Bedford SB Duple Vega

The story refers to a batch of six 1963 Bedford SB8 Duple Bella Vegas which were purchased by James from a London operator. They would have looked almost identical to 6964NU, which was first registered in July 1964 and was new to the firm of Briggs of Clapwell though seen here in Wessex Coaches livery. This is very much a direct successor of AJK521, but by this time the Bedford SB was almost always built as a 41-seat coach and in 1963 was offered with a choice of three engines – the SB3 was a 6-cylinder petrol engine. The most popular variant was the SB5 with a Bedford 330 (the 330 is an approximate engine capacity in cubic inches) diesel engine, as fitted to 6964 NU. However, the six Bedfords bought by James Hayne were Bedford SB8’s which had a Leyland Comet engine which was slightly larger at 350 cubic inches. The Bedford SB was a basic but extremely reliable mid-sized coach and was very popular with privately owned operators. The Leyland-engined version was a bit more expensive – a premium product in its day -  and was a sought after coach in the secondhand market. In my humble opinion it also sounded nicer!