Chepstow hosts vintage Red and White bus day

Seven vehicles and their devoted owners, who have spent hours restoring the buses to their former glory, met up at The Old Ferry Inn, Beachley, to educate the public about their history.

Red & White United Transport Ltd expanded rapidly during the 1930s from new headquarters in Chepstow and was operating a fleet of over 400 buses and coaches by 1937 in the South Wales area and further afield.

Some of the 300 visitors to the reunion on Saturday stepped back in time for a ride on two of the buses, one of them a Red and White Guy Arab, 1949, owned by Ken and Shirley Morgan, who worked as a driver and bus conductress respectively for the company.

Now with a vintage bus in their possession, they take it to various events throughout the country, this one organised by fellow enthusiast Robert Edworthy.

The 65-year-old is such an avid Red and White fan, his Rogiet home is stuffed full of 90,000 negatives of vintage buses he has photographed across the country.

He met other local enthusiasts through worldwide group the PSV Circle and with friends Nicky Reason and Jim Lynch is currently dusting down an ex-Red and White 1949 Leyland which was redundant on a Chepstow drive for 30 years.

It is the second time Mr Edworthy has owned the bus as 32 years ago he bought it from the Multiple Sclerosis Society in the Rhonnda for £100, as they were selling it for a more modern vehicle.

A Chepstow man who wanted to run it as a preserved vehicle then bought it for £600, but the plan never materialised and it was left to rust.

Mr Edworthy said: “It didn’t move a wheel for 30 years and it was just rotting to pieces, so we are now attacking it to restore it to how it used to be.”

Not currently roadworthy, the bus did not make it to Saturday’s event, but thirty years ago it did a 1,000 mile trip to shows the length and breadth of Britain.

The friends are hoping their restoration work will pay dividends and that they will see it back on the road once again.