Forgotten Quest located in North London
 

Not the best of photographs! C844 OBG seen at an early 1990's Woburn Abbey based Showbus in what looks like Sovereign livery. In July 2006 John Wakefield managed to catch up with this vehicle Photos

C844 OBG photographed working tender service 197 in Cambridge. The vehicle retained the MPTE livery into Welwyn & Hatfield ownership

Photos Richard Haughey

One of six Locomotors bodied Quest B types delivered October 1984 to Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive (MPTE) has been re-discovered in North London. The last of the six, C844 OBG which never entered service with (MPTE) but was sold on along with three others to Millers of Foxton in the late 1980's & used on a local expanding network of services in Cambridge as the company went head to head with Cambus. In June1989 C844 OBG left the company, passing to Welwyn and Hatfield Line with a Duple bodied Bedford YMT arriving in exchange from the Hertfordshire based operator. It's stay with the Hertfordshire operator was short, the company sold out to Sovereign the following January passing briefly into Sovereign ownership before onward sale to Unity 70 Youth Clubs for Handicapped Children of London N21, in May 1990 it being used to transport club members. Withdrawn from service  in 1998 the vehicle has been stored ever since and now Unity 70 are looking to dispose the vehicle. As this is the last know survivor of this rare batch of vehicles, it would be nice if it passed into preservation. Thanks are given to both Ken Lansdowne and Mike Penn for information on the vehicle's history.

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For the mechanically minded the Quest B type was powered by a Perkins 6-354 engine installed on the rear nearside, driving through a chain U-drive arrangement coupled to a Ford gearbox & back axle. The Locomotors bodies were very advanced for the time with outward extending wheelchair ramps which coupled with a kneeling facility, enabled wheelchair access. They were intended to be operated as 23 seaters without wheelchairs. Unfortunately there were many design problems mainly concerning the U-drive arrangement & the whole batch did not last long in service. March 2008, The vehicle has now been sold for preservation, more news at later date

For completeness details of the whole batch are recorded below click on the registration number to view a photograph of the vehicle.

4201/92 B B929KWM Loco  B23F 4/1985  Merseyside PTE 0084 

4201/93 B B928KWM Loco  B23F 11/1984 Merseyside PTE 0083 

4201/94 B B927KWM Loco  B23F 4/1985  Merseyside PTE 0082  

4201/95 B B931KWM Loco  B23F 4/1985  Merseyside PTE 0086  

4201/96 B B930KWM Loco  B23F 4/1985  Merseyside PTE 0085  

4201/97 B C844OBG Loco  B23F 10/1985  Merseyside PTE 0087 Delivered as B932KWM 

With thanks to our friends at Bus Lists on the web for the listing