Vintage Thing No.7.1 - Podgy is revealed at last

Podgy- our old school bus - was 848 BOR, a Thames Duple Yeoman coach built in 1961. Here it is seen at Truro in August 1974 (Photo: Brian Botley)

By the power of the internet I have received this image of Podgy.

A very good friend of mine Peter Yarlett, Professor Emeritus in Ferro-Equinology at the University of Andover (and chair of the Faculty of Yeast Culture) is not only interested in steaming leviathans, as you might have guessed from his distinguished title, but also classic buses. He sent me a link to a well-known internet auction site that advertised a black and white photo of 848BOR when owned by Creamline Coaches of Bordon, long before this fine example of a Thames Duple Yeoman ever came west and carried spotty, snotty school children to Goonhavern County Primary.

The auction had long since closed but undeterred I contacted the seller and explained my interest. Unfortunately, that image had sold and was no longer available but after he'd read my blog he got back in touch to say would I be interested in a picture of 848BOR - known to us schoolkids as Podgy - when owned by Mitchell's of Perranporth?

Of course I was and now I have this picture of the old coach when parked at Truro in August 1974. That was the year I started big school.

Many people admire the fine lines of Duple's coaches. Most favour the "butterfly-grilled" Bedford SB Vega as their ultimate design but I prefer the lines of the Thames Duple Yeoman, which were shared with Bedfords as the Super Vega and Commer Avengers as the Corinthian. I wonder what lay behind such diverse names for what was essentially the same design? Maybe to differentiate between the different chassis manufacturers in an attempt at nameplate engineering? That would be a low budget version of badge engineering as beloved of BMC in 1961 when Podgy entered service with Creamline.

The Thames chassis was powered by a Ford 570E diesel engine of 5408cc (or 330 CID) with a bore x stroke of 100 x 115mm. These engines were widely used in tractors, trucks and industrial and marine applications and put out 115bhp.

Perhaps as a result of US influence, a six cylinder petrol version was offered. Of 300 CID (4916cc), this measured 101.6 x 101.6mm. These offered lively acceleration in a coach - power was up to 149bhp from the diesel - but at the expense of running costs so were less common. The Bedford SB was also offered with a six-cylinder petrol engine of 330CID but these both proved unpopular for the same reason.

These petrol variants intrigue me. See what hot rodding ideas they've given me here - Truck engines for racers

There were good and bad times aboard Podgy. Geggy Russell lost the top of one of his fingers in Podgy's sliding door when Robert Harrison closed it with his foot . There was hell up about that.

Homework was badly completed, awkward interviews with teachers contemplated and school bags pinched and rifled. There were some fights, too.

It seemed to us quite a long journey and we had to make up our own amusements.

One game was dust beating competitions. Who could raise the biggest cloud of dust by beating their seat? Not their seat - Podgy's seat. This was especially good sport in the summer. Sometimes we could count the sunbeams streaming through our dust clouds.

Another was laughing contests. Timed with a Timex Boy's Watch, each contestant had to laugh for a minute. About nothing. Try it. At first it's awkward and stilted. You panic and can't think of anything funny and just impersonate a laugh but fifteen seconds in and the real thing grabs and you and you're really laughing hard - at nothing, which somehow makes it even sillier. And then the other passengers come to your aid by joining in because they can't help themselves either. And by the time everyone's physically worn themselves out and calmed down, and Podgy's interior is littered with worn out school children, someone remembers to check Mickey Mouse and - whaddya know? - we're well out of time.

There was also a hell of a lot of tickling.

I suppose today's schoolkids have computer games and MP3 players.

The Cornish lanes were narrow and Podgy fitted snugly. I don't remember Mr Harvey ever reversing Podgy. That was what the oncoming traffic did. It was all much smaller than a 41 seater coach. Podgy seemed so big, although if one particularly fat girl got on I worried about the tyres bursting.

Just out of Callestick was a tight bend and Mr Harvey had to drive carefully between the hedges on either side, which were rubbed to the earth and stone by herds of passing cows . Looking out of the windows was like looking into a giant wormery. In other places the vegetation was pressed flat against the glass. If you slid back the top windows, sometimes you could pick ferns and flowers.

On one occasion, we met a tractor with a trailer laden with bales and, after some virtuoso manoeuvring on the road from Perranzabuloe to Ventongimps, most of the hay seemed to be inside Podgy with us.

And on another journey home, Andrew Monk, who bore a startling resemblance to a chimpanzee, was misbehaving as we climbed Chippy Hill.

"Who's that boy standing up at the back?" asked Brian, Bobby Mitchell's son, who was driving Podgy that day.

"Monkey," said Valentino Barbario. Who said the Cornish were inbred?

Brian had a very quick wit and right away shouted, "Monkey! Sit done and be a good boy!"

Mitchell's must have taken great pride in Podgy because I can never, ever remember him being muddy.

That old coach had style. Every feature had a flourish about it. Even the textiles of the seats had a certain allure. I noticed the pattern of the design even as we indulged in our dust beating operations. Although some modern coach designs are quite interesting, none appeal to me as much as Podgy and his Duple brethren.

And now with this picture my quest is over.

Although if anyone else has any pictures of Podgy I'd be interested to hear from you.

I'd especially like to know Podgy's ultimate fate. Does anyone out there know if he's still around?

But who designed Podgy? Or rather who styled him, there being many engineers and designers involved in producing not only the coachwork but also the chassis of this fine piece of rolling sculpture? I want to know who this genius was.