Bus and Taxi Rally in Kent
Posted by Chris Graham on 9th December 2022
Patrick Boniface reports on a recent and successful bus rally held at the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway’s New Romney station, in Kent.
The Bus and Taxi Rally held at the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway’s New Romney station was a great success this year.
The links between buses and railways was reinforced when the historic Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway was the setting for over 25 veteran buses to congregate on Sunday, September 4th, 2022, for their annual Bus and Taxi Rally. Buses from all over Kent and Sussex descended on the New Romney Station with the oldest bus being a 1935 Beford WLB.
Among the classic buses on display was a 1945 Bristol K6A operated by Maidstone & District Motor Company Ltd. Re-bodied in 1953, this vehicle continued to serve Chatham, Maidstone, Ashford, Hastings, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells until it was sold out of service in 1967. That year it was bought by the M&D and East Kent Bus Club, which still rallies it to his day. WLT 938 was newly delivered in September 1961.
Visitors enjoyed bus trips from the RHDR’s station in New Romney to Dungeness, where they could catch the train back again.
Nearby was PFN 874, an AEC Regent V with Park Royal full front bodywork. It was delivered new to the East Kent Road Car Company in 1959, as one of 40 such buses delivered in this configuration. This bus spent most of its working life in the Isle of Thanet area, until it was sold into preservation in 1979. Another notable attendee – RMC 1476 – was one of 68 production AEC Park Royal/Routemaster coaches built in 1962 for London Transport’s Green Line routes.
This event, which is staged annually in September, saw visitors to the tourist attraction enjoy trips to Dungeness at one end of the RHDR’s line on buses, and then return to New Romney station on the train.
This event report comes from the latest issue of Heritage Commercials, and you can get a money-saving subscription to this magazine simply by clicking HERE
