The last new vehicles purcahsed by Lough Swilly were two Plaxton Paramount 3500-bodied Volvo B10M. They were delivered in a new coaching livery of dark green with gold lettering but have now been repainted into this smart white-based scheme. 001 and 002 (shown here) are the only vehicles in the Swilly passenger fleet to be registered in Northern Ireland. The location is Letterkenny.
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A large proportion of Lough Swilly’s income comes from the provision of school transport. The staple fare on this work is the ex-Clydeside Alexander-bodied Leyland Leopard, although these are being replaced by Leyland Lynx and Bristol RE models. 380 and 413 are shown here parked up for the weekend at Carndonagh station, the terminus of the Swilly line from Londonderry via Buncrana.
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Acquired from Clydeside around the same time as the Leopards were purchased were a number of these Gardner-engined Leyland Tigers. Bodywork is by Plaxton to the Paramount 3200 style. 403 is seen here at Carndonagh on Saturday 18th September 2004 having arrived in with the 1305 service from Buncrana.
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Dunfanaghy on a Saturday evening and Leyland Lynx 442, one of those acquired from Rapson’s/Highland, meets with one of its sisters for the onward journey to Dungloe. It still carries the blue livery of its previous owners. Reports suggest that these vehicles are not coping well with Co Donegal conditions.
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Just as the Bristol RE disappeared from the streets of Northern Ireland it reappeared on the roads of Co Donegal. Lough Swilly have acquired ten of these superb machines from Translink for use on schools runs in Co Donegal. 451(Translink 2577), however, was in use on a special private hire when photographed near Malin Head, the most northerly point in Ireland, on 18th September 2004. The livery is Clydeside-style red, white and yellow.
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Back to an earlier generation of former Ulsterbus vehicles now with this Leyland Tiger Cub in use as a fisherman’s hut on a beach on the Fanad Peninsula. It is believed to be Lough Swilly 183, the former Ulsterbus 432 (7432 CZ). How its owner got it where it is is anyone’s guess, as the sea is just behind the photographer and access to this point was via a narrow path.
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