Where's standard bus design heading?
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DEREK MOSES ANALYSES SOME RECENT TRENDS
THERE has been much talk over the years about the possible adoption of standard bus designs for this country. Such a development would be welcomed by chassis and body manufacturers alike, even if individual operators, particularly in the municipal sector, would not be quite so happy, as many of them seem to prefer individuality.
However, the subject of standard buses took on a totally new perspective when, on December 5 last year, Mrs. Barbara Castle in her role of Minister of Transport announced proposals for 25 per cent grants towards the purchase of new buses to "approved" design, At the same time, Mrs. Castle announced that talks would be started immediately on the subject of standard specifications for new buses. The grants would apply to buses intended mainly for stage carriage services.
It is intended that the grants scheme, which has been written into the Transport Bill, should commence this autumn and run, initially at least, for a period of seven years. Talks are proceeding between the Ministry of Transport, operators' associations and a work
ing party from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, but it would seem that finalized specifications for standard buses are still some distance away.
I understand that talks so far have centred mainly around basic dimensions such as overall lengths, heights and wheelbases for buses intended for city, urban and rural work. Entrance and exit locations are being looked at, as are heating and ventilation systems and ticket-issuing machines, to allow some flexibility for operators. It will probably be nearly a year before standard chassis are available and bodybuilders will then have to produce standard body designs.
In the meanwhile, in order that the grants scheme can get under way, "approved" bus designs have been chosen for vehicles eligible for a grant. Basically, the buses must be suitable for one-man operation, and can be divided into several categories. For city work, both single, and double-deck buses with a rear engine and front entrance and separate exit will qualify. For urban work, buses with front entrance /exits only will possibly qualify, and may be on under-floor-engined chassis. For rural work, buses with a front entrance/ exit only will definitely qualify.
To get some idea of the types of buses now being produced which would appear to fall into the required categories, I propose to review some of the recent deliveries to operators and buses on order, It is apparent that a certain pattern of "standard" bus is already emerging, although let me make it quite clear that this pattern is based on operators' and manufacturers' ideas, and not on Ministry of Transport standard specifications.
There is already some measure of standardization in that the wheelbases of Leyland Atlantean and Daimler Fleetline chassis are already identical, as are the Leyland Panther and AEC Swift rear-underfloor-engined singledeckers. Indeed, the latter have common chassis frames and front axles. Many of the chassis details are still different, however, as one would expect, so while there is some help to bodybuilders producing "identical" bodies on different chassis for the same operator, so far as the basic design is concerned, there are still many detail differences to suit the appropriate chassis.
To the casual onlooker, Manchester City Transport's new Park Royal-bodied o-m-odouble-deckers will all appear the same whether on Atlantean or Fleetline chassis, although there will be small detail differences in the body specification. Manchester has set the pattern for the city double-decker of the future, with Coventry a very close runner-up. These buses all have a front entrance, separate central exit and central staircase and have fare collection systems to speed-up passenger flow.
Manchester employs Autoslot ticket issuing machines which accept sixpenny pieces, while a system of pre-purchased tickets is proposed for Coventry's Eastern Coach Works-bodied Daimler Fleetlines which will be cancelled by Bellpunch machines, thus reducing the number of passengers who will have to buy tickets from the driver. Both cities, incidentally, have introduced zonal fare systems to simplify ticket issuing, Manchester having three adult fares-6d, 1s Od and 1s 6d.
Peters air-operated double-folding jackknife doors are fitted to the Manchester vehicles while the Coventry buses have Deans electro-pneumatically operated double-folding jack-knife doors. Both types have fluorescent saloon lighting. Hopper-type opening windows are provided in both saloons on the Manchester vehicles and in the upper saloon of the Coventry vehicles, the latter buses having sliding windows in the lower saloon. Passenger counters are fitted beneath the stairs in each case.
The Manchester double-deckers, which seat 28 passengers in the lower saloon and 45 in the upper, carry 23 standing passengers in the lower saloon. Coventry's double-deckers, which seat 27 and 45 respectively, do not carry standing passengers.
Other undertakings following Manchester and Coventry and intending to place dualentrance o-m-odouble-deckers in service include Birmingham, Newcastle upon Tyne, Sheffield, Oldham, Bury, Birkenhead and Plymouth. The Sheffield buses will have Park Royal bodies of very different appearance from the Manchester examples, making standardization very difficult for the coachbuilders, although I understand that the Sheffield body will be offered as the basic design, where possible, when o-m-odouble-deckers are ordered from the company.
The Ministry apparently favours rearengined single-deckers for city or intense urban work where operators require or wish to operate single-deckers. There has, however, already been a big swing towards this type of bus among a number of municipal operators, where they are replacing double-deckers, either completely or in part, A few company operators are also adopting dual-entrance rear-engined single-deckers for urban work.
Bristol RE, Leyland Panther and AEC Swift rear-underfloor-engined chassis and singledeck versions of the Leyland Atlantean and Daimler Fleetline chassis, together with the vee-engined Daimler Roadliner are being specified, again raising standardization problems for bodybuilders. Furthermore, each municipal operator seems to have different ideas for the layout and specification, so that it is not surprising to find that few coachbuilders offer a basic "standard" body.
Exceptions
Notable exceptions, however, are East Lancashire Coach Builders Ltd., Marshall of Cambridge (Engineering) Ltd., and Strachans (Coachbuilders) Ltd. East Lanes has a standard basic body design for both singleand double-deck rear-engined buses. Both designs have wide bay windows, with the exit placed immediately behind the first bay, The double-decker has a rearwards-ascending staircase opposite the exit.
No double-deckers have been built to this design yet, although examples of the singledecker have gone to Eastbourne (36ft Roadliner chassis), Bury (33ft Atlantean and Fleetline), Warrington 133ft Bristol and Fleetline), Lancaster (36ft Panther), Chesterfield (36ft; Roadliner and Panther), West Bridgford (33ft Swift), and Ashton-under-Lyne (33ft Panther). In most cases the basic layout has been closely followed. The 36ft version seats 49 passengers. Only two of the coachbuilders approached by CM were able, at this stage, to quote a basic standard specification and East Lancs was, in fact, one of them. Here is the specification:
Entrance design: did 4ft wide two step. ski 311 9 in.
wide, one or two step.
Exit design: as above.
Door equipment: air-operated, glider or double folding doors.
Seating: tubular steel, double top rail.
Seating trim: hide or moquette or plastic. Formica seat backs.
Interior lighting: fluorescent tubes, six per saloon.
Window glazing: outside Simplastic.
Interior lining trim: Formica.
Heating: two heat exchange units per saloon. Floor duc ting to each seat.
Ventilation: four sliders or hopper vents per saloon or two lift-up roof vents.
Type of handrails: stainless steel.
Position of handrails: entrance and exit stanchions and staircase rails on d Full length roof handpoles.
P-a-y-e equipment: electrical power socket in cab. illuminated glazed signs. Cash counter for o-m-o.
The above specification is for dual-entrance bodies on rear-engined chassis.
The other coachbuilder which submitted a standard basic specification was Marshall of Cambridge (Engineering) Ltd. It is as follows (rear-engined single-deckers only):
Entrance design: front entrance platform, step into saloon. 311 9in. wide doorway.
Exit design: 3ft 9in. wide three step.
Door equipment: manual operation, Deans double-folding jack-knife. Electric or air operation quoted extras. Seating equipment: Dapta TSF.2 /I( type seats with polished aluminium top rail.
Seating trim: PVC material; moquette and hide quoted extras.
Interior lighting: tungsten bulbs basic; fluorescent lighting quoted extra.
Windows: top sliders.
Interior lining trim: painted linings as basic. Warerite or Formica quoted extras.
Heating and ventilation: two underseat heaters basic Clayton Compas system, Smiths 1500 system or Key Leather KL.1350 quoted extras.
Position of handrails: entrance and exit stanchions. Ful length roof handpole.
P-a-y-e equipment: provision for fitting free issue tickw machines. change giving machines and so on.
Examples of how municipal operators are varying from the Marshall basic specificatior can be taken from three recent batches o. buses built by the company. Oldham Corpora, tion Transport, purchasing Marshall bodies or 36ft Leyland Panther chassis, specified Dean: pneumatically-operated double-folding jack knife ctoors, for the entrance and separati central exit, Accles and Pollock seats, wit) stainless steel double top rails and Cirru! trimming on the seats. The seat backs weri covered with Arborite material. Interior lininâ– trim was completely of Warerite and Youngs' hopper windows were fitted. Lightinl was by way of eight BMAC 418 light fitting with fluorescent tubes, while the heating am ventilation system was of the Smiths 1 501
fully-automatic type. Seats were provided for 49 passengers.
Portsmouth City Transport, buying 42seater dual-entrance bodies on 33ft 6in. Leyland Panther Cub chassis, specified G. D. Peters electrically-operated glider doors, with sensitive edges on the exit doors (as on the Oldham buses). A treadle mat was provided on the intermediate exit step. Accles and Pollock seats similar to Oldham were specified and trimmed in moquette and hide. Nine Beclawat Zephyr top-sliding window units were provided and the roof lining and window surrounds were of Warerite, while the casing panels were painted. Six 2ft fluorescent lights were fitted and heating was provided by Clayton Dewandre underseat heaters.
Important trends
Finally, St. Helens Corporation Transport, buying 44-seat dual-entrance bodies on AEC Swift chassis with an overall length of 33ft bin. (described and illustrated in CM, March 15),i specified Deans electrically-operated glider doors and a treadle mat on the intermediate exit step. Vulcan seats with stainless steel double top rails were fitted and trimmed with Connolly's fluted hide. The roof lining panels were of Warerite and the casing panels of Formica. All side windows were sealed except the rear nearside, which was fitted with a top slider. Clayton Dewandre Compas fully automatic heating and ventilation systems were provided with heat outlets in the floor coves and three Adwest lift-up roof vents. BMAC opal light fittings with fluorescent tubes were specified.
All the above buses had Treadmaster non-slip floor covering, which is becoming almost universal in the specification of town and city buses. Fluorescent lighting, too, is now the accepted standard and more comprehensive heating systems are replacing the recirculatory under-seat heaters in many cases. This latter trend is particularly important on dual-entrance city or urban buses when two sets of doors are frequently being opened.
As a final comparison, it is interesting to look at the specification of the new o-m-o dual entrance Leyland Panthers for Liverpool City Transport, which are being fitted with bodies by Metropolitan-Cammell-Weymann Ltd. (CM April 19). Here is an example of an operator which has designed its own bodywork, yet is specifying alternative suppliers for interior fittings and equipment in some of the "standard" bodies.
In the first instance 70 buses are being purchased, all 36ft models with 47 seats and provision for 24 standing passengers. They have a front entrance with three shallow steps and feature a stepped waist rail behind the exit. The entrance and exit doors are of the air-operated glider type, half to be supplied by Deans and the remainder by Peters. The seats have double stainless steel rails on the back, and 45 buses will have seat trimming of Connolly's hide and the remainder matching Trimtex PVC.
The heating systems are also being split, half the buses employing the Smiths 1 500 system and the remainder the Clayton B42 system, both systems being automatically controlled. Interior illumination is provided by 3ft fluorescent tubes, one in each bay and covered by combined cove and advertisement panels. Interior lining trim is of plastics, with etched aluminium screens. Youngs hopper opening windows are provided in the rear part of the saloon.
These are just some examples of recent deliveries and standard basic designs available, mainly for dense city or urban work. For lighter urban work underfloor-engined single-deckers with front entrance/exit only are still the most common purchase, and such buses will probably qualify for grants. Front entrance /exit double-deckers are also still being purchased in sizeable quantities for urban or inter-urban services. Such buses will also probably qualify, although they must be equipped for o-m-o, and have rear engines.
It is not clear yet what type of bus will qualify for rural services, but obviously the criterion will be that it is of convenient design for one-man operation. The future of light, front-engined vehicles may come under question in this field--will they be suitable?
Obviously, however, the p.s.v. industry is already moving towards a definite pattern of bus for a particular type of work, even if there is not, as yet, a sufficient degree of standardization. Such standardization is going to be the next pill for the industry to swallow. At least one operators association has already gone on record as condemning rigid standardization of buses because it will stultify future vehicle developments.