omplete Duple Range on Show
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DEREK MOSES
'112ST opportunity to see the cornlete range of 1966 Duple group nd coach bodies is at the biennial lion at the group's Hendon works.
closes tonight. Visitors to the Baker exhibition last week will had a preview of the Duple coach ; offered for 1966 on Bedford s, which are represented again at ■ uple exhibition. Also to be seen he 45-seat Empress and 52-seat ter bodies for the Ford R192 and chassis respectively. Construction ill luxury coach bodies for the r p.s.v. chassis is concentrated at on, but a version of this lighter built for the Ford R192 and BedJAM chassis only. is the Blackpool45-seat Viscount.
Viscount can easily be disshed from Hendon bodies by the absence of the sloping pillar above the rear wheel-arch, and in this respect is very similar in appearance to the Blackpool-built Duple Commander body designed for heavy-duty underfloorand rear-engined chassis, except that the Commander's wide windows are fixed and individual forced ventilation is standard on this model. A Ford RI92 chassis forms the basis of the Viscount at the Duple Show, whilst two Commanders are to be seen—both 36 ft. models, one on a Leyland Leopard hassis with roof quarter glasses and skirt baggage lockers Is optional extras. and the other on an AEC Reliance 590.
All the Duple group luxury bodies now have a standardized frontal and rear appearance, a new oval grille of attractive appearance being employed at the front. The moulding encasing this grille, together with front and rear bumpers and side mouldings, are executed in stainless steel as standard on all models. Generally speaking, the interior finish is much the same as employed on 1965 Duple group coaches, except that the plastics finish around the windows and dash is now in a rosewood shade. The vital statistics of all the Duple group full luxury bodies were given in the 1965 Passenger Vehicle Number of this journal on October l.
The latest service bus and service coach design for Bedford VAM and VAL or Ford R192 and R226 chassis is also on view, both bus and coach versions displayed being on Bedford VAM chassis. Both seat 45 passengers, and were built at the group's Loughborough factory of Willowbrook Ltd. in common with all bus and service coach bodies produced by the group. Standard Duple
group express coach seats with tubular frames are fitted to the service coach body; both vehicles are distinguished by very attractive lines and standard BET-style windscreens, an attractive ornamental flash in stainless steel being employed on the service coach.
Other interesting exhibits from the Willowbrook factory, which undoubtedly builds the widest range of bodies in the group, include a 41-seat service coach on Leyland Leopard chassis for Halifax Corporation, and a 49-seat, dual-purpose coach on AEC Reliance chassis for London Transport (described elsewhere in this issue) both of which are fitted with Duple GA.220 luxury seats.
Undoubtedly one of the most interesting exhibits at the show, however, is the prototype inter-city coach for the city of Edmonton, Alberta. A total of 28 vehicles is involved to date, incorporating 44-seat Willowbrook bodies on Daimler Roadliner rear-engined chassis. A special heating and ventilating system has been developed for these buses by Clayton Dewandre Ltd. to cope with the extremes of heat and cold encountered in Alberta. The chassis is also nonstandard, as the Cummins V6 engine is coupled to a fully automatic Allison MT4l transmission system, which includes a torque converter and built-in hydraulic retarder. Three similar buses arc on order for the city of Calgary.