TUJ 921J was new on the 9th of October 1970 to Salopia Coaches of Whitchurch, Shropshire. In the September prior to this it was exhibited at the Commercial Motor Show showcasing the Duple/Willowbrook 001 body on the new mid engine Bedford YRQ chassis,replacing the previous front engine VAM model. This and a sister vehicle at the show were the only two to wear Duple badges. Although Willowbrook was part of Duple at the time all other vehicles wore Willowbrook badges. Salopia were predominantly a coach operator with a few local bus services operated. This would explain the coach like interior. In 1979 Salopia sold out to Shearings and although TUJ and her sisters continued for a time a new batch of Ford coaches ended their time in 1980. TUJ next found herself in North West Wales with Williams Llithfaen, trading as Llithfean motors. She continued in service up to the new millennium which was amazing for a lightweight chassis. By this time TUJ was a rare survivor and thankfully found a home in preservation in the local area. She moved to a Mr Trenholme in 2007 but sadly he passed away before any restoration work started and she was left outdoors without being run for five years. The present owner had been looking for a vehicle of this type for some time to restore as a Grenville motors replica as none of the original ones had survived. in 2013 TUJ was found on Ebay and a deal was done. Even after being inactive for so long it took very little to get it running again and with a little effort it was driven back to Cornwall. It was MOT'd and briefly rallied but it was apparent that major body work would need to be carried out to secure its long term future. In February 2018 she was dispatched to Reliance bus works. The original plan was to repair the rear end of the body and repaint but as with all bus restoration the more you look the worse it gets. When work was completed she was driven back to Cornwall and the Grenville signwriting carried out at our base. TUJ is one of only two Willowbrook 001 bodied YRQs to survive and believed to be the oldest Surviving YRQ chassis.
TUJ has now been restored by Reliance Bus Works and looking great.