Bedford SB Duple from 1951

In the story, when selling some surplus stock James agrees to take an early Duple bodied Bedford SB identical to this as a trade in. Rather than sell it, it is stored, but when an opportunity comes to sell vintage tours it is brought back into service as a spare vehicle. This 33-seat coach was registered in November 1951 and was new to Palmerston of Eastbourne where it was fleet number 12. In the early 1950’s lightweight coaches such as this were fitted with petrol engines, whereas the heavier chassis from Leyland, AEC and others had diesel engines. Early Bedford SBs were almost always bought by independent operators.