A destination of Covid-19 creation, all credit to Sludge G for the photo.
Oily
robthedog:
Pretty little thing
Looks like a Renault van of the '60s (possibly type R 2060), with an unknown coachwork
Froggy55:
robthedog:
Pretty little thingLooks like a Renault van of the '60s (possibly type R 2060), with an unknown coachwork
I’d be more inclined to go for something Eastern European - a Barkas maybe?
old 67:
One for you Ray.0
Regards John.
Hi John, Thank you for the picture of Wigan Corporation Leyland PD3 with bodywork by Northern Counties.
The Corporation operated several " Cross Town " bus routes. This bus was on the 5/5A & 7 routes which ran
from Abbey Lakes on the A577, about 4 miles to the west of the town, through to this location on the A49
of route 5A, route 5 terminus was at Graham Farm, approx 1 mile further on from here. The bus indicator
is showing " 7 ABBEY LAKES VIA WIGAN ".
Regards, Ray.
A Wigan Corporation Leyland PD3 seen at the same place as the previous picture.
This location is on the A49 Preston Road, near to Pepper Lane. The bodywork on
this Leyland is by Massey Bros of Pemberton, Wigan. NMP.
A selection of buses seen earlier today in and around the bus station in Wigan town centre. 29.1.2021.
A slight detour on one of my favourite buses, the Bristol RE.
Built by Bristol Commercial Vehicles and first released in the early '60s, the RE (Rear Engine) chassis could be ordered in a number of variations:
-
RELL (LWB, low floor)
-
RESL (SWB, low floor)
-
RELH (LWB high floor)
-
RESH and REM(aximum WB)H
… and given form by your bodybuilder of choice (ECW, Duple, Plaxton, Alexander M, Alexander (NI), Northern Counties, Marshall).
Many chassis sold were RELH with ECW coach bodies (Royal Blue had the best livery IMO) but most were buses, of which the RELL was the most popular. Like all the other variants, the bus could be specced with Gardner (RELL6G) or Leyland (RELL6L) engines. The question is - how is a bus or lorry nut to tell the difference between a /G and an /L?
Well, here’s where youtube can help:
- Gardner:
a) youtube.com/watch?v=LPKzzcrZRPA
b) youtube.com/watch?v=71LyZLd0dfg
- Leyland:
a) youtube.com/watch?v=j-SA09eBz_g
b) youtube.com/watch?v=I1DM-RrwF3s
For the sake of something different, a (NZ) Hess-bodied RE with a Leyland 0.510:
youtube.com/watch?v=D_qqB7cVD0Q
On the subject of older bus chassis and the unique sounds they make, a while ago (33 years this year… 
) I went and backpackered off to Australia on a 6-month working visa. I landed in Perth, but inevitably landed up in Sydney where I went and found some work, the most consistent of which was with a removals mob in Mascot (a southern Sydney suburb). As a result, I regularly took the bus from Central (308 or 310 Botany service) which were nearly all single-decker 0.600 Leyland Leopards (with some very awkward-looking bodies). At some point, however, the old Leylands began to be replaced on those routes by a much more modern (and foreign to me) bus - the Mercedes-Benz O305. It took me a while to appreciate the experience of a ride on an O305 over a Leopard, and longer still to understand why Sydney UTA opted for the Merc. These days, I miss the O305: not only was it was a very reliable and long-lived bus (Sydney had Mk1-Mk4 versions) but had a sound all of its own.
-
a Sydney STA Mk4 still in service in 2012 at almost 20 years old: youtube.com/watch?v=geq6SFvh1mI
Many of our friends on the continent (Germanx especially) still run and maintain O305s:
youtube.com/watch?v=XnqrjeQ5X98
…and they were exported to Singapore and HK and made into DD buses
A couple of photographs of Alexander bodied Mercedes-Benz 0305 buses in Hong Kong:
ME24 seen parked outside the multi-storey bus depot at Tuen Mun in the New Territories.
It had just been re-painted.
ME33 in an all-over advertising livery for ‘Barbecue Paradise’ seen parked in Kowloon ready
to return to Tuen Mun.
Hi ParkRoyal2100, something like this mebbe.
Hunters Hill Bus Co Leyland Leopard PSU3/2R 5104 in Woolwich Road, Woolwich, Sydney, N.S.W., Australia.
All credit to John Ward who lives in Sydney for the photo in 1971.
Oily
Hi DAF 2100, yes the Bristol RE was a well designed bus / coach, I operated one from 1985-89 an ex Greenslades RELH6GX with Gardner 6HLX, originally Leyland 600 engined. Running on schools private hire, excursions and tours it was a quiet, comfortable ,economical and reliable coach. Many operators lamented British Leyland’s decision to discontinue production in Bristol in favour of the Workington "Bean Tins " (Leyland National) a hea of rubbish.
Cheers, Leyland 600.
oiltreader:
Hi ParkRoyal2100, something like this mebbe.
Hunters Hill Bus Co Leyland Leopard PSU3/2R 5104 in Woolwich Road, Woolwich, Sydney, N.S.W., Australia.
All credit to John Ward who lives in Sydney for the photo in 1971.
Oily
Hi Oily.
I’ve not seen that one before, but I was thinking more of the Sydney UTA/ STA types, like this
flickr.com/photos/leap1/3171334913
… and this
youtube.com/watch?v=ecobfR98Pco
Steve
I operated one from 1985-89 an ex Greenslades RELH6GX with Gardner 6HLX, originally Leyland 600 engined. Running on schools private hire, excursions and tours it was a quiet, comfortable ,economical and reliable coach.
[/quote]
Nice-looking coach it is too - I presume Greenslades looked after their vehicles given the number that were bought by other operators.
Leyland600:
Many operators lamented British Leyland’s decision to discontinue production in Bristol in favour of the Workington "Bean Tins " (Leyland National) a heap of rubbish.
Cheers, Leyland 600.
Some of the older blokes who were bus drivers/ operators back then can still get up a head of steam at the mention of the Workington Wonder.
Leyland600:
Many operators lamented British Leyland’s decision to discontinue production in Bristol in favour of the Workington "Bean Tins " (Leyland National) a hea of rubbish.
Cheers, Leyland 600.
The original National certainly had many problems (too much rear weight bias being one significant one). The National 2, however, seemed to be a much better (if still flawed) proposition and is perhaps what the original National should have been.
Yes I have to agree the National 2 was a much better proposition with the Leyland 680 fitted or better still the Gardner 6HLXB , I drove both versions regularly in the early to mid 1980s with the Gardner version gaining top marks.
Cheers, Leyland 600
