1954 Thames Harrington. Concorde's bus. £55,000
1954 Thames Harrington: 24 seat bus.
Chassis No: F1025
Engine Number: 500E36327
Chassis No: F1025
Engine Number: 500E36327
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The early Years
Commissioned by Bristol Aircraft Ltd, Filton, Bristol in 1954 as a bespoke order from Harrington Coachworks, Sackville Works, Old Shoreham Road, Hove, Sussex. This bus is one of one. The bus ran a continuous scheduled service around the 2.5 mile circuit of Filton and in its first year of operation covered 23,529 miles. Workers would leave early to get to the front of the queue and as valuable man hours were being lost it was decided to never publish departure times ever again. This bus featured alongside other Bristol Aircraft Ltd commercial vehicles in Commercial Motor Magazine, January 31st, 1958. A copy of the magazine comes with the history files as well as pictures of the bus in service at Filton, Bristol. 
Recent Times
The bus was first road registered in 1993 and has had several owners. Between 2018 – 2024 the bus was extensively restored. The underside of the bus is as good as the paint on the outside and worthy of any inspection. A full respray externally in Bristol Aeroplane Company (BAC) corporate blue (All their vehicles were painted this colour). The bus was painted in Yorkshire and was driven there from Kent and back. A new floor was put in, internal sides were replaced and painted, the rest of the interior was painted, all of the seats were reupholstered back to the original style, all electrics were gone through, the heater matrix was refurbished and works, the bell was refurbished and works, the internal aluminium treads were replaced for new, additional seat lights were fitted to make it more useable, signwriting in gold leaf was completed. The standard of finish is excellent all round and has to be seen. |
Concorde’s Bus
During the development of the Bristol Delta Wing 223 aircraft that became Concorde and Concorde itself, the bus was used to ferry staff, dignitaries, press and design staff to and from the aircraft. This is how this Thames Harrington came to be known as ‘Concorde’s Bus’. It was the Bristol Design Office and Concorde designers that designed the unique folding seats that occupy the centre isle of the bus that were fabricated by Deans. Deans went on to keep the design of the seats and offer it as an option to other bus manufacturers. 
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Bus & Coach Preservation Magazine, sEptember 2025
The September 2025 issue of Bus & Coach Magazine features 'Concorde's Bus' over a 4 page article. The bus takes pride of place on the centrefold of the issue and appears on the cover. Click any of the pictures in the gallery below to see a larger image.
Recent shows
Concorde’s Bus has been out on duty 4 times since completion of the restoration. Detling Bus Show 2024, Tenterden Bus Show 2024, Headcorn Aerodrome D-Day Commemoration and the re-opening of the WW2 High Halden Air Force base. Prior to restoration, the bus drove to Normandy, France, for the D-Day landing commemoration.
The Chassis, Running gear and fittings
The bus was blasted to bare metal underneath and painted. You can see the new floor clearly in these pictures.
Original Sales Brochure from Thames HarRington
The brochure from Thames Harrington comes with the Bus. The seat configuration do not show the unique pull down seats giving real weight to the story that the seats were designed by the Bristol Aero Company Ltd design office. There were a lot of optional extras available but as this bus was not to be used on the road, only Filton Airfield, there was no need to have the destination windows in the front. This has also made the bus unique and one of one due to the specification at manufacture.
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