Torque 26.indd

No.26 - WINTER 2004

The Magazine of the Leyland Society www.leylandsociety.co.uk

1884

VEHICLE PRODUCTION

AT LEYLAND

2004

Hon.President

Hon.Vice Presidents

Acting Chairman, B.C.V.M. Liaison and Compiling Editor

Secretary and

Leyland Torque Editor

Membership Secretary

Treasurer

Vehicle registrar

To be appointed

Gordon Baron, 44 Rhoslan Park,

76 Conwy Road, Colwyn Bay, LL29 7HR

John D. Bishop, 10 Betley Hall Gardens,

Betley, Nr. Crewe, Cheshire, CW3 9BB

Neil D. Steele, 18 Kingfisher Crescent,

Cheadle, Staffordshire,. ST10 1RZ

Ron Phillips, 16 Victoria Avenue,

Grappenhall, Warrington WA4 2PD

Mike A. Sutcliffe MBE , “Valley Forge”,

213 Castle Hill Road, Totternhoe,

Dunstable, Beds. LU6 2DA

David J. Moores, 10 Lady Gate,

Diseworth, Derby, DE74 2QF

Keith Watson, “Leyland”, 10 Jeffery Close,

Rugeley, Staffs. WS15 2NQ

David E. Berry, 5 Spring Hill Close,

Westlea, Swindon, Wilts, SN5 7BG

To be appointed Web Master

Committee Members David L. Bishop, “Sunnyside”, Whitchurch

Road, Aston, Nantwich, CW5 8DB

Harold Peers, 3 Long Meadow, Bradford,

West Yorkshire, BD2 1LA.

MEMBERSHIP

Subscription levels are £20 per annum (family £23), £24 for EEC members, £28 (in Sterling) for membership outside the EEC. Anyone joining after 1st April and before 31st July will have their membership carried over to the next 31st July, i.e. up to 16 months. This is good value for money and new members are welcomed. The new application forms are available from David J. Moores, Membership

Secretary - address above.

The Leyland Society Ltd., a company limited by guarantee, incorporated in England No.4653772.

Registered Office: Valley Forge, 213 Castle Hill Road, Totternhoe, Dunstable, Beds., LU6 2DA.

www.leylandsociety.co.uk

BACK NUMBERS

LEYLAND TORQUE 1-4

Copies available of No.1 (£4.50), No.2 (£10),

No.3 (12.50) and No.4 (£13.75)


These issues all available at £5 each

LEYLAND SOCIETY JOURNAL

Issues 1-6 all available at £6.00 each

BINDERS

For LEYLAND TORQUE

Holding 8 copies £7 (£13.50 for 2)

For SOCIETY JOURNAL

Holding 8 copies £8

(Limited supply only)

All prices include postage & packing.

Available from Mike Sutcliffe, Valley Forge

213 Castle Hill Rd.,Totternhoe, Dunstable,

Beds.LU6 2DA

Cheques payable to “The Leyland Society”

SOCIETY SALES

Leyland Society Lapel Badges

Oval (38mm long) in silver & blue £4 each

1st Rally Memento - Lapel badge

Oval Leyland Radiator badge (1907-13)

£5.50 each

2nd Rally Memento - ‘Employees’ badge

Red, circular £4.50 each

Black, circular £5 each

3rd Rally Memento - Leyland Shield

Silver & blue £5 each

Leyland “Panther” Badge £5 each

Windscreen Stickers (Society logo)

Large (5 ins long).£3.50 each

Medium (2.5 ins long) £2.50 each

Small (1.5 ins long) £1.50 each

BONE CHINA MUGS

£5 each (£19 for 4)

FOR NEW ITEMS

See announcement on page 47

Available from Keith Watson, Leyland,

10 Jefferey Close, Rugeley,

Staffs, WS15 2NQ

ARCHIVE PHOTOGRAPHS

New lists of photographs which are available for sale in post-card size (A6) are now ready, and include AEC and Leyland buses and lorries. The first lists of both AEC buses and Leyland buses and lorries, already distributed to existing customers are also still current. If you are interested, send a self addressed envelope in A5 or 22cm x 11cm size to the address below, and you will receive the lists, details of prices etc.

Archive Photo Service,

B.C.V.M.

King Street

Leyland

Preston PR25 2LE

Issue No.26 Winter 2004

Published four times per year by the Leyland Society Ltd.

Editor: Mike A. Sutcliffe, MBE

Valley Forge, 213 Castle Hill Road, Totternhoe, Dunstable, Beds LU6 2DA

Compiling Editor: Ron Phillips

Email: [email protected]

EDITORIAL

How sad it was to hear the news last week (as I write this) of the death of Fred

Dibnah, a man in the preservation world with such character and who had done so much to bring publicity and creditability to the preservation movement, particularly relating to steam powered vehicles. Leyland Motors produced steam wagons for over one third of their entire history, a fact which is frequently overlooked, and there are only a few surviving examples. This issue of Leyland Torque includes some important updates relating to the preservation of Leyland steam wagons in Australia and I also understand that Ken Frost of Norwich has now sold his Leyland F2 steam wagon which was painted in the livery of H. Viney & Co., Preston – another very important company associated with the history of Leyland Motors.

You will see a new section in this issue headed “Errors and Omissions” (p.2)

We have to confess that errors do occasionally creep into our magazines however hard we try to get things absolutely right, and this is an attempt to put matters straight so as to prevent the inaccurate written word becoming fact in the future. We have had a good response to a number of articles recently and in particular the article on Parry

Thomas and the Leyland petrol-electric vehicles. It is hoped to summarise the fi ndings and include these in the next issue of Leyland Torque.

As you will be aware the Leyland Society has its own WebSite but unfortunately this has not been updated for some time and our WebMaster, Chris Woodall, is now unable to continue to update the WebSite. We are therefore looking for someone who can help us out with this, not an onerous task, but requiring a some knowledge of computer technology. If you feel that you are able to help, which means updating the WebSite periodically, would you please contact me as soon as possible.

Mike Sutcliffe, Editor

CONTENTS

1 Editorial

4 Leyland History - 8

Steamers

15 Twin steer Leylands

18 Cover Picture Story

37 Letters to the

Editor

46 Sales & Wants

24 Moving house by

Leyland

26 Odd Bodies !

48 Tailpiece - a PD1

2 LEYLAND TORQUE No. 26 Winter 2004

With this edition of Torque you will fi nd a questionnaire asking for help with a proposed Gathering at Leyland in July 2005. To make it clear what is expected of people who are willing to put themselves forward to act as marshals the following applies.

Basically Marshals need to:

Be 18 years of age or over.

Be physically capable of walking at least a couple of miles.

Have a common sense approach to overseeing the movement of large vehicles and dealing with the General Public.

Be prepared to attend a briefi ng session of just a few minutes duration prior to the commencement of their shift.

The Leyland Society will:

Provide High Visibility waist coats if you don’t have your own.

Provide vouchers towards refreshments.

Subject to availability, provide car parking space in the rally area.

We have held a number of very succesful events, but Health & Safety Regulations and risk assessment forecasts required by Insurers mean that we must have a named team of Marshalls.

Please read the inserted letter carefully and respond as requested. We must say that if we get the required number of volunteers, such volunteers will only be needed to be “on duty” for a few hours (not the whole event).

N.D.Steele

M.A.Sutcliffe

Each time we produce Leyland Torque, the Journal, or a Fleet Book, some errors creep in despite our best endeavours for absolute accuracy and copious proof reading. When we receive the printed booklets fresh from the press it is very disappointing to see things like the slipping of a heading as on page 28 of Torque No.25, or a fraction that has suddenly turned itself into a degrees sign! These are caused caused by us writing the material on our computers in ‘Word’, assembling the page format in ‘Pagemaker’, and then transferring it to the printer who uses another system! Most of the time you are all too polite to mention it, but there are other errors that need to be put right so that the printed word does not become fact in the future. We will therefore print corrections to errors in this special section in future magazines.

Torque No.25 (centre-spread picture). Ansell’s Brewery - the vehicle KOG 945, dating from about 1950, just visible on the right of the picture is actually a Morris-Commercial and not a Thornycroft.

Torque No.24, page 38. The Karachi PD3/3 chassis we quoted as 603408-11 are incorrect. They should be

603412-15. The batch had PD3 line numbers 1259-62/69-72, 1292-95.

Journal No.6, page 41. John Bennett points out that the fi rst highbridge vehicles operated by Silcox were

London Transport STLs on loan, followed by two new Davies bodied Bristol K5G, LDE 949/50 of 1949, and not the Bristols with ex Birmingham Leyland trolleybus bodies by MCCW.

Southport Book, page 48. 29-48, AFY 957-76, were of course Titan TD3 (not TD4), as mentioned in the text.

Winter 2004 LEYLAND TORQUE No. 26 3

Leyland Octopus

Commercial Vehicles Archive Series by Graham Edge (Price £9.50 plus £1 p&p from Gingerfold

Publications, 8 Tothill Road, Swaffham Prior, Cambridge CB5 0JX.)

This is an excellent booklet similar in size to our Fleet Series books and with 72 pages. There are fi ve main chapters describing the development of the Leyland Octopus from its beginning in the mid 1930s until its replacement in 1981 by the Leyland T45. There are two appendices which give the basic details of each model and also information on the engines fi tted throughout production of the Octopus. This is a high quality production with lots of photographs and I am pleased to say that the earlier period in the ‘30s is better covered than in the previous Beaver book. It would, however, have been nice to know the model designations in the captions of the photographs of the pre-war Octopus models in order that models could be identifi ed, for instance on page 14 the vehicles clearly have set back front axles similar to the immediate post-war range – which models were these and how did they differ from the other TEW models? Having said that it is a really excellent book and a must for any serious Leyland enthusiast.

Super Prestige – Cambridge 1

By Paul Carter (No. 7 in the Super Prestige Collection from Venture Publications. Price £17.95 from MDS Book Sales)

What a good book this is and how refreshing to see such a detailed history of bus operations in one particular area. The book concentrates on the development of the Ortona Motor Co. in and around Cambridge – an early Leyland operator and one of the fl eets that went in to form the Eastern

Counties Omnibus Company. Brief histories of the independent operators and of course Premier of Cambridge are also included, together with a host of really good photographs – many of these were taken by W. Noel Jackson in the 1920s on his regular visits to Cambridge. There are one or two inaccuracies in the captions – on page 49 the Leyland Lioness charabanc depicted was clearly not ER 7114 and in fact should have been described as an All-Weather coach, not a charabanc (it had a central gangway, no door at the end of each row of seats, a fi xed cantrail and window pillars).

The picture on page 55 is of one of the Star Flyer VB3 saloons and not a Dennis GL as suggested.

When carrying out reviews it is always diffi cult to pass over such errors but these do not detract from the book as a whole – it is excellently produced and well worth the money – it would be nice to see more books of this kind covering other areas of the country.

Fifty Years of South Midland 1921 to 1970

By David Flitton, Published by Paul Lacey (Price £11.00 (including p&p) from Paul Lacey, 17

Sparrow Close Woosehill, Wokingham, Berks, RG41 3HT.)

This is another well presented, interesting and readable book in Paul’s series of books relating to companies associated with the Thames Valley Traction Co. Ltd. It covers the whole period of South Midland from its independent days, its association with the Red & White Group and, after nationalisation of Red & White, its transfer to Thames Valley with additional vehicles transferred from United Counties Omnibus Co. with the Oxford to London route. There are plenty of “new” and very interesting photographs including many pre-war Leyland coaches with unusual bodies, but the photographic reproduction is poor. Having said that, books like this are only ever written once and it is a great asset to the serious enthusiast and, with 192 pages, it is well worth the cover price.

Mike Sutcliffe continues the story - Part VIII

THE LAST OIL FIRED STEAM WAGONS

The third “four ton lurry” takes part in the 1899 Liverpool Self Propelled Traffi c Association

Trials as entry No.5. (Mike Sutcliffe collection)

The Liverpool Self Propelled Traffi c Association Trials

These trials were run by the Automobile Club of Great Britain in August 1899 and were the second Liverpool Trials. A new Leyland steam wagon was built to take part in the trials (entry no.5), being another “4 ton lurry.” It was very similar to the

1898 Trials wagon, but differed in that it had a platform body and the latest boltedon wheel hubs rather than the cart type. The chain guards also differed. It is easy, therefore, to distinguish this wagon from the previous year’s example, despite the fact that the Leyland carried the no.5 in both events.

Eleven entries were received for the trials, but for one cause or another only six machines faced the judges, these being from the Lancashire Steam Motor Company,

T. Coulthard & Co., Bayleys Ltd. from London, the Clarkson & Capel Steam Car

Syndicate of London, and two wagons from the Steam Carriage & Waggon Co. from

Chiswick (Thornycroft). All were in Class B, to carry a minimum load of three and a half tons with the exception of the Coulthard (Class A, minimum 2 tons) and one of the Thornycrofts (Class D, over six and a half tons). The fi ve entries that did not make it were from the Automobile Association Ltd., London; the Thornton Motor Co.

Ltd., Manchester; Simpson & Bodman, Manchester; C.&A.Musker, Liverpool and the Graham Equipment Co., Boston, Mass USA. There were no French entries and it was considered that “the machines at the trials conclusively proved that, in connection with vehicles for the conveyance of goods on ordinary roads, France can

Autumn 2004 LEYLAND TORQUE No. 26 5

On the left is the handsome wagon by Bayleys, London, entered in the 1899 Liverpool trials,

On the right is the Liverpool Corporation 4 ton tip-wagon, which was an exhibit at the trials.

teach us absolutely nothing, despite the start her engineers have enjoyed.” It was felt that progress with the development of the motor vehicle in Great Britain had been severely hampered by the “Red Flag Act”, repealed in 1896, but now technology in this country had more than caught up! The Leyland succeeded in winning the silver medal, the highest award in the trials and this was another major achievement for the

Lancashire Steam Motor Co.

Although it did not take part in the trials, the Liverpool Corporation 4 ton steam tipper wagon was also present and after the trials the competitors took their wagons to Wavertree, to be exhibited at the Lancashire Agricultural Society show. It is presumably the 1899 Trials Leyland wagon that was then sold to Carr & Co. Ltd., millers at Maryport, now fi tted with low hinged sides to the platform body as shown in the accompanying photograph (below). This photograph was also shown in the

Society Journal No.6 in Graham Edge’s article on the transportation of fl our, but it is appropriate to show it again here. It seems that, to date, Theodore Carr had taken a large proportion of the production coming from the small factory at Leyland.

The successful 1899 Trials Leyland wagon, now in the service of Carr & Co., Maryport, and with hinged sided body. (BCVMA)


The front cover of what was probably the first Lancashire

Steam Motor Co. sales brochure lists seven vehicles and probably dates from August 1899. (It was green in colour).

Eight silver medals are proudly shown in the sales brochure.

Where are all these today ?

The list of medals awarded from the 1899 brochure.

(All M.A.Sutcliffe collection)

Winter 2004 LEYLAND TORQUE No. 26 7

In August 1899 this oil fi red van was shipped to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka); note the cone shape to the top of the boiler and fully elliptic front springs. (BCVMA)

Leyland’s fi nal oil fi red steam wagons

August 1899 saw the delivery of what was probably the eighth vehicle, a van supplied to the Royal Mail, Ceylon. This was a neat little machine, with its vertical boiler mounted at the front, with small front wheels and large hind (rear) wheels. In common with all the oil-fi red wagons it carried a small cylindrical fuel tank at the back and it is this, together with the absence of the ash pan at the base of boiler, that enables one to distinguish the oil-fi red wagons from the later coke-fi red wagons.

It has been claimed that there were three of these mail vans built for Ceylon; this is not correct, but there were two more wagons built for Ceylon which we will see later. (Note: In all of the various reports on the early history of Leyland, in particular those published by the Company itself, there are a great number of errors, especially regarding dates of build, and it is hoped to put the record straight, or as straight as is possible, in this series being written over 100 years after the events described.)

Captain Wood of Sudborne Hill, Leiston, Suffolk, purchased a Leyland wagon around 1900 for use on his estate, for shooting parties and estate maintenance. It had a similar chassis to the Dundee bus, though smaller, and carried a hinged low-sided body. It had almost equal sized wheels and was possibly the ninth wagon built at the

Lancashire Steam Motor Company. Coming from Leiston, it is very surprising that the Captain did not buy a Garrett, and the sight of a Leyland may have caused some alarm at the Garrett Works – who knows?


Captain Wood, Sudborne Hall, Leiston used this Leyland on his estate. The driver shown is

Mr. A. Reeves of East Wood House, Leiston. (Mike Sutcliffe collection)

Three more oil-fi red wagons are known to have been built, but these were of a later design and were probably built in 1901. A picture shows a hinged-sided wagon, unfortunately not sign-written, but clearly showing the under-type engine of a similar design to the coke-fi red Class B Leyland Steam wagons (more about these in a later episode). Two oil-fi red wagons supplied to the Ceylon Rapid Transit Company, also with hinged-sides, were photographed in the company of a coke-fi red wagon being the second Leyland steam wagon for Fox Bros & Co. Ltd. of Wellington. The Fox

Bros wagon was delivered in October 1901, so this dates the two for Ceylon which also had the later type of engine.

These later type oil-fi red steam wagons were probaly the last built by the

Lancashire Steam Motor Co. as a new coke-fi red boiler had been designed by Henry

Spurrier Jnr. and this will be described later. The change from paraffi n to coke as a fuel could be considered as having the same importance as the change from petrol to diesel some thirty odd years later. Coke was a much cheaper fuel than paraffi n and possibly gave a greater heat output.

An unidentifi ed oil-fi red wagon of 1900-1901. It carries the larger undertype engine usually associated with the Class B coke-fi red wagon. Note the rear mounted oil tank. (BCVMA)


Probably the last oil-fi red wagons were these two for the Ceylon Rapid Transit Company, and which were shipped around October 1901. They are seen in the company of the second Fox Bros &

Co., Wellington, Class B coke-fi red wagon (left) which has a deeper boiler and fi re-box door. The oil-fi red machines have cone shaped boiler tops and also two-beam front axles. (BCVMA)

The oil-fi red steam bus back at Leyland and photographed just over the railway bridge in

Leyland. (BCVMA)

)



LEYLAND STEAM WAGONS PRESERVED DOWN UNDER

Adam Auditori in Echuca, Victoria, Australia is doing some splendid work recovering and restoring the remains of several Leyland steam wagons. By now he must have the remains of about three, all model F2 wagons shipped out in Australia in the period 1920 to 1925. They include the remains of two Leyland steamers which had been owned by Graham Clegg for a very long time and in fact your Editor tried to buy these about 20 years ago with a view to bringing them back for restoration.

The fi rst is a 5 ton tip wagon, the chassis and thimble tube boiler being found on the

Central New South Wales Coast, with a ship’s winch mounted on the frame. The engine was found in good condition on a workshop fl oor in Taree. The second engine was found in Bakusmarsh, and another boiler, this time of the water tube type, has maker’s no. F3/189 stamped on the perch bracket.

Adam is currently restoring a Leyland F2 8 ton steam wagon which is well on its way to completion. It could well be one of the last two sold by the Australian

Depot of Leyland Motors, as two model F2/6 wagons were sold for operation in Victoria in July 1930, having been unused and in stock for over 5 years. It is virtually identical to what is believed to be another 8 ton (13ft 6in wheelbase) Leyland steam wagon owned by Ron Reaney who lives relatively close to Adam Auditori, and both wagons have hub odometers (mileometers). Both wagons were found in Victoria and were converterd to farm trailers in exactly the same way; they must have come from the same source, so could they be the two F2/6 wagons ? Ron’s chassis is missing the brakes, and an engine was found for it only 30 miles away from where Graham

Clegg lives ! It was originally fi tted to a tip wagon as it has the long crankshaft and may have originally been from the chassis that he has. It is interesting that all of the road springs of all of these wagons are marked “J. Brown, Sheffi eld, 1923”, possibly all from the last sanction of wagons built by Leyland Motors Ltd.? The Museum of

Victoria also has two Leyland steam wagon engines, one from a tip wagon, the other missing its crankcase. We wish Adam and Ron well with their restoration projects.

Isis Shire Council, Queensland, operated this short wheel base F2 with steel tipping body.

12

Michael Plunkett has come across two photographs of lowbridge Leyland TD1

Titans with open tops, one of which is reproduced below. The vehicles concerned ran for East Yorkshire Motor Services and as a trio are possibly unique.

Three vehicles were converted from a batch of ten TD1s delivered in early

1929 with Leyland “Titan” bodywork. These were East Yorkshire Nos.130-139, registered KH 7944-53 and intended to be chassis numbers 70510-19 inclusive. However, as is told in our Fleet Series book “The Leyland Buses of Southport Corporation”, two vehicles in build for East Yorkshire were diverted by Leyland to Southport and two later chassis were supplied to complete the order for ten. Hence East Yorkshire

Nos. 135-136 were mounted on chassis 70701-2, instead of chassis 70515-6 which became Southport Corporation Nos.10-11. Comparison of the photograph seen on the opposite page with that on page 8 of the Fleet Series book shows the East Yorkshire and Southport vehicles to be identical in every detail bar the position of the nearside side lamp. There was also an internal difference: the East Yorkshire vehicles were

48 seaters (24 over 24) whilst Southport specifi ed 27 seats on the upper deck. Look at the picture opposite and it can be seen that the top deck has just six widely spaced benches for four passengers.

All ten were taken out of service in 1938, by which time 132/3/7-9 had been fi tted with 27 seats upstairs. Seven were sold, mainly for scrap, but 132/3/9 survived and were converted to open top and saw another two years service with East Yorkshire. They must have fi tted new bench seats to the top deck, either wooden slatted or “Wypedri” leather cloth. Side rails were fi tted to accord with the Construction &

Use Regulations, which laid down a minimum height from seat to rail. This can be seen on the picture of No.133, the better of the two pictures which are of poor quality and appear to have been taken in a sea mist. All three open-toppers were withdrawn in

1940, but were not disposed of until 1945. Together with further East Yorkshire TD1s

Nos.150-55, they were sold via a London dealer for further use in Holland. 132/3/9 became nos. 10-12 in the fl eet of the G.A.B.M. (Maastricht), where they were given registrations P 36179/80, 36585.

A rather misty view of

East Yorkshire No.133 in open top form, but now enhanced for printing in this magazine. The high railings to the upper deck can be clearly seen; this feature was also to be found on the Crosville

TD5s delivered new in

1938.

(M.Plunkett collection)


It is curious that 1938 was also the year when Southport Corporation took their two open-backed Titans off the road (they were also scrapped) and when the only other Leyland open-toppers with lowbridge bodies were constructed for Crosville

Motor Services. These were TD5s numbered M71-76 ( CFM 373-78 ), chassis numbers

17401-6, and which had Eastern Coach Works convertible open-top bodywork.

East Yorkshire No. 131 (KH 7949) when new. The lettering applied ahead of the rear wheelarch is to be seen on the next page. This picture was taken at the top of Sandy Lane, Leyland, in January

1929. (BCVMA)

LEYLAND FLEET SERIES: THIRD TITLE

The Leyland Buses of

Southport Corporation

by Ron Phillips now available to members from

Victoria Phillips, 16 Victoria Avenue, Grappenhall, Warrington WA4 2PD

Price £6-50, inc. P&P, cheques payable to ‘The Leyland Society Ltd.’

48pp, art paper, over 40 illustrations, laminated full colour cover.

(Please quote membership number when ordering)

Also still available at £6 (members’ price only) is the fi rst Fleet Series title

The Leyland Buses of Wigan Corporation


The East Yorkshire TD1 seen on the previous page carries some very interesting lettering. From the inception of early bus services until the enactment of the Road

Traffi c Act of 1930, local authorities in Britain had powers to licence buses running into their area. Such powers were used to protect existing tramways from competition or to obtain revenue to repair roads damaged by solid tyres. Some authorities laid down very stringent regulations, whilst others were just content to collect a fee for each vehicle registered.

The buses generally carried a plate, usually screwed to the rear panels, which displayed the licence number and name or insignia of the issuing authority. The plates could be removed and transferred to another vehicle as and when necessary. In the case of large bus companies, the number of local plates would refl ect the number of buses at the local garage, and perhaps be extended to the vehicles at a depot in an adjacent town which were likely to work into the area. One documented example of excessive zeal can be found at Widnes, in Lancashire. Ribble applied for permission to run buses on a Sundays only service from Wigan to Widnes, which would clearly be operated by one bus out of Wigan depot. The Widnes Bus Engineer wrote to the

Ribble headquarters, pointing out that buses on the proposed service would need a local licence costing fi ve shillings. Ribble replied by sending a fl eet list of almost 500 vehicles, (mainly Leylands !), and the Widnes Engineer wrote a memo to his Town

Clerk asking what he should do. The reply came back: ‘Take the money !’

The photograph below, which is an enlarged portion from the picture on the previous page, shows an unusual form of licensing numbering applied by paint or transfer at the Leyland Works on the instructions of the customer, and it is presumed that at the time all East Yorkshire buses were so marked. It seems that the whole fl eet was licenced to operate inside the city of Kingston on Hull and the adjacent local authority of Hessle. This would be similar to the practice of Ribble as described above, although less excessive as East Yorkshire Motor Services had a smaller area of operation and its buses were more likely to run into the largest local city. Can any reader tell us more ?

Winter 2004 LEYLAND TORQUE No. 26 15 by NEIL MITCHELL

Following on from Neil Steele’s informative article on the Leyland Steer

(Torque No.24, page 22), I wondered if readers knew that a small number of Leyland twin-steers were again built, for a short period of time, in the mid-eighties.

The original Steers had found favour with hauliers who (1) wanted a vehicle that could handle loads that fell between the carrying capacities of a four-wheeler and the conventional six-wheeler, or (2) that was stable enough, and had suffi cient power, to cope with drawbar operation, or (3) who were replacing a heavy four-wheeler, but had insuffi cient tonnage on their “A” or “B” licence to upgrade to a double-drive or a trailing-axle six-wheeler.

By the late fi fties, numerous companies were offering a specialist service in third axle conversions, usually on vehicles from the lighter and cheaper end of the commercial vehicle market. These conversions, when fi tted with a trailing axle, would match a heavier built twin-steer on unladen weight and cost. They could also be operated legally at a higher Gross Vehicle Weight (20 tons) giving the opportunity to increase payload, and they could be fi tted with a maximum length body. All these factors contributed to falling sales fi gures and heralded the demise of the twin-steer, and by 1960 a decision had been made by Leyland to cease manufacturing them.

By the eighties, more emphasis was being placed by the authorities on axle weights, and particularly on front axle overloads. Transport companies engaged in multi-drop work, where empties replaced heavier goods at the rear of the platform body, or who used refrigerator vans, with heavy freezing equipment mounted over the cab, were experiencing problems. In response to their requests, after a gap of nearly twenty years, Leyland agreed to build a small number of twin-steers.

They were built on Freighter chassis with a GVW of 21000kg, although some were adapted to haul close-coupled trailers. They were fi tted with smaller wheels which like twin-steers built in the previous decade by some of Leyland’s competitors for the custom of the brewery and soft-drinks industry, would assist kerbside loading and unloading. Whether the complete build was undertaken at Leyland, or whether the third axle was fi tted by one of the companies who specialised in this work, I am unable to say. (Perhaps one of our readers could supply this information ?) After completion they were individually Type Approved as chassis/cabs at Kirkham Goods

Vehicle Testing Station (Lancashire), and they were then delivered to vehicle bodybuilders for completion and painting in well known liveries that included Bird’s

Eye-Walls and Joseph Tetley.

This small order of vehicles did not revive the Steer name, and I am unaware of any more being built. However, like their predecessors, they fi lled a place in the market, albeit for a short space of time that was created by changes in legislation.

(Overleaf is a selection of photographs of twin-steer Leylands. Does any reader have any experience of driving any of these rather special trucks ?)

16 LEYLAND TORQUE No. 26

LEYLAND TWIN-STEER LORRIES

Winter 2004

Steers waiting for a ride on a Steer ?? Here we see a pre-war Steer with Thomas Sinclair of Reston, registered SH 5465, at a cattle market. The Leyland is equipped with bodywork suitable for livestock transport and has a drawbar trailer attached. (BCVMA)

A fi ne industrial scene.

This post-war Leyland

Steer is owned by the

Standard Pulverised

F u e l C o m p a n y o f

Barnsley, in the heart of the Yorkshire coal fi eld, and is seen delivering its load of powdered fuel to steel furnaces. The Steer chassis allows for a good weight distribution of the three heavy hoppers.

Note the belt driven power take-off behind the cab.

(BCVMA)

Winter 2004 LEYLAND TORQUE No. 26

LEYLAND TWIN-STEER LORRIES

17

Above: Illustrating once more the suitability of the Steer chassis for hauling a drawbar trailer.

Here the vehicle is EYG 422 of Press, Bly & Davey, seen loaded with sacks of feedstuff from a mill. Note the bar at the front used to manoevre the trailer.

Below: The last Leyland lorry type built to twin-steer confi guration ? This Leyland Freighter 16-

17 equipped with an extra steering axle inspired the preceding article. (BCVMA)

18 LEYLAND TORQUE No. 26 Winter 2004 by THE COMPILING EDITOR

We always try to choose eye-catching and well balanced photographs for the cover of this magazine. The pictures are usually chosen at random, and are rarely related to the articles inside. In general, but not quite always, if there is a bus on the front, then there is a lorry on the back, or vice-versa. The design of the cover means that the front picture is almost square, and the picture on the back is in “portrait” (or vertical) format. Pictures of the latter type are less common, and often we use part of a negative to get the right size. The picture below is a “reject” for the front cover.

It has many interesting aspects apart from the main subject of a Jersey Motor Transport bus being prepared for service on a summer morning in 1931. To reduce it to a square format would have cut out too much of interest in the background. So we are showing it here for its own sake, and there is a bonus in the form of a little story that goes with it.

When this picture was taken, the Leyland Lion PLSC was one of the most modern buses in the

JMT fl eet. Bus no.20 and two others are being prepared to enter service at the Snow Hill bus

(BCVMA)

Not all the pictures in the Leyland collection were taken by professionals. Some are on 620 size celluloid negatives and were taken by employees on holiday, or others who felt that the Company might like to use their pictures of buses or lorries in some way. The picture above is one of a series of four depicting a Titan TD1 in Buckinghamshire, a solid-tyred Leyland lorry at Waltham Cross, an early Leyland Bull lorry in a timber yard and the scene in Jersey. They are still kept in their original envelopes and the JMT one, which has a fault on the negative, has an inscription giving the photo department the option of destroying it if it was felt it was not good enough to keep.Of course, each one has a caption written by the anonymous photographer. We are very glad that the picture shown was not thrown out and that it can be viewed by us over seventy years later.


Another picture which is the wrong dimension is seen below...a Leyland TD2 lorry. This vehicle on chassis no.1642 was the fi rst of a batch of ten with Bromilow

& Edwards bodywork in the fl eet of Bolton Corporation ( WH 4211-4220 , Nos.62-71).

New in December 1932, it was sold to A. Schofi eld, Marsden in September 1940 and was converted into the lorry depicted. It ran in service longer as a lorry than a bus and eventually passed into the British Road Services fl eet at Milnsbridge in 1951.

The photograph was taken in the post war period, by which time it had been fi tted with an array of front lamps.

Leyland TD2 WH 4211 as No.32 in the fl eet of A. Schofi eld, Marsden, looks somewhat battle-weary in this 1947 photograph. Would any reader know who built the cab on this Leyland ? The lowloading PSV chassis can clearly be seen. (BCVMA)

Cover Pictures Torque no.25

Lack of space in the last edition prevented us from giving details of the cover pictures used. On the front we featured AAD 196 , a Leyland Hippo TSW9 owned by

S. Healing & Sons Ltd. of Tewksbury and seen loading at the local mill which still stands alongside the River Severn. This lorry is mounted on balloon tyres which were widely favoured by Scammell and allow single rather than double driving wheels.

On the rear were two Leyland Comet cement mixers owned by Keirby & Perry from Blackpool: on the left is 982 CTB and on the right 807 CTD . They are seen taking on a load of ready-mix in September 1957. The mixers are not of the type used today which take their power from the vehicle engine via a special drive, but these have auxiliary engines mounted behind the cab.

Cover Pictures, this edition

Our front cover shows a handsome Roe bodied Leyland Titan PD3/5 of Oldham

Corporation, No.109 ( 109 HBU ), new in 1964. It is from a batch of ten buses which were the last conventional double deckers and the only such with front entrances in the town’s fl eet. The rear cover shows a prototype Leyland tilt-cab mounted on a short wheelbase Hippo chassis, and is one of a series of pictures taken in May 1964 to show the new cab from all angles.


Edited by Wilf Dodds. All correspondence to the Editor, Mike Sutcliffe.

89. Body construction to Leyland design (Torque Nos.18-25)

John Bennett of Loughborough wonders if Massey Brothers needs to be added to the list. He has sent in a photo of a Green’s Motors, Lion LT5 ( DE 8942 ) at rest by

Tenby Town walls at some time in the mid to late 1930s. As John puts it, the ‘Leyland’ body looks quite contemporary, but is it ? Green’s purchased three Lion LT5 chassis in 1932, but they are recorded as being bodied by Massey, with body numbers 826,

827 and 829. Photographs of the other two show that DE 8865 had bodywork like that on DE 8942 , but DE 8816 was to a quite different style. Were Massey building under contract to Leyland, or using parts from Leyland sawmills, or is there another explanation ? Cyril McIntyre of Dublin adds two more Irish builders of bodies to Leyland design: Potter (Dublin) and Aylesbury (Edenderry). (Photo by Roy Marshall)

106. Gloucestershire Tearoom (Torque Nos. 24,25)

John Bennett of Loughborough agrees that the photographs on page 21 of

Torque No.24 show a body whose basic shape, style and features would correspond with a (much altered) Duple C32R, though he cannot suggest an origin for it. Regarding the second claimant to be CK 4099, in Bob Mack’s photo on page 23 of Torque

No.25, John concludes that this carries a Leyland bus body of the style introduced in the Spring of 1930 and feels that the curved-top windows and pillar spacing would confi rm this view. The body has been altered at the rear, with the fi nal bay given an unusual shaped window, along with some other ‘modernisation’. Looking for suitable candidates to be the vehicle shown, he thinks that Ribble 851 CK 4311 is just possible, this having been noted as a caravan in Yorkshire in 1966.

Richard Peskett, Grayshott, has sent a slightly earlier photo of the café, dated

1963, which shows it in much the same state, but retaining more window louvres.

As an aid to identifying the vehicle in the Bob Mack photo, it seems to me that the leading vehicle on the trailer is a Blackpool Tiger/Burlingham (FV 90xx or BFR

3xx batches); does this narrow the place and time of the photo?


108. Left-hand Drive Tigers

Ron Phillips has sent a photo of a Tiger LOPS3/1 chassis with the bonnet open, which will be an unfamiliar sight to most readers. Unlike AEC, Leyland did not make a special left-hand version of their bus engine, in this case the O.600, for fi tting into half-cab buses, presumably taking the line that it was not economically a good idea to have a special design for models produced in small numbers. In any case, many of these chassis were incorporated into buses or coaches with full width cabs, allowing access to the engine ‘from over the top’. However, does any reader know how the auxiliaries were arranged on the LOPS model’s engines, and how the gearbox linkage was arranged ? There is another side to this, if the pun may be forgiven. Does anyone know how access to the left-handed 7.4 litre ex-tank engines purchased at the end of the Second World War by the Scottish Bus Group was achieved?

109. Palestinian Titan

Richard Peskett has submitted pages from “The World’s Carriers” for 15 July

1936, with a photograph (this also appears in “Leyland Journal” for the same month), showing a Leyland-bodied Titan with armoured car escort whilst transporting the Band of the 1st Battalion the Loyal Regiment (“a Lancashire bus carrying a Lancashire

Regiment”) from Haifa to Tel Aviv, the escort being necessitated by the Jewish-Arab disturbances. Whilst the vehicle is clearly TD4, chassis 10224, with H30/26R body its supply, in Leyland records, appears simply as “Haifa”. Who was the operator – or was it a demonstrator – and what happened to it after 1936?

110. Trolleybuses in build

Brian Veale of West Felton has submitted a photo of an extremely busy trolleybus shop at Leyland in what he thinks must be 1937, with the chassis in build being destined for the LPTB as its D3 class, of which there were 60, delivered in


Summer 1937. The ‘odd man out’ is demonstrator TJ 939 , dating from 1933, which was understood to have been on loan to Birmingham, in whose livery it appears as

No 68, from 9/7/36 to 1/10/37. Did the demonstrator return early or is the photo later than suggested (and, presumably then, the bulk build wrongly identifi ed)?

(Note: The BCVM Archive records show that the photograph was actually taken at the end of March 1936, in the “New Trolley Bus Dept.” so this is earlier than the dates above. Any comments? At centre top are some metal framed s/d bus bodies. MAS)

111. 8.6 litre engine power output

Peter Roberts of Sale writes ‘in the Leyland 120 programme entry number P3 is given as having a Leyland 8.6 litre 106hp diesel engine. Having heard various bhp fi gures for this engine – 98, 94 or 93 bhp at 1900 rpm (the last two possibly de-rated for wartime economy) I have often wondered what the power output of the 8.6 litre was. It is appreciated that different specifi cations in the engine could alter the power slightly, though the E181 7.4 litre is always quoted at 100 bhp at 1800 rpm. As a passenger I always felt the 8.6 to have more power than the 7.4 but this would be affected by the (normally) heavier weight of the PD1 as compared with the TD5.

The recent discussion in “Leyland Torque” regarding maximum speed of various Leylands reminds me that, on the speedometer of a Tiger TS7 on which I once helped when this was in preservation, was the information that 1175 rpm was equal to 30 mph. This bus was fi tted with a 4.8:1 axle ratio. If my calculations are correct, this would have given a top speed of 48.51 mph at the 1900 revs the E102 8.6 litre diesel was normally governed. With the 5.4:1 axle ratio more normally used for bus rather than coaching duties, the top speed would have been fractionally over 43 mph or, with the 6.5:1 axle ratio sometimes found on a Titan, a top speed of fractionally under 36 mph would be possible. These fi gures assume that the 9.00 x 20 tyres are fi tted, which retain a constant circumference, and that each engine has a maximum speed of 1900 rpm – in practice not necessarily the case. The petrol engine, with its higher revving characteristics, would have a proportionally higher top speed. So, what was the power output of the 8.6 ? Peter ends by expressing his thanks for the interest and enjoyment the “Leyland Torque” brings each quarter.


111. Titan PD1 chassis designations

Peter Greaves of Hook writes ‘Doug Jack’s “The Leyland Bus” states that the only known PD1/1 models were those supplied to City Coach Co., but Alan Townsin’s

“Post War Titans” in the “Best of British Buses” series says that these examples appear to have been wrongly identifi ed and ought to have been referred to as PD1s.

I understand that:-

the PD1 was the 7ft 6in variant, normally supplied without drop frame.

the PD1A had Metalastik shackle pins.

the PD1/2 was the air-braked version supplied to Bolton.

and the PD1/3 was the 8ft version.

So my question is: was there a PD1/1? If so what was the spec. and who had them?

None are shown in the PSV Circle chassis list, which shows the Bolton batch as just

“PD1”, but they did have air brakes. Incidentally the Circle list shows “PD1” for the

City Coach ones as well.

112. Millburn Motors Limited

Richard Gadsby of Liversedge seeks information on this company, of Glasgow and Preston, who were well-known agents for Leyland Group vehicles, as well as commercial dealers, with Ribble Motor Services and the S.M.T. group of companies being amongst their best customers for many years.

The company also became the main distributor for Ford psv chassis for the

North of England and Scotland by the 1960s. In 1972, the Preston offi ce was closed, and the Scottish Ford distributorship passed in September of that year to a new company, S. & N. Motors Limited, based at Bishopbriggs in Glasgow, who also appeared to carry on the commercial dealership business of Millburn Motors.

Whilst this appears to be a straightforward acquisition, John Cockshott, the erstwhile well-known transport enthusiast stalwart, felt that the Leyland Group took a controlling interest in Millburn subsequently. If this was the case, the business did not survive for long, and the company was dissolved in March 1977. Can anyone shed any light on this alleged Leyland Group involvement in Millburn Motors during the early to mid-1970s?

24 MOVING HOUSE - AUSTRALIAN STYLE 25

A photograph taken in New South Wales during the construction of the Cronulla - Sutherland Railway. There were several weatherboard cottages on the land needed for the railway and Mr. C. Smith, owner of some Leyland vehicles, demonstrated what he could do in moving the houses without dismantling them. The area from which this particular house was hauled was certainly not on a good road, and it was taken about eight miles to its new location. The lorry shown is a Leyland A1 of 1923-24. Note the bald tyre on the offside with canvas showing! The picture originally came from the archive of the “Sydney Morning Herald” and the “Sydney Mail”, via Leyland Motors’ Head Offi ce (and Service Station) for Australia, 153/157 George Street, Redfern NSW. (BCVMA)


Edited by Bob Kell. All correspondance to the Editor, Mike Sutcliffe

Many thanks for information from Michael Banfi eld, John Bennett, Allan Condie, Maurice Doggett, Mike

Fenton, Peter Greaves, Philip Groves, Anthony Holdsworth, Neil Pollard, Paul Rouet and David Wright.

Two Royal Tigers (Torque No.24)

Maurice Doggett and Anthony Holdsworth confi rm that MPW 444 was the only Royal

Tiger bodied by Churchill who only bodied one other Leyland, Tiger PS2/3 EY 9700 as a 35-seat coach for T. A. Milburn of Gaerwen, Anglesey in November 1950.

Leyland Lions with double deck bodies (Torque No.25)

Correspondents ask for more details of the chassis depicted. Birch Bros no. K42 was registered BLO 975 and had a 48-seat low-height body. It is not clear, however, whether this was a new 1944 body or a rebuild of an earlier body. Anthony notes that this vehicle was the predecessor of 10 similar Titan PD1s in 1946/7, also four PS1/4 in 1951 and six Guy Arabs bodied by Willowbrook. The chassis numbers of three of the PS1/4s, LXV 221-3 is in doubt with both 501214-6 and 504555-7 quoted. Could this be resolved, please? The Lion LT5A JP 42 was new to Smith of Wigan.

Cosy Coaches “Leyland Tiger” UU 9161 (Torque No. 25)

Oh dear! This ‘Leyland Tiger’ is no such thing as our correspondents queued up to tell me ! The chassis was an AEC Regent and a special one (661004) from12 preproduction models built in 1929 and sent to operators before production began (in this case to Thomas Tilling Ltd. in June 1929). The original body was by Short Bros with piano-front and open-staircase to normal height but not of ‘camel-roof’ design.

The vehicle had an important infl uence and I beg the Editor’s indulgence in giving more information (from Alan Townsin). The AEC UU 9161 ran in London ( fl eet no.3005) before transfer to Brighton in December 1929. Nos. 3003/4 were Tilling-

Stevens TS17A petrol-electrics, and 3006 was a Leyland Titan TD1 (71136) UW 6977 with standard closed-stair lowbridge 48-seat body which was part of a Hants & Dorset order. This was loaned to Tilling at Brighton from January to March 1930 and then returned to H&D. Daimler supplied a CF6 demonstrator to Brighton at the same time. Tilling ordered Regents for London in December 1929 and after the Brighton trials AEC were again successful with Thomas Tilling taking 296 Regents between


1930 and 1932. The TD1 was widely favoured in Tilling-infl uenced fl eets elsewhere and perhaps if Leyland had supplied a Hybridge Titan to Brighton, if one was available, they may have fared better.

UU 9161 was returned to AEC in July 1930 and worked on staff transport. It was later sold to Canvey & District M. S., 4/35 and then to James Bros of High Littleton in 2/43 where it acquired its coach body and Leyland radiator (could it have been fi tted with a Leyland engine ?). It passed to Cosy Coaches (R. E. Nealon, 12 Cherry

Orchard) of Staines 3/48. It then worked on hire to L.T. Turnham Green garage. The coach body is of unknown origin but probably dates from the early 1930s with some modernisation. Alan considers Harrington a possibility.

Leyland Tiger UW 7690

Anthony traces this vehicle to Tiger TS2, chassis 60618 new in 1929 with Harrington

C31R coachwork. The original operator was either J. T. Welch (Sydenham Coaches),

London SE26, or Blue Belle SW9/Blue Belle Coaching Services SW2. It passed to

Young (Always Ready), South Shields in 5/31.

Leyland Tiger TS8 EUW 57

EUW 57 had chassis no. 16477 and was new with a Strachan 32-seat coach body for

European Motorways (No.7) of London SW1. At an unknown date it passed to Paton Bros of Renfrew Ferry (No.17). In 1955 SMT were modernising their fl eet and the 1939 Alexander B35F body from No. H224 (CSF 365) chassis 302682 was sold to Patons to fi t to EUW 57 .

Wm. Hankinson, Salford. GX 2693

Members have tracked this down to Titan TD2 chassis no.1533 new to Empress Motors of Bethnal Green, London in 1932. The bus passed to London Transport in February 1934 as TD73. The body was by Dodson (H28/26R) and was itself a distinctly odd creation with a chaotic front profi le married to a severe side view which almost replicates the Northern Coachbuilders wartime body although with six bays. After sale by L.T. the vehicle eventually turned up with Hankinson in 7/41 and recorded with Plaxton coach body. I don’t think I have ever seen a pre-war Plaxton body like that in the photograph, however. Peter Greaves suggests Wilkes & Meade, so could this be a third body?

Banfi eld’s Coaches, London. EDK 101

Michael Banfi eld and others provide a relatively full account of this vehicle. The chassis (302257) was fi rst registered on the 2nd April 1939 to Rochdale Corporation

(No.6) with an ECW B35R body. C W Banfi eld Ltd acquired the vehicle (via dealer

GX 2693 as new with Empress Motors. This view emphasises the fact that the driver’s cab with windscreen was an ‘afterthought’. (Perhaps the result of the regulations in London regarding the design of driver’s cabs on buses.)

( Mike Sutcliffe collection)


F. Cowley) on 4th September 1951 and it was rebodied with a 1948 Strachan 33-seat coach body. In 1955 the chassis was rebodied again with a Vincent of Reading fullfront coach body (as shown) removed from a Glenton Tours Dennis Lancet III when that was rebodied. The body was ex-Lancet LUV 352 or 353 which were half-cab, so the full-front must have been fi tted at the time of the chassis change. The coach was scrapped by Banfi elds on the 13th October 1960. Two further vehicles fi tted with this type of Vincent body were Tiger TS7 BTF519 and postwar Tiger PS1 FFY260 .

Wilkinson, Sedgefi eld, Co Durham (Torque No.25)

No. 17 Lion LSCI (45095) is defi nitely identifi ed as TD 5014 which was new in 4/26 to Fishwick, Leyland no.18.

Marrison, Cudworth, Yorks CK 4189 (Torque No.25)

No-one has expressed any view of the body shown in the photograph of CK 4189 ! Is this one going to defeat us?.

New Entries - Samuel Ledgard, Tiger TS1 UA 8730

This Tiger was purchased new with a Roe body but I doubt if this effort came out of

Crossgates Carriage Works. Identifi cation is sought please.

Leyland Tiger FTJ 818

Could the triangular shape at the top of the front grille indicate that this body was a transplant from an AEC? Who was the operator? The 1945 registration suggests this has been re-registered. These two photos have been submitted by Mike Fenton from his collection.


TIM MOSS DESCRIBES SOME UNUSUAL LEYLAND-NATIONALS

Some Leyland-Nationals that can only be described as ‘unique’ were constructed during the years when production was in full swing at the Lillyhall factory at

Workington. Some examples are currently preserved, others went to the great bus depot in the sky long before the preservation of Nationals was considered acceptable, and some of the designs never even made it off the drawing board !

Due to its modular method of construction, the National yields itself very well to many applications. So much so that Greater Manchester Transport actually created a hybrid using two accident-damaged vehicles. Under the reign of the British

Leyland empire, the method of manufacture led to proposed vehicles that were both interesting and very unusual, and in certain cases they were constructed. It is perhaps quite unfortunate that the political, social and industrial climate around which the

National entered production and service led to a lower than expected volume of sales.

In its heyday, the windswept Leyland National factory at Lillyhall only reached half of its intended production capacity. Events of the time, both internal and external, forced British Leyland to rethink the original intended standardisation and investigate capturing new markets in order to survive by maximising production capacity.

Initial designs indicated that the National was to be produced in three lengths:

10, 11 and 12 metres. However, a subsequent redesign following production of the fi rst three prototypes (FPB 1-3) meant that these lengths were adjusted slightly. The

International Union of Public Transport specifi ed a minimum door width of 1,200 mm.

The original plans did not conform to this specifi cation and a redesign was necessary.

Interestingly, the 12.3m variant was included and production jigs at Workington were set up for inclusion of an extra bay length. Despite this, no 12.3m example ever made it into production.

One of the fi rst oddities off the production line was one of a batch of three

Nationals used primarily as demonstrators. Chassis number 00153 was a left-hand drive, dual-door example. It had various body sections cut away to demonstrate the manufacturing techniques in detail. After being exhibited at a number of overseas exhibitions, it returned to the UK and was displayed at the 1972 Commercial Motor

Show and later at the Leyland Truck and Bus Division’s headquarters for a number

A sad sight! The derelict shell of a dualcontrol experimental Leyland-National prototype awaiting cannibalisation.

(All photos used in this article have been supplied from Tim Moss’s collection.)

30 LEYLAND TORQUE No. 26 Winter 2004 of months. On return to Workington, it was rebuilt as a dual-control driver training vehicle. The project got little further than the factory gates before being shelved.

The PSV Circle records the vehicle as being dismantled during December 1978, but confl icting records indicate that the vehicle survived into the early 1980s at least.

Recent information has come to light regarding Mechanical Development vehicle

PP00008. This too was fi tted with dual control equipment, presumably for R&D purposes. After disposal by Leyland, it languished for several years at the premises of J. Fishwick and Sons, before being fi nally dismantled.

Super Pointer National? Mini Pointer National?

(with apologies to Plaxton…!)

In April 1973, the government organised ‘a major transport symposium’ at the

Transport Research Laboratory in Crowthorne, Berkshire, referred to in many circles as the Crowthorne Symposium. Sketches were displayed at Crowthorne of 24-seat

6.7 and 12.8-metre long variants of the type, both being intended for airport use. Due to the modular system of construction, such confi gurations could have easily been produced using standard National components. The shortened vehicle contained four standard-length window bays. The physical constraints of such a short vehicle have been brought into question with respect to the siting of underfl oor components.

Despite this, Doug Jack in his book ‘Beyond Reality’ quite subjectively states; ‘A version of the shorter model was actually constructed, under great secrecy, but never saw the light of day’. Presumably, it was dismantled with the same degree of secrecy.

In hindsight, it would be interesting to see if such a vehicle could be created today, if only for purposes of nostalgia.

Leyland designated all non-standard Nationals as ‘Super Nationals’. Some of these made it into prototype production, but little more. The intention was for Leyland to construct the standard body shell and running units and the interior fi ttings would then be completed by external contractors.

The Super Nationals were designed with a specialist purpose in mind, as was the

National that was to be equipped with two cabs for operation at the CEGB’s Dinorwig

Hydro-electric Power Station in North Wales. The bus was to be fi tted with a second rearward-facing driver’s position over the engine area with the emergency exit being retained. The bus would be able to be driven, with ease, within the network of narrow tunnels in the hollow mountain. A second option was to use a second front end with the curved windscreens albeit with suffi cient access to the engine being retained.

None of these designs made it off the drawing board, but an indication as to how this may have looked can be seen in the prototype Leyland Railbus LEV 1.

It is well-known that the idiosyncratic feature of a National is the pod. Some more modern vehicles have been known to attempt to imitate these classic lines.

An unusually large pod was fi tted to Super National UTJ 595M . Due to the limited underfl oor space, the pod contained water tanks for the sink unit and Webasto water heater, and condensers and evaporators. This was the fi rst of two Business Express

Nationals (not to be confused with the Suburban Express National) and the fi rst real spin-off from the standard production run. The vehicle was a design exercise aimed at capturing commuter markets and interesting the Department of Transport in “luxurious

Winter 2004 LEYLAND TORQUE No. 26 31 commuter coaches”. The interior was fi nished by an outside contractor, Clements of Bromsgrove, and featured a total of 22 seats. Eight were individual airline-style reclining seats where workstations were based. The remaining fourteen seats in the rear of the bus were grouped around tables in the raised rear section. It was also equipped with offi ce equipment that included telephones and typewriters.

Super Commuter. This bus would win the prizefor the highest pod. Some bus companies regarded Nationals as “high” and avoided using them on certain routes or in certain depot doorways.

The idea behind the design was to lure business commuters from their cars due to increasing traffi c congestion in major towns and cities. The bus would complete a circuit, collecting a group of executives each morning, alerting them of its imminent arrival via a paging system. Once all passengers had been collected, the coach would travel directly to a city centre, occupying less road space than twenty cars each carrying one individual. The cost was estimated to be comparable to that of a fi rst class rail season ticket. The project was displayed at the Crowthorne Symposium for the relevant government dignitaries, but never really got off the ground as it failed to capture the political attention it required for it to succeed due to several reasons, notably the removal of custom from the national rail network with which it competed. UTJ 595M was only ever used to carry senior Leyland offi cials and VIPs. It still survives and is in preservation with the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust at Gaydon in Warwickshire.

However, the true title of “Long Pod” belongs to DFV 641W, the unique

ECW bodied National (mentioned in detail later). It sported a Phase 1 style pod, in clerestory fashion along the entire length of its roof ! The ‘pod’ used some standard

National components, but was not an original feature and was added after its sale from Leyland.

A second business commuter registered JMY 120N fi rst appeared at the 1974

Earls Court Motor Show. This was another executive coach which fi rst saw a period of experimental use before being sold to National Travel South East for further work.

The same Motor Show also played host to another unorthodox National in the shape of the Leyland Lifeliner, the third such ‘Super National’ which was adorned with the registration LSN 3N . Originally built as part of an order for Midland Red, this vehicle was fi tted out as part of a joint exercise between the Leyland National company and Avon County Council as an ambulance-cum-mobile incident unit.

Mechanically, the vehicle was completely standard with the exception of the driver being able to independently control the suspension when operating over uneven terrain.

Unfortunately, health authorities could not justify the additional costs of a vehicle that

32 LEYLAND TORQUE No. 26 Winter 2004 would have only limited use at the time of major incidents. The ambulance fi ttings were later removed and the bus was fi tted out to standard format during July 1975 and entered service later the same year registered GOL 438N.

In 1974, the Department of the Environment commissioned Leyland and the

National Bus Company to convert a standard bus to battery-operation, a project given the code B16. The sole 10.3m National in the Ribble fl eet, 461 ( OTF 354M ), was chosen for the experiment and was equipped with a 360 volt traction motor with a continuous rating of 120 hp and regenerative braking equipment. In addition to this, a two-axle trailer was constructed by Dyson to carry seven tons of batteries (!). This gave the bus suffi cient range to travel a distance of around fi fty miles after being fully-charged for eight hours. Ironically the vehicle’s length of over 12 metres made it unable to travel on the public highway at that time. Chris Fenner of the Ribble Vehicle Preservation

Trust has provided the following details on the vehicle’s history:

“461 was taken out of service around 20/2/1974 for battery electric conversion, its trailer did not appear until October 1974 and its fi rst test was done on 20/2/75 on

Samlesbury Airfi eld (I assume it got their under its own power). By 27/8/75 it had done 332 miles since conversion, but still had not been used in service. It went to

Runcorn on 3/9/1975 having spent 80 weeks in central works.”

Owing to the length constraints, the vehicle was put into service with Crosville, numbered XEB461. It operated on the Runcorn busway. The project was deemed to be a success, but the limited range of operation restricted further development work.

This unique National was ultimately withdrawn by Crosville in February 1978 with the trailer reportedly returned to Ribble. The National was broken up to provide spares for other Nationals in the Crosville fl eet before fi nal disposal for scrap in late 1981.

To Russia with love

Not unusual in the way that this article is intended, but worthy of a mention for the sake of completeness, is the solitary National exported to Moscow. The National in question (c/n 05686) was sent in 1978 as a demonstration vehicle for the forthcoming

1980 Olympic Games. It was Leyland’s intention that Leyland-National production would commence in Russia, producing vast quantities of Nationals for transport in connection with the Olympic Games. In the end, the Russians decided on other buses and the proposed Leyland-National factory came to nothing. Given the time-scale, the vehicles would probably not have been built in time for the games anyway! The

‘Russian National’ later appeared in Ireland during the mid-1980s working for the oddly-titled Knock Shrine Society. The interim period, when international relations with Russia were tense to say the least are shrouded in mystery. As a consequence, no information is readily available on this particular vehicle.

The integral structure of the National whereby the load was distributed through the pillars and roof of the vehicle indicated that it was near impossible to offer an alternative body - Or was it ? The threat made by the National to overseas manufacturers and their local economies explains one of the reasons why the vehicle did not sell in any great numbers overseas. Several batches of completely knocked down (ckd) examples were exported to Australia. These were actually constructed

Winter 2004 LEYLAND TORQUE No. 26 33 fully in Workington before being dismantled, packed into crates and shipped halfway around the globe so that they could be constructed for the second time!

A deviation from the National was the B21. A Bristol model by default, it was built at the Brislington factory as Workington was unable to facilitate such chassis production. I suspect that this may be more politically motivated than anything else, bearing in mind that the Workington factory at its peak only attained half of its intended production capacity. The intention of the B21 was to capture export markets where the

National failed to do so. In essence, the B21 was a National ‘chassis’, with the radiator mounted at the front in conventional fashion (could this have been a prophecy of things to come?) A body was mated to the chassis by Leyland’s Australian subsidiary, the Pressed Metal Corporation, the distinctive National 1 headlamp surrounds were sometimes retained along with other parts in an attempt to standardise on some components. (See note at end)

During 1973, a 10.9 metre National underframe was supplied to ECW for development work on a ckd body, similar to the B21. The prototype vehicle was given the designation C27 along with ECW body number EX13. It returned to Workington, a little over a year after arriving as a chassis at the Lowestoft factory. The body resembled that of its contemporary, the Bristol RE, but with the addition of typical

National features including the “Pay As You Enter” sign over the nearside front wheel arch. C27-01 as it was now known was made redundant during 1980 and sold off. It became DFV 641W when acquired for use as a mobile caravan, and remains in use.

After sale to a private owner, the ECW bodied National gained an extra long roof pod, but despite its use as a mobile home it retained its bus like appearance.

Now named “Spanish Express”, the bus currently carries British-Leyland, Tiger and Volvo badges. Without the long pod, it clearly shows the Bristol RE origin of its bodywork.


Not all plans reached fruition, one such example, at the time given the code

C29 proposed fi tting a DAB-derived Alusuisse body to a conventional National chassis in the same manner as the C27 project, shades of this can also be seen on the varying bodywork fi tted to the B21. It is worth pointing out that Leyland used the designations C for lorry cabs and B for buses, but at a point during the 1970s, both bus and lorry cab designs were managed under the same umbrella, hence the use of

C-series designations for these two projects.

510-powered luxury

One National was fi tted with a high fl oor throughout the vehicle in a manner similar to many coaches. This was the Suburban Commuter National which was subsequently registered RRM 148M.

Luggage accommodation was provided in pens at the front of the vehicle – a true “dual purpose” vehicle intended for longer distance bus journeys. The bus was aimed at the Scottish Bus Group who were users of large numbers of dual-purpose vehicles. The vehicle proved unpopular with the SBG

(possibly something to do with the National being devoid of a Gardner engine and the inability to mate it to Alexander bodywork…). On its return to Lillyhall, the vehicle was reseated with more conventional bus seating. It may be worth noting however, that the SBG did succumb to the charms of the National in later years.

RRM 148M was sent across the Irish Sea for another uncomfortable stay with

CIE - the distance between towns and differing modal shift patterns in Eire possibly being overlooked by the omnipresent Leyland market research team! The Suburban

Express design later evolved with dual purpose seating being offered in the standard

National body shell. RRM 148M never seemed to have lived a happy existence with its time at Leyland, but fortunately the bus survives today, superbly restored (undoubtedly one of the best examples in the ranks of preservation).

Suburban Express RRM 148M has a high level fl oor throughout. This is shown by the fact that all the seat backs can be seen through the windows, rather than just those in the rear part.

British Airways was a loyal Leyland customer. Over the period of National manufacture, BA acquired several Nationals from new for both airport and airside transfer work and latterly the National 2-derived DAB articulated vehicles. During

1975, Wadham-Stringer Sparshatt in Portsmouth converted BA National LLU 577P, when relatively new and two sisters ( KBY 792P and LLU 783P ) by removing the front nearside half of the vehicle. They were all used at Heathrow Airports Terminal 3 on transfer work. The intention was that passengers could board aeroplanes in wet weather without getting unduly wet. Two other vehicles (TBY 111/2R) were also converted, but

Winter 2004 LEYLAND TORQUE No. 26 35 all were returned to the more conventional look during 1979. Coincidentally, it was the year that National 1 production at Workington was drawing to a close.

Two Nationals were constructed on behalf of the Midland Bank, as it was then known. The company ordered two 10.3m Nationals fi tted out as Mobile banks by

Truck Developments of Rayleigh in Essex. The vehicles were JYO 751N , based at

Whitby, serving rural outposts in North Yorkshire and GHV 611N , based at Lincoln serving the fl atlands of Lincolnshire. JYO 751N was converted to standard bus format by Volvo, Warwick during 1996 and fi tted with a Volvo engine. It still survives with

Chepstow Classic Coaches, and was previously with Birmingham Coach Company from whom it was acquired via British Bus Sales. Another customer was the Scottish

Prison Service who ordered two National 1s, registered ASC 139/40S . These were later complemented by a National 2, C974 PSF . All 3 vehicles were fi tted out by Coventry

Steel Caravans, Newport Pagnell, for the transporting of high security prisoners within

Scotland. All three had obscure glass and non-opening windows along both sides with the fi nal full-length bay being panelled over.

Into the digital age

A standard 11.3 metre, Phase 2 National registered WHH 556S had been allocated to the research department at Leyland from new. The outgoing appearance was of a standard National with the lettering REV01 (Research Engineering Vehicle

No. 1) and 21 seats in the front saloon with the raised section over the engine being reserved for electrical test equipment. Apart from these differences, the outgoing appearance was identical to a conventional National. From new, the bus was used by the Leyland Research department in a joint project with Lucas for development of Multiplex electrical equipment. The electrical wiring looms had been removed and replaced with three simplifi ed cables running the length and breadth of the bus behind the interior panelling. A Lucas control unit connected to receiver units activated functions as required to do so by the driver. Each control unit had an individual clock pulse, ensuring that differing messages to the control units could be synchronised.

Diagnostic information could also be downloaded and printed out from the vehicle.

Undoubtedly the microprocessor technology trialled in REV01 is now commonplace on many new vehicle designs. REV01 later received a prototype installation of the new Leyland continuously variable transmission (CVT) that was

WHH 556S is seen when in service with

Torotrak, after acquisition from Leyland.

It is still, at this time, in use as a testbed vehicle.

36 LEYLAND TORQUE No. 26 Winter 2004 under development at the time. The bus was disposed of to Torotrak Developments when Leyland went into receivership. It was sold when Torotrak had deemed it surplus to requirements and still survives today, operating on schools services with

J.B. Pickthall of Arlecdon, Cumbria.

Fit for its purpose ! WHH 556S was sold by Torotrak and at last became a bus. It is seen operating on school services in

Cumbria, its birthplace and its place of fi rst registration.

Enter the Mk.2 (Project B44)

Variants discussed so far are all of the National 1 variety. Despite the lower number produced in comparison to its predecessor, the National 2 did yield a number of unique vehicles. The original design for the revised front end of the National 2 that almost made it into production looked decidedly square. A full size mock-up was produced with the intention of using a four-piece front windscreen in a similar manner to the East Lancs bodied Greenway conversions. Fortunately, the revised styling using the DAB-derived front windscreen superseded the original design at a late stage in the development.

The last experimental National was a generic National 2 fi tted with a 400 series engine (presumably the 401 engine as fi tted in the Bristol LH) and Pertbury

Continuously Variable Transmission, coupled to a fl ywheel storage system. The theory behind it is that the fl ywheel is disconnected from the drive train when stationary via a friction clutch. Due to inertia in the fl ywheel, the momentum is generally conserved.

When ready to start off again, the fl ywheel is engaged and the bus will move off. In a similar manner to REV01, the fl ywheel would hold a continual speed whilst the gearbox does all the work. The 400 series engine would have been used for getting the vehicle up to speed and for assisting where necessary notably on hills. The only downfall to the vehicle was that it was incredibly noisy hence the project was little more than an experiment.

There were many other proposed ideas that did not come about using the standard Workington-built running units which included an outside broadcast unit and a telephone exchange. Perhaps if the Suburban Express project had been successful, we may well have seen 12.3 metre long Nationals in production, possibly on National

Express duties. All of the above does not mention the multifarious modifi cations made by bus companies over the years of National operation in order to increase reliability and working lives of the vehicles. Undoubtedly some of these modifi cations shaped future National designs. Testament must certainly be paid to the ingenuity of the engineers and designers in adapting a vehicle to include a variety of different purposes from a standard design. (To be concluded with more details of B21)


From Chris Taylor, Cardiff

Readers may like to know that I wrote an article on the coachbuilding activities of Silcox of Pembroke Dock and I also helped with the PSV Circle history. Some of the information which I gave to Mr. Silcox is probably contained in John Bennett’s article in the Leyland Society Journal No.6. Mr. Silcox purchased Bristol chassis long before they entered service and at the time felt that these were the best chassis to buy.

In January 1949 Leyland stated that Silcox had ordered four Leyland Titans but this order was subsequently cancelled. Having said that, the Leyland Tigers were sold to obtain more modern coaches and it was probably easier to sell Leylands than Bristols, which were then only supplied to Tilling companies. MDE 530 went to T.N. Daniel,

Cardigan (not J.R. Daniel) and MDE 531 went to a Darlington operator in 7/53.

From John Bennett, Loughborough

Following my article on Silcox in Journal No.6, Mr Leonard W. Silcox , the designer and driving force behind the construction of the Silcox bodies, died on 11th

September 2004, aged 81. The cortege travelled past the Silcox garage where members of the staff lined up in front of the Company’s coach fl eet to pay their respects.

From J.H. Nolan, Wallasey

In response to your appeal for more info on commercials, please fi nd enclosed

3 photographs of Leyland lorries photographed in Cyprus in August

2004. There are plenty of Leyland lorries doing every day jobs on the island but this may come to an end soon, as they have joined the EEC who will no doubt impose the MOT test on them. You may get the impression that they are abandoned but they use a lot of them only in the harvesting season.

ABOVE:

Leyland Boxer Water Tank, NZ 805 photographed in Limassol.

BELOW:

EM 692 pictured near Liopetri, a wellbattered Leyland Beaver (is it????) ready for use on the potato harvest.

(J.H.Nolan)


Roadtrain tractor unit AAU 012 seen in Pafos in Cyprus. Look at the nearside front tyre !

Many of the lorries on the island see only seasonal use in connection with harvesting.

(J.H.Nolan)

From Neil Pollard, Wolverhampton

On the right is a photograph of the rather ugly back end of a bus – Scottish

Motor Traction J21, a TD1 built with an open staircase, taken circa 1949 and giving a better close-up view than those previous pictures published in Torque.

The photograph came from Alan Cross, and Allan Condie has stated that the

“rebuilding” work was done at SMT’s

Marine Works soon after the buses entered service. It was done on the basis that they would only serve for about seven years and it was not worth doing a full rear-end rebuild – hence the “bodge-job”. The legal lettering on the rear shows these buses retained 51 seats and did not lose seats as a result of the extra weight. Fully enclosed rear ends meant a reduction to 48 seats.

(Photo Omnibus Society)

From Andy Ballisat, Burgh-le-Marsh, Lincs.

I was recently in the Shaftesbury area on the A30 and happened across a small yard akin to a small breakers. What caught my eye was the green showman’s caravan known as a “Chap’s Wagon”. After enquiring of the owner, I learnt that it was based on a 1920s Leyland chassis and its original steering gear is still in situ.

It was owned by the Townsend family of showmen for many years and was subsequently lived in as a second accommodation on a temporary basis for 50 years by a gentleman who died recently. The owner wishes it to be saved and – does anyone want to have a go, or even try to identify its origin ? (Details of its whereabouts and owner can be obtained from the Editor.) Photo opposite top.

From Geoff Fishwick, Gargunnock, Stirling

You may like to know that I have come across an old Leyland lorry (see photo on opposite page) registered SS 3001 which currently resides in a barn which is to be demolished shortly. I am told that it was running OK when parked in the barn many


In need of a new home ! This old

“mobile home” is based on Leyland chasis, and is a bit of a mystery.

Help with identifi cation & possible recue is sought.

(Andy Ballisat)

39 years ago and it is unlikely that the bodywork restoration would have taken place if the lorry wasn’t mechanically sound. The building in which it stands is in a dreadful condition albeit reasonably water-tight. The owner is possibly looking for a new home for the vehicle and I will try and establish her wishes with regard to its future, which are currently unclear. I will try and fi nd out more about the lorry and its likely future. (This is almost certainly Leyland QH model 6 tonner dating from 1927- 30 and it has the E36hp/2 engine with detachable Ricardo cylinder heads. It has clearly been restored at some time and presumably rallied – does any reader have any further details, including its chassis no., engine no. etc. to identify it properly ? – Ed).

In need of a good home ! This old

Leyland which has seen restoration work done, awaits a new owner to complete the job. See the adjacent letter.

(Geoff Fishwick)

From Cyril McIntyre, Dublin

The last issue was well up to standard – full of interesting items – we are really getting spoiled with quality material in Leyland Torque.

Re Mike Fenton’s last paragraph on page 21 of Torque No.25 – they really were pre-war Leyland bodies ! The DUTC bought Leyland double deck bodies in kit form and assembled them at the Spa Road workshops in Dublin (Torque 21

– page 31). Body assembly was always carried out in advance of chassis assembly, which came to a stop in 1941 when only eight TD7 chassis had been delivered out of an order for 81. After rebodying 75 AEC and Leyland single deckers in 1941/42 using double-deck components, suffi cient kits remained to body four TS11 chassis in 1944, the six Daimlers and one AEC in 1946 and 13 of the 20 OPD1s delivered in 1946/7. CIE bought new body kits from Leyland to body the remaining 7 of the

OPD1 batch as well as additional components to adapt the pre-war kits to suit the increased dimensions of the post-war chassis.


From Garry Ward, Ayr

May I provide some additional instances of Leyland bodies on other chassis and also respond to a specifi c comment in Mike Fenton’s article in Torque No.25.

Mention is made of Western SMT ASD 253 which was previously thought to have been fi tted with a Leyland body. It’s suggested that the Massey bodied vehicle took on a Leyland like appearance around 1956, which probably prompted the claim that the body from Leyland TD5 CS 7037 had been fi tted to it. Firstly, CS 7037 was one of a number of TD5s which received a major rebuild by Eastern Coachworks

(rebuild number R571) in 1951, which considerably altered the appearance of the body, including rounded window pans and sliders, plus a revised upper deck front window which bore more of a resemblance to Park Royal bodies from the mid fi fties. Thus, its body looked somewhat different from other members of the TD5 batch, which

DID receive rebuilding in the early fi fties similar to the style which ASD 253 carried, including CS 7025 and CS 8054.

Secondly, the rebuilding of ASD 253 is likely to have taken place in the early fi fties, when much of this work was undertaken on wartime Guy Arabs whose bodywork was showing distinct signs of premature ageing. Even in heavily rebuilt state a number of the Guy Arabs were being withdrawn in 1956. Also many of the

TD5s were being subject to varying levels of rebuild in the early fi fties and it’s likely that the Leyland stock parts were utilised for the Guy during this period.

With regard to Mike Fenton’s plea for further examples of Leyland bodies on other chassis, Western SMT bought a batch of thirty-two second hand bodies from Sanderson (i.e. Millburn) the large dealer who had premises in Glasgow and

Manchester in 1947. The bodies have always been quoted as Burlingham from former

Ribble TD4s. From some of the Western fi nancial records which have survived these bodies are simply given as “Ribble”! The intention was to speed up entry of new vehicles into service, and they were originally intended for fi tting to a batch of thirty new Daimler CVA6, plus two Albion CX19. In the event, only twelve bodies were fi tted, two to the Albions, ten to the Daimlers with two more to replace the original bodies on wartime Guy Arabs. Photographic evidence shows that at least two of the

L27/26R bodies were Leyland Vee fronted metal framed type, on Guy Arab ASD 94 and Daimler VS 4364 and it’s also been suggested that the bodies on the two Albions

ASD 760 & 761 had similar bodies. It’s likely that more of the batch did in fact have second hand Leyland lowbridge bodies. All the bodies fi tted were scrapped in 1950-

51 and replaced with new bodywork by Alexander (for the Albions and Daimlers) or

ECW (for the Guys).

I have acted as Archives Offi cer for our Western Scottish Bus Club over the last twenty years or so. The Leyland Torque magazine is a super quality production and

I admire the tremendous work that you gentlemen have done. I also greatly admire the beautiful work you have done in restoring early Leylands. Thanks from us all in the enthusiast fraternity.

From Alan Townsin, Steventon

Regarding Mike Fenton’s interesting piece on Leyland bodies on other chassis,

Winter 2004 LEYLAND TORQUE No. 26 41 it can be fi rmly refuted that United ex-Orange Bros AEC Regal TY 9608 received a

Leyland body – the report was probably based on an erroneous sighting of TY 9605 , which did, as mentioned (there’s picture of that bus with its Leyland body on page

28 of ‘United’ Part 2, by the undersigned, Phil Groves and John Banks). TY 9608 was rescued for preservation much as withdrawn by United, retaining what is thought to be its original Strachans body as somewhat rebuilt for bus use by United – the owner hopes to restore it to original form.

Some at least of the mid-thirties Leyland metal-framed bodies thus re-used appear to have been removed from their original chassis as unsatisfactory, so their survival was noteworthy, refl ecting post-war body supply problems, though East

Midland seems to have followed the practice of ‘cascading’ bodies to older chassis favoured by several major company operators in those days. However the vee-front body transferred from a Bamber Bridge Motor Services TD4 to a wartime Guy was a late example of the type, having the revised structure introduced by Colin Bailey

(thicker corner pillars at the lower-deck bulkheads being a clue) as an interim step before the switch to the curved-profi le design in 1936. Clearly, it must still have been regarded as a good proposition to be transferred as late as 1953, when the overall situation had changed considerably.

The Laurie of Hamilton transfer of an ex-Birmingham TD6c body to an ex-

Yorkshire (WD) PD2/1 chassis is particularly interesting – it is just possible to discern how the more nearly vertical pre-war cab-front profi le of that body leaves more of the

PD radiator exposed (though partly disguised by what looks like a rubber fi lling-in strip) than the standard later bodies as modifi ed for post-war chassis.

I confess to being very sceptical about how much of the original Massey wartime body (perhaps the most distinctive style of all utilities) on 1943 Western

SMT Guy Arab II ASD 253 was still present as shown in the picture on page 19. The rear dome shape looks to be pure Leyland and a magnifying glass reveals radiused bottom corners for the side windows on both decks, again of Leyland style. The front-end glazing is non-standard but the overall upper-deck front-end outline still has a Leyland look about it, and the roof is not so deep as the Massey version. This may have been recorded as a rebuild (such things sometimes happened for insurance purposes), but my money is on the 1938 Leyland body from a Western SMT TD5,

CS 7037 , mentioned in the text, as the donor of almost the whole structure.

As mentioned in the article in Torque No.23, in 1937/8, Dublin United Tramways set up a section in its body shops to build what were virtually Leyland metal-framed bodies, to avoid import duties. The early ones, on TD4 chassis, were externally almost identical to the standard Leyland product and, with gradually increasing variation from the Leyland standard, this activity continued after CIE had been set up, the bodies continuing to retain some pre-war Leyland features, such as the style of rear emergency window, long after Leyland ceased body construction, including a fi nal batch on PD3 chassis in 1959-61.

In the same mould, can anyone explain just how what seems to have been a wartime arrangement with East Lancashire Coachbuilders worked ? ELCB wartime

42 LEYLAND TORQUE No. 26 Winter 2004 bodies, supplied mainly as replacements on existing chassis but including a few of the

‘unfrozen’ type, had strong resemblances to the Leyland outline for the upper deck, although the overall appearance was apt to be disguised by different cab design to suit the chassis (even those on new TD7 chassis had the dash plates etc. as supplied to bodybuilders other than Leyland). Did Leyland supply parts or loan tooling, perhaps?

This continued to be so up to about 1946, but thereafter the standard East Lancs body style took on a quite different outline, suggesting that the wartime arrangement had been brought to an end.

There was also the Alexander case, when that fi rm’s Drip Road, Stirling, body shops acted as if deputising for Leyland’s body shops for a time during and just after the war years – Allan Condie is the expert here. It seems very probable that if

Leyland had been allowed to build TD8 buses in wartime, as originally planned by the Ministry of Supply, some at least would have had bodies very like those built to rebody SMT group TS7 chassis.

Indeed, might this scheme have arisen as a consequence of Leyland being required by the Government to turn to tank production c1942, resulting in material already in hand becoming surplus and passed to Alexander’s? Allan’s photocopy of the latter’s body list shows the fi rst batch to have been 100 bodies, which sounds more like an MoS quantity than one any operating concern or group would have been allowed to place in those dark days. I recall reading that the original plan had been for Leyland and Guy each to build 500 chassis as a fi rst stage of the scheme, the latter materialising as the Arab I batch, so it seems possible that 100 lowbridge bodies

(Alexander body numbers 2748-2847) might have been intended as part of the body supply for the 500 Leylands. As it turned out, the 100 bodies were delivered, 97 to

Alexander’s own fl eet and 3 to Western SMT, between January 1943 and February

1944 – most were on chassis converted from TS7s by reassembling the units in new

TD4 frames. The discarded bodies account for many of the numerous cases of pre-war

Alexander bodies mounted on a variety of chassis in the following years, when there was an acute shortage of bodybuilding capacity to meet the huge post-war demand.

Further Alexander double-deck bodies of this type were built in smaller batches in

1944-5, including one on SMT Regals converted to Regent spec.

From John Thompson, Doncaster

Many thanks for another very interesting issue of Leyland Torque. Its arrival prompted me to send you some photographs which were taken at a Fire Brigade Society visit to The Vehicle Application Centre (TVAC) at Leyland. They occupy part of the old Leyland plant which was originally used by Leyland Motors as a test house for

Leyland tank engines. Some of the testing equipment was still in situ as can be seen from the photographs. It was ironic that going through the body building shops at the time of our visit was a batch of Leyland-DAF fi re appliances for the Lancashire

Fire & Rescue Service – so, Leyland fi re engines were still being built at Leyland !

The principal part of the bodywork is designed and produced by Plastisol,

Holland, which is then fi tted out with all the required fi ttings before being mounted on the chassis cab, after the crew cab bodywork and fi re engineering has been carried

Winter 2004 LEYLAND TORQUE No. 26 43 out on the chassis i.e. pump drive line and pump etc. They are then completed and fi nally painted and sign written.

The TVAC Buildings, once used for the testing of Leyland engines for tanks during the Second world war. The part of the building seen here is now occupied by Correct Engineering.

A new Leyland-DAF LF type for the

Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service seen being assembled.

(All photos with this letter were taken by

J.C.Thompson in September 2002.)

Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service have a large number of pump ladder appliances and “special appliances” on Leyland-DAF chassis. I enclose several prints of front line Leyland-DAF appliances. Other brigades through the UK have used the odd Leyland-DAF chassis, usually as water tankers, hastily converted from milk tankers during times of very dry summers. The Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Hereford & Worcester Brigades spring to mind and I am sure there were others.

Full details would require some research to record all the Leyland chassis used as fi re appliances since 1943. However, I would be prepared to provide what assistance I could.

E 124 HCW is a 1988 Leyland T180 with Fulton-Wylie bodywork based at

Haslingden.


Finally, Greater Manchester F.B. used some Leyland Freighters as water tender ladders with Fulton & Wylie bodywork and later some Leyland-DAF 60s built by Reliance-Mercury, plus two Leyland-DAF 45-180s with Bedwas bodywork as breathing apparatus tenders.

L952 EFV , Leyland-DAF 45-160 with body by Fosters Commercials, was new in

1993. It is seen when based at Weldbank

Lane, Chorley.

M702 UHG, new in 1995, is a Leyland-

DAF 6D-180 Multilift seen allocated to

Blackpool Road, Preston.

T124 BCK is a 1999 Leyland-DAF model

55-230i with TVAC Plastisol bodywork from Western Common, Forest Gate,

Blackpool.

From Eric Ogden, Oldham

I enclose some illustrations of Leylands relating to vehicles referred to in Letters appearing in Torque No.25. Wilf Dodds’ letter on page 40 refers to Standerwick, FFR

363 appearing to be rather camera shy – well, here is a picture of the re-bodied Royal

Tiger carrying its Burlingham Seagull body.

Referring to Ron’s letter on page 46 relating to the swapping of registration numbers, I can confi rm from a photo that the Rawtenstall Titan TD1 was TF 6082.

The ex-Rawtenstall Titan TD2, TJ 570, is seen in service with Crosville, with a rebuilt front end to incorporate the Crosville indicators, in the picture on the page opposite.


Eric Ogden has sent 2 pictures of much interest from his collection. Seen right is Standerwick 144 (FFR 363) rebodied with Burlingham Seagull coachwork. as referred to in Torque No.25.

45

Crosville M570 (TJ 570) with its distinctive Hybridge

Leyland bodywork is seen at Chester depot, towering over a wartime unfrozen TD7 FFM 180’

(Eric Ogden collection)

From Eric Muckley, Warrington

Where did all the eight wheel Leylands go ? Enclosed is a photograph of what as far as I know is the only restored prewar Leyland eight wheeler Octopus. Also

I know of only two other such vehicles still in existence today. This seems strange when you realise there are around 12 examples of the prewar AEC Mammoth Major eight-wheelers (the Octopuses’ main rival!) still in existence and at least 5 of these are fully restored.

When I started work in road transport in 1954 the prewar Octopus was still a common sight here in the north west, but I can only remember one fi rm who had prewar AEC eight wheelers, this was Tideswells of Kingsley, Stoke on Trent, the fi rm that owns a restored example registered EW 9706 , ex London Brick.

Just a few of the prewar Octopuses still running in the 1950s are recorded below.

There were many others: John Summers Shotton Steel Works had no less than 14 all running until the mid fi fties. The Lancashire Cotton Corporation at least one until they were taken over by British Celanese in 1955. BRS Warrington Group 5C were still operating one out of Foster’s Glass Works until at least 1957.

been re-fi tted with a concealed radiator and fi breglass cab. This could be seen any day loading soap powder at Thomas Hedley’s (now Proctor & Gamble) Works at

Trafford Park until at least 1958. Prince Transport Penketh, when Tom Prince started up again after BRS, ran an immaculate Octopus alongside his new Atkinsons until he closed down about 1957. Leyland Motors Chorley Works. their number 5C, was a TEW type Octopus which when I last saw it in their yard about 1955 looked just like brand new, obviously having just been repainted.

Here in Warrington at least three fi rms used Octopuses before the war and presumably these lasted long enough to be taken over by BRS. These were BED 420 chassis 15250 type TEW15T new to John Buckley & Co. 11/37 and BED 612 chassis

16322, type TEW15D new to G. Johnson & Co. 11/38. The third one was owned by

Penketh Transport and may have been second hand.


The others that remain, according to Leyland records, were both supplied new to the same fi rm, but I think this could be doubtful. They are DKW 658 chassis

14234, type TEW8D new to Tile Haulage, Kent 4/37 (at present under restoration in

Ireland) and BTD 90 chassis 12317, type TEW8D, new to Tile Haulage, Kent 10/36.

But was it ? When this vehicle was rallied in the late sixties, early seventies, it was stated to be ex Leyland Motors’s own fl eet. The Lancashire registration certainly suggests this ! Tile Haulage’s earlier and later Leylands were certainly registered in

Kent. Did they for some reason cancel this order ? That would explain this vehicle coming into the Leyland fl eet.

Leyland Motors certainly had at least 3 Octopuses before the war. I have read in a Leyland book that this number were converted to 5 axle for carrying tanks. There is the well known photo of No.14 with a tank on its back. I have also read that these were later converted back for normal use. No.14 was replaced in late 1953 or 1954 by a new Octopus 220/1E (on trade plate No.083TB). Was BTD 90 one of these I wonder?

Malcolm Wilford suggests that BTD 90 is most likely the one I saw at Chorley. It was this one that was properly registered and not on trade plates as usual.

(Photo Eric Muckley)


“Monty” the Leyland Bear

The latest item to be added to the list of Society sales items is “Monty” the Bear.

Monty is a golden brown plush fabric traditional style “teddy” and comes wearing either a navy blue or burgundy polo neck sweater embroidered with the “Leyland

Motors Ltd” logo. It is an ideal gift for a loved one especially if “apologies” are required following a longer than expected trip to a rally or to collect a Leyland or spares! Monty is approximately 42cm tall. (This item is “a collectable” and is not recommended for children under 4 years old). Price £ 29.95 including P & P.

6th Rally Memento

To mark the celebration of 120 years of vehicle design, development and building in Leyland, the Society commissioned the production of two badges. Both badges are in the form of the famous Leyland Shield and are 28mm in length. The fi rst,of which 200 were produced, comes in a silver plate and burgundy soft enamel fi nish, presented in a plastic presentation box. These badges are £5.00 each including p&p.

The second is a little more special, fi nished in polished brass and burgundy soft enamel fi nish and presented in a black plush ring-type box. Each brass badge is numbered on the reverse 1 -100 and comes with its own numbered certifi cate of authentication. Just a few of these badges remain and will be supplied on a fi rst come fi rst served basis at £8.00 including p&p.

Orders to be sent to:- Hon. Vice President, Neil D. Steele (address inside front cover) cheques should be made payable to “The Leyland Society Ltd”.

Clothing

Leyland Society clothing (see Torque 21) - available from the above address

- please remember that these items are produced individually and can take up to 6 weeks to be delivered.

48 LEYLAND TORQUE No. 26

BIRKENHEAD CORPORATION

Winter 2004

(Photo by Mike Sutcliffe)

Whoever said that the back of a bus is ugly ? The rear end of Massey bodied

Leyland Titan PD1 ex-Birkenhead Corporation is certainly very unusual with its split lower deck window and three rows of bumpers, the latter being a feature occasionally seen, particularly with municipalities, in the 1930s and 40s. Birkenhead were unusual in that, immediately after the War (possibly also before?) their Massey bodied Titans had polished half-round beadings below the windows, some of which were chromium plated brass beadings – a very unusual feature. The photograph was taken by your Editor at this year’s ‘Leyland 120’ event, the bus being entered by Mr

T. Turner of Wallasey of behalf of the local bus and tram museum. The PD1 has chassis no. 460599, line no. D179, and was new in December 1946.

Opinions and views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Society, its offi cers nor the Editor. The Editor would be pleased if members could bring to his attention any errors. Every effort is made to give due credit for all photographs and material used. Should there be any unintended breach of copyright, then the Editor must be informed to enable acknowledgement to be made. Under the Data Protection Act 1984, the Society gives notice that membership records, Leyland Vehicle Register details and

Leyland Torque dispatch information are held on a data base. The Society undertakes that this information is not divulged to any outside agency or individual.

This issue of Leyland Torque has been produced by Mike Sutcliffe and Ron Phillips, with additional help from Neil Steele. Distribution by Victoria Phillips. It was printed by Fretwell Print & Design, Keighley,

West Yorkshire. Items for inclusion in the Spring 2005 issue should be sent to the Editor by 23rd January

2005, please.

Hon.President

Hon.Vice Presidents

Acting Chairman, B.C.V.M. Liaison and Compiling Editor

Secretary and

Leyland Torque Editor

Membership Secretary

Treasurer

Vehicle registrar

To be appointed

Gordon Baron, 44 Rhoslan Park,

76 Conwy Road, Colwyn Bay, LL29 7HR

John D. Bishop, 10 Betley Hall Gardens,

Betley, Nr. Crewe, Cheshire, CW3 9BB

Neil D. Steele, 18 Kingfisher Crescent,

Cheadle, Staffordshire,. ST10 1RZ

Ron Phillips, 16 Victoria Avenue,

Grappenhall, Warrington WA4 2PD

Mike A. Sutcliffe MBE , “Valley Forge”,

213 Castle Hill Road, Totternhoe,

Dunstable, Beds. LU6 2DA

David J. Moores, 10 Lady Gate,

Diseworth, Derby, DE74 2QF

Keith Watson, “Leyland”, 10 Jeffery Close,

Rugeley, Staffs. WS15 2NQ

David E. Berry, 5 Spring Hill Close,

Westlea, Swindon, Wilts, SN5 7BG

To be appointed Web Master

Committee Members David L. Bishop, “Sunnyside”, Whitchurch

Road, Aston, Nantwich, CW5 8DB

Harold Peers, 3 Long Meadow, Bradford,

West Yorkshire, BD2 1LA.

MEMBERSHIP

Subscription levels are £20 per annum (family £23), £24 for EEC members, £28 (in Sterling) for membership outside the EEC. Anyone joining after 1st April and before 31st July will have their membership carried over to the next 31st July, i.e. up to 16 months. This is good value for money and new members are welcomed. The new application forms are available from David J. Moores, Membership

Secretary - address above.

The Leyland Society Ltd., a company limited by guarantee, incorporated in England No.4653772.

Registered Office: Valley Forge, 213 Castle Hill Road, Totternhoe, Dunstable, Beds., LU6 2DA.

www.leylandsociety.co.uk

BACK NUMBERS


Copies available of No.1 (£4.50), No.2 (£10),

No.3 (12.50) and No.4 (£13.75)


These issues all available at £5 each

LEYLAND SOCIETY JOURNAL

Issues 1-6 all available at £6.00 each

BINDERS

For LEYLAND TORQUE

Holding 8 copies £7 (£13.50 for 2)

For SOCIETY JOURNAL

Holding 8 copies £8

(Limited supply only)

All prices include postage & packing.

Available from Mike Sutcliffe, Valley Forge

213 Castle Hill Rd.,Totternhoe, Dunstable,

Beds.LU6 2DA

Cheques payable to “The Leyland Society”

SOCIETY SALES

Leyland Society Lapel Badges

Oval (38mm long) in silver & blue £4 each

1st Rally Memento - Lapel badge

Oval Leyland Radiator badge (1907-13)

£5.50 each

2nd Rally Memento - ‘Employees’ badge

Red, circular £4.50 each

Black, circular £5 each

3rd Rally Memento - Leyland Shield

Silver & blue £5 each

Leyland “Panther” Badge £5 each

Windscreen Stickers (Society logo)

Large (5 ins long).£3.50 each

Medium (2.5 ins long) £2.50 each

Small (1.5 ins long) £1.50 each

BONE CHINA MUGS

£5 each (£19 for 4)

FOR NEW ITEMS

See announcement on page 47

Available from Keith Watson, Leyland,

10 Jefferey Close, Rugeley,

Staffs, WS15 2NQ

ARCHIVE PHOTOGRAPHS

New lists of photographs which are available for sale in post-card size (A6) are now ready, and include AEC and Leyland buses and lorries. The first lists of both AEC buses and Leyland buses and lorries, already distributed to existing customers are also still current. If you are interested, send a self addressed envelope in A5 or 22cm x 11cm size to the address below, and you will receive the lists, details of prices etc.

Archive Photo Service,

B.C.V.M.

King Street

Leyland

Preston PR25 2LE

No.26 - WINTER 2004

The Magazine of the Leyland Society www.leylandsociety.co.uk

1884

VEHICLE PRODUCTION

AT LEYLAND

2004

Torque 26.indd

The Magazine of the Leyland Society www.leylandsociety.co.uk

VEHICLE PRODUCTION

AT LEYLAND

BACK NUMBERS

BINDERS

SOCIETY SALES

ARCHIVE PHOTOGRAPHS

Mike Sutcliffe continues the story - Part VIII

Southport Corporation

The Leyland Buses of Wigan Corporation

89. Body construction to Leyland design (Torque Nos.18-25)

106. Gloucestershire Tearoom (Torque Nos. 24,25)

108. Left-hand Drive Tigers

109. Palestinian Titan

110. Trolleybuses in build

111. 8.6 litre engine power output

111. Titan PD1 chassis designations

112. Millburn Motors Limited

BACK NUMBERS

BINDERS

SOCIETY SALES

ARCHIVE PHOTOGRAPHS

The Magazine of the Leyland Society www.leylandsociety.co.uk

VEHICLE PRODUCTION

AT LEYLAND

Related manuals

Torque 26.indd

The Magazine of the Leyland Society www.leylandsociety.co.uk

VEHICLE PRODUCTION

AT LEYLAND

BACK NUMBERS

BINDERS

SOCIETY SALES

ARCHIVE PHOTOGRAPHS

Mike Sutcliffe continues the story - Part VIII

Southport Corporation

The Leyland Buses of Wigan Corporation

89. Body construction to Leyland design (Torque Nos.18-25)

106. Gloucestershire Tearoom (Torque Nos. 24,25)

108. Left-hand Drive Tigers

109. Palestinian Titan

110. Trolleybuses in build

111. 8.6 litre engine power output

111. Titan PD1 chassis designations

112. Millburn Motors Limited

BACK NUMBERS

BINDERS

SOCIETY SALES

ARCHIVE PHOTOGRAPHS

The Magazine of the Leyland Society www.leylandsociety.co.uk

VEHICLE PRODUCTION

AT LEYLAND

Related manuals

Morris

SUPER DE-LUXE MINI-MINOR

Hikvision

DS-PD1-MC-RS

Unbranded

14090

Unbranded

PMF-2-T

Brain Boxes

NXXBL-510

WABCO

PAN 17

TRIUMPH

TR6 Trophy