Names on the buses

673 Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Connections with Brighton and Hove : The celebrated engineer who came second only to Sir Winston Churchill in a poll to find the greatest Briton of all time shared something else in common with the wartime Prime Minister. Both of them went to school in Hove although not the same one. Brunel attended Dr Morell's Academy in Hove between 1816 and 1820 before being appointed resident engineer of the Thames Tunnel, in London when he was just 19 years old. His father was in charge of the project which was the first tunnel under a navigable river. The school was in Hove Street just off the seafront and was run by a classical scholar who was also a church minister. While there, Brunel correctly predicted that some new buildings nearby would collapse and took bets on the outcome. The boy nearly died when he tried to swallow a coin as one of his party pieces and the half sovereign became lodged in his gullet. He was suspended from his heels while a doctor removed it from him. He went on to design the Great Western Railway with its magnificent viaducts and bridges. It is still regarded as a great work of engineering today. Brunel also designed the Clifton Suspension Bridge at Bristol which was not completed until he was dying at the early age of 53. He built three huge ships, the Great Western, the Great Britain and the Great Eastern. The Great Britain has been restored and is open to the public in Bristol.

673 Scania Omnidekka - carried name since delivery in August 2007 in Metro 49 livery. Branding changed to Coaster livery in October 2009. Coaster branding removed May 2012. Regency branding added August 2014. Regency branding removed February 2016. Bus sold in May 2024.