248 / 249 / 259 Reeve Burgess Mercedes Benz 709 & Renault S56 Minibuses

24810 - Mercedes 709 large blind	THE REAL BUSES The minibus was seen as the revolutionary way to deal with the de-regulation of services and the privatization of the National bus Company, Passenger Transport Executives and many municipal operators in the mid 1980's. Various minibus designs were produced and all were originally based on conversions of commercial light vans such as the Ford Transit, Mercedes Benz and Dodge (later re-branded Renault). Minibuses offered a cheap way to try out new services, and after de-regulation a cost effective way to counter the new competition in the industry. Many operators such as Thames Transit, Badgerline, and Devon General built up large fleets, numbering hundreds of such vehicles. The Mercedes Benz 709 was one of the more popular types, with Reeve Burgess developing the Beaver conversion for this and also the Renault / Dodge S56 chassis. The parent Plaxton named replaced Reeve Burgess in the early 1990's. The minibus revolution however lasted less than 10 years, the vehicles proved to have a short life span and operators soon found that passengers preferred better designed vehicles which offered extra comfort and easier access. The development of custom built vehicles like the MCW Metrorider, and the Dennis Dart allowed operators to opt for more robust and larger capacity vehicles. By the turn of the millennium the small minibus was becoming a rare sight in the fleets of UK bus operators. THE EFE MODELS Both versions of the Mercedes Benz 709 first made an appearance in 1998, with the Renault S56 following in 1999. The small destination versions are some of the rarest releases, to date only four have appeared, both based on the Mercedes casting. Extra large pictures of the models covered in this section can be found in my
24902DR - Mercedes 709 small blind
25902DR - Renault S56 large blind

Cat No.	Operator	Fleet No.	Registration	Route No.	Destination
Mercedes Benz 709 (Large Front Destination)
24801	First Eastern National (Badgerline Group - Essex Buses Ltd)	601	H601OVW	21	Deanery Gardens
24802	Western National	616	K616ORL	14	Ford Keyham
24803	First Badgerline Ltd	3904	L904VHT	2	Ensleigh
24804	First Cityline (Bristol Omnibus Co)	7825	L825SAE	71	Bradley Stoke Tesco
24805	Maidstone & District Motor Services	1206	M206SKE	277	Sherwood
24806	First Thamesway Ltd	391	H391MAR	W17	Walthamstow Church Hill
24807	Scarborough Skipper (East Yorkshire Motor Services)	441	F441GAT	2	Evelyn Drive
24808	First Manchester	1806 MR	M248VWU	151	Chadderton
24809	First Eastern Counties	875	H354LJN	25	University via Unthank Road
24810	Devon General	56	F716FDV	57	Lympstone Exmouth Budleigh & Salterden (Hail and Ride)
24811	London & Country	464	M464JPA	432	Redhill Woodhatch Reigate
24812	Arriva serving the Shires & Essex (Arriva East Herts & Essex)	2118	N188EMJ	505	Harlow
24813	Northumbria Motors Services	963	H802SKY	33	Cresswell
24814	First Eastern Counties	900	J615UTW	607	Belton via James Paget Hospital
24815	Surfside Gold Coast	804	684 DTD	20	Pacific Fair
24816	Toronto Bus Service	--	MO 9615	--	The Train
24817	Shorelink	--	MO 8384	589	SAN Hospital
24818	First Halifax	50261	N285JUG	566	Halifax via Mill Bank
Mercedes Benz 709 (Small Front Destination)
24901	Brewers	428	E288VEP	34	Neath Victoria Gardens
24902	First Capital	569	F246MVW	W9	Chase Farm Hospital
24903	MiniMetro (Metrobus of Orpington)	12	F124TRU	A	Valley Drive via Town Centre
24904	First South Wales Transport (SWT)	320	F320AWN	6	Port Tennant
Renualt S56 (Large Front Destination)
25901	Barton (Nottingham City Transport)	16	F116JTO	12	Nottingham Broadmarsh
25902	Nottingham City Tranport	113	F113JTO	37A	Nottingham

Single Deck Model Index
24801	24901	25901