Service 94 - Heritage Service

Beginning at 1200 on 8 May, every other bus on service 94 between Cheltenham and Gloucester - a 20 minute service - was operated by heritage buses. All vehicles used were licensed PSVs (rather than historic vehicles) and were actually in fare paying service, making a change from usual free-of-charge heritage operations.

Seen through the rain splattered window of another heritage vehicle at Churchdown is Cheltenham District Bristol Lodekka FSF6G 6037. Although vehicles in this livery would never have operated the 549, it is not dissimilar to the FLFs used for many years on this service. Note what remains of an illuminated side advertising panel.

A more typical pose for 6037 is on he Promenade in Cheltenham, from where it would have operated Cheltenham District Traction routes. The 94's successor 549 operated from the Royal Well Bus Station up to the mid-1980s, when Cheltenham & Gloucetser Omnibus moved its main services out of the bus station to the Prom.

Here, recently restored Bristol LD6G 8515 is seen on passenger service on the 94, following extensive work at Thamesdown Transport, including new leather seating. Again, such vehicles were common the the 549. Station Road rather than the Bus Station is the anonymous Gloucester terminus of the 94.

Former Cheltenham District dual door Bristol RELL6L also undertook sterling service on the first four Bristol Omnibus RELLs were delivered to Cheltenham and were soon converted from B53F to B44D layout, to assist one man operation. Painted in the one-man variant of the traditional Cheltenham District livery, such vehicles did, in fact, see occasional use on Bristol Omnibus' Cheltenham depot's country services, at times of acute need.

Displaying the route number for direct services between Cheltenham and Gloucester from 1967 is Bristol RESL6L 508, one of the 15 short 43 seat ECW bodied REs known as the THUGs (from their registration). they made an useful and powerful contribution to lighter loaded country services. 508 had been brought to Cheltenham by Stagecoach on 7 May from near Carlisle, especially for the celebrations.