SORRY, NOT IN SERVICE
Autocar UK|December 07 - 14, 2022 (Double Issue)
At least, that was the case for decades, but now this 1931 bus has been rescued and fully restored. John Evans drives it
SORRY, NOT IN SERVICE

Sent to London during the Blitz to help fill gaps in the capital’s bus fleet, then returned to Birmingham a few weeks later for the same reason after a major bus depot in the city is bombed. After the war, sent to a scrapyard but somehow spared and in 1969 discovered in a Herefordshire field being used as a home defended bya chap not afraid to use a shotgun to repel trespassers.

Bought, minus its engine, by a preservation society and eventually, after a series of false starts, embarks in 2012 on an extended period of restoration interrupted, in 2018, by the expensive realisation that the refurbishment of its replacement engine has been bodged. Finally, in June 2022, following a second

but this time successful rebuild of its mechanicals, AEC Regent 486, a former Birmingham City Transport double-decker, is unveiled to the public in all its restored glory, looking as fresh as the day it entered service from Harborne Garage, its home depot in Birmingham, on 4 December 1931.

The story of this AEC Regent, one of 60 commissioned and operated by the Birmingham Corporation Tramways and Omnibus Department, the predecessor of Birmingham City Transport, is nothing if not colourful. We’re telling it now because, this being Christmas, seeing it in all its polished glory at Wythall Transport Museum is just the excuse you need to escape the confines of home.

Just think: before they had cars, this is how our grandparents used to travel. Even then, when folk did have a motor, they never travelled like they did in an AEC Regent. This Rolls-Royce of buses, one of the first metal-frame models to leave MetroCammell’s Birmingham works, was richly appointed and, from its chromed fittings and thickly varnished trim to its reliable, chain-driven window winders and sculpted body, beautifully built.

Esta historia es de la edición December 07 - 14, 2022 (Double Issue) de Autocar UK.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición December 07 - 14, 2022 (Double Issue) de Autocar UK.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE AUTOCAR UKVer todo
The venomous nature of the Cobra
Autocar UK

The venomous nature of the Cobra

Last week, Matt Prior drove a totally new kind of AC Cobra. This is a car with one of the strongest allures of all - but also an incredibly complex and controversial history.

time-read
3 minutos  |
October 23, 2024
SKODA KAMIQ
Autocar UK

SKODA KAMIQ

A long getting-to-know-you trip to Spain reveals all

time-read
2 minutos  |
October 23, 2024
THE SEVEN-YEAR TITCH
Autocar UK

THE SEVEN-YEAR TITCH

Outgoing baby Jag is plush, practical and now eminently affordable

time-read
2 minutos  |
October 23, 2024
'Our time has come'
Autocar UK

'Our time has come'

Honda may be late to the EV party, but a barrage of bold new battery-powered cars is on the way. JAMES ATTWOOD speaks to boss Toshihiro Mibe at its R&D base to find out what's in store

time-read
8 minutos  |
October 23, 2024
Lion kings
Autocar UK

Lion kings

Plush, powerful four-door cars are an endangered species - and now Peugeot has called time on its latest, the 508 PSE. STEPHEN DOBIE compares it with its most significant ancestor, the 505 GTI

time-read
6 minutos  |
October 23, 2024
VOLKSWAGEN GOLF
Autocar UK

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF

Wolfsburg gives the lesser-known Golf PHEV a big-impact refresh

time-read
7 minutos  |
October 23, 2024
PORSCHE PANAMERA GTS
Autocar UK

PORSCHE PANAMERA GTS

Stuttgart's latest 'bahnstormer targets driver appeal over outright punch

time-read
2 minutos  |
October 23, 2024
MERCEDES-AMG GT 63 PRO
Autocar UK

MERCEDES-AMG GT 63 PRO

Hardcore variant of V8 sports car engineered with track days in mind

time-read
3 minutos  |
October 23, 2024
TESLA REVEALS ROBOTAXI
Autocar UK

TESLA REVEALS ROBOTAXI

Firm unveils Cybercab coupé and 20-seat Robovan in autonomy push

time-read
2 minutos  |
October 23, 2024
DACIA PLOTS AMBITIOUS EXPANDED EURO LINE-UP
Autocar UK

DACIA PLOTS AMBITIOUS EXPANDED EURO LINE-UP

Firm teases something different’ ahead of impending C-segment reveal

time-read
2 minutos  |
October 23, 2024