Open top buses in Weston-super-Mare
Bus Name Colour Picture Representing
7900 Western Challenger Dark blue Concorde Bristol
8576 Western Pioneer Brown Gloster Gladiator Gloucester
8577 Western Conqueror Dark red City of Truro Swindon
8578 Western Grandeur Light blue Royal Crescent Bath
8579 Western Superior Dark blue Clifton Suspension Bridge Bristol
8580 Western Splendour Poppy red Grand Pier Weston-super-Mare
8581 Western Winner Dark red Gold Cup Cheltenham
History
Badgerline Leyland Olympians 8613 in Badgerline livery and 8609 in Cheddar Showcaves advertising livery in 1995 On 13 May 1902 , the Weston-super-Mare Tramways opened a tramway along the sea front from the Sanatorium at the south end of the Beach Lawns ( today the site of Royal Sands ) to the Old Pier , using a mixture of double-deck open top tram cars and open-sided `` toast rack '' single-deck cars . [ 3 ] The Bristol Tramways and Carriage Company started to operate buses in the town in 1910 and opened a garage on the sea front ( on the site of today 's Carlton Mansion ) in 1928 . [ 4 ] It started a seasonal bus service between the Sanatorium and Old Pier on 19 May 1934 which deprived the tramway of much of its profits and , three years later , it paid the Weston company to stop operating , which it did on 17 April 1937 . [ 5 ] Buses continued to operate sea front services . These used conventional vehicles with roofs , although by this time some seaside resorts were operating similar services with open top buses . [ 6 ] It was 1950 before open top buses appeared on service 152 ( as it was known ) between the Sanatorium and Old Pier . Three old vehicles of a type not usually found in the fleet had their roofs cut off and were painted cream and green . They proved popular with passengers but were replaced after a year or two-year with more conventional Bristol buses which had their roofs removed . [ 7 ] The Bristol Tramways and Carriage Company was renamed the Bristol Omnibus Company in 1957 , 16 years after it had last operated any trams . [ 4 ] Their old converted vehicles were replaced by new purpose-built buses in 1961 , by which time some buses ran beyond the Sanatorium to Uphill . These `` convertible '' buses had removable roofs that could be replaced in the winter to allow them to operate ordinary services . Although these buses carried the name `` Bristol '' on their sides , this was replaced a couple of years later with the coat of arms of Weston-super-Mare . [ 8 ] In 1966 , when all the company 's routes were renumbered , [ 9 ] the sea front service became number 103 . [ 8 ] A scenic tour started operating in 1972 . [ 7 ] This started from the bus station , ran along the sea front to the Old Pier , and then through Weston Woods to Sand Bay . It then came around the eastern end of Worlebury Hill to reach Upper Bristol Road and South Road , then back to the bus station . This became Tour A when a second , Tour B , was started the following year , offering a similar trip around the Mendip Hills on the south side of the town . Tour C , which combined the two tours , was run in 1980 but this was the last year that Bristol Omnibus offered open top tours in Weston . These tours required more buses so two second-hand convertibles were acquired in 1973 , and a vintage open top arrived for the following season . [ 10 ] A further open-top vehicle , converted from an accident-damaged bus , arrived in 1976 . [ 11 ] The widespread application of National Bus Company liveries from 1972 had little effect on the open top fleet although the shades used now were slightly different , but in 1976 the whole fleet except the vintage bus were turned out in varied colours that represented the defunct tramway systems in different towns where Bristol Omnibus operated . Each bus also had a picture representing that town painted on them and received Western names . [ 7 ]
Open top buses in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England, were introduced in 1950 and have run along the sea front every summer since. The initial operator was Bristol Tramways and this company's successors continued to provide services until 2013. The route from Weston-super-Mare railway station to Sand Bay is operated by First West of England. From time-to-time open top buses have also provided scenic tours in and around the town.