April 2007 (see earlier "picture of the month" here)
The picture dates back to 1973 and shows a trolley bus operating on line 5 in Bergen on its way to destination Mulen. Bergen is Norway's 2. biggest city and is situated on the West coast. At that time, two trolley lines were in operation - as of today the city still has one active trolley bus line. Today's line is operated by brand new Neoplan articulated trolley buses.
The bus in the picture is a 1973 Skoda, already obsolete when new, but a cheap bus so several were bought at that time. The posts for the power wires were typical for Bergen and were used whereever the wires could not be supported by nearby houses. 

The bus is registered as SN38147. SN38142 has been restored in Bergen. Picture taken by  Åke Nergell i July 1973.

RHF - Bus Historical Society of Norway

The Bus Historical Society of Norway is a non-profit and independent organization that since 1983 has worked to gather individuals and groups with concern for the history of the buses in Norway.  

Our work includes

• restoring historic buses
• registering history of bus companies
• registering history of bus body building companies
• collecting various bus related items
• collecting old and new bus related pictures
• archiving the gathered information in in archives and databases

In Norway there have been well over 1000 bus companies and more than 100 bus body building companies. Now they all (except Vest Busscar) belong to the past, but we are striving to give them all a well-deserved place in history.

See youtube-movie from the 22. veteran bus gathering 2010

Our magazine "Rutebil" (Route Bus) comes out in 5 yearly issues. It is the only Norwegian bus magazine devoted to the bus motor car and its history.

The word Rutebil - meaning "Routecar" - is a word that is hardly used any more. You would find it on old Norwegian registration plates for buses in small letters beneath the registration numbers, indicating a licence to operate passenger buses on a commercial basis. In modern Norwegian the preferred word is "Buss".

The Local clubs unite members in their geographical area for tours, meetings and active restoration of old buses.

Every year in late spring, RHF arranges a huge Veteran Bus Meeting in combination with the society's annual general meeting. Between 50 and 100 vintage buses and several hundred members join in this fantastic event.

Historical Forum is for those concerned about the detailed bus historical research work to organise the small pieces of the puzzle. Send an e-mail til redaksjon@rhf.no if you wish to join the forum and get on the mailing list.

Our web site provides up-to-date information about current events and is also a source for information from the databases. It is a supplement to our magazine "Rutebil" which provides more in-depth information.

can be accessed from the destination sign "Infobanken". "Bevarte busser"(Restored buses) will take you to the bus data base where you will find basic information and a picture of each object.

Want to join?
Click here