• Home
• Used vehicles
• Product news
• Dealer news
• Compliance
• Buying advice
• Archive

New models galore on psv body stands

40 ALEXANDER

Walter Alexander and Co (Coachbuilders) Ltd, PO Box 24, 91 Glasgow Road, Falkirk FK1 4JB.

There seems to be no end to the new models streaming forth from this Scottish company. Less than a year ago it bodied the first Ailsa double-decker (an example in Glasgow colours is on the Ailsa stand this year) and now it has introduced two brand new models. Both illustrate Alexander's faith in light alloys and both are good examples of its strongly practical approach to coachbuilding.

First there is an integral midibus with seating for 27 and using running units from Ford's A-series. The all-alloy framework is designed along aircraft principles and there is plenty of interest for the technical man. The body itself is straightforward with few frills. This first vehicle is in Edinburgh livery but is, in fact, owned by Alexander and is to be used for stress testing work. Two other midi bodies, built by Alexander's Irish company, on conventional A-series chassis have been delivered to Merseyside PTE.

The new Alexander model is a dualpurpose body to fit existing chassis. It cleverly blends Continental "stepped roof' styling with the English curved side approach while retaining flat glass side windows. The new model — known as the T-type — will eventually replace the same company's renowned Y-type body. The show model is for Tyne and Wear PTE and features a number of luxury extras including Diplomat Technico seating. The 11m body is on a Leyland Leopard chassis.

75 DORMOBILE

Dormobile Ltd, Folkestone, Kent Dormobile is showing a single psv model on its stand, a 16-seat Pacemaker body based on the Ford Transit 150 chassis with diesel engine and automatic transmission. This body, of course, was formerly produced by the now defunct Strachans concern. It is now being built at Dormobile's own plant in Folkestone.

The show vehicle is in the livery of the new Harlow "Pick-me-up" Dial-a-Ride service. The Pacemaker has been accepted as the standard vehicle for this demand-responsive transport system in the UK and for this prupose it is equipped with a number of special items. These include the fitting of 20-gauge zinc-plated steel body panels to aid repair, Marconi radio control equipment and Bell Punch Aurofare ticket collection apparatus.

Unfortunately, a new model from Dormobile could not be finished in time for the Show. This is a 20-24-seat body on Ford's A Series chassis which should go into production next year.

36 DUPLE

Duple Coachbuilders Ltd, Vicarage Lane, Marton, Blackpool, Lancs.

It is hard to believe that it was only at the last Earls Court Show that Duple introduced its Dominant body. Since then a continual programme of improvement has been under way and this year's show model, an llm luxury coach on Leyland Leopard chassis, illustrates the results of this. A whole host of minor modifications have been made, some of the more important include the removal of the headlight fairings, strengthening of the entrance steps, a new instrument panel and the choice of a new interior decor. This features a deep rosewood finish below the waistrail with a lighter roofing material.

Announced only a fortnight ago, and sure to make an impact on the Show, is Duple's Dominant bus body. With more than a hint of the Leyland National around the front end, this vehicle heralds the company's bid for a slice of the lucrative lighter end of the service bus market. The show vehicle is on Bedford's up-dated YRQ chassis. Also being shown for the first time is Duple's 29-seat body on the Bedford front engined VAS. This body — competing in an area of the market which seems suddenly to have captured the attention of both bodybuilders and manufacturers — has a close family similarity with the bigger Dominants.

Both the bus and the 29-seater are built to Duple's "Phase 2" construction method. This involves a jig-built, all-steel tubular frame and does away with any wood. It can only be a matter of time before the 10m, 11m and 12m Dominant coach bodies get the same treatment, although, of course, no load-bearing wood is used in their manufacture.

Four Duple vehicles are in the demonstration park, including one of the new buses. Incidentally, a display on the stand illustrates some future models. These include bodies on Mercedes, Bristol and DAF chassis and a unitized system of executive coach layouts for next season. Something else to watch for on the Duple stand is a new system for warning the driver of faults. A cunning device with virtually unlimited potential, this aims to do away with the multiplicity of warning lights which mar many cabs these days.

38 ECW

Eastern Coach Works Ltd, Eastern Way, Lowestoft, Sussex Both the vehicles on this stand are well worth a close look. There is a special narrow single-deck body on Bristol LHS chassis as well as the only bodied example of Bristol's new VRT/3 doubledecker with quiet package. The singledecker is a 35-seater for London Country and is only 2.2 m (7ft 6 in) wide. Designed specifically for rural operation, the vehicle can be one-man-operated. As usual, the vehicle has the ECW alloy framing mounted directly on to the Bristol chassis. The bus is finished in NBC standard green and is 8 m (26ft 3 in) long.

The other ECW exhibit differs little externally from conventional doubledeckers built by the company except for tell-tale vents for circulating cooling air around the encapsulated engine. A vent at the rear of the offside upper deck takes in air and delivers it, via a trunking within the body, to the engine. Hot air is extracted via a vent mounted at nearside of the upper deck. No changes in the standard seating plans have been necessary to incorporate the cooling vents. The 9.5 m (31ft) long bus is for Northern General Transport and has seats for 70 passengers. It is a low-height specification being only 4.15m (13ft 8 in) high and has separate entrance and exit doors.

101 EUROBUS

Eurobus Ltd, Bluebell Industrial Estate, Naas Road, Dublin 12 Two Asco Clubman bodies based on the British Leyland EA occupy this Irish manufacturers stand. One is finished in the livery of Alder Valley and has 19 bus seats. It is based on the 440 EA dieselengined chassis and is one of a number ordered by this National Bus Company subsidiary. As usual the construction is a steel tube box frame with alloy exterior panels. The roof is one-piece glassfibre.

Features specified by the operator include the use of a driver-controlled sliding door and a luggage pen. This reduces by two the number of seats which can be accommodated. There is a 1.1 cu m (40 cuft) rear luggage boot and a triple route number box.

The other vehicle on show is a 19seater luxury coach which is basically similar to the Clubman shown at the last London show. Detail improvements include an entirely new door-operating mechanism, the use of Continental-type seats, and an increase in the size of the boot to be the same as on the bus.

A Clubman will also be in the demonstration park along with a very interesting new model. This is a full-size luxury body built by Spanish coachbuilder Ayats and imported as an experiment by Eurobus. The company will also be bringing in bodies from another Spanish builder, Beulas. The Ayats body is on a 12m Leyland Leopard chassis and is of allsteel welded box section construction with steel panels. Price of the body alone is said to be £17,000 even though it has been trimmed in Ireland.

42 MVT CAETANO

IMVT Salvador Caetano Sari, c/o Moseley Continental Coachwork Ltd, 140 Knightthorpe Road, Loughborough, Leics The three bodies on show are all products of the Caetano concern in Portugal from where Moseley has been importing bodies since 1968. There are over 500 Caetano bodies on Britain's roads now and their popularity seems to be increasing steadily. Of the three coaches on show only one, the Estoril II 53-seater on Ford R1114 chassis, has been seen at Earls Court before.

The second body, a Cascais II, is an integral which uses running units from Bedford's YRQ chassis. The engine is mounted vertically at the rear and drives through a conventional Bedford axle. Only a hydraulic cooling fan is added to the usual specification. Since this 45-seat integral appeared last year it has been improved by a revised exhaust system, new sound insulation at the rear, the use of gas-filled stays for luggage locker lids and a reduction in the height of the "step" over the engine. Worth noting is the generous luggage space for a 10m coach — 4.8 cu m (170cu ft).

The third model on the.stand can truly be described as new — it was only announced a fortnight ago. It is claimed to be the only 20-seat purpose-built psv body on the UK market. Called the Faro, it is based on the Bedford J2 chassis which has been modified in Portugal to give full forward control. The show model has a

3.6-litre (220 cu in) diesel engine, although a petrol version is available. Finished to the normal comprehensive Caetano specification (although without the roof-mounted KL heating system fitted to the other models in the range) the Faro has a manually operated folding door.

50 JONCKHEERE

Carrosserie Jonckheere, B8800, Roeselare, Belgium For its second Earls Court appearance the Belgian company is showing two of its Continental vehicles, both of which are in left-hand-drive form. The company is hoping to produce and sell models for the UK market from next January when import tarriffs will be reduced. One of the models on show is based on Scania 8R85S running units and has 45 reclining luxury seats. The body is of allsteel-tube frame construction and is fully equipped with forced air ventilation, radio and pa equipment. Stainless steel is used extensively and the vehicle has tinted glass. There is a Webasto heater and a Dreiha defrosting unit. Length of the vehicle is 11.5m (37ft 9 in).

The second vehicle is constructed and equipped in a similar way, but is based on the Mercedes 0.302 running units. It has 49 reclining seats and is 11.75m (38ft 6in) long.

Both models outwardly resemble Solaire body on AEC chassis which appeared at Earls Court in 1972.

28 MARSHALL

Marshall of Cambridge (Engineering) Ltd, Airport Works, Newmarket Road, Cambridge CB5 8RX The only psv exhibit on this stand is one of Marshall's Camagna bodies for school and welfare work. The bus is destined for Suffolk County Council who will use it to carry school children. The body is mounted on a Ford R1014 chassis and is of lightweight, metal frame construction. All steel parts are treated in the company's own extensive phosphating facility — said to be one of the most advanced in Europe — to combat corrosion. A two-panelled, full-glazed glider door is fitted.

Unfortunately, Marshall's latest model could not be completed in time to reach Earls Court where it would certainly have created a talking point. It is a rearengined integral midibus with 27-seats. The new model — the Camuter — was fully described in CM August 23.

37 MCW

Metro-Cammell Weymann Ltd, PO Box 248, Leigh Road, Washwood Heath, Birmingham B8 2YJ MCW's Metropolitan double-decker is this year making its Earls Court debut, having been introduced a year ago. Technically, the model follows the layout of the Metro-Scania single-deck bus closely. There are two models on show one for the Greater Glasgow PTE and one for Greater Manchester Transport.

The two show models are virtually identical as far as measurements are concerned. They are 9.7m (31 ft 10 in) long and have seats for 73 passengers. Both vehicles have single passenger doors and are 4.4 m (14ft 51/2 in) high. Interior finish is to the two operator's individual specification.

The Metropolitan is powered by Scania's D11 C06 engine mounted at the rear. A fully-automatic gearbox is fitted together with air suspension and power steering. The engine itself is encapsulated to reduce exterior noise levels and special attention has also been paid to insulating the body-side of the engine bulkhead to reduce interior noise and heat.

29 NORTHERN COUNTIES

Northern Counties Motor and Engineering Co Ltd, Wigan Lane, Wigan, Lancs In a break with recent tradition Northern Counties is showing a single-deck body as one of its two exhibits. Not only that, for the first time, both bodies on show have frames built of alloy instead of the customary steel.

The single-decker, which is particularly interesting, bears a close resemblance to the two integral Mercedes vehicles in trial service with Greater Manchester PTE. The show model, however, is for Lancashire United Transport and is conventionally mounted on a Leyland Leopard chassis. A number of the ideas pioneered on the Mercedes vehicles are used including the thermostatically controlled KL heating and ventilation system. This incorporates a power-operated liftup roof vent and there are no opening windows. The 11 m (36ft) body has 44 semi-luxury seats spaced at the recommended GRSA seat pitch. Full-length Luminator lighting and illuminated advertisement panels are fitted.

The other vehicle, though apparently identical to the standard Greater Manchester PTE bus, in fact also has alloy framing. Operator and bodybuilder stress that there has been no problem with the steel-framed vehicles but decided to do an alloy job to "show it could be done". Use of alloy cuts gross weight by over 150kg (3 cwt) and eliminates corrosion problems.

As has been well publicised GMPTE is continually improving its already comprehensive and impressive specification. This show model is no exception. Passenger access through the single door is improved by modification of the modesty panel and cutting the corner off the front nearside wheel-arch. One change from standard specification is the use of Sundym glass all round.

34 PARK ROYAL

Park Royal Vehicles Ltd, Abbey Road, Park Royal, London NW10 As usual on the Park Royal stand pride of place goes to a London Transport vehicle — this year a 71-seater on Daimler Fleetline chassis. Illustrating the radical re-think on the best way of running London's buses, the bus is equipped for two-man operation, though only minor changes are said to be necessary to convert it for o-m-o. It must be one of the few double-deckers in the Show to have separate entrance and exit doors, another feature which seems to have lost much of its initial attraction for many operators.

Park Royal bodies are steel framed with aluminium exterior panels. Front and rear domes, front destination panel, upper saloon corners, windscreen surrounds and front detachable waist panel are all in grp.

The second vehicle on view is a doubledecker on Leyland Atlantean chassis for Southdown Motor Services. This has 73 seats and standing accommodation for 20 passengers. It is designed for o-m-o and has a single door. Like the LT vehicle there is a single entry step.

35 PLAXTONS

Plaxtons (Scarborough) Ltd, Castle Works, Seamer Road, Scarborough Y012 4DC1 A brand new 29-seat coach, the Panorama Supreme, makes its debut on the Plaxton stand. Two models are on show, one on Bedford VAS chassis and the other on the Bristol LHS chassis. Although the Supreme has some considerable family similarities with the Elite range it heralds important new underthe-skin changes in construction which will eventually be implemented throughout the Plaxton range.

The Supreme uses all steel bearers with U-section steel pillars. These have wood inserts on which the exterior panels are mounted. When the Supreme range is extended upwards to replace the Elite — probably early next summer — square tube pillars will be used and there will be no wood at all in the body construction. On the two show models, the Bedford version has a manual swivelling passenger door behind the front axle while the Bristol has a conventional door at the front of the body.

Also new from Plaxton for the show are a number of detail body improvements to all models. There is a new padded rack for parcels, with recessed air vents and individual lights and two strips of 50 mm (2 in) thick foam padding. A redesigned burstproof claw lock for the emergency exit is also fitted which has a flush-fitting handle which cannot be opened inadvertently. These details can be seen on the third show exhibit — an 11 m body on AEC Reliance chassis — which also features a range of different seating styles. Included in these is a new seat, offered as an option on all models, which has a patented double-curvature plywood back. This allows better retention of the passenger within the seat during cornering.

As well as the three vehicles on the stand — all finished in a striking livery of different mauves — there are three models in the demonstration park.

39 ROE

Charles H. Roe Ltd, Crossgate Carriage Works, Crossgate, Leeds LS15 8SU Times change .. but not apparently at Roe. At Earls Court in 1972 it showed two double-deckers, one for Leeds and one for Hull. This year the pattern is repeated: one for Hull and one for West Yorkshire PTE (incorporating the Leeds undertaking). Both vehicles are based on Leyland Atlantean chassis and the bodies have metal frames with alloy and grp panelling. The West Yorkshire vehicle is the more extensively equipped with 76 seats, a staircase counter for monitoring passengers, a Pye radio telephone and carpeting tiles in the lower saloon floor.

The 72-seater Hull vehicle, which has a single entrance like the PTE bus, has illuminated external Pay-as-you-enter signs and Autofare equipment.

113 SPARSHATT

J. H. Sparshatt (Coachbuilders) Ltd, Burrfields Road, Copnor, Portsmouth, Hants P03 5NN Making its third appearance at Earls Court, the Sparshatt midibus is little changed for 1974. The show model is based on the British Leyland 550FG 3683 mm (145 in) wheelbase chassis scuttle with diesel engine. The body frame is of all-steel welded construction with metal panels on both interior and exterior. There are bus-type seats for 22 passengers and entrance is by a completely glazed folding leaf door.

The bus is 6.8m (22ft 2 in) long, 2.7m (8ft 10in) high and 2.2m (7ft 2 in) wide.

One important development by the makers is the redesign of the body to allow it to be mounted on the Ford chassis.

41 VAN HOOL

Van Hool McArdle Ltd, Spa Road, Dublin 8 This stand sees both a new company and a new model to Earls Court. Since the Belgian Van Hool coachbuilding concern took over the old CIE bodybuilding works operated by McArdle there has been some major re-organization and, of major importance, substantial investment in new tools and jigs. First product of the new company is this double-deck body which was announced a few months ago. Although designed with CIE much in mind, the company is hoping for big orders from this side of the Irish Sea to recoup some of its investment.

The body itself is of all-welded steel framework constructed from standard section steel tubing. Exterior panelling is of alloy, pop riveted to the frame. There is a one-piece unbroken panel along the upper deck to provide a good surface for advertisements. An interesting feature of the vehicle is the use of a German VoVtype windscreen which is designed to reduce night-time reflections. A German Dreiha heating and ventilation system is fitted.

The body — in new CIE livery — is mounted on a Leyland Atlantean chassis. The sensible design of the access doors to the engine compartment are worthy of note. They are all hinged to give all-round accessibility.

33 VAN HOOL

Van Hool and Zonen, Pyba B-2578 Konincsholkt, Mistraat 58, Belgium Though the two vehicles on this stand appear similiar to Van Hool's standard 300 series bodies — which themselves have never been shown in the UK — they are in fact the first pre-production models of the Van Hool bodies which are to be built in Ireland at the Van Hool McArdle

plant. Production will start there in about six months. They both have an all-steel welded jig assembled frame clad with steel outer panels. All metal work is treated against corrosion and the vehicles are undersealed.

The smaller show coach, an 11 m job, is on a Ford R1114 chassis and has 49 reclining seats. Specification includes forced air ventilation, four lift-up roof vents, night lights, Bluespot self-seeking radio and tape player and pa system including 13 speakers, and extra luggage lockers at the side.

The second vehicle, a 12m, is on a Volvo B58 mid-engined chassis. Again there are 49 reclining seats and the coach has a power-operated door with pavement window. The windscreen is laminated with a tinted area at the top.

27 WILLOWBROOK

Willowbrook Ltd, Derby Road, Loughborough, Leics LE11 OHR Only two exhibits this year are on the Willowbrook stand, both examples of the brand new 008 luxury coach model announced last week. Oddly, for a market where bread and butter earnings come from high density, load-carrying machines, both are executive models. Last-minute show surprise was the second vehicle which is a Bunny-draped vehicle for London's Playboy Club.

Construction of the 008 — which is an additional model to the Willowbrook range — is conventional with steel pillars and alloy panels. Operators will be interested to note that the square look pioneered by the company on its 002 model, first seen at Earls Court two years ago, is not carried through on the new model. It has reverted to curved side panels and windows. It is difficult to judge from the luxury show models exactly how a conventional coach will be planned. For example, the swept-up waist rail treatment at the rear will not be used.

Willowbrook is hoping to build a minimum of 200 of the 008 in time for the next coach season with deliveries beginning in January. Interestingly both executive show models are on Bedford YRT chassis.

Other models in the Willowbrook range — the recently revised 001 service bus and the dual-purpose 002 — are on show in the demonstration park on a variety of chassis.