The vibrant, bluebird blue of this service bus would have been a familiar sight around Stirling and central Scotland during the mid-20th century. Our bus is a toy replica of the real thing, based on a model that was in use in the early 1930s. It was made with great care and attention to detail, probably by someone familiar with the buses themselves.

Look closely and you can see a Falkirk registration number at the front. The shining gold logo of the bus company, W Alexander & Sons Ltd, stands out against the blue and white livery. The only thing missing is the headlights.

W. Alexander & Sons Ltd was a bus operator and coachbuilder which grew to be one of the biggest in Scotland. Walter Alexander set up his company in Camelon in 1924, foreseeing that buses were the transport of the future. He was proved right and in 1931 the company moved to larger premises in Raploch, Stirling. It remained there until 1958, when further expansion again meant a new location – or rather an old one – and it headed back to a bigger site at Camelon.