I have a reasonable collection of London Transport buses because I was born near Crystal Palace, London, in 1941. I have grouped the LT buses together rather than listing them by make, age and so on. They are still roughly in date order.
(Go to AEC Q on the double deckers page.)
Edited information from Ian's Bus Stop
In 1932 the new Q-series chassis was released by AEC, and it was far ahead of its time. The engine was mounted on the offside frame and the drive shaft drove a differential at the extreme outside of the axle. They entered service in 1935. The flat windscreens were two openable halves.
It was very stylish indeed, and would not have looked out of place in the 1950s or even 1960s.
Details: 18ft 6in wheelbase, AEC A170 diesel, 37-seat Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Co body, 27ft 6in long. The red model in the picture is Q6, BXD 527, new in 1935, originally in the Country Area, painted green, and running on service 305 and 336 (Watford). Transferred to Central Area, repainted red with cream lining in 1950, and used on route 218. Withdrawn from service in November 1952, and sold in May 1953. The green one has brackets all along the roof, above the side windows, to hold a long destination board as you'll see fitted to the later AEC 10T10.
Sales were disappointing, so what went wrong? Was the bus industry of the time lacking in vision, was it engine accessibility (from right-hand side of body)? Perhaps this Wikipedia entry gives a clue to the Q's failure to catch on: "… One of the reasons was the Q was prone to problems, the most concerning being that the petrol models caught fire at the carburetor. The recommended solution was just as worrying … increasing the revs until the fire went out! The result being the Q did not obtain the popularity of the other AEC models so the project was dropped, last appearing in the 1937 catalogue." (Also see AEC Q on the double deckers page.)
We have seen the revolutionary AEC Q-type introduced in 1932, but this 10T10 AEC Regal, although a great, strong, fast bus, was conventional in layout, to look at, and listen to.
Much of this information taken from Ian's Bus Stop
The 10T10 had the 8.8 litre diesel, which provided plenty of power. The engine fan was deleted, along with the engine-mounted dynamo. The nearside front wing was mounted on the body as on the RT on the "double deckers" page. Airconditioning was mounted on the roof. (Leyland Nationals were not the first).
Twenty-five of the first batch had lower gearing for very steep hills in some areas. The coaches went into Green Line service during 1938 and 1939, and quickly earned an excellent reputation. (They also incurred some censure from the police, as speeding was all too easy without a speedometer.)
In WW2, they were requisitioned as ambulances. All cross-London services were curtailed then, to avoid delays.
Here is another example of advanced engineering from London Transport, well in advance of buses built in the early 1950s. London's RF class of single deckers was an outstanding success, taking buses from the prewar front-engined designs to a versatile underfloor bus for the '50s, '60s … and '70s. When you look at the pictures, you might think they were brought out in the mid-60s, but they started in 1951! The bus is fondly remembered by most users (like me — I regularly used the route shown here, the 227 Crystal Palace to Chiselhurst). They were good vehicles, did not date quickly, and worked well.
The GSs followed very much the design idea of the Cubs. The bodies were by Eastern Coach Works They seated 26 passengers and were designed for one-man operation. Power was Perkins P6 diesel, tucked under a bonnet of the same pattern as the contemporary Thames (Ford) lorries. Entered service in 1953. The steel grab handle at the front door is my modification.
Information from Hattons models
Neath & Cardiff Luxury Coaches was formed in 1930, a small company who provided an express service between Cardiff and Swansea, also serving those towns whose names were shown along the roof side of each coach. Originally painted in a cream livery, the vehicles were nicknamed "Flying Bananas" but the change to a brown livery changed the nickname to "Brown Bombers". Two new AEC Reliance with Panorama I bodywork were delivered in February 1967 and were the first Plaxton bodies the company had purchased since 1946. A similar vehicle was delivered a year later and was to become the last delivery before the company passed to the THC. The efficient service survived until 1971, when the company was absorbed into the SWT company.
(Also see Bristol Windover), and Leyland Windover.
As far as I can see so far, Windover, from Hendon in London, introduced this odd-looking "Huntingdon" design in the early postwar years. Other coachbuilders also produced bodies in the same style, so there was no monopoly on the strange shape. The way the roof stops short over the bonnet looks quite odd from some angles, and seemed to shove the driver out on his own more than usual. If the shape was not just for style, the only two advantages I can think of is that in a dull-weather country like Britain, the front of the saloon got more light, and you could whip the engine out with a crane. Windover was taken over by Duple in the 1950s and this design continued in that manufacturer’s range for some time. I have models @ 1:76 and 1:50.
The Cavalier (green and beige — the Grenadier is black and white) was one of the last coach designs produced by Harringtons of Hove, Sussex. First produced in 1959 the Cavalier was built on Leyland Leopard and AEC Reliance chassis and continued in production until Harringtons closed in 1965. The vehicles were popular with many small independent operators and also the BET group of companies.
The differences between the Cavalier and the Grenadier are in the overall width (Grenadier came out after buses were allowed to be 8-feet wide) tail-lamps, the shape of the raised moulding above the headlamps, the skylights and the windscreens, one of which appears to be split, and the other appears to be in one piece. The Grenadier has a roofbox, but does not give us a registration number, which is odd.
According to efezsd.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/ 119/119id, "The Cavalier was EFE's first luxury coach model, it came in two versions (119 with front roof destination box and 121 without the roof box). Both models represent a 30ft long version of the vehicle, however the majority of the actual coaches were built to a length 33ft. The models often feature mock tempo printed front and/or side cove windows."
The Greenslade's Tours model came out in 2005, from the original casting made in 1992. The slit-windows above the passenger side windows are aluminium paint! And the orange skylights above the driver are orange paint! And the windscreen wipers — paint! This is a fairly rough model, though not as bad the double deck STD and RTL. The best I can say is that it was really cheap, from The Model Store at only £7.25 (excluding tax).
No details yet. Beautiful resin model made in Hong Kong. Quite expensive, though, at $US40
In 1963 KMB introduced 100 of these. Originally 2-man, switched to OMO in 1972. 30ft long, 7’10” wide, 99” high. Leyland EO.370 engine. Capacity 56 people.
This brilliant model is made by CARS workshop, which is either in Hong Kong or China. I bought it through Jotus in Hong Kong, a reliable and diligent supplier. (If you look them up, you don't need to install the foreign-language program that your computer might prompt you to do.)
I have several, @ 1:24, 1:50 and @ 1:76. Model numbers Yelloway (yellow) 76:1 Corgi 42608; British Railways (maroon) 76:1 Corgi 42609
Introduced briefly in 1939, then put into full production in 1946. This passenger version of the 5-ton O-model truck chassis was a huge success, and went on until 1951 when the SB-type replaced it. You saw these buses, with their unvaried Duple 30-seat coachwork, in just about every street in just about every town, so they must have been great value for money. I travelled on them countless times, and the main memory was the characteristic gearbox whine. Austin did a similar chassis but very few operators used them instead of Bedfords. There's virtually no difference. Only the vertical slats of the Austin's radiator grille gives the game away.
Two of my 1:50 models (Isle of Man, two-tone blue, and Devon General, maroon) were made in England just before all models were made in China. They're pretty shoddy, too. Compare the English (maroon) with the Chinese (silver/blue) — the wheels are all wrong, the tyres are too fat, and the radiator casting doesn't fit well, either. That'll probably make them more valuable!
It's interesting that not all models incorporate the dished, chromed front wheel discs which were fitted to just about every Bedford OB I ever saw. You can use sequins, and even though the result is convex rather than concave, it looks more like an OB than it does without anything there.
(real one)
(model)
(50:1 Corgi, sequin)
The Corgi Yelloways had a go, but not too good.
The red-and-white Hong Kong SB3 or SB5 (3 = petrol, and 5 = diesel) shown above is a typical local bodybuilder's effort. You'd find these all over the world, especially in Africa and India.
The elegant British Duple Vega, below, with its sweeping vestigial "mudgards" fashioned very much after the sweeping mudgards of cars in the 1930s to 1950s, was the replacement for the OB and was introduced in 1951. At first it had a grille the same as the truck of that time (like the Hong Kong one). This model has the later "butterfly" grille which, as a boy, I always thought looked like the lips on a tart. The real thing was built on the SB chassis, which I was still selling in Hong Kong as late as 1979. This model is of a bus about 1957 in Gorwoods Coaches livery.
When this model arrived from England, it was twisted, only three wheels touching the ground. I emailed the suppliers, Hattons, who agreed to replace it. So I sent it back. By the time it arrived, they'd sold out, so they had to send the twisted one back. It's an EFE model, with no screws, so I drilled the bottom off, removed the plastic innards, put them in boiling water & bent them back to shape. While doing this I found an odd thing: the seat bases and floor were all cast in one piece as you'd expect, but each seat squab was a separate piece, with two tongues, which slotted into grooves in each seat. Even using so many pieces, it must have been done as a production convenience, not fine attention to detail, because you can hardly see the inside through the windows.
At the 1962 Commercial Motor Show, the twin-steer concept re-emerged. The VAL was the first Bedford chassis designed specifically for bus and coach operation, with set-back front axles, allowing a front entrance door. The first production VAL (VAL14) had a Leyland Tiger Cub diesel mounted vertically at the front, driving through a Clark 5-speed gearbox. An exhaust brake was optional to help the air/hydraulic brakes which, working on small diameter wheels/drums, had a tendency to fade. One feature that made the VAL suitable for motorway work was that in the event of a front tyre blow-out, the coach ccould be brought to a controlled stop.
At £1775 the VAL was around £1000 cheaper than either a Leyland or AEC 36ft chassis. It was also more than a ton lighter, giving an average fuel consumption of around 15 mpg. All this contributed to the VAL's immediate success.
Why did Bedford go for twin-steer? One factor was the 16in wheels. They led to reduced weight — not only in the wheels, but in the suspension and steering. Two front axles make smaller wheels practical, and allows the floor height to be lowered. Bedford was also able to use parts from their TK trucks, obviating the need to develop a new front axle.
One memorable feature of the VAL14 was its distinctive sound. In other buses, the Leyland engine was fitted under the floor, and was well muffled — but turned the right way up and positioned beside the driver, it was very noisy, giving rise to the practice of piling blankets, usually tartan, on top of the engine cover in ane attempt to stifle it!
In December 1967 an updated version, the VAL70, powered by Bedford's own 7.6 litre (466 cu in) diesel engine was introduced. For the 1968 season, Duple introduced its successor to the Vega Major, the Viceroy, and Plaxton, having supplied a few Panorama bodies on the VAL 70, replaced its whole rage with the Elite. Both new bodies now seated 53. Total cost of a VAL70 coach at this time was around £7500, of which only £1910 was for the chassis.
John's web page gives loads more information on the VAL and numerous links to other sites.
I have two, from the same casting, one a motorway long-distance (black roof), the other for local route work. The motorway model has an opaque toilet side window at the nearside back.
The Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Co. Ltd operated stage-carriage services across a huge network in the Midlands region, built up from the company's birth in 1904. Long-distance coach services spanning the United Kingdom and extended tours began in the 1920s. Midland Red, as the company was better known, was unique in that between 1923 and 1970, it designed and constructed most of its own vehicles. A leader in bus design, the BMMO reached its peak with the CM5T coach in 1959.
This was designed for the nation's first motorway express coach service, and it differed from the standard C5 coach by having a turbocharger, which allowed it to run at 85 miles/hr. Reg. no. 801 HHA (fleet number 4801), ran the Birmingham to London service the day the M1 was opened on 2nd November 1959. It had leopardskin-pattern upholstery (although the model has red, with white antimacassars) and an onboard toilet, both "firsts".
(For more detail about the bodywork, see AEC_Windover. Also see the Leyland PS1 Windover)
The Leyland Tiger PS1 and AEC Regal were two of the most popular choices of chassis for this body, but the Tillings group of companies favoured the Bristol chassis.
(Same casting as the Leyland Tiger PS1.) This Corgi model is of United Motor Services.
Bristol named each new model with a consecutive alphabetical letter. Thus, the K double decker of the mid-1930s was followed by its single-deck equivalent, the L. Bristol Ls with Eastern Coach Works bodies were built in huge numbers and served all over Britain. At first glance they all appeared absolutely identical, but there were several versions with visible differences.
The basic L was launched in 1937, and reappeared after the war in 1946 as an improved model. It had a 16ft 2in wheelbase and was 7ft 6in wide. In 1950 a longer version was introduced with a 19 ft. wheelbase, increasing the capacity of the bus by one seat row, 4 seats. This typically meant an increase from 35 seats to 39, and the model was named the LL (L Long). In 1951 an 8ft-wide version became available, and this was known as the LW (L Wide). An example that was both long and wide was designated the LWL.
Bristol mainly made medium- weight or heavyweight chassis, but this underfloor, mid-engined model's designation stood for Light Saloon. It was replaced by the Bristol MW (next entry). The LS joint venture between Bristol and Eastern Coach Works/Alexander between 1951 and 1958 produced about 1400 of these. Thames Valley's fleet no. 725 (into service in 1955) had rego HMO871 (not displayed on this model). It was originally a B45F-type bus, later converted to "dual purpose", but I don't know what the other purpose was. I cannot find out which engine it had, but the choices (all horizontal) were Gardner 6HLW 8.4 litres 6-cyl; Bristol AHW 8.14 litres 6-cyl; Gardner 5HLW 7.0 litres 5-cyl, or Gardner 4HLW 5.6 litres 4-cyl.
Most of this information comes from the Bristol LS website.
The Bristol MW (medium weight) was a joint venture between Bristol Commercial Vehicles and Eastern Coach Works for a medium-weight coach and bus to replace the Bristol LS. The MW was produced between 1957 and 1967. The green & cream model is fleet no 2814, reg no RFU 688
More info can be had from the Bristol MW website.
Looks a bit like the Bristol LS. Based on the Leyland Tiger Cub (1952), but with a larger, 6 litre, engine, this medium-weight, underfloor-engined chassis was introduced in 1959 and carried on until 1965. Two models: L1 (bus) and L2 (coach). Wheelbase: 16ft 2in, dimensions: 30ft X 8ft.
This was the original body, with that stylish pagoda-style roof. It was rebodied many years later with a more modern body, but the same old Guy radiator grille.
You’ve not lived unless you’ve seen one of these clanking and farting along between North Point and the western end of the island. They were huge (same length as a Leyland National, or Plaxton Panorama, quite unusual for the time). During 1963 and 1967, there were forty 36ft-long single-deck Guy Arabs with Gardner 6LX engines running in Hong Kong. These huge single deckers were called Long Dragons. Being so long, they were not permitted to operate routes other than 8, 8A and 8B.
In the 1970s, they were shorted to 30ft and double decked when they became part of the LX series. In the 70s, the Guy Arabs were re-bodied with Alexander bodies and became the LX200 series. So none of these Guy Arabs can now be distinguished as former Long Dragon, or former LW series or secondhand Arabs from Lancashire.
This model is very hard to find, but you can try to buy it through Jotus in Hong Kong, a reliable supplier.
(see individual descriptions)
This is the same casting as the Bristol L.
Birch was an early operator, running a
service frrom Pimlico to Mansion house in 1847. By 1928, Birch had grown, and
there was a service from London, Hitchin & Bedford, and, in 1929, to Rushden.
Birch bought the PS1s in the mid-1940s and they were used by RAF personnel going
to the RAF station at Henlow and the balloon hangars further north at Cardington
(Shortstown).
King Alfred Motor Services was the
trading name of R. Chisnell & Sons Ltd, the family-owned local bus operator in
Winchester from 1915 to 1973. This Leyland Royal Tiger Coach with Burlingham
Seagull bodywork, registration LAA 823 was one of two similar vehicles in the
King Alfred fleet, the other being JOT 697. New in May 1953, it was fitted with
41 seats and was withdrawn in July 1967. Today, the King Alfred name is kept
alive by The Friends of King Alfred Buses, a group which over the years has
collected many former King Alfred buses and coaches. Each New Years
Day, these vehicles return to the streets of Winchester and operate free
services on their old routes. 52-seater. It looks quite like the Leyland National (see next entry).
In 1962 the RE ("rear engine") single-deck chassis was introduced and became perhaps the UK's most successful chassis of this type. It started life with a traditional Bristol synchromesh gearbox but soon gained a semi-automatic epicyclic gearbox manufactured under licence from Wilson. This modification was probably brought about when Leyland took a substantial share in the company in 1965.
One not-so-good feature of this model is the curve of the top of the grille It was more curved in real life (see detail).
51-seater. (Aldershot & District). In 1968 Leyland Motor Corporation and British Motor
Holdings merged to form the British Leyland Motor Corporation and in July 1969
announced a joint venture with the newly formed National Bus Company. It was to
be called the Leyland National Company and was to build a new single-deck bus in a massive factory in Workington in Cumbria. Annual production of 2000 units per year was expected. The new bus was unveiled at the 1970 Commercial Motor
Show. It was one of the most significant buses of the 20th century. Unlike any bus seen before it,
the National was designed like an aircraft and built like a car by use of mass production methods. Mechanically
the Leyland National was advanced. Air suspension was standard as was power steering, semi-automatic gearbox and turbocharged engine. The body design was modern and strong with a robust and spacious interior.
Surfside Bus Lines operated these 11.3m
Leyland Nationals from Tweed Heads along Queensland’s busy Gold Coast to Tugun.
They still run the service, and the buses don’t look much different. This model has a short roof pod and, I have been told, should have really been given a catalogue number in the 150xx series.
On the Trax box, it says: "The Flxible Clipper revolutionised express coach travel in Australia during the 1950s and it wasn't long until 131 coaches operated across the nation. It was, therefore, fitting that the Clipper was used in the sister company's (Ansett Transport) fleet." It's quite a well-made model, no better or worse than the usual Corgi or EFE. I expect the production runs are a lot smaller. Real wipers would have been good instead of a splodge of silver paint.
A webpage, www.flxible.net/ansairpage.html, says "... The body design [was] on American lines and the mechanical engineering British... The Leyland 7.4 litre diesel motor ... was ... shock mounted to give a minimum of vibration ..: Wheelbase: 7.1m, length: 11.2m, height: 2.8m, Ground clearance, front axle: 22cm; rear axle: 25cm, Headroom: 1.95m.
You'll never have seen many buses in Melbourne because the tram system is and always was so good, so widespread, so cheap and so easy to use. MMTB supplemented its trams with a few
buses. This route, to Port Melbourne, in the mid 1950s, went through the city
centre. Route 129 went from Rockdale Station to
Rozelle accross Sydney’s southern suburbs from 1965.
This is 1:50 scale. (See
AEC Windover for details of body). I also have a cream-and-green one @ 1:76 (Southern National), and there's a picture of its front at AEC Windover.
(Also a Bristol.)
Model is 50:1 (and the front wheels turn). Can’t find much information, but this is
a King Alfred Motor Services local bus (Winchester district) on service no.3 to
Stanmore. It's a lovely model of a very boring bus. I wonder why Corgi made it? It can sell only to odd people who collect ugly things.
I made this model from cardboard &
balsa, taking the measurements from photographs I took at the Toowong bus garage. The wheels are from a $9 toy truck, really well-detailed,
found in Coles. The wheels dictated the scale. It has a detailed inside with
seats roughly the right colour, ticket machines, handrails, and the driver’s
calculator. It’s a bit rough, especially around the roof line, but where else
can I get one? The real ones will all be withdrawn by 2007.
A plastic model made from a Peco "Model
Scene" kit. These notes are from the box:
These 32-seaters were forward control
vehicles, the driver being seated over the front axle. One version was unusual
in that its 32-seat Barton and Danson body had two doors, one at the front and
one at the back behind the rear axle. This experiment was not repeated, despite
the advantage of shorter stops, as too many passengers were able to evade fare
payment. East Yorkshire Motor Services Ltd was one of the few remaining former NBC subsidiaries which were privatised in the mid-80s which remain independent of the big groups, now [written in about 2005] running about 350 buses and coaches in Hull, East Yorkshire and Scarborough. Between 1993 and 2002 about a dozen Plaxton Beaver minibuses on Mercedes chassis were bought by EYMS for local services mainly in the East Riding where road conditions or passenger numbers dictated the use of small buses. (But, for a 27-seater, why such a long wheelbase? See next paragraph.)
It would be interesting to find out why this has only 27 seats with such a long wheelbase. Perhaps there's a lot of luggage space, because there are only five rows of left-hand seats, and there are only six rows of right seats, but there's room for another row on each side. Perhaps there's just lots of knee-room. The shorter Mercedes-Benz (next entry) from Surfside Buslines also has 27 seats, but I am 185cm with long legs, and I can say that this bus is not at all cramped.
I don't know much about the technical details, but I had to buy this model because it's my bus! It goes from the end of my road, it passes my girlfriend's house, and its two terminals are both shopping centres. Very handy. There may be some mistakes in the numbering on this model. It has registration number 684 DTD, fleet number 504 (above the rear wheel in the right-side image, and at top-right of rear window) and a red number 504 on a white card displayed behind the the windshield. I find, however, that the red numbers are shift numbers, which is why the drivers carry them on cards and display them inside the windshield when they set off. Most of the Surfside buses I have seen use the registration number as the fleet number so, in this case, this bus should have a fleet number of 684, not 504.
A Heller plastic kit I bought in 1983. The front of this bus looks like a pig. If you can't see that, you are not imaginative. This model was introduced as a city bus in the 1930s. I
rode on these when they were in regular service, when I went to Paris in 1959. They were very common, even though they were outdated, a bit
like W-series trams still being used in regular service in Melbourne in the middle 1970s. Naturally, being young, I travelled on the
rear platform. It was the best way to see Paris, and no better way to travel has been
invented since. Kowloon Motor Bus ordered 50 Tilling-Stevens, which were delivered in 1947-48. Most were withdrawn by 1966 although a few managed to survive slightly longer as training buses or service vehicles.
Here's as good a place as any to show the entrance-exit system used on some HK buses of this time. The 'doors" were driver-controlled horizontal bars which slid backwards or forwards. Here are two of my models in "before and after" poses.
Tilling Stevens began in 1897 as W. A. Stevens electrical engineers. Thomas Tilling (bus operator) took over the Stevens Company and renamed his company Tilling Stevens Ltd. The company mainly produced petrol electric buses, but also 2 and 4-ton trucks. 1930 the Company was refloated as T.S. motors Ltd. In 1933 Vulcan Motor and engineering company were taken over by T.S. Motors Ltd which was in receivership. They continued to produce trucks and buses until they were taken over by the Rootes Group in 1949. Production of all models including Vulcan Motors Ceased in 1952. (Return to the Gallery page.)
Hong Kong buses
Leyland Tiger PS1, ECW body (Birch)
Leyland Royal Tiger Burlingham Seagull, OM40304
Bristol REL flat-screen Eastern National (EFE 25003)
Leyland National
Leyland National (on Queensland's Gold Coast)1972
Ansair Flxible Clipper 1954 (Trax TX15C)
Leyland TS8 Tiger 1939, Melbourne Metropolitan Tramways Board. (Trax TX128)
Leyland Tiger OPS2 (Sydney) 1952
Leyland PS1 Windover
Leyland Weymann Olympic (1950s)
MAN 220 Brisbane City Council 1980s (1:32)
Maudslay ML3 1927 GWR
Mercedes-Plaxton Beaver 27-seater minibus, East Yorkshire Motor Services Ltd (Corgi 43402)
Mercedes-Benz, Surfside, 27-seater, TX14
Renault TN6C, “Bus Parisien”
(“Pig Bus”), Paris (1:24)
Tilling-Stevens, China Motor Bus Co, about 1948
