Welcome to the Internet home of Whitby’s iconic Dames of the road, Elizabeth the Steam Bus and Charlotte the Charabanc.

As well as being wonderful relics of an age long gone, these two old ladies still delight hundreds of thousands of people every year as they ply their routes around the town. Nowhere else in the country, continent or even the western world can you find a Steam Bus still working full time for a living, or can you buy a ticket for a trip on a public road. Add to that a genuine Charabanc from the 1920’s that you can still hop on for a journey back to yesteryear.

Each has her own special charm and we are quite sure they both love all the attention they get, along with being photographed more times than you could ever count! Please accept our invitation to look around the site. You will find anything from information on how to hire our historic stars for your special occasion, to some of Elizabeth’s and Charlotte’s stories and pages for the family that look after them.

Charlotte the Charabanc

Elizabeth the Steam Bus


Find out how you could get to spend a day in Elizabeth’s cab as Fireman, with Vern, who is a widely acknowledged steam traction instructor, not to mention his film and television career.

There are items of memorabilia to choose from and they can be purchased by mail order and signed with a message from the family, if you would like. If you have been to Whitby and experienced the phenomena that are Elizabeth and Charlotte, thank you and we look forward to seeing you again soon.

If you haven’t, honestly, you don’t know what you are missing and it’s time you did!

Vern, Viv and Vern Jnr.