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GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton
Leamington Spa Station: gwrpublicity3876
In the Summer of 1924 the Great Western Railway reinstated
their successful Shakespeare Country tours, which had been halted in 1914 due
to the First World War (see 'gwrpublicity3873'). It was one of two Day Tours
available from London every Sumer weekday.
Day Tour No2 commenced with a rail journey from Paddington
to Leamington Spa, from where a circular tour by motor coach visited;
Kenilworth castle, Guys Cliffe, Warwick plus various locations in Shakespeare
country including Stratford-on-Avon, before returning to Leamington Spa for the
rail journey back to Paddington. The photograph shows a Maudslay 35hp charabanc
(GWR Fleet No 206) on this Day Tour leaving Warwick Castle.
In March 1913 the Great Western Railway had ordered three
Maudslay chassis fitted with observation car bodies as a trial. These proved to
be very successful and a further twelve were ordered in the following year; two
with observation car bodies and the remainder with 'torpedo type' high class
charabanc bodies with cape-cart hoods. The Maudslay vehicles had a four
cylinder overhead camshaft engine which proved to be very reliable. Details of
these fifteen Maudslay vehicles are given in the table beLow:
GWR Fleet No |
Reg No |
Registration Date |
201 (178) |
T 3592 |
19th November 1913 |
202 (179) |
T 3594 |
19th November 1913 |
203 (180) |
DE 605 |
5th December 1913 |
204 |
AF 1366 |
17th June 1914 |
205 |
BH 041 |
1st July 1914 |
206 |
AF 1362 |
12th June 1914 |
207 |
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208 |
T 4384 |
21st July 1914 |
209 |
T 4350 |
10th July 1914 |
210 |
T 4420 |
29th July 1914 |
211 |
T 4422 |
29th July 1914 |
212 |
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213 |
AB 4033 |
20th November 1914 |
214 |
T 4444 |
10th August 1914 |
215 |
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After the war the Great Western Railway purchased a large
number of surplus War Department AEC chassis. These and the Maudslay vehicles
became the mainstay of the GWR passenger road fleet until changes in road
legislation raised the maximum speed for pneumatic tyred vehicles (of 14 seats
or less) from 12mph to 20mph. The older Maudslay vehicles were soon after
either sold or scrapped, while the AEC vehicles were gradually withdrawn from
passenger duties after 1926, with most being converted into lorries for the
cartage service. The replacements were Guy FBB and Thornycroft vehicles (see
'gwrpublicity3874').
Robert Ferris
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