Holes in M1 demand a bigger engine
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THINGS have come to a pretty pass when a coach company is almost compelled to exchange a 175bhp engine for one of 252bhp in an S-registered vehicle to make up time lost in digging the permanent but evershifting holes in Ml. It is certainly something that Ernest Marples, who as Minister of Transport opened the motorway some 24 years ago, can never have foreseen.
Yorkshire Traction replaced the Leyland 680 engine in a Leopard coach by a Daf DKT1160 to try to meet the tight timetable on the Barnsley/London route, despite "more or less permanent restriction by reconstructive works," within the legal limits of drivers' hours. Ron Jenkins, chief engineer, is apparently delighted with the result.
The six-year-old Leopard is now keeping up with much younger rivals in the hunt for traffic.