90 HBC
Chassis: Leyland Titan PD3A/1
Chassis Number: L02941
Body: East Lancs
Body Number: 6046
Seating Capacity: H41/33R
New: February 1964
Withdrawn: September 1978
1964-1978: Life with Leicester City Transport
New to Leicester City Transport as number 90 this bus was part of a batch of 15 which carried fleet numbers 81 to 95. They were ordered in December 1962 and the chassis of no. 90 was delivered to East Lancashire Coach Builders in Blackburn in November 1963. The chassis cost £2,623 11s 0d (£2,623.55) plus £2,975 16s 0d (£2,975.80) for the body and a further £90 for the interior fluorescent advertising panels, making a total cost of £5,689.35. It was registered by LCT on 10 February 1964.
No. 90 was the third bus to be repainted into the brighter cream with two maroon bands livery in July 1968. It was then given two more full repaints in October 1970 and September 1974. Withdrawn on 30 September 1978, no 90 covered 491,974 miles with LCT; this mileage only exceeded by one other PD3 of the batch; 93 which covered 494,584 miles.
1978-2000: After service with Leicester City Transport
Following withdrawal No. 90 was sold to Yeates (dealer), Loughborough on 1 October 1978. They sold it to Bushey Middle School, Raynes Park, Surrey for £900. It entered service in April 1980 where it was used for trips to the local swimming pool three times per week. During its 20 years with the school it proved very popular, travelling about 2,500 miles per annum and carrying over 96,000 school children. It was repainted three times into its original three maroon band LCT livery. It also attended some bus rallies in the South of England.
2000-Date: In preservation
No 90 was acquired for preservation in December 2000 and initially put in store. It was sold to the owner of Country Hopper, Ibstock in October 2004 who did a lot of work on the bus with the intention of using it on a heritage service but this did not proceed.
The current owner acquired 90 in April 2008 with the intention of getting it back on the road fairly quickly. Initial work included a good clean following several years of outside storage and some paint stripping. However, as is often the case with bus preservation other projects got in the way and 90 was laid up until May 2012 when work started in earnest. A full repaint into original livery was completed in October 2012 and it has now been returned to as close to original condition as possible, complete with period advertisements.
