Transport Museum Wythall celebrated 85 years of the iconic Bedford OB over the weekend of 18-19 May with seven restored examples of the type on hand.
Oldest of those present was an example new to Woolacombe and Mortehoe Motor Co in 1947, with the newest a 1952 model delivered to Bowles Coaches of Gloucestershire and built after production had ceased using spare parts supplied by a Bedford dealership in Cheltenham.
The OB debuted in 1939 and was co-developed with Duple. 73 were built before the Second World War, but production boomed after those years and almost 13,000 were produced by 1950. Around 3,400 of the more austere OWB were manufactured during the war.
While noting that it had hoped to attract more of the surviving OBs, Transport Museum Wythall says that vehicle age and condition, plus geographical separation, deterred some owners from attending. It adds that several of the type have also moved from preservation to commercial operators to fulfil vintage hires, potentially precluding an appearance.
Nevertheless, one of the OBs present offered rides to visitors and a road run to the British Motor Museum took place on Sunday 19 May amid excellent weather.
Three awards were presented over the course of the weekend:
- The Ambience Trophy, donated by Blue Motors of Blackpool, went to the newest OB present – the example delivered to Bowles Coaches – and was collected by owners Alan and Margaret Garaghty
- The Tim Wootton Shield, for many years voted on by members of previous OB gatherings, went to a 1949 example new to Sunbeam Garages of Torquay and now in the livery of Whiteways of Waunfawr. It was collected by owner Richard Lloyd-Williams
- The Transport Museum Wythall Award for best in show went to an 1950 OB new to CJ Eagle of Norfolk and which now carries the colours of Lewis Coaches of Somerset. It was collected by owner Mark Withers.
Mr Wootton is described by Wythall as a leading light in Bedford OB preservation prior to his death in 2017. Gatherings of the type were curtailed afterwards, but have now resumed with organisation by Billy Brayford, who also owns what was Mr Wootton’s OB.
