The Atlantean Comes to Town
Page 36
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AS reported in The Commercial Motor' of June 18, London Transport's Leland Adartteans'are now Coming off the production line. Whilst the Board is reluctant to release details of these new vehicles, which are not expected to enter passenger service for a few weeks, the exclusive photographs on this page show what the new buses will be like.
From the front the new bus is very much the ordinary" Atlantean, flat front and all, which became well known in many parts of the provinces about 1960. The bull's-eye transfer and standard LTB indicator layout are the only identifying features other than livery. The shapely Park Royal dome and shrouded engine compartment add distinction to the rear, however (the lower part of the shroud appears to he portable, compare nearside and offside). The side elevation, though impressive only emphasizes the unbalanced window proportions which have been a "disease" amongst so many provincial buses for so long.
A luggage compartment replaces the front nearside wheel arch seat, and the treatment of the staircase (copied from the Liverpool Atlantean, and probably the best on a London bus since the old LT) is particularly neat. The interior decor and finish appear to be to LTB Routemaster standard, apart from the frameless-skin front dome to the top deck, but fluorescent lighting is employed. Note the odd seat to the rear of the staircase screen in the upper saloon. A single seat is situated opposite the staircase.
The general appearance, and the forward layout of each saloon and the staircase arc, in fact, very much .as shown in the drawings published in The Commercial Motor of July 3. 1964. except for the aforementioned single seat, and the absence of the rearwards-facing seat at the front of the lower saloon.
Derek Moses