Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[splott]

Top photo at Amberley is also a PD2 Titan, though with the 'traditional' exposed radiator.

Must try and visit this place, it looks very interesting

Sethsmate it was a Jowett Lorry

[splott]

I think there car is a Jowett Jupiter, or a Javelin.
If it is a Javelin, I know where there is one rotting away in a garage in the...........wait for it.....................

...................Gurnos.

Yep Peaches, it was a Jupiter

[splott]

Here you are Sethsmate and other BAs...............................
A nice picture of, I think, an Albion in Western Welsh livery. Where was this one taken then?



[/img]

[Marks DTM Calib]

A few shots of the heritage centre buses

[Lizzie_Zoom]

This has been, and still is, a wonderful, highly interesting (for us transport enthusiasts anyway!) thread.  But I note one thing that greatly saddens me, and I hope I am wrong on:

The thread has highlighted the lovely, well designed, and treasured historic buses built by British craftsmen.  But also the thread seems to reveal how all that tradition has now passed away, with all new buses and coaches foriegn built, on chassis's with engines manufactured by the likes of Volvo, bodies by Van Hool

Am I right, or wrong (I hope so!!) ??

[Seth]

Here's one of 48 Albion Nimbuses, (or should it be 'Nimbii'?), that WW received in 1960-1.
No.2 is seen here, being prepared for delivery at Thomas Harrington's Hove premises.

The 1960 deliveries were given fleetnumbers 1-24, (TUH 1 etc) and had Harrington 30-seat bodies. The 1961 buses had outwardly-similar Weymann bodies, and were numbered 25-48 (WKG 25 etc).
All were equipped for one man operation.


[/img]

The Nimbus chassis was built at the Scotstoun plant of Albion Motors, and was a 'lightweight' model that was aimed at lightly-trafficked rural bus operations. Albion's 4-cylinder EN250H engine was effectively two-thirds of a Tiger Cub power-unit, and drove through a single dry-plate clutch via a six-speed constant-mesh gearbox to a BMC rear axle.
Vacuum-assisted hydraulic brakes were standard equipment.

The Nimbus certainly had a good power-to-weight ratio, and (when) in good fettle had a fair turn of speed, especially with that 6th gear!

So then, it should have been ideal for WW's rural services, but all was not a success for this little Scot, with most leading relatively short service lives with the company

Ponder this if you will:
Albion's motto was "Sure as the sunrise" - but was not the Nimbus a raincloud?



No.27 became the subject of an interesting experiment a few years later, but that too is another story ..................

[Marks DTM Calib]

So then Stehsmate or Mr Splott.....can you identify all the buses in my pics....then I might be able to chat with the bus boys with a little more knowedge lol!

[Seth]

The top photo of ARC 666T is IIRC; the prototype of what NCT wanted as it's standard double-decker.

Nottingham was always something of a forthright operator with it's own ideas on what it wanted for it's requirements. Although the bus depicted here is based on a Leyland Atlantean chassis, I'm sure that Leyland were persuaded to fit their turbocharged '690' unit in lieu of the then-standard 0.680 engine.
The body was (IIRC again), an East Lancs job heavily modified to NCT's requirements.
Basically then, it was something of a 'concept' bus.





Next down is an iconic Routemaster.
This one's the 30ft 'RML' version, and I do hope that it's still powered by the splendid 9.6-litre AV590 engine. The brilliant RM concept was the result of collaboration between London Transport, AEC and Park Royal Vehicles. Across the variants, around 2700 Routemasters entered service in the Capital.

Basically, it's of integral construction with an all-aluminium body structure, has a front sub-frame (or 'wheelbarrow'), carrying the engine and coiled independent front suspension; and a rear sub-frame carrying a 'live' coil-sprung rear axle.

Apparently quite an expensive bus to initially purchase, (when compared with the contemporary AEC Regent V), the only other taker for the Routemaster was Northern General, who specified Leyland 0.600 engines and forward-entrance bodies.





The Barton D/D is a Leyland Titan PD1 (or maybe PD2?)
C'mon Mr DTM - tell us about the ingenious Barton operation!
Over to you mate ..............
 

[Marks DTM Calib]

What I always remember of Barton buses is that they used to buy 2 old nails and make one serviceable one out of it!

I know one of the barton family still has a load of buses in Chilwell/Beeston somewhere.

[Marks DTM Calib]

Ow, what about the ones in the depot?

I know one is a tow truck conversion..

[CaptainZok]

Is that Minder's Crapee hiding in the bay on the right?

[Seth]

Ow, what about the ones in the depot?

I know one is a tow truck conversion..

I do believe it's a former WD AEC Militant 6x6 wrecker from the Trent fleet, with a redundant ECW single-deck body grafted on.

And talking of the Trent Motor Traction Company, it was well-known that a secondhand bus from their fleet was always a good buy. I visited their Central Works at Derby once, and witnessed first-hand their excellent engineering standards.
One of my former Engineering Directors was a former Trent man BTW.

[splott]

Here's one of 48 Albion Nimbuses, (or should it be 'Nimbii'?), that WW received in 1960-1.
No.2 is seen here, being prepared for delivery at Thomas Harrington's Hove premises.

The 1960 deliveries were given fleetnumbers 1-24, (TUH 1 etc) and had Harrington 30-seat bodies. The 1961 buses had outwardly-similar Weymann bodies, and were numbered 25-48 (WKG 25 etc).
All were equipped for one man operation.


[/img]

The Nimbus chassis was built at the Scotstoun plant of Albion Motors, and was a 'lightweight' model that was aimed at lightly-trafficked rural bus operations. Albion's 4-cylinder EN250H engine was effectively two-thirds of a Tiger Cub power-unit, and drove through a single dry-plate clutch via a six-speed constant-mesh gearbox to a BMC rear axle.
Vacuum-assisted hydraulic brakes were standard equipment.

The Nimbus certainly had a good power-to-weight ratio, and (when) in good fettle had a fair turn of speed, especially with that 6th gear!

So then, it should have been ideal for WW's rural services, but all was not a success for this little Scot, with most leading relatively short service lives with the company

Ponder this if you will:
Albion's motto was "Sure as the sunrise" - but was not the Nimbus a raincloud?


No.27 became the subject of an interesting experiment a few years later, but that too is another story ..................

Well my Welsh friend............................
So what were the problems with the Nimbus, was it plagued with constant minor problems, or just all round Cr*p   :-? :-?

[Marks DTM Calib]

Is that Minder's Crapee hiding in the bay on the right?

Yes they seem to have a few crapee's in there.

They also have a rather nice Corvette.....and what I think is a Ford Consul (not sure!) with a proper engine in.....a small block super charged NOx powered chevvy!

[splott]

Ow, what about the ones in the depot?

I know one is a tow truck conversion..

Is this the Barton's tow truck that you were talking about, DTM ?   :-? :-? :-?


[/img]