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SG puts on weight for 1977 chassis

24th September 1976, Page 100
24th September 1976
Page 100
Page 100, 24th September 1976 — SG puts on weight for 1977 chassis
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THE TREND away from cheaper lightweight bus chassis towards heavy-duty units noticeable in the NBC orders is mirrored in the Scottish Bus Group orders for 1977.

Last year the SBG ordered 83 Fords but this year the number had dropped to 26 despite the fact that the total order has only dropped from 344 to 275 vehicles. Surprisingly the cash value of the order remains about the same for the two years at E51/2 million.

After an absence of orders for double-deckers last year SBG has ordered 100 for 1977 — 50 Ailsa /Alexander 79-seaters for Fife and 50 Fleetline/Northern Counties 75-seaters for Western SMT.

Lack of capacity at Alexanders has led to some body orders going to Duple and Northern County. Seventyfour Seddon Pennine 7s have been ordered — all to be bodied by Alexander and to go to Eastern Scottish and to Western SMT.

The remainder of the order is for 75 Leyland Leopards with both Alexander and Duple bodywork.

The variety of vehicle types for SBG seems to reflect the operating companies' freedom to choose vehicles that suit them. For the second year running Eastern Scottish have chosen entirely Seddons — while Central SMT has beet loyal to Leopards and High land loyal to Fords.

Alexander (Fife) has add.e( to its fleet of Ailsas and wonl on the additional chassis i about to start. Western SMT in ordering 50 Fleetlines, i hoping to have these als( delivered quickly to join it. existing Fleetlines for a one man conversion problem.