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Wen decker to roll
Page 6
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FODENS are to re-enter the double-decker market in Britain with the Foden/Northern Counties vehicle which has now completed nearly 500,000 miles of testing over the last three years.
The Gardner 6LXB-engined vehicle has been on test with six passenger authorities. The units have been coupled to either the Allison 640 series fully automatic gearbox with the Ferodo retarder or the Voith 851 fully automatic box with an integral retarder.
Fodens says that it has capacity to produce 6000 vehicles a year on single-shift working on its assembly facility, completed in 1974, and it says that on current investment bus production could form a quarter of this within three years — subject to demand. The Foden NC (illustrated in Greater Manchester Transport livery) is being offered with alternative engine and gearbox combinations if specified — but the company says that it will be entering the market with the vehicle "within the next 18 months."
It is thought that the decision to enter production has been taken following the closure of the Leyland plant at Park Royal which produces the Titan bus. This could mean that there will be space in the market for the new vehicle — even if Titan production is shifted to other plants.