Delaine Bus Museum’s special heritage running day attracts enthusiasts to Bourne
The Delaine Bus Museum’s special heritage running day on Saturday attracted many classic bus enthusiasts who had travelled to Bourne from all over the UK for this special occasion, writes Clive Doubleday.
Vintage buses from Delaine’s heritage fleet took passengers on three specially-designed routes through Morton and Rippingale, Greatford, and Market Deeping.
Keen photographers could be seen along the route, taking photos and videos of these classic buses from the 1950s, 60s and 70s, while guest vehicles also attended from Derby, Dorset, Leicester, Fenstanton and Guyhirn.
Among the passengers was the Rev Clive Doubleday who recently moved to Bourne.
“It was a wonderful experience of stepping back into yesteryear and riding on some of the coaches which are often seen in period dramas on the TV,” he said.
“Fortunately it was a glorious sunny day and to see the surprise on the faces of the onlookers as we passed through these beautiful Lincolnshire villages was a wonder to behold.”
In the museum itself was a selection of model displays and stalls, telling the story of Delaine’s.
In 1932/33, a smart young gentleman walked into the garage, as his car had broken down on Spalding Road, Bourne.
Mr Delaine, the garage owner, walked back and repaired the car, so that the gentleman could be on his way.
It appears that it was none other than the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VIII, who was travelling from Sandringham to the royal stables in Melton Mowbray when his car broke down.
The Prince wrote to the garage owner to thank him for his services and said he could apply for the royal crest to be placed on the Delaine buses.
Apparently, the paperwork never got completed in the busy-ness of life and consequently, and sadly, the royal crest never appeared on the Delaine vehicles.
In 1941, during the Second World War, the bus garages were requisitioned by the army as a billet until the end of the war, during which time a cookhouse and latrine were built - and subsequently were later improved in 1989.
A total of 240 soldiers lived in the bus garages in the build-up to the Arnhem landing.
The Delaine Bus Museum is one of the oldest privately family-owned bus companies in the UK, being established in 1890 when the family introduced horse-drawn vehicles to take people to the local markets.
The first motor bus was introduced in 1919, and a daily service from Bourne to Peterborough, Stamford, Spalding and Grantham had all been established by 1923.
Today, the 30-strong fleet, based on the original site in Spalding Road, Bourne, Lincolnshire, is managed by the fifth and sixth generations of the Delaine-Smith family, and the core business is still based around some of the original services, with the ethos of quality, continuity and reliability.
This is as important today as it always has been.
The next Twilight Mini Heritage Running Day will be held on Saturday, October 21, however, the museum is open every second Saturday of the month from midday to 4 pm, and is a great day out for all the family.
