Red Line Coaches, London

[inzera]

This post is a bit of a long shot as I am seeking info on a small coach company that operated in the 1950's and 1960's. They were called Red Line coaches and were based in Basing Street, North Kensington, London. They operated my old school coaches. They used two main coaches for school run - one was a sleek and very modern looking AEC Reliance reg TLN 4 of which I have got a photo (below) of the actual coach. I am trying to trace the other main coach which I believe was as AEC Regal half-cab and which I remember vividly from the "thrum-thrum" of it's engine when parked to pick us kids up.

If anyone has any photos of the AEC half cab in Red Line livery or any further details of Red Line itself I'd be so glad to see them. As I said, it's a long shot because it was so long ago and nothing then was digitised for going online !! Thanks in advance . Barry

 

[duncombec]

This post is a bit of a long shot as I am seeking info on a small coach company that operated in the 1950's and 1960's. They were called Red Line coaches and were based in Basing Street, North Kensington, London. They operated my old school coaches. They used two main coaches for school run - one was a sleek and very modern looking AEC Reliance reg TLN 4 of which I have got a photo (below) of the actual coach. I am trying to trace the other main coach which I believe was as AEC Regal half-cab and which I remember vividly from the "thrum-thrum" of it's engine when parked to pick us kids up.

If anyone has any photos of the AEC half cab in Red Line livery or any further details of Red Line itself I'd be so glad to see them. As I said, it's a long shot because it was so long ago and nothing then was digitised for going online !! Thanks in advance . Barry

If you haven't already tried, it may we worth contacting The Bus Archive (https://www.busarchive.org.uk/) to see if they hold any information. It may not be a fleet list, but they may be able to supply further details, and have a large collection of photos which may help.

 

[zuriblue]

You can also try sct'61 (sct61.org.uk)

 

[01d-and]

Flickr has a photo of AEC Regal OLX 1 , but it's not a half cab. It did get rebodied with a Plaxton Embassy body at some stage.

 

[inzera]

The nearest I can remember the AEC half cab is in photo below. The body was a dirty caramel colour but that's all I remember of detail. But I can still hear that diesel engine idling

 

[Wawanesa]

I can give a little information about Red Line which may be of interest.

E.Brickwood Limited was registered on May 17th 1911 by Edward Richard Thomas Brickwood. In 1920 they acquired a Daimler char-a-banc while 1923 saw the start of bus operations using a couple of Thornycroft double deckers using the trading name of Red Line.

The bus operations were sold to the London Passenger Transport Board on December 5th 1933 but the coach operations continued. On February 10th 1937 the business was acquired by J.F. & M. Brennan and renamed Red Line Continental Motorways Limited, still trading from the original address of 335, Portobello Road. On August 31st 1953 the company came under the control of British Electric Traction (BET). Operations continued until 1968 when the goodwill was sold to fellow BET company East Kent Road Car Company Limited. East Kent are of course still very active in 2026, operating Road Cars (i.e. buses) in East Kent as they have done for 110 years.

The AEC half cab would have been JGY448, a "Regal III" new in October 1947 with a 32 seat Strachan coach body. Unfortunately it is not known where or when it was disposed of. Given the make of the body it probably didn't have a long life. Although the "Transport Library" website has photos of quite a few Red Line vehicles, JGY448 isn't one of them.

 

[inzera]

Wow, to now know the reg of the coach and it's bodywork just confirms my memory of it. I'm sure I won't be able to find any photo of the exact coach but your info is most welcome anyway. As I have already said, the "thrum-thrum" of it's idling engine has stayed with me some 60 years later !

 

[Wawanesa]

Glad to be of help. You will see that over on www.sct.org.uk John Card has given similar information. He is an expert in London area operations and knows his stuff.

 

[inzera]

Re this AEC Reliance I think it's bodywork is Harrington but can anyone say what Harrington body type it is (if it is not Harrington then what is it ??)

 

[GusB]

Re this AEC Reliance I think it's bodywork is Harrington but can anyone say what Harrington body type it is (if it is not Harrington then what is it ??)

It's a Wayfarer Mk4, according to this site:

Harrington Wayfarer 4

There's a photo of a similar vehicle there.