Quest put out electric feelers for S Africa
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A CONTRACT to build the first prototype trolleybus in Britain for many years, has been won by Guest 80 Limited of Chippenhann in Wiltshire, a design and project group.
The bus is being built for Sigma Power Corporation of South Africa and is due to enter service with the Johannesburg Municipality later this year. The double-deck vehicle will have two power sources so that it can operate independently of the overhead electric supply for sections of route.
Electric traction equipment for the bus is by Brown Boveri and Brush Electrical Machines Ltd. The second power source on the dual-mode vehicle will be from a diesel electric generating pack carried on the bus.
Quest 80 is also working on the design of a 17-or 20-m dual mode articulated trolleybus and is designing and building a range of five prototype diesel buses.
This range, which will all be built and marketed by Sigma, consists of a rear-engined double-deck, a high-floor coach, a rear-engined midibus, a 20m side-engined articulated city bus, and a high floor inter-urban bus. The decker will have a rear transverse-mounted MercedesBenz engine and the midi will have a six-cylinder rear-mounted Perkins engine.
The coach will be similar in some respects to Australianand American-type vehicles and will be fitted with underfloor luggage accommodation and a rear engine. The artic bus will have a side engine to give a low floor and the inter-urban bus will be based on the old AEC Q type bus of prewar years with the side engine giving a better entrance layout than the Guy Victory presently used.
The range is designed to utilise either Mercedes-Benz or Perkins engines manufactured in South Africa but could be available for export with other engines.