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[Vamps]

Sign into OOF   then into General Chat and then find the Bus Thread is at the Top of the List, what a great start to the Weekend......I love OOF Me....

[tidla]

Sign into OOF   then into General Chat and then find the Bus Thread is at the Top of the List, what a great start to the Weekend......I love OOF Me....

and i love oof.

why do i have a craving for cat food?

[Dishevelled Den]

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk247/lizziefreeman/BartonCoach6Wheel.jpg


Here's another 'VAL14' but this time with Loughborough-built Yeates 'Europa' dual-door body.
The conservative, though flambuoyant styling was a trait of Yeates' products at this time, and the concern ceased building coach bodywork some time later. Their operation was revamped as bus and coach dealers W S Yeates thereafter.

Barton Transport of Chilwell, Nottingham was noted for operating 'interesting' vehicles in it's substantial fleet, and '966' here is certainly no exception.
Thankfully, this one survives in the preservation movement, and is seen here at the 1993 Outer Circle Rally in Birmingham.

Incidentally, Barton still survives as part of the well-presented Trent-Barton operation.  

That's a splendid picture B.


Given that most single deck units in use now are 4 wheel layouts (at least as far as I can see) was there a particular reason for many of the machines featured here to have utilised 6 wheels?

[Seth]

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk247/lizziefreeman/BartonCoach6Wheel.jpg


Here's another 'VAL14' but this time with Loughborough-built Yeates 'Europa' dual-door body.
The conservative, though flambuoyant styling was a trait of Yeates' products at this time, and the concern ceased building coach bodywork some time later. Their operation was revamped as bus and coach dealers W S Yeates thereafter.

Barton Transport of Chilwell, Nottingham was noted for operating 'interesting' vehicles in it's substantial fleet, and '966' here is certainly no exception.
Thankfully, this one survives in the preservation movement, and is seen here at the 1993 Outer Circle Rally in Birmingham.

Incidentally, Barton still survives as part of the well-presented Trent-Barton operation.  

That's a splendid picture B.


Given that most single deck units in use now are 4 wheel layouts (at least as far as I can see) was there a particular reason for many of the machines featured here to have utilised 6 wheels?

Thanks bud - it was taken with my old Praktica BCA 35mm camera way back in September 1993!
Ms Zoom must also be thanked for her expertise in the 'hosting' field too

The 'Chinese Six' axle arrangement was not new, Leyland had used this concept on their Gnu chassis many years previously.
Bedford successfully adopted it chiefly for the reasons as explained in my earlier ditty in reply no 952.

A 'VAL' was really sure-footed in all road conditions, and you certainly had a comfortable ride aboard one of them!

However, there were soon to be changes to this model - as we'll soon see on here!  

[Dishevelled Den]

Thanks bud - it was taken with my old Praktica BCA 35mm camera way back in September 1993!
Ms Zoom must also be thanked for her expertise in the 'hosting' field too

The 'Chinese Six' axle arrangement was not new, Leyland had used this concept on their Gnu chassis many years previously.
Bedford successfully adopted it chiefly for the reasons as explained in my earlier ditty in reply no 952.

A 'VAL' was really sure-footed in all road conditions, and you certainly had a comfortable ride aboard one of them!

However, there were soon to be changes to this model - as we'll soon see on here!  

Aah that makes sense.

Will look forward to seeing the later models.

[Seth]

Thanks bud - it was taken with my old Praktica BCA 35mm camera way back in September 1993!
Ms Zoom must also be thanked for her expertise in the 'hosting' field too

The 'Chinese Six' axle arrangement was not new, Leyland had used this concept on their Gnu chassis many years previously.
Bedford successfully adopted it chiefly for the reasons as explained in my earlier ditty in reply no 952.

A 'VAL' was really sure-footed in all road conditions, and you certainly had a comfortable ride aboard one of them!

However, there were soon to be changes to this model - as we'll soon see on here!  

Aah that makes sense.

Will look forward to seeing the later models.

We'll probably have to wait a day or two Z, as I'm off to the Farnborough meet bright 'n' early in the morning.
(Reminds me of my time on long-distance coaching work - especially if I could get my hands on an AEC Reliance for the duty!)


Our Lizzie's also making her 'debut' at the bash too ........ 

[Martin_1962]

School coaches

I remember the following apart from the normal ones

6 wheel coach
coach with railway style tables

Anyway is it time a photo site was done of these old coaches?

Anyway anyone know about Swanbrook?

[Lizzie_Zoom]

School coaches

I remember the following apart from the normal ones

6 wheel coach
coach with railway style tables

Anyway is it time a photo site was done of these old coaches?

Anyway anyone know about Swanbrook?

Indeed Martin, and of course the seats themselves on road coaches, in railway coaches, and in airliners have been becoming very similar over the years.

When I think of the rather basic seats in my 1958 Duple compared to those in the big Volvo coaches of today, they have changed dramatically.  In parallel the basic "bench" seats in MK1 rail coaches, let alone the ex-big four company coaches still going in my childhood, has given way to advanced individual airline type seats in the latest sets. 

I wonder how long before the seats will be electrically adjustable as in our cars?!

[Vamps]

Sign into OOF   then into General Chat and then find the Bus Thread is at the Top of the List, what a great start to the Weekend......I love OOF Me....

and i love oof.

why do i have a craving for cat food?

No, Franks Carpets   had the thought that it might just be a North East TV add, so my 'I love OOF me' may not mean anything to members from the rest of the country....

[Lizzie_Zoom]

Byron has supplied a lovely picture of a 1971 Bedford six wheeler, which no doubt he will give further details of 8-) 8-) 8-) 8-) 8-):



All this British type of six wheelers had the two axles at the front.  Do you know why the often seen foreign built coaches we see now how the double axle in the rear?

[Seth]

This is a late example of the final version of Bedford's 'VAL' model - the 'VAL70'.

It's bodied by Plaxtons of Scarborough, and is a 'Panorama Elite II' version bought new by Grindles of Cinderford in the Forest of Dean.
It was later sold on, then abandoned in a field, and subsequently re-acquired/restored (as seen here) by Grindles.
A proud Harry Grindle is at the wheel here, operating a free shuttle service from Lydney to the nearby Dean Forest Railway Rally in October 1991 - another photo taken just around the corner from Sixstring's gaffe!



During the late Autumn of 1967, Vauxhall Motors announced the introduction of the VAL70 chassis, which was designed for the forthcoming decade. It was actually a development of the previous VAL14, though the Leyland 0.400 engine was dropped in favour of Bedford's own 7.6-litre '466' unit, which had also been introduced in the 'KM' truck range.
Thus powered, the '466' was certainly no slouch performance-wise, though I personally reckoned that the Leyland 0.400 was the more durable unit in service.

This was only the first step in even more fundamental changes that would come to the Bedford coach chassis range, and the two-axle 'VAM70' also appeared with the '466' engine at the same time. Whilst both these models continued to sell well, an update of the C&U Regs and the effects of the 1968 Transport Act meant that the writing was on the wall for the novel twin-steer chassis.



The people at Bedford's Dunstable plant were planning a new generation of PSV chassis, with a new underfloor-engined model already undergoing tests!

[Seth]

Oh, and as per Lizzie's enquiry:

All this British type of six wheelers had the two axles at the front.  Do you know why the often seen foreign built coaches we see now how the double axle in the rear?



Several reasons here .......
* Coaches exceeding 12m in length
* Gross weight exceeds that permitted on two-axle models
* Extra braking effort provided by the third axle

Anyone like to add more?

[Martin_1962]

Oh, and as per Lizzie's enquiry:

All this British type of six wheelers had the two axles at the front.  Do you know why the often seen foreign built coaches we see now how the double axle in the rear?

Several reasons here .......
* Coaches exceeding 12m in length
* Gross weight exceeds that permitted on two-axle models
* Extra braking effort provided by the third axle

Anyone like to add more?

Engine at the back rather than at the front

[Seth]

Oh, and as per Lizzie's enquiry:

All this British type of six wheelers had the two axles at the front.  Do you know why the often seen foreign built coaches we see now how the double axle in the rear?

Several reasons here .......
* Coaches exceeding 12m in length
* Gross weight exceeds that permitted on two-axle models
* Extra braking effort provided by the third axle

Anyone like to add more?

Engine at the back rather than at the front

Well done that man!

[Lizzie_Zoom]

Oh, and as per Lizzie's enquiry:

All this British type of six wheelers had the two axles at the front.  Do you know why the often seen foreign built coaches we see now how the double axle in the rear?

Several reasons here .......
* Coaches exceeding 12m in length
* Gross weight exceeds that permitted on two-axle models
* Extra braking effort provided by the third axle

Anyone like to add more?

Engine at the back rather than at the front

Well done that man!

The engine to the rear movement was quite a revolution apparently.  For those interested have a look at this site - and yes I know it is yet another link, but they explain it in far better terms than I would!! :

http://www.bammot.org.uk/transhisa.asp


Sitting here now I cannot think of any rear engined buses before 1959 / 1960ish that I knew as a child, and now I cannot recall any front engine buses still being built!