Vehicles

Today the fleet strength stands at 36 vehicles, with Rambler Coaches having 35 licences and Colin Rowland a further four in his own right.

Before WW2, the mix of vehicles operated included Lancia, Unic, Bean, Star Flyer, an eight-cylinder Studebaker and the only half cab ever operated, a Gilford, which was bigger than other coaches traced to date having 32 seats. Most of the others had between 13 and 20. Three coaches were owned at the time the war put an end to operations. One of them, Colin believes it was the Gilford, was destroyed at the launch of a new fire service canteen when it suffered a direct hit from the enemy, killing the local fire chief.

After the War, operations restarted in 1947 with a 1929 BAT and later a Dodge and a Commer were acquired before a long and successful association with the Bedford brand started, with the acquisition of a Bedford OB, rapidly followed by two more. One came from Unique of Brighton in their two-tone green colours, which became the Rambler livery. The black of the current scheme was added when Richard liked the look of a Robinsons of Great Harwood coach and painted his coaches’ wings black to match.

Prior to 1964 when the first diesel arrived, all coaches had run on petrol. At the time of his death, Richard had ordered a new Bedford VAM5 Plaxton Panorama for £5,250 and his part exchange coach, a 1960 Bedford SB Super Vega, had already gone into the Yeates dealership at Salisbury. Ernie Waterman of Yeates rang Colin and his mother and said that they did not have to take the new coach if they didn’t want to but they decided they would continue with it, buying a further coach, a Bedford VAM14 with Leyland 400 engine and Duple Viceroy body the following year. ‘Not many 16-year olds go out and buy a new coach,’ Colin noted.

Another new Bedford, an SB, arrived in 1970 and after 1973 the fleet grew gradually by one or two coaches a year by the acquisition of old secondhand Bedfords that were done up, though there were also new purchases. John was extremely good, not only at negotiating purchases, but also at renovating vehicles and equipping them with new engines. Colin explained the philosophy. ‘We would find something dirty that needed an engine, have it retrimmed and re-engined and we’d know what we’d got. If you pay the money to a dealer you still don’t know what you’ve got. We had the workforce in winter to be able to do it John used to re-panel and respray them.’

He added, ‘At one time we were running 40 Bedfords. We used to adjust the brakes on two or three of them every night so we never had any bother. On the brake expanders we used green Lucas GGI grease which was the best I ever found.’

Staying with Bedford to the bitter end, the last new acquisitions were a Paramount 3200 bodied YNV in 1985 and pair of short YMPS models in 1987, though by this time two DAF Paramount 3500s had also been bought new. Though no DAFs have been owned for many years, Colin still speaks highly of DAF Aid, saying, ‘in 1983 we had a passenger on a tour in Monaco who was suffering with bad toothache and they fixed him up with a dentist.’

1986 saw the arrival of a Mark 1 Volvo B10M GLT with Paramount 3500 body, fancy wheels and a splitter gearbox that was to set the trend for the next couple of decades, though exceptions were two Scania Van Hools in 1995 and another in 2000 the same year that a Mercedes-Benz O.404 Hispano Vita arrived. The latter has been a good coach. Colin said of it, ‘in theory it should be the next to go but they’re in the book for £15,000 and it’s worth more than that to have a spare motor.’

Volvos, and the B10M model in particular, remain an important element of the fleet, though he believes the latest ones have got too complicated. ‘It’s a shame there are no more B10Ms because it’s the best motor in the world,’ said Colin. He noted, ‘All of our B10Ms go far better since we fitted Eminox traps. Replacing the double silencer with the single LEZ one has improved their performance and we haven’t noticed any loss of fuel.’ Two 57-seat B7R Plaxton Profiles bought new in 2004 are also popular. 2007 saw the first of two Volvo 9700 coaches arrive and Colin has been pleased with these too, praising the ride quality. The most recent Volvo purchase was a B9R Plaxton Panther in 2012, though a late secondhand B12B Van Hool Alizee was bought in 2009.

There have been some oddballs owned, among them one of two Caetano Algarve bodied Dennis Dorchesters with six-speed ZF manual gearboxes and Gardner 6HLXCT engines that were the last of the type built. New to Geoff Amos, Rambler acquired one secondhand and found that while the right hand lock was good, you couldn’t turn left properly with them. Even odder was a 20-seat Bedford JJL midibus with rear mounted engine and chain drive that was owned twice. ‘You couldn’t drive it fast because there was so much vibration from the transmission. We reckon that it was because it all went round too many corners – there were three right angles in the driveline. It was all right up to 40mph though and served us well,’ said Colin.

He feels disappointment that vehicles have become so complicated that manufacturer’s technicians cannot always trace the cause of a fault. ‘I wouldn’t mind if they could fix things but it’s like John says, “They poke and hope”. It’s not their fault, they’re truck fitters.’

Today the fleet is a mix with Volvos still by far the majority and an increasing number of Mercedes-Benz coaches, though there are also a couple of Dennis Dart service buses. For the future Colin is leaning towards Mercedes-Benz. Apart from the O.404 he has run a number of Mercedes-Benz mini and midicoaches with a Ferqui bodied Vario and an Unvi Cimo Atego on the current strength. He acquired his first Tourismo in 2012 and has purchased another that is running in Trafalgar colours this year.

‘If I were to buy another coach at the moment it would probably be a Tourismo. I’m really pleased with them, the drivers like them and they are good value for money. The only problem is that they won’t move sometimes. It’s the magnetic switch in the door,’ he said.

With the exception of coaches on contract to tour companies, and another on a contract, most of the coach fleet is painted in the two tone green and black colours used since 1959. Buses tend to have more cream and no black but their presentation is of the same high standard.

 

 

Heritage

Colin has an enduring affinity with Bedfords, maintaining a collection of older examples. There is a PJK Plaxton Supreme of 1983, the 1967 VAM14 Duple Viceroy that has now been owned three times, and two Bedford WLBs dating from 1932 and 1935 with Economy and Duple coachwork respectively. He also has a 1929 Chevrolet van, which was the precursor of the Bedford commercial range. In addition Colin owns two driveable one-third scale models of an AEC Regal Duple A type and a Harrington bodied AEC Regal IV that are powered by Honda motorbike engines.

Colin’s favourite coach is the 1967 Bedford VAM 14 because, ‘there’s only one thing that sounds better than a Leyland 400 in a VAM and that’s a 400 in a VAL because it’s got a different injector pump.’ His favourite coach in the current operational fleet is actually one of the oldest, a 1996 Volvo B10M Plaxton Premiere 350 that he has driven for the past 14 years. ‘It just drives that nicely. It’s got no fancy gizmos, you just get in it and drive. It never gives any bother.’

Industry

‘Is there anything that annoys you?’ I asked. ‘I don’t think so. There used to be, but now I don’t worry about anyone else. When I start getting bothered I take some Kalms; it’s probably all in your head. I haven’t got anything that bothers me now.’ Though said sincerely, Colin’s assertion that nothing bothers him is only partly true. While there is no burning issue that incenses him, like most other operators he is immensely bothered about everything to do with the business. He explained it himself saying, ‘I’ve got this phobia and John’s the same, that if someone else is still working, I should still be working.’ He knows it is illogical because he may have been in the office for half a day before a person working late came in for his duty, but he feels that way all the same.

One recent development he is very impressed with is the service offered by Don’t Travel Empty. It isn’t the chance to fill empty journey legs that has attracted him but the support if you have a breakdown. ‘It’s like making 1,100 phone calls; you couldn’t do it yourself. Using it you’ve got a good chance of getting some help. It’s worth a punt for £30 a month. Breakdowns are so expensive now.’

Philosophy and future

Rambler’s approach is a very traditional and straightforward one based on doing things properly, offering good service and providing a smart well maintained coach. ‘We’ve always tried to send out a presentable vehicle at the right price and do a proper job’, he said. ‘If the law’s there, do what the law says, never mind whether you agree with it or not. That’s what it is, that’s what you’ve got to do,’ said Colin.

‘I don’t think there’s a secret to our success, I don’t think we are a total success. Other people have been more successful but we’re still here, aren’t we. John and I have always been hands on and perhaps we’ve learned that’s not the way to do it.’

‘We’ve always made a profit. I’m not certain about Mum’s day because I had nothing to do with it, but I don’t think we’ve ever even had an overdraft, though we’ve had facilities in place. We don’t owe anybody anything. We pay on the day we get the invoice. If I can’t afford it we don’t have it – end of story. It’s the way we run our business.’

It’s a common sense approach typified by the attitude to coaches with flat batteries. ‘If I have a coach in the yard that won’t start, unless the master switch has been left on, I change the batteries. If you leave it, it will let you down somewhere else and a jump start will cost you at least the price of one set of batteries.’

‘I’ve only ever ripped off one person in my life, having been ripped off myself in a similar situation,’ said Colin, rather less than proudly. ‘It was a French operator that broke down in Hastings that I had to tow away and provide a replacement coach for. He probably didn’t realise I had inflated the price but we did sort him out.’

Looking to the future Colin, who will shortly be 65, commented, ‘I’m quite happy to be here until I’m 70, though I’d rather someone else owned it and I could go home at five o’clock. We’ve got to sell it sometime but we’ve got 45 people working for us and what do you do. We’ve got a pretty good lot of guys.’

Brian McNeilly, who used to work at a Vauxhall dealership with Jackie, is the General Manager. There are four people employed full time in the workshop and two in the traffic office. The full time driving staff of 25 is supplemented by around 15 further regular part timers that only drive for Rambler. Not only do they have their Drivers CPC qualifications, they also have NVQ2s, thanks to a Government funded scheme that no longer operates. In the office, apart from Jackie and Laura, there is Linda and in the afternoons, John.

Last word

After 90 years of Rambler and 49 at the company for Colin, there is a lot of pride in reaching the 90 year milestone. ‘We’ve always tried to keep everything right and we’re still here,’ he said. He, Jackie and the family are looking forward to the anniversary event on 18 April which promises to be a lot of fun. Everyone will be in uniform, even Laura’s dog, Alfie. Visitors will be able to see for themselves the fleet, including the old timers normally tucked away at the back of the garage.

It’s a long time since the young Colin abandoned his fledgling career with Rediffusion which he still thinks is the best decision he ever made. ‘We have a lot of moans but the bottom line is I’m glad I did it.’

By Stuart Jones