Technical details:
Chassis - Volvo B10M
Body - Plaxton Paragon C49Ft
Date new - 2001
Owner - West Riding Omnibus Museum Trust
Between 2003 and 2007, National Express adopted new branding featuring two circles in what they described as "smiley" livery.
Continuing Yorkshire Traction's fondness for re-registering coaches with cherished registration numbers from old vehicles, 67 is now PHE692 and is seen approaching Wakefield's then-new bus station on a Blackpool service from Sheffield
After the Traction Group was acquired by Stagecoach in 2005, 67 was re-numbered to 52567. She clearly retained her fondness for Blackpool as she is seen here in Pond Street bus station in Sheffield in 2010, at the start of her journey.
She is now carrying the current National Express livery but has suffered some minor damage to the front panel, losing the bright strip at the top of the front panel and her Plaxton "dove" badge.
Later in 2010, 52967 was transferred to Midland Red South's Rugby depot where she had quite a bit of work done including being re-upholstered into Stagecoach corporate moquette, having the carpet replaced by corporate lino and the fitting of a Hanover LED destination display.as well as a re-paint into megabus.com livery, complete with Sid! Here, she was used on UK services M12, Newcastle to London and M34, Newcastle to Portsmouth. She was also used on European services from London to places like Paris, Amsterdam and Barcelona.
Photograoh courtesy of DD67773
In later life, 52967 was fitted with a towbar and downgraded to use as as driver training unit, particularly for the luggage trailers that were used on megabus services at the time. She then gained the Stagecoach "beachball" livery but saw little passenger-carrying work, being used mostly for training.
Photograph courtesy of Chris Chaplin
Yorkshire Traction 67 (Y967PHL)
This coach could reasonably be described as "one owner from new". She was one of a pair bought new in July 2001 by the Yorkshire Traction Company for National Express work and after acquisition of The Traction Group by Stagecoach in 2005, she stayed on National Express work at Barnsley until 2010 before being transferred to fellow Stagecoach company Midland Red South at Rugby depot for use on the fledgling Megabus UK and European services. Many years later, and after a short spell in Scotland, she transferred to Northampton depot where she was relegated to a driver training unit. She was donated to the Trust in August 2026 after 25 years of service. Thank you Stagecoach!
At the time, Yorkshire Traction had an extensive coaching operation which, apart from National Express work, included day trips, private hires, coastal expresses and holiday tours. By 2001, all Rapide services had finished so 67 arrived at Upper Sheffield Road wearing the revised livery in which the NATIONAL lettering had been changed to all red, and sporting the short-lived "Go By Coach" branding.
As a general purpose National Express coach, 67 could be seen on 560 Barnsley or 564 Halifax services and the 465 night car to London, 312s, which went from Barnsley to Blackpool via Sheffield, Stocksbridge, Manchester and Preston, Leeds or the double crewed services from Bradford to Weymouth (324) and Poole (310)
Photograph courtesy of Andrew Harvey-Adams
Photograph courtesy of Richard Simons
