The Classic Auto-Motion event took place at the Transport Research
Laboratory Crowthorne site near Bracknell in Berkshire, on a very hot
Sunday under a cloudless sky.
Exhibitors were able to park in the central display area and also drive
the Laboratory's private network of roads, many of them carrying
passengers. There were opportunities to ride on all manner of vehicles.
Here are some sights from the afternoon - give them a few moments to load.
You'll have to excuse the quality, it's a cheap digital camera, but the
shots capture the atmosphere......
A smart pairing - a delightful Maidstone & District
AEC Reliance and a modernised Green Line AEC RF
- is it now? But where did we see this sticker? You'll find out at the
foot of the page.
I was pleased to renew acquaintance with this AEC Regent
V which was one of a fleet used to transport workers to and from the AERE
Harwell site. When I was a boy I used to see these buses in convoys every
day.
All manner of cars, bikes, trucks and buses came to
Classic Auto-Motion - there was an impressive line-up of preserved London
taxis
We took a ride in a Beardsmore taxi round the circuit.
The driver was instructed to lead a new RT driver round the network, but
while we were pulling away we were overtaken by this Southdown
Harrington-bodied Leyland Leopard
Part of the interest of the Small Road System lies in the
short 1 in 6 hill section in the middle, which can be quite a test for the
drivers. Here an Eastbourne Leyland Titan PD3A finds it quite hard going
Nice to see an Aldershot and District Dennis Loline I
attacking the climb, with an opentop Routemaster not far behind.
There were two Chiltern Queen saloons at the show, both
Plaxton Derwent-bodied. This is the AEC Reliance, the other being a
Leyland Leopard. Both were in the later Chiltern Queen bus colours. They
would originally have been red with a cream stripe.
And that sticker? It was in the back window of this
London Transport SMS class AEC Swift, SMS369.
