1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136 
Body Orders For New Single-deckers
Page 58
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
nETAILS can now be given of the bodywork ordered for 10 singledecker buses which represent a new trend in bus design. This is the mounting of single-decker bodies on to specially extended rear-ertgined double-decker chassis, and four vehicles of this type are being supplied to GrimsbyCleethorpes Transport, three to Halifax Corporation Transport and three to Bury Corporation Transport (The Commercial Motor, September 10 and 24). All 10 chassis are Daimler Fleetlines with a wheelbase of 18 ft. 6 in, designed to take bodies about 33 ft. Icing, 4Ivith the rear bench seat mounted above the engine compartment.
Willowbrook Ltd. is to build the bodies of the Halifax and Grimsby-Cleethorpes vehicles, whilst the Bury buses will have bodies by East Lancashire Coachbuilders Ltd. Details of the Bury and GrimsbyCleethorpes vehicles are still being finalized; the Halifax buses will be 45-seaters with a wider-than-normal entrance, and two steps at the entrance, with a flat floor opposite the driver's compartment and a gradual ramp leading from the bulkhead behind the driver to the rear of the bus. The Bury buses will also feature a single. wider-than-normal entrance, and both types will seat about 45 passengers.
Both Mr. Kay (Bury) and Mr, Hilditch (Halifax) told The Commercial Motor c72 that operating conditions in the respective towns did not, in their opinion, warrant the use of front-entrance, central-exit vehicles. Mr. Kay also said that he believed the purchase of rather more expensive vehicles initially would be offset by operating economies, not least of which was the employment of the same chassis design for both singleand double-deckers (Bury now operate a total of 21 Daimler Fieetline double-deckers). Grimsby-Cleethorpes, on the other hand. have standardized on front-entrance, central-exit single-deckers for a number of years, and it is natural that a similar layout should be employed on the Fleetline single-deckers.
It is hoped to achieve a seating capacity of about 42-43 on these vehicles. In all cases, the positioning of the rear seats will give a body layout not unlike that of standard underfloor-engined single-deckers, except that the entrance steps will be shallower, and gone will be the bustle which is so characteristic of the rear-engined double-decker.
Meanwhile, Halifax Corporation has specified five-speed semi-automatic gearboxes for the five Dennis Lolines the undertaking is buying. Wilson epicyclic gearboxes will be employed, incorporating an overdrive top gear—possibly the first time this has been specified for British buses with semi-automatic transanission.