CTPG News Summer 2002

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GUY ARAB 424 - TOPLESSHow many enthusiasts have forgotten the "other" CardiffOpen Top Guy Arab - That's right 424. Everyone occasionallybrings 434(AB0434B) into conversation in the context of itsownership by the National Museum of Wales, but very fewregularly talk of 424 (AB0424B) which was very much partof the double-act necessary to laimch Cardiff's open top toursprogram in 1976. Fortunately for CTPG members 424 is notjust a distant memory, but still exists in Buckinghamshire asof September 2001. Indeed 424 now lives on a 400 acre estatewhich is sandwiched between Silverstone Racetrack and theformer stately home of the Duke of Buckingham (it is understoodthat the Duke was responsible for the building of BuckinghamPalace!!). The estate consists of farm land, a plant hire business, anequestrian centre and a large cor^ervation area which includeswoodland returned to a condition in keeping with its historicalancestry.424 is now the sole surviving 30ft long CCT half-cab double
decker of any type, being introduced to Cardiff's streets in themid 1960's as a direct trolleybus replacement vehicle, operatingfrom Roath depot. In those days Roath lay in the shadow of thehuge cooling towers of the power station ,which dominated thelandscape of Newport Road at the time. AB0424B ran alongsidethe trolleybuses for over half a decade, being introduced at a timewhen all post-war double-deck trolleybuses remained in activeservice. Indeed by the end of 1964 only twelve trolleybuses newto Cardiff Corporation had been withdrawn, consisting of :-pre-war AEC 664T/NCME double-deckers 203/205/206/208/209/210post-war Bute Road single-deckers 238/239/240/241/242/243A taste for 30ft high capacity vehicles (70 seaters) wasdeveloped in the early 1960's to complement the standard 27ft 6invehicles (63 seaters). The main need for 30 footers' was to allowa smooth transition from trolleybus to motorbus operation, astrolleys typically carried between 67 and 70 seated passengerson high capacity routes.The Arab V was a very rare design with just Cardiff, Chester,Lancashire United and Wolverhampton taking the model insizeable numbers. Cardiff Corporation received 54 examples ofwhich 17 were equipped with crash gearboxes and rare Neepsendbod5rwork, the remainder being Semi-Automatics bodied byAlexander . Thirty four of the Arab V's were 27ft 6in, whilsttwenty were 30ft long to contribute to the demise of the electrictraction system. AU were delivered in maroon/ cream liverywith gold shaded fleetnames, and were exclusively built to openplatformdesign.EXiring the early part of 1976 a decision was taken to converttwo buses to open top format, so in anticipation of large passengernumbers two 30ft Arabs were selected- AB0422B & AB0424B.The first to be converted was 424, entering the works in lateApril 1976, with conversion completed in the first week of Jime1976. The conversion of 422 was cancelled, and substituted with ashort-length Arab (434) as a result of the later sustaining accident
Page 1 and 2: CARDIFFTRANSPORTPRESERVATIONCROUPCT
Page 3 and 4: THE EDITORIAL by Steve MorganWelcom
Page 5 and 6: completely iiinded by the Heritage
Page 7 and 8: Cardiff Bus - Fleet UpdateAnother l
Page 9: Cardiff Corporation 1949 Crossley D
Page 12 and 13: stock. From the operators viewpoint
Page 14 and 15: SOUTH WALES BUSES /COACHES IN MALTA
Page 18 and 19: damage to its roofline in April 197
Page 20 and 21: New Book!AIR DISPATCH LTD[ SRUCE CO

CTPG News Summer 2002

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