1922 Tilling-Stevens TS3A Petrol-Electric Open Top Double Deck Bus
- Engine
- Four-cylinder petrol engine driving a generator feeding an electric traction motor
A 1922 Tilling-Stevens TS3A Petrol-Electric Open Top Double Deck Bus, originally delivered to Thomas Tilling's Catford garage in June 1922 with 48 seats, exploiting the firm's pioneering petrol-electric drivetrain requiring no gear changes. Rescued from a scrapyard in 1970, the bus underwent a lengthy body restoration and engine rebuild before passing to a new custodian in 2014, who commissioned further mechanical work and entered it in events including the London to Brighton Historic Commercial Vehicle Run, where it won multiple concours honours.
Ownership
- —Auction saleEstimate £130,000 – £150,000
- 1922-06-01 → 1931Factory deliveryThomas Tilling Garagepartial documentation
Operated in passenger service at the Catford depot in London with a 48-seat layout until retirement from service.
- 1931 →Private saleW H Cooperpartial documentation
Dealer based in Bethnal Green, London; subsequent fate of the vehicle under this ownership led eventually to its ending up in a scrapyard.
- → 1970Acquisition unknownScrapyardnone documentation
Vehicle was found in deteriorated condition at a scrapyard before being retrieved in 1970.
- 1970 → 2014Acquisition unknownMichael Banfieldpartial documentation
Former president of the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain; oversaw a lengthy body restoration and engine rebuild, though progress stalled after relocating from London to Kent, leaving the bus unfinished into the 2000s before work resumed in 2007.
- 2014 →AuctionCurrent ownerfull documentation
Acquired at the dispersal sale of the Banfield collection; subsequently commissioned mechanical restoration work on the radiator, dynamo, magneto, and engine through a specialist firm.
Competition
- 20182018 London to Brighton Historic Commercial Vehicle RunOverall concours winner; 1st in class; top vehicle in the 1919–1929 category; best double-deck passenger vehicle
Completed the full London to Brighton distance and received multiple top awards at the conclusion of the event.
- —Regent Street Bus Cavalcade
Displayed at a London event celebrating two hundred years of public transportation history; specific year not stated in the text.
- —Beamish Museum Open Day
Vehicle was presented as a display exhibit at a public event hosted by Beamish Museum; no date specified.
Maintenance & restoration
- 1979Engine rebuild
The engine was overhauled and many of its original parts were refurbished and retained rather than replaced.
Carried out alongside the final stages of the body restoration programme.
- 2007Repair
Corrosion that had developed at the interface between the body and chassis was addressed, and the exterior was refinished in a historically accurate livery with period-appropriate advertisements applied using traditional signwriting methods.
Research conducted over the intervening years informed the correct colour scheme and signage.
- 2014MechanicalHistoric Vehicle Restoration Ltd
Following the change of ownership, the radiator, dynamo, magneto, and engine were all mechanically refurbished.
Work carried out after acquisition at the Banfield collection dispersal sale.
- —Restoration
Following recovery from a scrapyard, the body was comprehensively rebuilt over approximately five years, making use of surviving lower-deck panels, framing, and roof sections while repairing and reusing original components where possible.
Work began around 1970 and was largely complete by the mid-1970s.
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