Jonathan Welch profiles three classic buses which were to be found among their many modern counterparts at Euro Bus Expo 2024 in Birmingham
The Ipswich Transport Museum held an event on Sunday 3 November to celebrate the reunion in preservation of three surviving Ipswich Corporation AEC Regent III buses. ADX 1 was Ipswich’s first diesel motorbus, purchased as late as 1950, concurrently with the municipal operator’s final trolleybuses, following 47 years of electric tram and trolleybus operation. CDX 516 is a 1954 example, whilst EPV 24, supplied in 1956, is generally acknowledged as the last 9.6 litre fluid transmission Regent III to be supplied to a UK operator. All three vehicles entered preservation immediately following their withdrawals in the early 1970s. Number 1 has been owned by the museum since 1973, with 16 and 24 passing to John Bedford and Peter Culverwell respectively soon afterwards. EPV 24 changed hands early in 2024, returning to Suffolk for continued preservation, giving impetus for the celebratory event.
Museum volunteer and event organiser Owen Phillips said: “The museum was contacted by Peter Culverwell and his family very late in 2023 to gauge our interest in adding number 24 to the museum’s collection. Peter had looked after the bus very well in his 50 year tenure, bringing her back to Suffolk a number of times for ITM events despite being based in West Sussex. Sadly with 1 and 16 already on display and space very much at a premium, it wasn’t felt we could justify adding similar 24 to the collection. A small number of us however, museum volunteers and local enthusiasts, got together and negotiated the purchase of 24 earlier this year.”
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