Created 15-Aug-19
Modified 8-Mar-24
This gallery includes all the Dennis Darts that were supplied new to Rhondda Buses with Plaxton Pointer bodies. There were in addition four other Plaxton-bodied Darts that ran for Rhondda Buses. Three were transferred from the Parfitt's fleet and are covered in the gallery of ex-Parfitt vehicles, these were 63 (N63 MTG), 88 (L270 EHB) and 99 (J454 JRH). In addition, the original Wright body of 97 (K97 XNY) was destroyed by fire and it was re-bodied with a Plaxton body. That vehicle can be found in the gallery on the Wright-bodied Darts so that the whole story of the bus is in one place.
All the vehicles in this gallery were on 9.0 metre long Dart chassis with Plaxton Pointer B35F bodies. Rhondda worked downwards with fleet numbers with the Darts and Volvos so the earlier vehicles had higher numbers:
96 (K96 AAX) was a model 9SDL3016 chassis new in December 1992.
91-93 (K91-93 BNY) were model 9SDL3011 chassis new in May 1993.
83-83 (L83-85 CWO) were model 9SDL3034 chassis new in December 1993.
All passed to Stagecoach on the takeover and had 500 added to their fleet numbers. In the later national numbering scheme they had instead 32900 added to their numbers, becoming in numerical order 32983-32985, 32991-32993 and 32996.
32991-32993 had more interesting careers, with 32991 and 32993 running for Stagecoach in Devon. From there 32991 passed first to North Somerset Coaches, then Alpha Coaches and after over twenty years' service was rescued for preservation and restored. 32992 passed through Ensign (dealer) who re-registered it briefly as 392 MBF before it regained its original registration and was sold to Trustline, Hertford.
© David Beilby
