THE Caerphilly Castle bus and locomotive bearing the same name came bumper to buffer at Swindon's Steam museum.

One of the vehicles in the new fleet of low-floor buses run by Thamesdown Transport has been named Caerphilly Castle after the loco which forms the centre piece of the Steam museum.

Swindon mayor Arthur Archer and the chairman of Thamesdown Transport, Percy Jefferies, were at the museum to witness the meeting of the bus and locomotive and to officially name the new member of the Thamesdown bus fleet.

Also on hand at the official naming ceremony were former locomotive drivers Brian Kervin and Tom Conduit, who occasionally work at Steam voluntarily.

John Owen, managing director of Thamesdown Transport, said: "We have a tradition of naming new buses in our fleet after locomotives built in the Swindon Works.

"Steam and Thamesdown Transport are both organisations which, in different ways, are continuing Swindon's very strong transport heritage.

"It was a logical step to name a bus after the locomotive Caerphilly Castle, which is displayed so prominently in the new museum.

"I am sure Swindon people will be delighted to see a bus named Caerphilly Castle joining the fleet."