Debut at Earls Court for
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36ft double-deckers bY Derek M°ses
• At least two 36ft double-deck buses designed for British operators will be shown at the Commercial Motor Show next month. One of the vehicles will, in fact, be a motorway coach, designed for Ribble Motor Services Ltd. by Eastern Coach Works Ltd. and mounted on a Bristol VRL /LH 18ft 6in.-wheelbase chassis. The body is of aluminium alloy structure, semi-integral with the chassis.
A central entrance is provided with Deans outward opening air-operated glider doors. A manually operated hinged door is also fitted at the front, nearside. The rear of the lower saloon is partitioned off and used as a large luggage compartment, with access by a door at the rear. Ahead of the luggage accommodation is a toilet compartment and adjacent to this, on the offside, is the staircase which is a right-hand spiral type.
Seating is provided for 18 passengers and a courier in the lower saloon, and for 42 passengers in the upper saloon. Parcel racks are fitted above the seats on each deck.
The second 361t double-decker has been designed for Walsall Corporation Transport and is fully described in CM, September 13.
Seats are provided for 85 passengers and Smiths 1500 heating is fitted in each saloon. Both of these double-deckers are built to an overall width of 8ft 2+in., the Bristol being exactly 36ft in overall length and the Walsall Daimler 35ft 8in. overall. The latter bus will be on the Daimler stand.
All the exhibits to be shown by Northern Counties and Park Royal will be doabledeckers. Northern Counties is showing three buses on its own stand—a low-height 30ft front entrance bus on Daimler Fleetline chassis for City of Oxford, and two front entrance, central exit double-deckers, one for Nottingham and one for Wigan, both on Leyland Atlantean chassis.
The Park Royal Group is showing no fewer than seven front entrance, central exit double-deckers, of several basic outlines. A 73-seat Park Royal body for Manchester on Daimler Fleetline chassis will be shown on the Park Royal stand, together with a 79seater to Sheffield design on a Leyland Atlantean chassis. Two more Park Royal bodies to Sheffield outline will be a 79-seater for Plymouth on the Leyland stand and a similar bus for the BLMC in the demonstration park.
A 78-seat Roe body on Daimler Fleetline chassis will appear on the stand of Charles H. Roe and a similar bus on the Daimler stand; while the seventh bus will be a 72-seater for Birmingham shown on the Roe stand, and the only bus on show to retain the basic Park Royal Group outline, although a curved frontal design is employed.