History
WX55 VHM was new to First Bristol's Hengrove depot as the third in a batch of twenty, in Barbie livery. Their work was primarily the 75/76 corridor, for which 37001-2 were branded, which remained a constant until 37003 was moved to Lawrence Hill in 2011. Here it was used on many of the core LH Cribbs Causeway to city centre routes, including the 1, 40, 41, and 54. In 2013, it was one of many Geminis to be repainted into the new corporate "Urban" livery in 2013, and refurbished internally with e-leather seats and LED interior lighting. It was also around this time that it would be moved on paper to Marlborough Street depot, a subsection of Lawrence Hill for 'country' routes further out of Bristol. It's for this reason that it escaped the adblue modifications that sister vehicles received, bringing them up to Euro 5 status.
In 2018, a third repaint was on the cards, this time into the very attractive South Glos Lynx colours of yellow and teal blue, along with a single Wright Eclipse 2 bodied Volvo B7RLE, later being joined by a fleet of gas powered Scanias. However, being Euro 4 rated, the impending Clean Air Zone in Bristol saw off the remaining non compliant stock, with 37003 transferring down to the Kernow division, with a brief stint at Buses of Somerset, before returning once again to the bottom tip of the UK.
In Preservation
Withdrawn in August 2025, it was then purchased by a good friend of ours to save it, where it had a fresh Class 5 MOT, along with a few fixes and adjustments to get it running at its best. After accepting that it was a little too modern for his collection, and with his own unexpected arrivals and bigger projects on the go, it was offered to us for continued preservation, joining a more similarly themed collection. No major work has been completed in our ownership thus far, only fitting the correct Hanover controller, and an external clean. As ever, watch this space for more updates.