Jonathan Jones Pratt

[the green mile]

Sorry to read that Jonathan passed away earlier this month at the age of just 42 after an illness.

Much has been made of his chairmanship of the West Somerset Railway but what is overlooked is his activity in our part of the world. He revived Crossville Motor Services in Weston-super-Mare about a decade ago with a fleet of modern and heritage buses based at the large garage off Winterstoke Road. If I recall correctly there were also a few steam driven examples and I think it was his operation which briefly ran express coaches up and down the M5 to Cribbs at peak times.

I chatted with him at the bus garage during an open day when he had brought the remains of 7027 Thornbury Castle in on a low loader with a view to rsetoration and he was recruiting a team of volunteers to assist.

Not long after he was guest speaker talking about his life in transport at the AGM of the Sandford Station Railway Heritage Centre.

In more recent times I hear he was transporting construction workers to and from Hinckley Point C in a fleet of buses which had come from China. Maybe that was a nod to the Chinese who are major investors.

The sort of chap who created opportunities and didn't let the grass grow under his feet and all sadly cut off while he was still in his prime.

Roy