Bristol RELL 2583
The Committee of the Trust is delighted to announce the acquisition for preservation of Ulsterbus Bristol RE Fleet No. 2583 (BXI 2583). This has been made possible through the good offices of senior management of the Company. Also made available to us is a quantity of spares which will be invaluable for the long-term upkeep of this and our ex-Citybus RE 2415.
2583 was one of the last batch of 20 such vehicles (2581 - 2600) built in 1982/83 for Ulsterbus by Alexander (Belfast) at its Mallusk plant. The first six of the batch, 2581-2586, were allocated new to Oxford Street depot, whilst the others were allocated as follows: 2587/88 Craigavon, 2589/90 Newry, 2591/92 Bangor, 2593-96 Derry City, 2597/98 Antrim and 2599/600 Coleraine.
Subsequent history saw 2583 transferred to Citybus in late 1990 and after seating modification when the nearside front two back-to-back seats were replaced by the standard Citybus bench seat over the wheel arch, it went into service in December 1990, at Ardoyne Depot. At the closure of Ardoyne it was moved in late March 1993 to Short Strand where it was to remain for the rest of its Citybus service. In common with some other REs that went from Ulsterbus to Citybus it eventually made the return journey being allocated to Bangor, still retaining red livery, in September 2000. It spent just over 3 years at the seaside resort until withdrawn and placed in Reserve near the end of RE operation on 30 November 2003 with over 450,000 miles on the clock. Aside from the seating change on arrival with Citybus, it was retrimmed in brown/orange 'spotty dick' moquette seating material throughout. At the same time 'Diptac' style orange handrail coverings were added. Also, the rear number plate glass was replaced with the normal Citybus exposed reflective plate. On the mechanical front the engine power output was reduced to standard Citybus convention whilst the road springs were altered from multileaf cart type to parabolic, or Taperlite as more commonly referred to by the Company. Prior to these alterations but a couple of years after delivery from Alexander, 2583 was fitted with Buspak advertising panels which it retained until they were removed during 1994.
2583 has been repainted and
returned to the Ulsterbus livery style introduced in 1989
with the company name above the cantrail and the
'paperclip' motif immediately above the front wheels. The
roof, which has not seen a new coat of paint for many
years will, it is anticipated, be repainted in time for
our Rally in April. Internally it retains the Citybus
seating layout and moquette trim together with the later
'Diptac' features, which will be kept, at least, for the
immediate future.
It may be of interest to note that the Translink REs in preservation now amount to no less than 31, of which 11 are in Northern Ireland, 9 in the Republic and 11 on the mainland. In addition one chassis has been preserved with the possibility of a further 3 or 4 vehicles to follow into preservation. One might say this is our preservation version of the London Routemaster!
The following provides a more detailed resume on 2583 -
Chassis Make & Type: Bristol
RELL6G (Engine - Gardner 6HLXB)
Body & Seating: Alexander (Belfast) `X' Type, B51F +
24 (ex-B52F + 23)
Date First Registered: 10 November 1982
Date Withdrawn: 30 November 2003
Total Service Mileage: 458,655
Allocations: 10/11/82 to Oxford Street
25/06/90 to Newtownabbey
01/11/90 to Citybus Reserve (reseated, DIPTAC, springs,
etc.)
06/12/90 to Ardoyne
28/03/93 to Short Strand (on closure of Ardoyne)
01/09/90 to Ulsterbus Bangor
30/11/03 to Ulsterbus Reserve (stored Newtownabbey,later
Larne)
Other Detail: Buspak advertising panels fitted 1985,
removed by 09/94
Acquired by ITT: 09/02/05 (originally allocated for sale
to Dumfries & Galloway Council for schools transport
- did not proceed)