1. With a shortage of suitable buses available within the company during the mid-1970s, National Bus Company (NBC) subsidiary London Country Bus Services (LCBS) had to source suitable vehicles from elsewhere. Thus a small number of redundant double-deckers originally operated by Ribble Motor Services were duly moved from North West England. These were Burlingham bodied Leyland PD3s built in and acquired during the late 1950s. With a fresh lick of yellow paint and assigned fleet number LR2, former Ribble 1515 laid over between training duties on the forecourt of Potters Bar Bus Garage in February 1976.

2-3. London Buses during the mid to late 1970s found themselves in a similar position without enough vehicles to provide driver training. Their solution was different to LCBS whereby they hired in a number of suitable buses from preservationists. Here former London Transport AEC Regent RT1320 with a Saunders body pulled out of the Chiswick Works in April 1978. The body featured a route number roof box, something almost unique to London buses during the period.
The gates to this once famous of locations wherein lay the skid pan and training school feature prominently here. One in one out as RT4651 entered the complex and RT1400 departed in April 1978. On this occasion 4651 sported a Park Royal body whilst again a Saunders product was evident on 1400 complete with the roof box. Also just visible a small van from the publicity department of London Buses, one of a large number of ancillary vehicles in the Service Vehicle fleet.

4-5. At the same time London Buses re-acquired all the AEC Routemasters that had left the fleet upon the split of the Central ‘red’ and Country ‘green’ areas in 1970. RMC1491 one of the 68 versions formerly operated on the Green Line coach network leaves the complex complete with the white London Buses roundel, ‘L’-plates and driver training detail in the destination box. Behind within the grounds other buses on loan from preservationists can be observed.
NBC corporate livery was applied to all but a handful of the small number of AEC Regents acquired from London Transport by LCBS. Few of these saw revenue earning service in this guise and were more likely found on driver training duties. RT1018 one such to receive the livery was found resting on the forecourt of St.Albans Garage, a long way from its home garage if the code of ‘NF’ behind the driver’s door was anything to go by. NF was the garage code for Northfleet, diagonally opposed to St.Albans on the south east side of Greater London.

6. July 1983 and perhaps even further away from home was this Massey bodied Leyland PD2. Originally operated by Birkenhead Corporation from 1967 as their fleet number 150 and then later with Merseyside was by now in the hands of the Wallace School of Motoring, an HGV and PSV training outfit based in North West London. Here the bus passed by the Queens School in Bushey on the Greater London and Hertfordshire borders. One of their main off-road circuits utilised the car parks that served the Wembley Stadium complex, obviously when not in use for events!

7. Another bus from the North West was captured this time on the forecourt of Amersham Garage in July 1988. Legal lettering on the bodywork showed the vehicle to belong to Greater Manchester Transport and one can only assume that it was on loan to the by now privatised Hertfordshire element of LCBS. Three hundred and fifty of these Daimler Fleetlines were acquired during the period 1972-1976. Most were built with either Park Royal or Northern Counties single-door configured bodywork. However, a small number such as 7208 here were supplied as dual-doored buses.

8. County Bus & Coach was one of two companies that were created out of the privatisation of LCBS and the subsequent London Country North East (LCNE) operation. The new company covered much of the previous LCNE services in Essex and East Hertfordshire and included the former Sampson base in Hoddesdon. From the latter came this Metro-Cammell Weymann bodied Leyland Atlantean that at some stage had the roof removed. Still in a basic cream livery from Sampson days, and with little opportunity to fulfill any tourist type duties the vehicle found use as a driver trainer as shown here in July 1990 as it passed along Danestrete (yes that is the correct spelling), in Stevenage. Back then it appeared normal for the instructor to be able to stand close to the pupil, but one has to now assume that possibly due to Health & Safety issues this practise has ceased and instructors are seated nearby.

9-10. A real gem passed before the lens one day back in October 1990 in the Hampton Court area. A coaching operation had been established by London Buses at the Wandsworth Garage. In order to keep drivers familiar with manual gearbox operation this rather splendid East Lancs bodied Leyland Titan PD2 built in 1964 for Warrington Transport, was acquired and captured as it crossed over the River Thames.
Another half-cabbed double-decker to migrate south to the Metropolis was this former Blackpool Transport Leyland Titan PD3. From a batch of twenty-five Metro-Cammell Weymann bodied vehicles numbered 501-525, a duo was acquired by London & Country, an element of London Country South West. 515 as was, here became DT12, in the fleet and was found between duties at West Croydon Bus Station. The curved design of the bodywork does appear to be at odds with the stark straight lines and sort of battleship grey of the surrounding infrastructure.

11. Fleet number BL4 operated by CentreWest seen here in February 1991 was from a batch of originally ninety-five Eastern Coachworks (ECW) bodied Bristol LH6Ls. With much of the London fleet over 8-foot in width, the buses being 7’6” wide were generally used on routes that navigated through some of the less accessible areas throughout Greater London. Here the bus rested on the stand nearby to Northolt Underground Station.

12. This ECW bodied Bristol FLF6G was originally operated down in the West Country as part of the Bristol Omnibus Company. Built in 1965 and assigned their fleet number C7219 it obviously migrated eastwards at some stage to become number 914 in the Kentish Bus & Coach fleet as a driver trainer. However, in June 1991 it was placed on loan to Metroline in order to train drivers on manual gearbox vehicle prior to the introduction of a manual gearboxed midibus for the Londonwide network of Mobility Bus routes.

13-14. Luton & District took over the privatised London Country North West company in October 1990 and the fleet included this Leyland Atlantean with Park Royal bodywork built in 1972. It was the first of a batch of new double-deckers that replaced the aged fleet of buses inherited by LCBS from London Transport. Watford Junction Interhange played host to AN1 in May 1991 as it rested between driver training duties.
One month later and in complete contrast a quite different trainer bus passed through the location. Whilst the door may have been in the same place, the motive power was in what some would term as the traditional position. This Park Royal bodied AEC Regent V was one of forty that originated with the East Kent Road Car Company, based naturally in the Garden county of Kent. The livery may be familiar to some as that of Derby Transport. During this period Luton & District held a certain percentage in that company, thus when a requirement for a driver trainer arose further south, the bus was transferred down from the East Midlands for a spell of duty in Hertfordshire.

15. A total of 2646 of these Fleetlines were built for London Buses between 1971 and 1978. Bodywork was supplied by both Park Royal and Metro-Cammell. Buses up to number 2246 were designated as Daimlers, but 2247 onwards were built under the Leyland badge. One of the latter DMS2476 passed along a rather quiet Whitehall one morning in April 1992 and bore the recently introduced livery for the trainer bus fleet of the London General subsidiary.

16. A quite unusual departure from the usual training vehicle was this Duple Dominant bodied Leyland Leopard. Acquired by Metroline Travel it was found here at their North Wembley base in February 1993 and had been assigned the fleet number LD5. Built in 1986 it featured the relatively rare trapezoidal window design and was one of eight such coaches acquired initially by Beestons of Hadleigh in Essex.

17. As already indicated London Country South West traded in part as London & Country. During October 1993 one of the large fleet of Leyland Atlanteans number AN111, had by now been placed on driver training duties. Sporting a Metro-Cammell Weymann body it wandered along the Walworth Road in South East London after a fresh lick of paint had been applied.

18. As they became time expired for everyday service the MCW Metrobus became one of the favoured type for driver training duties with some of the London companies. Here London United’s M30 trundled along Burnt Oak Broadway in July 1994 and looked good in a fresh livery for their training fleet.

19. London & Country fleet number VCB89 in July 1996 was a relatively rare Volvo B10M with Caetano 57-seater bodywork. This was previously owned and operated by luxury coach firm Tellings Golden Miller on their one-bus service 606 in south west London. Here it passed through the one-way system in Kingston town centre. Blinds, ‘L’-plates and notices in the windscreen display the fact the vehicle provided a dual role as a driver trainer between school duties.

20. The forecourt area between the frontage of Uxbridge Bus Garage and the Underground Station in June 1997 provided a resting place for this Mark II Leyland National. Formerly operated on the central London Red Arrow network of routes from the 1970s, some 20-odd years later less arduous duties found LS444 on the western outskirts with the First CentreWest subsidiary in a predominately yellow training livery. The livery and signwriting also provided an opportunity to advertise their garage areas of operation, useful for potential new recruits.

21-22. A similar livery was applied to this MCW Metrobus M1418 as it departed from Uxbridge in April 2000, with one ‘L’-of a notice affixed inside the intermediate blind box. Scourge of double-deck operation is evident here as the front nearside roof proved testament to probable continued tree bashing. The bus retained its original dual-door configuration.
A London Metrobus in a different hue was M1393 seen here as it passed along Station Road, Edgware during July 2002. Operated by the London Northern company the vehicle certainly stood out from the majority of the standard ‘red’ bus fleets. Another difference with this bus was the fine job done to remove the centre door, second window along. This was one of a number of this type that were altered to also feature coach seating, as shown by the downstairs seating just behind the front door and fitted with equipment for medium distance tours out of the London area.

23. And finally. Various companies after privatisation went their own way with vehicle buying policies when the low-floor revolution took hold. Before that several had acquired versions of the Volvo Olympian, Go-Ahead’s subsidiaries London Central and London General being two of them. Their choice of bodywork was provided by Northern Counties with either Palatine I or II styling. Here one of the former, NV344 posed on the runway at Wisley in 2004 on the occasion of the annual Cobham Bus Museum Open Day. There was no doubting as to how to make contact should one wish to apply, along with details of where buses were based at that time.