Daimler Fleetline

Daimler Leyland
Daimler Fleetline from Greater Manchester Transport
Fleetline
Manufacturer	Daimler Leyland Motors
design type	double-decker bus
Production period	1960-1980
engine	Diesel engine in the rear: Gardner 6LW Gardner 6LX Gardner 6LXB Leyland O.680 Leyland O.690 Rolls-Royce Eagle Cummins Engine V6
length	30 ft, 33 ft or 36 ft 9.14 m, 10.06 m, 10.97 m
width	2.5 m
successor	Leyland Olympian

The Daimler Fleetline - from 1975 Leyland Fleetline - was a rear - engined double-decker bus built in Coventry , Warwickshire from 1960 to 1973 and in Farington, Lancashire from 1973 to 1980 . The Fleetline was built primarily for the domestic market, but many examples were also exported to Portugal , South Africa and Hong Kong . It was replaced by the integral bus Leyland Titan (mainly for London ) and the chassis bus Leyland Olympian .

Model development

The Fleetline was the second rear-engined double-decker bus constructed by a British manufacturer after its competitor Leyland introduced the Leyland Atlantean in 1958 . Right from the start, the Fleetline had a rear axle that was designed in such a way that there was a small height to accommodate the center aisle, but without creating uncomfortable seating, as with the Atlantean model from Leyland. After the market launch of the Fleetline, Leyland responded with a so-called drop-down rear axle as a special feature. The then owner of Daimler Jaguar merged in 1966 with the British Motor Corporation (BMC) to form British Motor Holdings (BMH). After their merger with Leyland to form the British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC) in May 1968, this option was given up again at Leyland.

The prototype of the Fleet Line 1960 had a transversely mounted in the rear standing Daimler diesel engine , in series production, however, were either Gardner engines 6LX with 10.5 liters capacity used and 150 or PS-6LW 8.4 liters with 112 hp. From 1968 there was either the more powerful Gardner 6LXB 10.45 liter engine with 188 hp and from 1970 the Leyland O.680 11.1 liter diesel engine with 185 hp. Gardner engines had an excellent reputation for reliability and economy, while Leyland engines were more spirited but used more fuel . Most customers preferred Gardner engines for Fleetline. When Gardner could no longer meet the demand, the Leyland engines also became more popular.

In the late 1960s, Daimler developed the longer 36- ft -Fleetline-biplane on the construction of the chassis of the single-deck bus or coach, Daimler Roadliner built. This chassis had a diesel engine installed transversely in the rear. a. from Cummins -V6. It was primarily intended for export, but was also bought by the Walsall Verkehrsgesellschaft.

Since there were considerable problems with the too noisy Leyland engines in the Fleetlines, a noise-reduced version of the Fleetline was developed in the mid-1970s, the B20 with the Leyland 0.690 11.3 liter turbo-diesel engine , which is attached to the two fan “chimneys” “Was visible on both sides of the lower rear window and a smaller bonnet. This version continued to be produced for the London Transport Executive with bodies from Park Royal and MCW .

As with many British bus chassis, including the comparable Leyland Atlantean, the superstructures were mostly supplied by body manufacturers. Therefore, the manufacturer of the chassis can often not be identified externally. Some had a manufacturer's emblem on the rear. A major difference between the Atlantean and the Fleetline was that the front of the bonnet on the rear of the rear of the Daimler was inclined by about 10 degrees, while on the Atlantean it was vertical with a notch at the tip.

Fleetline in the different countries

Daimler Fleetline from 1965 with the establishment of Park Royal , London Transport XF

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

Fleetline in London

The first London DMS Fleetline, still with closely spaced headlights, (left) next to the AEC Routemaster , which it was originally supposed to replace, but was survived by the Routemaster

As early as 1965, the London Transport Board put a small series of eight Daimler Fleetline double-deckers with PRV superstructures (XF type) into operation and compared them with the competitor Leyland Atlantean (XA type). The eight buses of the XF type, only provided with double doors in front of the front axle, went in 1970 to the successor company for the outer area of ​​London London Country Bus Services (LCBS), where they remained in operation until 1979. At the beginning of 1972, eleven Fleetline CRL6-30s with Leyland O.680 11.1 liter diesel engines and two-door Northern Counties superstructure were put into service at the LCBS depot Godstone, which were originally intended for Western Welsh .

Greater London Council ( London Transport Executive ) was the largest British Fleetline customer in the 1970s. Its 2646 DMS and DM models were produced from 1970 to 1978, the last 400 as the noise-reduced Leyland B20. At the time the first DM / DMS London Transport models were delivered (December 1970), the Daimler Fleetline was already a successful model with more than 3500 Fleetline buses produced for other operators. The structure of the DM / DMS came from MCW or Park Royal Vehicles , which could only be distinguished by small differences (e.g. higher emergency exit door on the right side of the MCW structure).

The first vehicle in service was DMS 1 at 04:54 on January 2, 1971 on route 220. The last vehicle was DMS 2438 on January 2, 1993 on its way back at 18:45.

The first series of the London Fleetlines had Gardner engines, but Leyland engines were in the majority overall. The last B20 were the least reliable and many of them were fitted with Iveco engines (836-S11) in the 1980s . The successors to the DMS / DM Fleetlines in London were the double-decker series Leyland Titan (T) and MCW Metrobus (M), which were procured in parallel from 1978 , and the Leyland Olympian  (L) from the mid-1980s .

There were also a number of DMS / DM buses that were sold ahead of schedule, including 306 cars to Hong Kong . In addition, almost 50 vehicles went to the USA (Chicago, New York, Washington, Denver) as sightseeing buses, some of which were then fitted with a double folding door on the right-hand side in front of the rear axle.

Outside of London

Birmingham City Transport No. 3796 West Midlands WMPTE operated over 2000 Fleetlines of various types

The second largest fleet in its home market was operated by the Birmingham Corporation and its successor, the West Midland Passenger Transport Executive (WMPTE), with well over 1,000 buses, including the first single-decker Fleetlines from 1965. Other municipal transport companies that later belonged to WMPTE increased WMPTE's Fleetline fleet to more than 2100. WMPTE preferred the Gardner motors. However, while Gardner had delivery bottlenecks from 1974 to 1976, 220 Fleetlines were equipped with Leyland engines. However, the Leylands were less reliable, especially in the hilly landscape, which is why most buses were retrofitted with Gardner engines in the early 1980s. Up to 1997, 700 Fleetlines were still in use at WMPTE.

Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMP) received over 500 Fleetlines in addition to a similar number from acquired transport companies. One of them - Lancashire United's No. 583 - was sold to Chester City Transport in 1992 and was used there as No. 79 on scheduled services until May 2007. It is exhibited in the Chester City Transport livery and regularly takes part in historical journeys and the like.

South Yorkshire PTE (SYPTE) operated a significant number of fleetlines during the late 1960s and 1970s. Most of them were replaced after a few years. A preserved SYPTE Fleetline, WWJ754M, now owned by the Sheffield Transport Group , is on display in a museum near Doncaster . A number of Fleetline Ls, registered in 1973, also came to SYPTE when Doncaster Transport took over. These were on the popular Rotherham – Sheffield line 69 for almost 15 years. They had lower floor heights, a large trunk and luggage racks above the seats, since they were used more in overland traffic, and had subdued bluish interior lighting. Above all, however, all SYPTE Fleetlines were equipped with comfortable seats covered with leather or fabric.

In addition, there were larger supraregional customers, such as Municipal Bus or Cardiff Bus, bus companies in the BET group and the Scottish Bus Group .

Exceptional fleetlines

The Walsall bus company operated some non-standard short wheelbase fleetlines, the first 1 UDH of which was only 7.8 meters long and had no front overhang. The door was behind the front axle. The next 29 vehicles were 8.38 meters long with a short front overhang, but again only access behind the front axle. The remaining 69 cars were 8.68 meters long, with a narrow entrance in the usual position, along with a door behind the front axle. 1 UDH had a structure of the Northern Counties Motor and Engineering Company .

Several operators also bought the monoplane Fleetline, with Birmingham City Transport being the first in 1965. The Rotherham Society bought two single-deck Fleetlines with 45 seats and a Duple Coachbuilders structure. Mexborough Swinton and Traction Company ordered three similar vehicles with Marshall bus bodies for White Rose Express services. However, they were delivered to Yorkshire Traction through the acquisition in October 1969 . At the end of 1970, Yorkshire Traction received nine 36 Fleetlines with a Walter Alexander W type body.

Many buyers had their Fleetlines fitted with engines other than the usual ones, such as a Perkins V8. Particularly noteworthy is a 1972 Fleetline from Teesside Municipal Transport (formerly Middlesbrough Transport), which was equipped with a Rolls-Royce LPG engine.

Hong Kong

China Motor Bus (CMB) imported 336 Fleetline double-deckers between 1972 and 1980, and Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB ) imported 450 Fleetline double-deckers between 1974 and 1979. CMB called their models Jumbo (Chinese 珍宝). In the 1980s, CMB and KMB Ex-London-Transport acquired DMS / DM Fleetlines. Citybus Hong Kong and Argos Bus, operators of non-public transport, for example for private rental, also acquired second-hand fleetlines, including ex-London-Transport-DMS / DM-Fleetlines. Many of the Daimler / Leyland Fleetline from Hong Kong were resold to China in the 1990s , where they were in service for a long time.

Trivia

• Both the first and the last built Fleetline were destroyed by fire. The 7000 HP demonstrator, which Blue Bus Services of Willington (later Derby Borough Transport ) had acquired, burned out at the Willington depot on January 5, 1976. The last Fleetline built, formerly in service with South Notts Bus Company with the registration number SCH 117X, fell victim to a fire at the Nottingham Transport Heritage Center on February 21, 2007 after it was originally purchased for restoration.

• In the late 1990s, Guangzhou Sightseeing Bus Ltd. restored (now Guangzhou Suijing Bus Co. Ltd. ) some of the ex-Hong Kong Daimler / Leyland Fleetline double-deckers. These became known as the Eagle Fleetline (Chinese 巨鹰 珍宝 巨鹰 珍宝). They were in operation until October 2008.

swell

• Townsin: Daimler . Ian Allan, Shepperton 2000
• James Adlam, Keith Hamer: The DMS Handbook . Capital Transport, Harrow Weald 1994, ISBN 1-85414-171-6

Individual evidence

1. ^ Lawrie Bowles: London Bus Handbook . 10th edition. 1986, Capital Transport, Harrow Weald 1986, ISBN 1-85414-171-6 , pp. 28-36
2. ^ Alan Miller: Bus & Coach Recognition . 2nd Edition. 1988, Ian Allan, Shepperton 1988, ISBN 0-7110-1816-2 , p. 12
3. ^ Mark Chapman: London Country Buses and Green Line Coaches . 3rd edition 1979, Capital Transport, Stanmore 1979, p. 13
4. ^ Mark Chapman: London Country Buses and Green Line Coaches . 3rd edition 1979, Capital Transport, Stanmore 1979, p. 14
5. ^ Lawrie Bowles: London Transport Buses . Capital Transport, Stanmore 1977, ISBN 0-904711-04-8 , pp. 35-49
6. ↑ James Adlam, Keith Hamer: The DMS Handbook . Pp. 76-80
7. ↑ Photos of the Eagle Fleetline ( Memento of the original from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

Web links

Commons : Daimler Fleetline  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Website about a Leyland Fleetline SF31 formerly operated in China