Ellen Smith Choose Van Hool to Upgrade
This week we helped update the fleet of one of the oldest established names in the business. Ellen Smith (Tours) Ltd of Rochdale, Greater Manchester can trace their roots back over 100 years and were at the forefront of coach holidays from the North West of England during the Golden Age of Coaching, and is one of only a handful of names left from that iconic period. Today the run on a much smaller scale with only two coaches of their own and the remainder of their work sub-contracted, predominantly to our friends Grayway in Wigan. Their latest purchase is this 2011 DAF powered Van Hool T916 Astronef 53 Seat Executive Coach. The predominant feature of the Astronef being it’s sloping window line with theatre style tiered seating. Other features included half leather seats, air conditioning, a centre sunken WC, forward facing camera giving everyone a front seat view, and monstrous luggage space. The vehicle was sourced from Longstaff’s Coaches of Amble, Northumberland and was collected by Paul Targett, Managing Director of Ellen Smith who drove the coach directly to Express of Pickering for repaint into white with the obligatory black roof and cappings prior to receiving Ellen Smith’s famous tiger logo. It replaces a 2005 Bova Futura and will hopefully be seen throughout the UK next summer. Thanks to Raymond and the team at Longstaff’s for preparing the vehicle to a high standard, and Paul and his team at Ellen Smith for their custom. We wish them the best of luck with their new purchase.
