Peter Tulloch's Bus & Coach Review   Another superb picture and story from Peter's archive.

The subject this time is an early post war single deck PVSC6 vehicle which was operated by the West Monmouthshire Omnibus Board as their fleet number 1 (HWO 590).  It operated on one of the most steeply graded bus routes anywhere in Britain, between Bargoed and Aberbargoed, including stretches at gradients as steep as 1 in 4.25, with almost a third of a mile at 1 in 8 or steeper. In addition there were two right-angle bends at the foot of the bank. Whilst negotiating these two turns the bus also had to pass under a low railway bridge. Not a route for the faint of heart! Indeed, only specially selected drivers were allowed to drive on this service.

The service was established in 1927 using Swiss-built Saurer buses, which were replaced in the mid-1930s by two Leyland Bull chassis fitted with Dodson bodies. The Leyland Bulls were fitted with sprag gears to prevent the buses rolling backwards in the case of a missed gear change. To enable quick delivery the first Foden was fitted with one of the pre war Dodson bodies off a Leyland Bull. It was refurbished by Meredith of Blackwood before fitting to the Foden chassis in 1949, but was later replaced with a brand new Willowbrook body in 1953. A second Foden, fitted with an identical Willowbrook body from new, joined the original Foden in 1953 and the pair maintained the service until a new road bypassed the fearsome hill. The Fodens had been joined by a specially adapted Leyland double deck chassis in the late 1950s. The service was re-routed and the two Fodens were no longer needed and after a few months operating schools services the pair were taken out of service in 1964 and sold for scrap.