Inverness Image Library

MacBraynes Bedford C5 Coach

Another more detailed view of this magnificent coach which Northern Constabulary Pipe Band used at the 2007 European Pipe Band Championships in Inverness.
This beautifully-restored 1961-vintage MacBraynes Bedford C5 coach (with orignal coachwork by Duple) is owned by a charitable trust. In its previous life it used to transport tourists and locals alike around the West Highlands, its short wheelbase and light structure making it suitable for the many single-track roads with tight bends of the North and West of Highland Scotland in the 1960's and 1970's.

603CYS (Number 179 in the MacBraynes fleet) was bought for preservation by the late Andrew Muckley of Houghton-le-Street, from Co. Durham who was instumental in forming the MacBraynes Circle. It passed to another preservationist in Inverness and was stored at the Highland depot in the town and on the takeover of Highland by Rapsons. They took control of the bus and it is now in the care of the MacBraynes Circle.

A photograph of the vehicle in service in 1963 appears at:
www.bedford-world.com/bedfordarchivephotos.htm