History and restoration of the Northern SOS bus

Ian Bean, Friends of Beamish Projects' Director, explains the history and restoration of the 1928 Northern SOS bus.
The bus has been painstakingly restored by the Friends of Beamish and features regularly during events.
The bus is one of 65 QL type buses supplied to Northern General Transport. Ours worked right through until 1949, retired from Consett Depot and was used for some time as caravan at Bardon Mill.
It was rescued for spares in the early 70s by Robert Atkinson, and that’s when the restoration began in the late 1970s. It’s powered by a 4 1/4 litre side valve engine of SOS’s own design. Engine & gearbox have rebuilt, new radiator, and the bus was stripped down to its chassis before being rebuilt.
Nobody is certain what SOS stands for, but the theory is it stands for Shire’s Own Specification - possibly!
The Friends of Beamish support museum projects via donations and volunteer time - over £800,000 has been donated since founding in 1967! You can be a Friends of Beamish member without being a volunteer - simply by joining you're giving vital support to the museum.
For more information please visit; www.beamish.org.uk/support-us/...

[@Dazck9s]

I remember working on this bus back in the 80s

[@phil3380]

My Grandfather drove busses for Maxways of Birkenhead from the 20s and into the 30s on express routes to Glasgow, London and Caernarfon..
I would love to ride this bus to hear the sound of constant mesh gearing and petrol engine... how do I find out when to visit

[@busesinprofile2114]

Are you going to bring it go showbus

[@cannadineboxill-harris2983]

As I am not comfortable
asking the depot why they stopped running the London Suburban Loud
4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Gardner 6LX and Gardner
6LXC Diesel Engine Olympian ECW’s on routes 30, 121, 230, 271, 349, N279
And 158 why can’t we make the same make of the Loud 4-Speed Leyland
Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Gardner 6LX and Gardner 6LXC Diesel
Engine Olympian ECW Buses but Modernise the insides of these Buses.
Also, make it low floor up and down and also extend the middle body part
of these vehicles a little bit more so there will be more space for the
wheelchair users. By the way, if you could remake and Modernise these
vehicles could they also make them into a Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra
cyclic Automatic Gearbox Gardner 6LX and Gardner 6LXC Diesel Engine
Olympian ECW Version that if it will be possible to Modernise the
insides of these Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox
Gardner 6LX and Gardner 6LXC Diesel Engine Olympian ECW’s make it low
floor up and down and also extend the middle body part of these vehicles
a little bit more so there will be more space and even a London
Suburban 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Scania N230UD
Enviro 400 MMCs and 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox
Gardner 6LX Diesel engine Enviro 400 MMC’s and also extend the middle
the body part of these vehicles a little bit more. Why couldn’t we have
those London Suburban Buse's Pale red on the top roof Pale red again on
the top middle Milk Chocolate brown on the middle Creamy white on the
Bottom Middle and Milk Chocolate Brown again on the Bottom on most of
those kinds of those Particular Double Decker Vehicles? Could you put
the Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox in the Scania
N230UD Enviro 400 MMCs and also put the Loud 3-Speed Voith Diwa Gearbox
in the Volvo TD102KF Engine East Lancs Olympus and also extend the
the middle body part of these vehicles a little bit more and also turn
most of them to London Suburban Buses. By the way, could you also make the
routes 349, 121, N279 and 271 into London Suburban Buses and have a
a mixture of a Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox
Scania N230UD Enviro 400 MMC and Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic
Gearbox Gardner 6LX and Gardner 6LXC Diesel Engine Olympian ECW
Versions. Could they also transfer the Arriva Bus Depots from Hackney to
Stagecoach company so they can replace all the Arriva buses so that all
of them can go to Birmingham and Leeds and they can be replaced by
Stagecoach Loud 3-Speed Voith Diwa Gearbox Volvo TD102KF Engine East
Lancs Olympus and also Extend the Middle body part of these Vehicles and
that includes A Mixture of a Stagecoach Loud 3-Speed Voith Diwa Gearbox Volvo TD102KF, Gardner 6LXC and Gardner 6LXCT Engine Northern Counties
Palatine One and that Includes a Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic
Automatic Gearbox Gardner 6LX Diesel engine Enviro 400 MMC’s and Loud
4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Scania N230UD Enviro 400
MMC Vehicles A Little Bit More? Can Arriva London Bus Company Replace
Most of their Wight Buses so they can also transfer them to Birmingham
and Also Manchester so they can be replaced by Loud 3-Speed ZF Ecomat
Gearboxes Volvo D10A Engine East Lancs Olympus and also Extend the
Middle body part of these Vehicles A Little Bit More Thank You Very Very
Very Very Very Very Very Much. Oh by the way could the bus Factory
Companies also Make More of Those Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic
Automatic Gearbox Gardner 6LX and Gardner 6LXC Diesel engine Olympian
ECW Vehicles And that also includes Those Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra
cyclic Automatic Gearbox Cummins L10 Enviro 400 MMC And also Extend the
The middle Body part of those Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic
Automatic
Gearbox Gardner 6LX and Gardner 6LXC Diesel Engine Olympian ECW Vehicles and the Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Cummins L10
Enviro 400 MMC Vehicles and that also includes The Loud 3-Speed ZF
Ecomat Gearboxes Volvo D10A Engine East Lancs Olympus A Little Bit More
And Paint Those 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Cummins
L10 Enviro 400 MMC Vehicles and also those Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra
cyclic Automatic Gearbox Gardner 6LX and Gardner 6LXC Diesel engine
Olympian ECW Vehicles and that also includes The Northern Counties
Palatine One with a Volvo TD102KF, Gardner 6LXC and Gardner 6LXCT Diesel
engines with a Loud 3-Speed Voith Diwa Gearboxes and The Loud 4-Speed
Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Scania N230UD Enviro 400 MMC
Vehicles and also The Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic
Gearbox Gardner 6LX Diesel engine Enviro 400 MMC Vehicles to the Grey
Green Colours Just Like The Other Original Scania Grey Green on the Bus
Route 125, 173, 313 and 103. If all of the 14 Leyland Titan B15s are
Fully Red and even Mostly Red, could they also Repaint All of Those 14
Leyland Titan B15s into Grey Green Colours Just Like The Other Original
Scania Grey Green on Bus Route 313 so they can Reuse them for Only
Every Seven and a Half Months and also Reuse them on those Rail Replacement
London Bus Routes if that will Be Alright for Only Just Every Seven and a
Half Months, starting from the beginning of October and also Reuse Those Buses Only on the London Bus Routes which are The 341, N41, 34, 123, N29, 149, 221, N73, 121, 86, 30, 262, 147, 396, 41, 56, and N26 so Please make sure that the builders can do as they are told!!!! And please do
something about these Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very
Very Very Very Important Professional Ideas Pretty Please? Prime Minister and also includes the Mayor of London.