February 2026

In February 2026 the revelations from historic correspondence are in the forefront of the daily news. The Trust Archive has recently received a file of correspondence offering intriguing insight of a very different kind and of great interest to bus engineers and historians. The file, spanning the period from 1949 to 1960, concerns the construction and development of the Bristol Lodekka.

The earliest letter (September 1949) to Miles Beevor at the British Transport Commission opens with a salutation of the times “Dear Beeovr” and states: “The Bristol prototype low-bridge double-deck vehicle is now available for inspection”. The correspondence tells the story through to November 1960, the final page being a Bristol Commercial Vehicles (BCV) memo concerning the potential of AEC manufacturing a Lodekka-type chassis under licence. A hand-written annotation notes: “Discussed – agreed in principle to issue non-exclusive Licence…….”

The correspondence pictured is from A W Hallpike of Bristol Commercial Vehicles to Mr S Kennedy (Chairman of BCV and Chairman of the Management Borad of the parent Tilling Group of Omnibus Companies). It is in a section dealing with the development of a 30’0” flat floor Lodekka. That confirms that all the main units in flat floor models were to be standard Lodekka except for the adoption of air braking on both 27’0” and 30’0” models (being essential in the latter case).

The letter indicates the scale of additional cost (£168 per chassis) and the operators destined to receive the new models (and commensurate cost). These include Thames Valley Traction Co. and Western National Omnibus Co.

The file provides a rich resource for research – a treasure for the archive.

Ref. E00336
Archive Item of the Month, February 2026