Conducting turn to Canonteign Estate

This afternoon I had a surprise conducting turn to Canonteign Estate, Devon. Fortunately I didn’t have to drive all the way up to Somerset first, I’d arranged to meet my driver at Exeter Services. In fact we arrived at almost the same moment! As I drew up to the lights beside the motorway, so did 2 double deck buses from Quantock Motor Services.

The job was to pick up a large wedding party (hence the two vehicles) from St David’s Church, Exeter and take them to Canonteign Estate, a splendid Georgian mansion deep in the stunningly beautiful Teign Valley near Chudleigh. My driver was also the boss and we had an ex-Ipswich Corporation AEC Regent V. The other bus was an ex-Stockport Corporation Leyland PD3. Strangely enough they both had the same bodywork – by Neepsend (East Lancs) so, apart from the liveries and engines, they looked quite similar.

We drove in convoy through the centre of Exeter, drawing glances from the Saturday shoppers, in plenty of time to meet the wedding party. Almost as soon as we arrived the church bells began to ring. Were they for us or the happy couple?!

Two ushers hurried out of the church, both bearing large metal vases containing spectacular flower arrangements. Worryingly, they headed towards the buses. Apparently the flowers needed to accompany the guests to the reception venue but the only place on the bus they could travel was on the platform! The other conductor and I both agreed to prop up the flowers on the journey, lest they topple over. Which was a pity because I was then unable to issue any souvenir tickets after we set off!

Regent V delivery for Devon General

Devon General is an operator that I remember well, having grown up in a town which was served by its attractive maroon and cream buses. In the 1960s and early 70s they were mostly AECs, both single and double deckers.

For a relatively small operator, a large number of Devon General’s former vehicles have survived into preservation and no less than 5 of them attended the Torbay Vintage Bus Running Day last September. Regular readers (some of whom I met at the event) will remember that I brought an ex-Western National Bristol LDL6G to the Running Day.

This photo was taken by my friend Bob Brimley and shows two examples from a batch of AEC Regent Vs that was new to Devon General in 1965. This is of particular interest to me because I remember the Regent on the right (CTT518C) being delivered! The bus on the left (CTT513C) was delivered at much the same time but is fitted with the longer (and uglier, in my view) Park Royal bodywork.

CTT518C is one of 6 similar vehicles with Willowbrook bodywork and two of them, including this one, were destined for the DG depot at Exmouth, where I lived at the time. However, I happened to be staying with relatives in Salisbury, Wiltshire during the Easter Holiday in 1965 when I saw this bus being delivered when new.

AEC Regent GTi

When I was growing up in Exmouth, Devon our local bus services were operated by Devon General. A varied collection of maroon and cream AEC Reliance single deckers and AEC Regent double deckers used to congregate at the bus station in Imperial Road, now long gone. I used to love riding on the superbly melodious Regents, mostly from the CTT5XXC batch. A couple of these still exist and often turn up at bus events in Devon. [Edit – since writing this I’ve driven one of them]

But on occasional visits to Exeter I remember seeing older DG Regents running on city routes which they shared with the City of Exeter green fleet. As a small boy I couldn’t help but be mesmerised by the 1956 batch of open platform AEC Regent V double deckers. It was not so much the sight of them that drew my attention but the sound they made. With registrations beginning with ROD, TTT or VDV, they were unusual beasts in that they were fitted with straight-through exhaust systems. My dad told me this at the time and it turns out to be true. I presume they had no silencers. And boy, what a noise they made!

When accelerating away from a stop or hauling a full load up Fore Street Hill they would, at certain engine revs, emit an ear-splitting rasp from the exhaust. It made them sound really sporty and I’m sure the drivers of the day treated them accordingly!

At least one of these is still with us and someone has posted a video of it, taken during a WHOTT rally in Exeter. Watch this with your speakers turned up!

I sometimes wondered if the distinctive, deafening racket was a threat to the plate glass windows of the shops in the High Street. Why were they fitted with such noisy exhaust systems? Why were they not retro-fitted with quieter systems? With all the fuss nowadays about noise pollution, how can ROD765 continue to run in the 21st century with such a system fitted as standard? Personally, I love the sound. It’s what gives the bus it’s unique character.

Finally, a question. Does any AEC afficionado know of other UK operators of this type that received examples with the same straight-through system?