Horseshoe Coaches 1991 (2024)

02/03/2024

Went for a walk this morning, going down Stag Hill towards Cockfosters from Potters Bar. Got to the bottom saw these two coaches parked up in the bus layby, thinking perhaps they had dropped off at the tube station for football supporters, especially noting the Luton Town sticker on the front of the coach, Not that I remembered Luton were playing at home this evening!
Anyway when I did get around to the front of the coach I noticed they had a "badly" made sign on it. Further investigation I read Kempston former "home" of Horseshoe Coaches in Bedford. I assume this had been from a earlier job?
I received my singular copy of Grey-Green. Not happy, the printer overdid it with the red mixture. Quite a number of images within have come out darker as well a different shade compared to the PDF that I confirmed I was happy with for the print to go ahead. Come Monday with the copy over to their offices to sort this out. Personally face to face, as if one tries to take pictures of the problem, screenshot, camera, mobile phone camera, all come out as they should have done!!! So no other way other than taking the book over to Leavesden in Watford and letting them sort it out.

24/02/2024

"Finally" finished off my proposed book homing in on Grey-Green titled; "Grey-Green Coaches Looking from the Outside In". Obviously there have been the odd one or two books about the company particularly persons who had worked there etc. Mine is based as the title notes kind of my thoughts from my days at Horseshoe along with earlier years that both companies crossed over in different "fashions",i.e., staff, coaches, work etc. Very much a graphic novel, very similar in makeup to the Trathens book, but no fleet list. A4, with spread around cover as per the image, 101 pages, good quality paper and paperback style. At the "moment" I am having just the one copy printed to see how it will turn out which will be a week. If okay I'll get an initial supply and see how it goes from there. Once more I have gone for the large size simply because it offers far superior opportunities to upload images that are enhanced better due to this. Hopefully I am proved right!

12/02/2024

Being so early in the year for quite a lot of tour operators, there is little to take images of down at South Mimms. In the circumstances I have uploaded some more images I have been given, from many years ago when the operators were "alive"!

03/02/2024

A more comprehensive picture of SGS 500W near opposite the offices at West Green Road - now over 40 years ago!!!!!

03/02/2024

Nearly missed this!! Having uploaded some images I found on British Coachway i.e., Grey-Green book, completely missed looking at this Wallace Arnold coach. However, right now seeing what to keep or not to, looked at the coach at the back and couldn't believe it was SGS 500W the only DD4 Horseshoe bought, mainly because of the horrendous YNT Bedford engines. Reckon we had a right dodgy lot five in total. Anyway, anyone got an idea where this taken?

03/02/2024

A few "odds and ends" in endeavouring to finish my book on Grey-Green Coaches. Not too dissimilar to the Trathens book as this seemed to work, what with the actual size of A4 which allows for better images of the coaches etc. Plus the wraparound cover which I have done again. However, if one wanted a complete rundown of the company well one needed to purchase those books by Tom McLachlan as mine is as the title "Grey-Green Looking from the Outside In". Basically my thoughts as well as what occurred as far as I read and was reported and links associated with it.
Start of the coaching season once more come this Monday as Alfa are restarting from South Mimms until January 2025! More tours, more hotels and a slightly different format as to how the departures and returns will be operating.

10/01/2024

A few more images given to me. A couple of Trathens breakdown motors - white van, noting the phone number, assume from the depot in London? The towing wagon down in Devon at Roborough possibly. Other images; "foreign" Neoplan, Link Line - I think "they" operated out north west London - Willesden. Never ceases to amaze me seeing the likes of these different Neoplans how on earth the operators could afford to buy in at the price on these unless there were some massive contract that substantiated it? Other two images; Stagecoach at Kings Cross, and Harry Shaw, one can possibly assume around the Coventry area?

08/01/2024

At the moment in time there's not much happening my end. However I have uploaded a few images from 2016 when I was driving on rail replacement in London for Sullivan Buses. This particular route was the regular one that used to be and may still be part of the District Line that includes Olympia and Earls Court stations. Basically I assume that it was cheaper to have the likes of buses regularly going a round in a circle for a number of times, starting from Earls Court Station then proceed up the road and turn left for Olympia Station, stop and then proceed to the next main light turn left and proceed across the A4 stopping for the West Kensington Station, thereafter to the bus terminal near opposite West Brompton station. Used to love doing this, there was so much down time. Really good times, basically around four of us plus a controller. It only operated a couple times a week when Sullivans did it. I "only" ended up doing it when I asked if there was any similar work to the weekend RR, to which they said there was this. Meant leaving 6am during the week to get into West London - the hardest part! Took me over two hours the first time and completely lost myself driving a double decker up there and almost proceeded to go to LHR instead until I realised where I was! The Thorpe Park was a pain, There were two in the same livery, one I had driven before and thought no more of it, until I used what I thought was the same one! "That" one had a larger turning circle and hadn't realised this until I tried to get the bus around a mini roundabout at the junction with Lillie Road. Just about got round without hitting any cars as well as the metal "fencing" the other side of the road! Happy days.

01/01/2024

Getting a bit of a blank concerning this "company"? Other than I have feeling they were located or their offices were in the Mornington Crescent/Camden Town, spitting distance from the "old" Kings Cross "coach station come car park". No doubt one of a number of individual operators who parked their odd coaches there?

01/01/2024

"Triplets!" Three consecutive registered Jonckheere motors; XNV 151W, XNV 152W, and VNV 153W. Noticing Royal Blue on the side of 151W I assume that this was on behalf of National Express?

28/12/2023

"A second day of no foreigners" other than the rare artics who still seem not to grasp the signs that denote NO HGVs. Anyway as one can see Alfa had plenty of space yesterday for more outwards and the nine returns in the afternoon, that got totally knackered with the rain and returning other vehicles from Xmas. So much so a couple of motors didn't arrive back until 16.30.
Very few coaches other than the Alfa tour coaches throughout the day and the only one that took my notice is this Harry Shaw with its distinctive paint work.

23/12/2023

Today's snapshots of a few of the coaches that went out on the Alfa Tours this morning - 9. Seven hired in plus a couple of Alfas. Not a Romanium van in sight, so wonderful! Hardly a HGV except a couple of "foreigners" who obviously can't read English? If it ever was only a couple you wouldn't get me moaning as I do. Hopefully the motors come back on the 27th, more of the same space to breath so to speak. A full day then, as half a dozen go out for a few days before the New Year tours.

22/12/2023

A couple of nice "crisp" pictures of Trathens one and only...........
Nice paint job that blended in well with the slightly unusual body shape.

08/12/2023

Had to "find" ten coach bays in the coach park this afternoon for the tours returning! Didn't bother about trying to take images of the coaches only of the foreign plated van and artics that cannot be given a parking ticket as the number plates are not recognised! The pictures tell the story, look how many vans and artics are there. Hardly any room for the likes of the British reg motors etc. Had luck have it, I am little time for this and call a spade a spade, I don't mince my words when they engross on our territory. Even the British lorries etc came in and went straight out - there was no room!!!!

02/12/2023

Another negative off eBay tonight - Yelloway-Trathen. The way it's going might even get a full house!

18/11/2023

A bit of a serious note at South Mimms yesterday. My photos admittedly show our coaches but remembering this is a coach park, note HGVs and PCVs don't mix. On top of this! we have quite a number of Romanian registered vans changing over their "luxuries" between each other. It is not just that the vehicles can be there for over whatever time, they don't pay a fig because their registrations are not recognised by the cameras which of course the chances are they are not recognised by ULEZ maybe? Who's going to chase after these vans, totally inappropriate, a case of immediate cash fines. What happens here happens elsewhere. They are clogging up spaces for others who pay and of course more spaces they take makes it harder in the coach park!

10/11/2023

Received in the post today concerning the book about Dodds of Troon. I thought Trathens was a comprehensive fleet list, but this is "longer". Pretty much a graphic novel book. I'll have a better read later of the information etc.

06/11/2023

More purchases off eBay this evening. Having noted about Dodds of Troon on here recently one way or another, thought perhaps it might be at a later date an update from the previous book published many years ago. Hopefully these three images will come in handy.

05/11/2023

Went down today to watch the 1st round of the FA Cup match between Slough Town and Grimsby Town. Anyone thinks it's hard to get a ticket for Premiership matches - try getting one for a ground that holds about 2,000! Being more interested in Grimsby made it doubly hard as they only had a 25% allocation. Ended up "being a ST supporter" for the duration of the match as that was the only way to get a ticket! Anyway here are some coach images before the match, alas I couldn't get all the coach image of PC in the frame as I took it.

05/11/2023

Back at the end of August I attempted to upload the aerial picture of Trathen's Roborough House and surrounding areas. At the time I wasn't able to show all. Now the negative has been correctly digitalised, here it is. I couldn't even think what was going through everyone's mind there when it was all lost, although not having this, wasn't too happy at Horseshoe several years later with our premises in different districts going the same way.

Horseshoe Coaches 1991

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