Prepared on Notepad by Ian Smith,
This page created 23rd August 2018.
The Carousel MAN busesThe MCV Stirlings: STL9-11 (415-417)
In June 2009 Carousel Buses of High Wycombe bought three MAN 14.220s from National Carparks at Birmingham International Airport. They had the briefly-produced Stirling bodies by MCV, that preceded the eVolution and followed on from the Marshall Capital, which they closely resembled. They were dual-doorwayed, and arrived in blue airport livery. They seated just 31, but had large luggage racks. They were numbered STL9-11, and initially were general purpose rather than route-bound.
STL9 was promptly converted to single-doorway, reseated to 39 (minus the luggage racks)and repainted in Carousel's red and maroon. STL10 had its sides painted white, leaving the cantrail and skirt blue until September, when it gained the red and maroon but retained dual doorways for nearly two years, being converted in May 2011. STL11 retained blue and white until September 2010, and dual doorways and upseating until February 2012. They settled onto the 36 between High Wycombe and Bourne End during 2012. Takeover by the Go-Ahead group in spring 2012 brought about a renumbering as 415-4177.
In July 2014 all three were withdrawn. 416 went straight off to Ensign Bus, but 415 and 417 were given a reprieve. Thames Travel was also part of the Go-Ahead group, and these two were loaned there briefly in September. They quickly came back to Carousel for schools route BB16, when the newly-acquired double-deckers for the contract fell foul of low-hanging trees. 415 and 417 now became spare buses. Their replacements on the 35 and 36 were pulled off onto new route 40, so they returned to their old ways, at least some of the time. 417 had a short spell with City of Oxford, but was quickly returned. They were sold to PVS in December 2016.
The MCV Evolutions: EVO12, EVO15 (418-419)
Even before the final Stirlings had been converted and repainted Carousel bought two new eVolutions, in January 2010. They were liveried in simple red, and were put into service on the A30 route between Chesham and Heathrow Airport. They were longer than the Stirlings, and seated 44.
They were branded "Link" in February 2012 for their continued work on the Heathrow routes A30, A40 and 740.
New numbers, 418 and 419, followed in April, after their acquisition by Go-Ahead.
But a year later they were transferred to sister company, Thames Travel, next door at Wallingford, and were repainted blue/green for their use.
The MAN Enviro200s: ENV16-ENV20, (420-424)
In August 2010 Carousel started to take delivery of more MANs, 10.9m AD Enviro 200s. Four came in August, with new 60 registrations to suit, and another in October. The first four, ENV16-19, were route-branded for route 4 (High Wycombe to Chesham: Broadway or Ley Hill) on top of red and maroon. ENV20 was in unbranded red/maroon.
They were all renumbered as 420 - 424 following the Go-Ahead takeover in 2012. They progressively lost their route 4 branding, and were used on a variety of routes, mainly from High Wycombe.
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In February 2013 their routing was formalised for two of them: 415 and 417 (STLs 9 and 11). They were repainted in two-tone purple, then given route-branding for the Purple routes 35 and 36. (High Wycombe - Flackwell Heath / Bourne End).
In May 2013 416 (STL10) was also repainted, but in a pinkish mauve and purple, without route branding.
419 came back to Carousel in December 2013,
and after use for a while in green/blue was repainted red the following June. It resumed duties on the high profile routes to Heathrow, alongside Mercedes-engined eVolutions, and on the 730 between Hemel Hempstead and Uxbridge. But 418 did not return to Carousel until September 2015. It was then route branded for The One, in red with maroon skirts and white branding.
Then in July 2012 423 and 424 were repainted orange for route 39 (High Wycombe - Hillary Road). In February 2018 these two were rebranded - still in orange - for Link 40 (High Wycombe - Thame Town Hall).
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