succumbed and did not operate from Sat.
evening to Monday pm. Also in January both CCT and CK increased their fares.
At the Traffic Court on 27 th Jan. a spokesman for SGCC said that Ely was very well
served by buses and that CCT and NW together provided 23 peak time and 18 off peak
journeys. These were considered adequate and the CK application was contrary to the
interests of the travelling public and the County’s public transport plan. Ely was also
one of the most profitable routes for CCT. CK’s application was refused and they
decided not to appeal because of the cost.
One of the former L.T. Fleetlines on the Cyncoed Route. (CTPG)
CK Coaches Ltd. ceased trading on 14 th Feb. and 34 staff laid off. Debts were estimated
at £70,000. Some passengers set up a ‘Save CK’ campaign while the firm hunted for
financial backers. A mystery Manchester financier was reported to have offered to back
10

CK but later pulled out. On 18 th Feb. the TC’s gave 14 days notice of the revocation of
their PSV operators’ licence.
Two days later news was circulated that CK had been rescued. “Now it is up to the
people of Cardiff to really prove they want us by using our buses” said Keith Morris.
This brief respite was due to the bank agreeing to increase CK’s overdraft. Staff had
agreed to a 25% pay cut and daytime only services were resumed on 22/2/82.
On 23 rd Feb. Bill Thomas of Swanbrook Coaches entered the scene. He praised CK’s
operations and was ‘very interested’ in giving financial backing to them. The South
Wales Echo described Thomas as a self made millionaire; his Gloucester based firm
owned 70 buses and 5 depots (sic).
On 1 st March CK were said to have accepted the takeover bid from Swanbrook and
vowed to “run on all routes within a year”. Fresh applications would be made for the
Ely, Rumney and Trowbridge routes. The Newport route and express services to
London would follow.
A number of Swanbrook buses were hired by CK to operate services as its own fleet
was depleted due to maintenance arrears. Unfortunately some of the Swanbrook
vehicles were also to experience mechanical problems. It was said that the charges for
their hire was never paid.
The TC’s informed CK that the expiry date for their PSV licence had passed and that a
public inquiry would be held on 30 th March. An application for an operating licence for a
new company known as RJT6 Ltd. (CK Tours) was submitted, but CK’s operating licence
and that for RJT6 Ltd. was lost by ‘All Fools Day’. Meanwhile Swanbrook were
negotiating the purchase of CK’s Cardiff garage and said they would apply for an
operators licence in the South Wales Traffic Area.
It appears that Bill Thomas’s initial enthusiasm for Cardiff operations was not shared by
his sons, who were his partners in Swanbrook Coaches.
Once CK lost its operating licence any attraction it had for Swanbrook was lost and
Thomas decided not to proceed in Cardiff.
CK failed because it had not anticipated the reactions of CCT to its services and because
it was too dependent on revenue from routes which did not carry enough traffic to
generate this revenue. Loss of several school contracts also hastened the failure.
The 1980 Transport Act had been introduced by the Thatcher Government to promote
private enterprise in public transport and CK was the first operator to test this out in
south Wales. Keith Morris was not alone in thinking that CK might have survived had
the Conservatives not lost control of the County Council.
The dust had hardly settled when in the summer of 1984, National Welsh (then still with the
backing of NBC) planned to hold talks with Cardiff Corporation regarding the purchase of CCT.
However meetings did not take place as the Corporation decided not to pursue the possibility of
a sale. The impending 1985 Transport Act and ‘deregulation’ would have probably meant the
end if it.. Had it happened though – what a disaster it would have been.
11

OOPS (6)
Another Western Welsh Leyland in trouble. Milford Haven based No. 484 (PDE 390) made
quite a mess of this Mini in August 1965. No. 484, an East Lancs bodied Royal Tiger had been
new to Greens of Haverfordwest in 1953. Although showing little obvious damage it was
withdrawn from WWOC service and was later used by Jones of Login.
Perhaps I shouldn’t have said, “Send the fine to Head Office!”
12

CTPG Annual General Meeting 19th January 2011 19:40 hrs.
Held at County Hall, Atlantic Wharf, Cardiff.
Present – 34 members
1. Apologies for absence. Clive Sampson, Glyn Bowen,
Paul Gilbertson, Nicky Reason.
2. Minutes of last AGM. Minutes accepted
3. Chairman’s report
2010 was a year of consolidation for the CTPG as a nationally known Charity with a
regional transport centre. 4 Newsletters have been published and distributed through
2010. Viv Corbin has successfully produced an improved newsletter at a lower cost,
and through our new printing company the reproduction of photos is much improved.
Membership is 110, the highest to date. A number of members have recently joined after
visiting the Depot. New lighting has been installed in the depot storerooms. The
Chairman highlighted that assistance from members on Saturdays and Sundays is
welcomed at Barry depot.
Rallies organised during 2010 were the Barry Festival of Transport and Bus & Coach
Wales 2010 at Merthyr Tydfil. This included arranging sponsorship, programmes, stalls,
entries, marshalling, road runs, setting up and dismantling the event. At Barry CTPG ran
two sites. Both rallies were very well attended both by vehicles and the public. Thanks
were offered to drivers and members for the assistance given at both events. A plea was
issued to all members for volunteers to assist with rallies and public events planned for
2011. The chairman highlighted that CTPG need drivers. Any members interested in
driving CTPG buses to or at rallies please let the chairman know, to enable contact to be
made prior to an event.
12 evening meetings were organised, including a joint Omnibus Society evening and three
road runs with buses previously not used by the CTPG. The pub stop near journey’s end
continued to be very popular.
Meetings continued to be well supported with on several occasions more than 30
attendees. We have again been lucky with the quality of our presenters.
CTPG provided a free service to the Cardiff Model Railway Show at Llandaff UWIC
using the Rhondda Regent and WW Tiger Cub.
CTPG have continued membership of NARTM & WCVA which places us in the
annual ‘Buses Restored’ book published by Ian Allan.
13

The CTPG website has received 76,000 visits in 5 years of existence, an increase of
20,000. This continues to be a very useful way of keeping up to date and acts as a
window onto the Group. CTPG also have a Facebook page to share photos and
information.
The Group stall was at 5 rallies providing an income of approximately £400 an event.
The two rallies organised by the CTPG raised over £1700 each. The main income
continues to be photograph sales. New collections were requested to keep the CTPG
stock fresh.
4. Bus Fleet
MBO 512F – Drove to Barry from Ton yr Efail after a successful MOT in September
and a visit to the Barry Rally (On the back of a lorry). This is the first MOT the bus has
had since it was removed from a scrap yard in 1992 by the young CTPG. There have
been several ups and downs on this bus over the years but finally everything came
together in 2010. There are plans for a B&CP article in the near future.
C101 HKG – At home in Barry.
TKG 518J – Running & serviced used for depot shunting, plan to repaint at some stage.
CUH 856 – Restoration is slow; we have no estimated completion date at the present
time.
EDW 68D – MOTed and run in 2010, probably not in 2011.
XNY 416 –The bus has been started and driven but a full restoration is required.
NDW 407X – Stored at Barry Dock.
N143 PTG – Repainted into its original style Clipper livery, attended Barry, Merthyr,
Swansea and Brislington rallies in 2010.
G258 HUH – Stored at Barry Dock.
ABO 434B – MOTed and serviced used at the Barry rally for the last 3 years
LKG 678 – Moved to the depot from Hereford during the summer.
P164 TNY – MOTed and used during Barry rally and as useful transport during spare
part pickups.
GNY 432C – Bodywork restoration is anticipated to be completed during 2011
pending full repaint into original Caerphilly livery and MOT
JKG 497F – Fully mechanically serviced, bodywork is being prepared for a full repaint
prior to MOT in 2011
UTG 313G – Bodywork restoration is complete, hope to MOT in the Spring
Buses in Joint Ownership
TAX 235 – Awaiting vacuum repair work, three shares are available in this bus
PKG 587M – Moved to Barry dock storage yard, two shares are available in this bus
14

LNY903 – The bus is in generally good condition requiring less restoration than 368 or
678.
889 AAX – Another head gasket failure occurred before the Barry Rally while the bus
was on the way for an MOT. Prior to that a new fan and brake chambers had been fitted.
We plan to have the head removed and pressure tested in the near future.
OUH 177G – Stored & Presentable, awaiting restoration work 3 shares available on
this bus.
2010 Additions
A256 VWO aka AAX 305A ex National Welsh Duple Carribean
WTG 348T (VRT) & RBO 510Y (ONL) donated to the CTPG.
Buses loaned to the CTPG
HWO 323 - R&W Leyland PS1/1 with Lydney bodywork from M & B Bowering,
Lydney. Used for the Bristol Harbourside rally in May.
PAX 466F – Bedwas & Machen PD3/4 with the last lowbridge body built loaned by
Julian Peddle currently in Stevensons livery. This was picked up during June from Arriva
Derby and driven back to Barry; it then went to Swansea, Bristol and Merthyr rallies.
5. Treasurers Financial Statement
Total Income. £12,696 TotalExpenditure. £12,619
Opening Balance. £4,675 Current Balance. £4,752
Paul Hamley and the Committee formally expressed thanks on behalf of the CTPG to
the chairman for a personal annual donation of £3,200 to the group earned from the
production of a HCVS Newsletter.
The CTPG Accounts were proposed and seconded.
6. Election of Officers
Mike Taylor confirmed that there had been no resignations but there was one
expression of interest to join the committee. The following officers were proposed and
seconded.
Chairman – Mike Taylor
Vice Chairman – Chris Taylor
Secretary – Gayle Alder
Treasurer – Paul Hamley
Publicity and Rally Officer – Tudor Thomas (new appointment)
Membership Secretary – Derek Perry
15

7. Newsletter
The newsletter currently costs £0.84/issue. The editor, Viv Corbin, requested
submissions of photos and articles as the newsletter is the CTPG members’ magazine.
The chairman asked for any comments or requests for the newsletter, material to be e-
mailed to the editor.
8. 2011 Programme
16th February – Cine Film Evening
16th March – An A to Z of buses..and a few coaches - Peter Heath
20th April – tba
18th May - Road Run
12th June - Barry Festival of Transport – tbc
15th June - Road Run
19th June – National Transport Festival of Wales ~ Swansea
20th July - Road Run
17th August – Road Run – Mike Walker
4th September - Bus & Coach Wales 2010 – tbc
21st September – Omnibus Society Joint Evening – tba
19th October – tba
16th November –tba
21st December - Quiz Night
Road Run Suggestions - KMB Regent, Ponty 8, N&C Reliance
(Please see an updated events list on page 23)
Suggestions were welcomed from the floor for filling the vacant slots in the 2011
programme. A talk on old postcards and photographs of Cardiff and a talk and slide
show were received, dates to be confirmed.
The committee are awaiting news of the Bristol Harbourside and Brislington rally dates
for 2011. There may by a possible clash between the proposed Barry Festival of
Transport date and the Cheltenham and Weymouth rallies. Dates are to be confirmed.
Suggestions were requested from members for road run vehicles and destinations. Send
all suggestions to Mike Taylor.
9. 2011 Annual Subscription Fees
The chairman proposed that 2011 single subscription be increased from £15 to £17 per
annum, with the Family subscription remaining at the present cost of £25. Motion
carried by the group members present.
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An increase in the road run subscriptions from £3 to £4 was proposed to cover
increasing diesel costs. Increase accepted by majority vote.
It was agreed by members present that the room subscriptions for the monthly meetings
should remain unchanged at £1 per person.
10. Any Other Business
CTPG Logo;
Three samples for the new CTPG logo were presented to the floor. Votes were
requested for the layout choices. Logo centre picture selected to be a bus, by a majority
vote of 26. Logo font selected: Gill Sans MT Bold, carried by majority vote. Bus for logo
to be determined, members expressed the opinion that a half-cab vehicle is preferred.
Members suggested that the bus in the centre of the logo for the website could be
changed on a monthly basis. Members agreed that the bus picture will be fixed and
remain the same for paperwork and CTPG branded items.
CTPG & Barry Websites;
It was proposed from the floor that the Barry depot website be incorporated into the
main CTPG website rather than the existing two separate websites. Motion carried by
the members present.
Depot Frontage;
Suggestions were welcomed from the floor for the frontage on the depot at Barry.
Options were offered to the floor e.g. vinyl designs to be applied to the folding doors,
signage letters fixed to Frontage. Members were asked to consider the wording to be
used, or if the corrugated cladding on the front of the depot should be removed to see if
the original WWOC wording remains, enabling a replica of the original wording to be
used. Send all suggestions to Mike Taylor.
Members were informed that the car showroom next to Barry depot has been sold with
the development of a one stop convenience grocery shop planned. The sale is not
expected to affect the running of Barry depot by CTPG.
Meeting concluded at 21:30
Gayle Alder, Secretary.
17

BRISTOL VR WINGS by Idris Dibble
In late 2009 I was asked by my good friend Mac Winfield if I could help out by creating
two new wings for a friend’s Bristol VR Double Decker. Having worked in a boat yard
many years ago producing GRP Power Boats, I have retained the skills needed, and in
fact on many occasions over the years I have repaired many GRP Boats, sailing being a
hobby of mine. The first job was to repair the two wings that Mac had provided to use as
plugs for the mould. This also gave me the opportunity to return the wings in better
condition than what I had received them.
The repair of the wings took some time, and was then delayed by some very cold
weather last winter. However as the weather improved and the temperature increased
allowing me to use resin and glass once more I made some progress. With the plugs
(repaired wings) completed the next job was to prepare the surface as best I could.
When this was done I applied a coat of wax and a coat of PVA release agent. After this
was dry I then applied a double coat of gel coat. The next day I commenced the
application of glass and resin, first a coat of tissue followed by layers chopped glass mat. I
then left this for two days to cure, I then released the first plug from the mould, not
quite perfect but very expectable with the minimum amount of repair work to be done.
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After a little rethink on my mould release method the second one was much better. The
moulds were then reinforced with MDF ribs and additional resin and glass.
The next step was to prepare the moulds to make the new wings. This involved a lot of
sanding with fine wet-dry paper, then polishing and finishing with wax and PVA. I was
then ready to lay up the new wings.
This involved painting gel coat into
the moulds and then laying up a first
coat of tissue then layers of glass mat
and resin. This was then left for a day
to cure. The final job was to release
the new wings from the moulds and
final finishing.
CTPG member Idris Dibble, is better
known for being the handsome
driving instructor at Cardiff Bus.
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FEBRUARY MEETING;
There was almost a full house for our Film Night presented by Harley Jones of Rhiwbina.
Although not a transport enthusiast, Mr. Jones has, as part of his business, converted
several old 8mm and 16mm colour cine film to DVD format. First up was a compilation
of buses in Cardiff, the Valleys and Swansea taken in the early 1980’s by a young Tony
Brewer. Following the break we watched film of Wynn’s heavy haulage including the
company’s centenary parade through Newport in 1963.
------------------------------------
MARCH MEETING;
A group of over 20 members attended a presentation by Peter Heath of Cardiff Bus,
entitled ‘An A-Z of buses and a few coaches’. Peter began naturally by featuring chassis
makes and operators beginning with the letter ‘A’. In his own inimitable style he drew
on anecdotes from his long career in the bus industry. Various photos of the
coachbuilders’ art (?) were included. The photographs were from his own collection
taken when a young man in the early 1970s
MYSTERY BUS SOLVED.
Earlier this year the
South Wales Echo
published a
panoramic view of
Kingsway in the
1930’s. CTPG
Member Peter
Smith spotted this
and wished to know
who owned this
unusual 6 wheeler.
It turned out to be
the only known
photograph taken in
Cardiff of the
Thornycroft HC
that was on loan to
Cardiff Corporation for only a few months in 1930. OU 4264 had a Brush 68 seat body.
(By the way, the Allen bodied bus on page 8 of the January issue was an AJS Commodore,
a model that was in production only for 2 years from 1929.)
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About the CTPG
The CTPG lease the former Western Welsh Depot on Broad Street, Barry from the Vale of
Glamorgan Council. The CTPG organises two vehicle rallies each year and holds a monthly
meeting on the third Wednesday of each month. Members receive a quarterly newsletter and if
they wish they can help to restore the Group’s buses, ride on them and travel to rallies.
The Group aims to preserve representative samples of the buses that ran in South East Wales and
the Valleys, as well as memorabilia and records of the operating companies.
Annual membership of the Group is £17, which runs from the date of joining. Joint membership is
also available for £25.
CTPG Committee
Chairman
Deputy Chairman
Secretary
Mike Taylor, 10 Ger Nant Ystrad Mynach, Hengoed CF82 7FE
Phone: 01443 753227
email: mikeystrad73@btinternet.com
Chris Taylor, 31 Heol Wen, Rhiwbina Cardiff CF14 6EG
Phone: 02920 693734
Gayle Alder, 16 Carter Place, Fairwater, Cardiff CF5 3NP
Treasurer Paul Hamley email: squash33@btinternet.com
Membership Secretary
Derek Perry, 11 Countess Place, Penarth CF64 3UJ
Other Non Committee Post Holders
Editor Viv Corbin email: viv.corbin@ntlworld.com
Webmaster CTPG Mac Winfield email: postmaster@ctpg.co.uk
Publicity Officer Tudor Thomas email: tudoralt@cf14.freeserve.co.uk
www.ctpg.co.uk
Published by the Cardiff Transport Preservation Group
(Registered as a Charity No. 1063157)
The opinions and views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Group, its
Committee or the Editor. Every effort is made to give due credit for all photographs and material
used in this newsletter. Should there be any unintended breach of copyright; the Editor must be
informed to enable a correcting acknowledgement to be made.
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DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 2011
Wed. 20 th April;
Wed. 18 th May;
Sun. 22 nd May;
Sat.4 th June;
Sun. 5 th June;
Sun. 12 th June;
Wed. 15 th June;
Sun. 19 th June;
Wed. 20 th July;
Sun. 14 th Aug;
Wed. 17 th Aug;
Sun. 4 th Sept;
Wed. 21st Sept;
Wed. 19 th Oct;
Sun. 30 th Oct.
Wed. 16 th Nov;
Wed. 21 st Dec;
Cine Show by Rob. Edworthy, to include old views of
Cheltenham Coach Station.
Road Run (TBC)
Bristol Harbourside Rally and Running Day.
Transport Show, County Showground, Carmarthen.
Cheltenham Coach Rally.
Barry Festival of Transport and Depot Open Day
Road Run (TBC)
National Transport Festival of Wales, Swansea
Road Run (TBC)
Bristol VBG Rally and Road Run at Brislington
Road Run with a Mike Walker vehicle.
Bus & Coach Wales 2011 at Merthyr Tydfil
Joint Meeting with Omnibus Society. Speaker will be
Richard Davies, Comm. Director, Stagecoach Wales
TBA
Swansea Bus Museum Open Day
‘Roads, Rails and Waters’ around Cardiff by Andrew
Wiltshire.
Quiz Night with Chris Taylor
OBITUARY -- KEN ANGELL
It is with great sadness that I report the sudden death of CTPG member Ken Angell of
Barry on 31 st March aged 69. He had been my friend for over 50 years.
Ken was one of our newer members, but had been involved in the preservation
movement for many years. Before retirement he was a 2 nd Engineer with P&A Campbell
Ltd. and later Waverley Excursions Ltd. and helped to preserve both the paddle steamer
‘Waverley’ and the M.V. ‘Balmoral’.
He was a fine engineer; and I am proud to recall that he began his career in the late
1950s as my apprentice in a local garage before going on to bigger things. He leaves a
daughter, Kathy, and grandchildren, Bethan and Jessica.
On behalf of the CTPG I have sent them our sincere condolences.
V.C.
A FINAL REMINDER
We need YOUR to help at the Barry Festival and Open Day.
Just an hour or two will help. There will also be much cleaning up to do at the depot
before we can hold the open day.
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Two views of the Jones of Aberbeeg Tiger Cub now owned by the group and kept at Barry.
Seen above at Ebbw Vale in June 1973 when No.98 in the Jones fleet and below a few years
later in the short lived blue livery at Warm Turn depot at Aberbeeg, with the Red & White
fleet no. U1561. (CTPG Collection) .
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