Silver fleetlines

[craighu]

Hi all
Apologies if this topic has been covered already...I've been thinking about P and R reg fleetlines that lasted long enough to be painted in WMT silver. Think I'm right in saying that none of the 63xx (KON xxxP) batch made it, and only a handful of 64xx and 65xx. The lowest fleetnumber in silver by reckoning is 6443 ( excluding 4069 of course).  Thanks

[Gareth]

6443, 6477 and 6488 were all from memory silver R reg. and of course there were quite a few 67** R reg ex Coventry in silver too. No P reg survived after 1990/1 and all were still blue and cream.

The were a very small handful 65** painted in silver 6515 and 6538 being two I remember, but these were S reg.

[craighu]

6456 also seems to have made it into silver.

[Tony]

6456 also seems to have made it into silver.

no. 6456 was converted to an ancillary vehicle and painted in the silver style of livery but with white instead

[paulb1973]

In the spring of 1994, all the remaining Coventry based East Lancs Fleetlines; 6723, 6728, 6732, 6735, 6741, 6744, 6751, 6752, 6757, 6758 & 6760 transferred to Walsall, all had been repainted into the silver/red stripe livery. At least one example (6746) was repainted too, but didn't make it to Walsall - don't know if there were any others?

[Gareth]

no. 6456 was converted to an ancillary vehicle and painted in the silver style of livery but with white instead

Was it painted silver after its use as the ESOP bus in white? I'm almost entirely sure it was at one of the Acocks Green open days, almost hidden away in a row of buses and most certainly in silver. Looked very posh inside too, lots of soft trim I think.

[j789]

Did any fleetline receive all 3 WMT liveries - blue/cream, blue/silver and red stripe?

[Stevo]

Not forgetting the three in silver for the Silver Jubilee in 1977, of course! Was it 6431-3?

[paulb1973]

Did any fleetline receive all 3 WMT liveries - blue/cream, blue/silver and red stripe?

I tried a while ago, during a Flickr conversation, to list all the Fleetlines that gained the earlier grey/blue livery (of 1988-90) and came up with this:

Open-top
3867 [silver/grey]

Park Royal bodied:
6665, 6667, 6681*, 6687, 6688

MCW bodied:
6873*, 6881, 6889, 6898, 6903, 6904, 6911, 6916*, 6927, 6943, 6945, 6951, 6957, 6960, 6961, 6971, 6972, 6976, 6978, 6979, 6982, 6997, 6999

(* = gained the 'red stripe' livery).

It seems a few did go on to gain the slightly later red stripe scheme, I think 6881, 6961, 6976 & 6982 wore hybrid versions.

[Pete50492]

Not forgetting the three in silver for the Silver Jubilee in 1977, of course! Was it 6431-3?

Spot on Stevo - indeed it was 6431/6432/6433. As I recall one carried adverts for Woolworths, one for International Paint & one for Queensway furniture stores though can't remember which bus carried which advert!

[Justin Tyme]

I tried a while ago, during a Flickr conversation, to list all the Fleetlines that gained the earlier grey/blue livery (of 1988-90) and came up with this:

Open-top
3867 [silver/grey]

Park Royal bodied:
6665, 6667, 6681*, 6687, 6688

MCW bodied:
6873*, 6881, 6889, 6898, 6903, 6904, 6911, 6916*, 6927, 6943, 6945, 6951, 6957, 6960, 6961, 6971, 6972, 6976, 6978, 6979, 6982, 6997, 6999

(* = gained the 'red stripe' livery).

If I recall correctly 6898 lasted in the grey/blue livery until the final day of WMT Fleetlines in 1997.

[Gareth]

6904 also received 'red stripe' after the earlier grey and blue livery.

[paulb1973]

6904 also received 'red stripe' after the earlier grey and blue livery.

I suppose more examples gained the red stripe livery - I can't really remember?! They didn't all make it to the final year of Fleetline operation either, I assume.

6916 was definitely the only Cov example to wear all three liveries (no East Lancs examples gained the earlier grey/blue livery, presumably as later-build examples were being targeted initially).

[don]

Spot on Stevo - indeed it was 6431/6432/6433. As I recall one carried adverts for Woolworths, one for International Paint & one for Queensway furniture stores though can't remember which bus carried which advert!

6431 - Woolworths
6432 - International Paints
6433 - Queensway
6299 - Metro Cammell

[Walsall1955]

6431 - Woolworths
6432 - International Paints
6433 - Queensway
6299 - Metro Cammell

6431 - The Woolworths one:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/walsall1955/12327333053/
6299- The MCW Metropolitan:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/walsall1955/19992858156/in/photolist-wsGCbY-89jqXF