- For the front-engine Leyland Titan built between 1920s and 1970s, see Leyland Titan. The Leyland Titan was a Chassis with a front-mounted engine designed to carry Double-decker bus bodywork
The Leyland Titan was a model of double-decker bus produced by the Leyland Truck & Bus division of British Leyland from 1977 until 1984, almost exclusively for London Transport. A double-decker bus is a Bus that has two levels While double-decker long-distance coaches are in widespread use around the world double-decker city buses are British Leyland was a vehicle manufacturing company formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC The Greater London Council (GLC was the top-tier Local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986
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Development
The Titan was first conceptualised in 1973 as project B15, and was intended as a replacement for the Leyland Atlantean, Daimler Fleetline and Bristol VRT. Nu-Venture is an Aylesford, Kent -based bus & coach company Established in 1960s as a coach company Nu-Venture operated coach tour holidays all over Europe Maidstone Corporation Transport was the operator of Trams, Trolleybuses and motorbuses in Maidstone, Kent from 1904 to 1974 The Leyland Atlantean was a model of Double-decker bus built by Leyland (with bodies added by a variety of companies in the United Kingdom from 1958 to The Daimler Fleetline (known as the Leyland Fleetline from c1975 was a rear-engined Double-decker bus Chassis built between 1960 and 1973 The Bristol VR was Bristol 's version of a rear-engined bus chassis designed as a competitor to the Leyland Atlantean and Daimler Fleetline. Following the success of the single-deck Leyland National, it was decided from the outset that the vehicle would be very standardised, and of integral construction. The Leyland National was a British single-deck bus built in large quantities between 1972 and 1985 This allowed more flexibility in the location of mechanical components, and allowed a reduced step height. The move away from body on chassis construction caused concern for the bodybuilders who had already lost market to the Leyland National. Talks regarding licensing agreements were held with Alexander and Northern Counties, both major suppliers to their respective local markets, but no agreements were reached. Walter Alexander is also the name of participant in the OJ Simpson Robbery Case Walter Alexander Coachbuilders was a Scottish Northern Counties Motor and Engineering Company was a manufacturer of bus bodywork located in Wigan Lane Wigan, in North West England. This, in combination with other factors, led Northern Counties to develop the Foden-NC, and Alexander to develop a close working relationship with Volvo with the Volvo Ailsa B55. The Volvo Ailsa B55 was a front-engined Double-decker bus chassis built in Scotland by Ailsa, Volvo's British commercial vehicle agency The same desire for a non-integral vehicle led to the development of the Leyland Olympian. The Leyland Olympian was a Double-decker bus built by British Leyland / Leyland Bus in the United Kingdom from 1980
London Transport was seen as a major market, and so the specification was heavily influenced by London preferences. London Transport was suffering problems with its DMS class of Daimler/Leyland Fleetline one-man-operated double-deckers and wanted rather more input into the design than they had had with the DMS. The Daimler Fleetline (known as the Leyland Fleetline from c1975 was a rear-engined Double-decker bus Chassis built between 1960 and 1973 Leyland too wanted to gain more operator input than had been the case with the Leyland National.
Five prototypes (B15. 01-B15. 05) were constructed in 1975-1977, two of which were evaluated in London.
Specification
The Titan was offered as one size — 9. 56 m long by 2. 50 m wide by 4. 4 m high. The main body structure was aluminium, and the body was assembled using 'Avdelok' rivets similar to the Leyland National. Single-door or dual-door layouts were offered, with a number of options for the location of the staircase. Mechanically, independent front suspension and a drop centre rear axle were used, with air suspension and power hydraulic brakes as standard. The prototype engine was a turbocharged version of the Leyland 500 series, although this was changed to Gardner 6LXB for production as a result of customer preference, and concerns over fuel economy and reliability of the 500 series. The Leyland TL11 engine was available for later production versions. The engine was mounted vertically at the rear, with the radiator located separately in a compartment above the engine. This led to an unusual off-centre square rear window. The overall design was advanced for the time, and exceeded noise and emission requirements by a considerable margin.
Production
The Titan name, steeped with considerable history, was revived for production in June 1977. The Leyland Titan was a Chassis with a front-mounted engine designed to carry Double-decker bus bodywork It was intended that the first one hundred vehicles would be built at Park Royal Vehicles, with production switching to AEC in Southall. Dating its origins back to 1889 Park Royal Vehicles along with its Leeds -based subsidiary Charles H AEC was a United Kingdom based vehicle manufacturer which built Buses and Trucks from 1912 until 1979 Southall is a suburb in the London Borough of Ealing, West London. This caused industrial relations difficulties at Park Royal, and some 200 skilled craftspeople left. Production was very slow, and the first vehicle was not delivered until August 1978. In October 1978 Leyland announced the AEC factory would close, with the intent of keeping Titan production at Park Royal. The very slow production rate continued, causing cancellation of a number of existing orders. The industrial relations problems continued as Leyland sought to replace the skilled staff who had left with semi-skilled workers. Finally Leyland announced in October 1979 that Park Royal would close in May 1980. Once this decision had been made, and a productivity-related redundancy package negotiated, production increased dramatically. The final 150 Park Royal vehicles were built in seven months, while the first 100 vehicles had taken fourteen months. After initial efforts to transfer production to ECW in Lowestoft failed, again due to industrial relations problems, it was finally decided that production would recommence at an expanded facility in Workington, which also built the Leyland National. Eastern Coach Works Ltd was a Bus and Railbus body building company based in Lowestoft, England Lowestoft (ˈləʊstɒft/ /ˈləʊstəf is a town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England, lying between the eastern edge of The Broads National Park Http//uploadwikimediaorg/wikipedia/en/a/ab/Workingtonjpg Workington is a town and port on the west coast of Cumbria, England at the mouth of the The Leyland National was a British single-deck bus built in large quantities between 1972 and 1985 It took almost a year to expand the facility, transfer the jigs and tooling from Park Royal, and recommence production. The continued delays caused the loss of further orders.
Besides the production difficulties, other aspects of the Titan specification, which was strongly influenced by London Transport, were unpopular. Power hydraulic brakes, a fixed height of 14 ft 5 in and an inability to specify local bodywork all limited Titan's appeal. Outside of London, fifteen were purchased by Greater Manchester PTE (against an original order of 190), and five by West Midlands PTE (against an original order of 80) which were later sold to London Transport. The Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive ( GMPTE) is the public body ( Passenger Transport Executive) responsible for co-ordinating Public transport The West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive (WMPTE sometimes known as Centro, is a local government organisation ( Passenger Transport Executive) responsible The 1978 British Motor Show at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham featured the first vehicles for both operators. The British International Motor Show is an Automobile show held biennially in the United Kingdom. The National Exhibition Centre ( NEC) is an Exhibition centre in Solihull, near Birmingham, England. Birmingham ( ˈbɜːmɪŋəm Ber -ming-um Reading Transport took two Park Royal Titans to full London specification, and a further ten from Workington, five of which featured high ratio rear axles and coach seats for express services into London. One vehicle was exported to Hong Kong and became China Motor Bus's TC1 (CD1213). Hong Kong ( officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located on China 's south coast on the Pearl River Delta, and borders China Motor Bus Company Ltd () often abbreviated as CMB, was the first motor Bus company in Hong Kong, and was responsible for the introduction A 36ft long version of the Titan had been planned for this operator, but that too was cancelled as a result of the difficulties at Park Royal. A demonstrator built in 1982 failed to secure any further orders, operators preferring the flexibility and lower cost of the Leyland Olympian. The Leyland Olympian was a Double-decker bus built by British Leyland / Leyland Bus in the United Kingdom from 1980 This vehicle (registered VAO488Y) was eventually sold to a Scottish independent operator, Ian Glass of Haddington.
London's orders were being split between the Titan and the MCW Metrobus, but production of Titan for London only was proving uneconomic. The MCW Metrobus is a Double decker bus model manufactured by MCW ( Metro Cammell Weymann) from 1977 until 1989 with over 4000 examples built Strong pressure was brought to bear to increase the Titan share of the London orders. As a result, Leyland received the entire order for 275 vehicles in 1982. This led to layoffs at MCW. The 1983 order also favored Leyland, with 210 Titan and 150 Metrobus. The decision was made to end production upon completion of a final batch of 240 ordered in 1984. The final Titan, London Transport T1096 entered service in October 1984.
The Titan in London
The orders from London Transport were as follows:
- 1979: 50 (T1-50)
- 1980: 150 (T101-250) - reduced from 250 due to industrial relations difficulties at Park Royal.
- 1981: 150 (T251-400)
- 1982: 275 (T401-675)
- 1983: 210 (T676-885)
- 1984: 240 (T886-1125)
The first production Titans were delivered in August 1978, and entered service from Hornchurch in December 1978 on routes 165, 246 and 252. The Titan's London Transport service career saw it working in the eastern and south eastern half of the capital, though a surplus of the type following tendering reverses in the later 1980s saw Ts spread to some northern garages. Withdrawals began in December 1992, with large numbers passing to other operators, including Merseybus, Oxford and Kinch. Further buses remained on London work under the ownership of independent contractors like London Suburban Buses, London & Country, BTS and London Coaches (later Atlas Bus).
Upon the privatisation of the London Buses Limited subsidiaries, the remaining Titans fell between London Central, Stagecoach East London and Stagecoach Selkent. London Central is owned by Go-Ahead Group and is one of many operators of London Buses. East London is a bus company that was once a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group under the names Stagecoach East London and Stagecoach London, Selkent is a bus company that was once a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group under the names Stagecoach Selkent and Stagecoach London, but is now part The latter pair began cascading their Titans away almost immediately, spreading them throughout the country. Stagecoach East London's last Titans operated in September 2001 and Selkent's were withdrawn in November 2001, leaving London Central with a small number of spare buses which were eventually whittled down. Amid a small ceremony, the last one, T1018 was retired from the 40 on 19 June 2003.
The Titan today
The only Titans remaining available for service in London (though only as a very last resort) are owned by Blue Triangle. Blue Triangle is one of many operators of London Buses, it is based in Rainham London and is now part of the Go-Ahead Group. A fleet of three Titans is used for school bus services in the Aylesbury area by Z&S coaches, but these retain their previous liveries. See also Aylesbury Urban Area Aylesbury is the County town of Buckinghamshire in south east England. Sullivan Buses operate a fleet of eleven Titans, most painted in a version of London Transport 1970's corporate colours. Sullivan Buses is one of many bus companies to operate service for London Buses. The Greater London Council (GLC was the top-tier Local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986 These are used mostly for school contracts but are often seen on various rail replacement work, their last public service route work with SB being occasional turn on Hertfordshire Route 398 in 2005. Hertfordshire (ˈhɑːtfədʃə(r, abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of Outside London, many remain in service, particularly with independents - MASS Engineering in South Yorkshire and Nu-Venture in Kent have substantial fleets. MASS Engineering and BrightBus (officially MAS Special Engineering is a Bus operator currently based at North Anston between Sheffield Nu-Venture is an Aylesford, Kent -based bus & coach company Established in 1960s as a coach company Nu-Venture operated coach tour holidays all over Europe The last Titan in service in London, T1018, can now be found with its new owners Blackburn Transport in Lancashire. Blackburn Transport was a British Bus company that operated bus services within the Borough of Blackburn and Darwen and surrounding areas Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea As of March 2007 Blackburn Transport have put this bus up for sale.
References
- Jack, D; (1984). Leyland Bus Mk2. The Transport Publishing Company. ISBN 0-903839-67-9
- Jack, Doug; (1994). Beyond Reality - Leyland Bus - the twilight years. Venture publications. ISBN 1-898432-02-3
See also
External links
- London's Leyland Titan Breathes Its Last - The London Bus Page, 19 June 2003
- London's Titans - Where they are now
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