The English Riviera

In common with many other bus companies whose operating area included locations with attractive scenery, Devon General operated open-top services to take advantage of their picturesque surroundings. The first buses to operate these services had been 6 AEC Regents of 1934 vintage, which had been converted to open-top in 1955 by Longwell Green and painted ivory with two red bands, one above the lower deck windows and one below the upper windows. The disadvantage of these vehicles was that they could only be rostered in the summer months and lay idle in the winter. This problem was obviously borne in mind when considering possible replacements for these venerable machines in the early ’60s and the result was an order for nine Leyland Atlanteans, which were delivered in April 1961. The Atlanteans had the advantage of being of convertible open-top specification. The bodies were built by Metropolitan-Cammell, who had supplied the bodies on the first batch of closed top Atlanteans delivered to DG in 1959. The detachable roofs could be removed or re-fitted inside an hour using a hoist inside Devon General’s Newton Rd. garage at Torre. 20 bolts secured the whole plot with a molex plug at the front supplying power for illumination. Handrails and screens were fitted when running roofless. The nine buses were numbered in a continuation of the series already applied to previous Atlantean deliveries. They were DL925-DL932 and were delivered in a similar livery to their Regent predecessors, this being a reversal of the standard double deck colour scheme. All were fitted with detachable wooden route boards on the lower deck sides and did not carry any advertising. They also received names. In no small part because they would be operating in west country seaside locations each vehicle received the name of a notable seafarer from the region. A framed print of each mariner hung in the lower deck of its eponymous vehicle and the Atlanteans became known as the “Sea-dogs”. In January 1971, along with all other DG stock, the sea-dogs became the property of the Western National Omnibus Co. upon nationalisation. Once in NBC ownership they started travelling further afield and were soon seen away from their previous homes of Torquay and Exmouth, pitching up in Weymouth, Penzance, Camborne and Newquay. By 1973 they had been repainted into a livery of poppy red and white specific to open-top buses, and in 1975 work commenced in converting them to one-man operation. This involved the fitment of ticket machinery and the lowering of the front destination equipment to enable the adjustment of route blinds from the driver’s seat. All but No.932 had been so converted by 1981. 1977 saw the sea-dogs lowered in status with the delivery of the first 9 of an order of 11 convertible ECW bodied Bristol VRs. These were known as “Warships”, all being named after fighting ships of the Royal Navy. Thus the ships of the fleet all but saw off their commanders, the sea-dogs being demoted, in the main, to more run of the mill services, rarely being seen topless after this time. Withdrawal of the sea-dogs commenced in 1982 but the existence of a demand for open top vehicles across the country, allied with Devon General’s reputation for superior vehicle husbandry, meant that there were enough interested parties to ensure that these fine vehicles could continue to provide sterling service in other parts of the UK. The result of this interest was that from the eighties onwards tourists and holidaymakers in such places as London, the south coast, the north-west, the north-east, and parts of Scotland could appreciate the fine views afforded to them from the upper deck of a sea-dog. So, what about today? Well, the interest in open top buses among both enthusiasts and the general public means that a disproportionate number of these buses tend to survive when compared to their closed top brethren. Fortunately the sea-dogs are no exception to this phenomenon and five of the nine are known to survive. Two have been fully restored in Devon General liveries, two are currently undergoing restoration and one is still earning a living, a fantastic achievement for a 46 year old bus! The fact that only two of the sea-dogs’ 47 contemporary closed top stable-mates survived into preservation shows the regard in which Devon General‘s best known buses are held. Looks like they’ll be delighting enthusiasts for some time to come. In the following posts we review the histories of each of the nine sea dogs.