966 W645FUM

New To: Wallace Arnold

Chassis: Volvo B10M-62 YV31MA613YA051854

Body: Plaxton Premiere 0012VUP0640 C48FT

History

966 was delivered new to Wallace Arnold, Leeds in March 2000. It was one of a batch of 57 similar vehicles. It has a Volvo B10M chassis which was a very popular chassis at the time. 966 is fitted with a front entrance Plaxton Premiere body, which seats 48 passengers. The vehicle is also fitted with reclining seats and originally had a toilet and drinks area.

3i, a venture capital firm that owned Wallace Arnold, purchased a controlling stake in Shearings in 2005 merging the former competitors, firstly under the WA Shearings brand and then as Shearings Holidays. Eight Wallace Arnold Travel shops in Yorkshire were also briefly branded as WA Shearings before having their former names reinstated. The merger also brought with it a second company/brand, National Holidays. This was the former East Yorkshire Travel, a subsidiary of the East Yorkshire bus company which had been renamed and sold on in 1997. It was around this sort of time that 966 gained its National Holidays Livery.

Upon withdrawal, 966 passed to Southgate & Finchley Coaches before passing to Ridleys where it gained the registration of RIG7912. The vehicle was acquired by Graham Baynham, where it was restored back into the National Holidays Livery. Currently, 966 is the only Plaxton Premiere in this livery. It was bought by South Staffs Coach Hire, Tamworth in 2021. Since then much mechanical work has taken place. In August 2023, Nottingham Heritage Vehicles Charity were kindly offered the chance to become the custodians of 966. It will now form part of our core event fleet and will regularly be seen at rallies.

Relevance To The Collection

966 is one of many Wallace Arnold coaches that used to pick up at Nottingham Victoria Coach Station