AFJ 727T - First Southern National 3307

Restoration of First Southern National 3307

With some current restoration projects coming to fruition, we are turning our attention to 7’6” wide Plaxton bodied LH No. 3307 which was donated to WHOTT by First Southern National on completion of its last round trip from Taunton to Minehead on 3 February 2002 - a trip enjoyed by around 30 Friends. It is believed that 3307 was the last LH in service with its original former NBC owner, so it is another important vehicle within WHOTT’s growing collection. Much work has already been done on the interior and the front end which had been damaged at some point.

Below are the livery proposed for 3307.

Option 1: NBC green and white dual purpose livery was 3307’s original guise, shown here carried by sister vehicles 3304 and 3313 at Totnes Plains in June 1984. Note NBC logo and Western National fleetnames.		Option 2a: NBC dual purpose livery but with Southern National names and NBC logo carried by 3310 seen at Bridport depot on 23 May 1986. NBC logos were removed shortly after this (Option 2b).
Option 3: 3307 seen on 6 October 1990 in the brown and yellow ‘Venetian blind’ livery which was applied in April 1984. Initially NBC  ‘patch’ logos were carried on both sides over the front wheel arches but were removed after Southern National was privatised.		Option 4: 3307 was repainted in Southern National green and cream in March 1991 but retained its brown and yellow rear illuminated fleetname as seen at Minehead on 24 July 1993.
		The Results
Option 5: The final variation was the removal of the ‘Cawlett’ style Southern National logos in favour of the First ‘F’. Initially the Southern National fleetname was also carried over the front wheel arch (Option 5a) but this was removed for 3307’s final months (Option 5b). The rear illuminated panel was painted over. 3307 is seen in livery Option 5a on driver training duties arriving at Taunton bus station on a dull September day in 1999.