Duple coachbuilders
Duple Coachbuilders was a manufacturer of bodies for buses from England. Specialized in the production of coaches , city buses and occasionally double-decker buses were also manufactured. The company existed from 1919 to 1989.
history
founding
Duple Coachbuilders , or Duple for short , was founded in 1919 by Herbert White in Hornsey , London . White had already produced motor vehicles under the brand name Bifort in Fareham before the First World War .
The name Duple goes back to White's idea of developing and building motor vehicles that were suitable for two different purposes. The first vehicle developed according to this concept was the Bifort . Later, the formerly military Ford Model T were equipped with a newly developed multi-purpose body. The body was similar to a touring car , but could be converted into a delivery van by removing the rear part of the body and putting on a corresponding body . This type of body had a great attraction for smaller traders who could use the vehicle for both business and private purposes at little additional cost. Such structures were produced in considerable numbers by Duple . To meet the growing demand, Duple opened a new manufacturing facility in Hendon in 1926 .
Beginnings as a bus manufacturer
Superstructures for buses have occasionally been made since the company was founded. In 1928 it was decided to expand this line of business considerably. As a result, the number of employees grew to around 800 in a short time. Also in 1928, Walter Ernest Brown , a former partner in the coachbuilder Strachan & Brown , joined the company. His work had a major impact on the company's expansion. Main customers at the time were the Great Western Railway , who ordered a number of superstructures for their bus fleet from Duple , and the Royal Blue Coach Services of the Elliot brothers .
Approximately 250 buses were produced by 1930. At the time, Duple was an aspiring coachbuilder. The bodies produced by Duple influenced developments in the United Kingdom with their characteristic design features . In 1930 the Road Traffic Act changed demand. The previously unregulated competition was replaced by a licensing system, which led to the stabilization of the transport industry. The now relatively secure economic basis of the bus line operators caused a trend towards higher quality, better processed and more comfortable buses. In 1930 Duple received the largest single order to date - an order for 50 superstructures for the Green Line Coaches , the newly founded express line of the London General Omnibus Company . The bodies were placed on chassis of the AEC shelf type .
In August 1931 Bedford began producing two new types of chassis: the 14-seater WHB and the 20-seater WLB . Duple started producing bodies for the WLB early on. In the Bedford company's promotional material , Duple was recommended as one of four manufacturers of superstructures for the WLB . The increased production capacity as a result of increasing demand made Duple the leading body manufacturer in the United Kingdom. Bedford buses with duple superstructures were deployed across the country. The connection with Bedford was definitive for Duple for the next fifty years.
In 1932 Duple took over the business of London Lorries , which despite its different name was a major manufacturer of bus bodies at the time.
In the mid-1930s became involved duple also strong in the development and manufacture of car bodies for passenger cars . In 1933, special bodies were built to order from Vauxhall Motors and shown at the London Motor Show that same year . These vehicles, advertised by Vauxhall until 1935, were the last car bodies manufactured by Duple .
The international business developed early. The travel activities of the directors, especially Walter Ernest Brown , opened up new markets. Brown traveled to the USA and Canada and was able to acquire first export orders there. He also opened up the markets in Greece , Syria and Egypt for Duple . Further orders came from East Africa, Argentina and Europe. The international business offset the seasonally strong fluctuations in demand on the domestic market. In 1934 the production facilities were no longer sufficient, so Duple acquired a neighboring property to expand its production.
The 1930s was the time of classic bus design, when operators increasingly influenced the appearance of buses. Many superstructures were individually designed, but easy to identify as typical Duple superstructures . The introduction of sloping pillars, curved roof and side lines and shaped side panels were echoes of an "aerodynamic" design that was becoming increasingly popular at the time. Although the construction of car bodies was Duple 's main line of business until the mid-1930s , the manufacture of bus bodies made up an increasing part of the business. This development was accelerated by a major order from Barton Transport , which accepted a large number of buses over a longer period of time.
In 1936, Duple introduced the Vista . The Vista, mostly on a Bedford WTB chassis, had curved roof and side lines and a standard sliding roof. The following year the design was modified and sold as Vista II . In the same year the very similar Hendonian also appeared . Both types were produced by the end of the decade.
In 1939 Bedford began production of a new truck chassis with the characteristic bull-nose grille. The chassis of this type received a leading "O" in the designation. The substructure for buses was called Bedford OB . Duple adapted the structure of the Hendonian to the new chassis, which was longer than the WTB chassis. Because of the outbreak of World War II , only 73 OB chassis were produced as Bedford switched to the production of armaments.
Second World War
During the Second World War, Duple was part of the London Aircraft Production Group and manufactured hulls for the Handley Page Halifax bomber and other armaments. In addition, various double-decker buses were produced according to special requirements. The Bedford OWB was the only monoplane model produced from 1942 to 1945 , basically a radically simplified Vista with straight roof and window lines.
post war period
In 1946 the name of the company changed to Duple Motor Bodies Limited . The Vista was the first model to be built on the Bedford OB chassis after the end of the war . Usually designed for 29 seats, versions with a different number of seats were also produced. The Vista on this chassis was standard until production of the Bedford OB was discontinued in the early 1950s.
In May 1946, Duple delivered the first bodies for normal chassis such as the AEC shelf . Designated as A-type , the design with the curved lines was based on the pre-war types. Converting pre-war chassis was a common practice at the time, as new chassis were difficult to obtain immediately after the war. Duple made a number of superstructures for older chassis. After a short time the B-type and the C-type were available, which only differed in details and were marketed as multi-purpose bodies. The first new, independent design after the war was the "D-type". The roof and side lines were now straight. All buses of this series were short-nosed , the half-sided driver's cab was pulled up almost to the radiator grille. However, some conversions for older chassis were also designed as front control arms. All in all, the order situation improved rapidly, and the buses with the distinctive duple design became a familiar sight in post-war Britain.
After the war, there was a trend towards all-metal structures. Up to this time, superstructures for buses consisted of a wooden frame that was planked with steel or aluminum sheets. Buses made entirely of metal were more durable, and wood for frame construction was increasingly difficult to obtain. For export, Duple developed an all -metal structure called Almet for the Bedford OB and began developing an all-metal structure for the new Bedford self-service chassis . In 1948 Duple developed a double-decker bus with a metal frame, some of which were delivered to Red & White Services and SMT .
1950s
In 1950 Duple produced a number of Ambassador bodies, a cab-over-engine bus with the curved lines typical of Duple . As the size limits for buses in the UK were raised to 9.1 m and 2.4 m wide, the company prepared some new designs. The most famous of these were the Roadmaster and the Vega . The Roadmaster had a new look for Duple . Since it was intended for installation on an underfloor chassis, it was given a very high and straight window line and low windows. The view of the body, dominated by the sheet metal, led to the nickname Iron Duke . The Vega was designed for Bedford's new SB chassis and again had the curved side and window lines typical of Duple . Compared to the Ambassador and above all the Roadmaster , the front and rear were much more rounded, in keeping with the spirit of the times.
The 1950s were a difficult decade for coachbuilders. The decline in the economic boom in the immediate post-war period led to a collapse in demand. The competition got tougher. Many of the former Duple customers were now united in the Tilling Group , which standardized its bus fleet and used vehicles on Bristol chassis with AEC bodies. A 36-week strike was disastrous for Duple . The company lost significant market share and was forced to give up its London location.
In 1952, Duple took over the company Nudd Brothers & Lockyer Limited in Kegworth , which in future would produce metal frames for the bodies in the Duple standard size. Further expansions in Loughborough followed in 1955. In the following year, the operations in Kegworth and Loughborough were merged and renamed Duple Motor Bodies (Midland) Limited . Willowbrook Coachbuilders , one of Duple's competitors, was taken over in 1958, but continued production under its own name for a while.
During this time, Duple introduced another structure for underfloor chassis in 1953, the Elizabethan , which practically replaced the Roadmaster . A curved window line and a multi-part panoramic windshield made it possible to make the solid appearance of the Roadmaster more dynamic. The Britannia presented in 1955 was based on the Elizabethan , but in contrast to this had a newly designed front with vertical columns. The Donington , intended as a multi-purpose bus, followed in 1956, now again with a straight window line. For the chassis of Bedford of were Vista and the Vega continued to produce now than Super Vista and Super Vega . The appearance of the Super Vista was largely adapted to the Super Vega , it was now also designed as a front control.
1960s
HV Burlingham Limited from Blackpool , known for the Seagull superstructure manufactured in the 1950s , was taken over in 1960. The company name was initially retained for two years, then the operating part was renamed Duple Motor Bodies (Northern) Limited .
At the end of 1961 Bedford introduced the VAS chassis. Duple designed a completely new structure, the Bella Vista , for the chassis, whose clear lines corresponded to the zeitgeist of the early 1960s. The slightly larger Bella Vega was also created based on this design . In the same year, the maximum length allowed for buses was increased to 11.1 m and the width to 2.6 m. Duple (Northern) developed the Continental with a capacity of up to 51 seats according to these specifications . After Bedford announced the three-axle VAL chassis, Duple introduced the Vega Major for this chassis. The Commander was introduced in 1964 and initially produced in Hendon. Production was later relocated to Blackpool. The Viceroy , presented in 1966 and very similar to the Commander , replaced the "Bella" and Vega Major for most chassis from Bedford and Ford .
Production was concentrated in Blackpool from 1968 and the company was renamed Duple Coachbuilders Limited . The factory in Hendon was finally closed in 1970. The daughter Willowbrook ran the business under her own name and was sold in 1971.
1970s
In 1968 Plaxton presented the Plaxton Panorama Elite , which set new standards with its design. Duple countered with the Duple Dominant, which was first shown at the 1972 Commercial Motor Show . The successor to the Panorama Elite , the Plaxton Supreme , went into production in 1974. Duple then developed the Dominant into the Dominant II in 1976 . Front and rear have been redesigned. The Italian designer Michelotti was commissioned with the facelift . The lines were clearer overall, the now rectangular headlights were combined with the radiator grille in a chrome mask. The windshield was now more curved. Although mostly based on Bedford chassis , the Dominant was also available for numerous other chassis in different lengths and widths. Together with the two types from Plaxton , the Dominant was the dominant coach in Great Britain in the 1970s, only Willowbrook was able to secure a smaller share in this market. The import of buses from abroad began only hesitantly at the end of the decade.
Decline and end
The 1980 Transport Act 1980 deregulated bus transport to distances greater than 30 miles, which led to increased competition. There was a growing trend towards heavier chassis that were better suited for longer mileage and the higher speeds. The market for lightweight touring coach chassis such as those built by Ford and Bedford collapsed almost completely. Bedford , however, had been the main supplier of Duple's superstructures , and the company had primarily focused on building smaller and lighter coaches. Production at Duple fell from 1,000 bodies in 1976 to 800 in 1980 to 500 in 1981. The result was layoffs of workers. In 1980/81 Duple took over the company TI Metsec , a manufacturer of double-decker buses , in order to expand its market to local public transport. TI Metsec was run as Duple Metsec after the takeover .
Despite the difficult market situation in 1980, Duple brought out the Dominant III and Dominant IV . The front of both buses was designed like the Dominant II , but the chrome trim was reduced and the bumpers modified. The Dominant III had trapezoidal side windows with wider window bars, the Dominant IV rectangular windows. The equipment of the different Dominant series could, however, be mixed with one another, so that it is difficult to clearly assign the buses. The Goldliner , introduced in 1981 , was based on the Dominant , but had a higher window and roof line to accommodate more luggage and improve the view of the passengers. The first gold liners had a characteristic step in the roof behind the driver's seat. The Goldliner was available as II, III or IV in accordance with the Dominant models. The Super Goldliner , developed in 1982, was developed based on a request from the National Bus Company together with Dennis Specialist Vehicles for high-speed traffic . Only 12 copies of the body, which was placed on a Dennis rear-engined chassis , were produced. Due to the short development time, there were considerable quality defects that earned the bus a reputation for unreliability. The design of the Super Goldliner , now with a flat roof without a step, has also been adopted for other Goldliners .
The import of buses from abroad increased steadily, Neoplan , Bova , Van Hool and Jonckheere were increasingly able to gain shares in the British market. In order to survive in competition with foreign suppliers, Duple developed the laser and the Caribbean in 1982 . The laser was based on the design of the Dominant , but had a more rounded front and a grille painted in body color. The Caribbean was a high-wing aircraft; the Calypso, introduced in 1983, was a normal-height version built on a Bova chassis. The new types could not stop the decline in production, however, in 1983 Duple only produced 340 buses.
In June 1983 the Duple Coachbuilders Limited was sold to the Hestair Group , which had previously taken over Dennis Brothers . Duple has been renamed Hestair Duple . The laser and the Caribbean have been given a facelift. In 1985 a new model was presented with the 300 series . The city bus from this series replaced the successful city bus from the Dominant series, which continued to be produced even after the Dominant coaches were no longer in production. With the 425 , an integrated bus was produced in which the frame and body came from the same manufacturer. Great expectations were attached to the model. However, the now close connection between Duple and the chassis manufacturer Dennis led to the fact that other chassis manufacturers relied less on bodies from Duple. The deregulation of local public transport with the Transport Act of 1986 irritated the operators of the bus routes, as a result of which only a few investments were made. In 1988 Duple finally only built 250 buses. In 1988 Dennis presented the Dennis Dart , a midibus , at the Motor Show . It was to become one of the most successful vehicles in its class. Duple developed a coach based on it. Based on the design of the 300 series, the front was very distinctive with the concave windshield and the convex panel underneath.
In November 1988, Hestair announced the sale of Dennis and Duple to a management buyout under the name Trinity Holdings . The company was renamed International Duple . When sales fell, various attempts were made to increase sales again. Among other things, a new body was to be developed for the Scania N113. However, in July 1989 the decision was made to finally close Duple . The design and production fixtures for the 300 and 400 series were sold to domestic competitor Plaxton . Plaxton also bought Duple Services Ltd , which makes parts and repairs. The design for the Dartline was sold to Carlyle Works Limited . Only Duple Metsec was continued as part of Trinity Holdings and was finally taken over in 1998 by Mayflower Corporation .
Companies
- Duple Bodies & Motors Ltd 1919-1946
-
Duple Motor Bodies Limited 1946–1968
- Duple Motor Bodies (Midland) Limited
- Duple Motor Bodies (Northern) Limited
- Duple Coachbuilders Limited 1968–1983
- Hestair Duple 1983-1989
- Trinity Holdings 1989
Models
1928-1945
AEC Regal , London General
Bedford WLB with duple construction
Bedford WLG , 1932
Duple Hendonian on Bedford OB , 1932
.JPG)
| Surname | construction time | chassis | annotation |
|---|---|---|---|
| AEC shelf | 1930 | AEC shelf | |
| Bedford WHB | 1931 | Bedford WHB / WHG | Coach 14 seats, wheelbase 3.33 m |
| Bedford WLB | 1931 | Bedford WLB / WLG | Coach 14 seats, wheelbase 3.99 m |
| Bedford WHB | 1931 | Bedford WHT | Wheelbase 2.82 m |
| Bedford WHT | 1931 | Bedford WLT | Wheelbase 3.99 m |
| Vista | 1936 | Bedford WTB | |
| Hendonian | 1936 | Bedford OB | |
| Vista II | 1937 | Bedford WTB | |
| Bedford OWB | 1942-1945 | Bedford OWB | Public bus, 25–32 seats |
1945-1960
Duple Vista III on Bedford SB
Three Guy Arab double-deckers, the right-hand bus with a duplex body
Duple Vega on Bedford SB
Duple Super Vega on Bedford SB
Bedford C5 with Duple Super Vista body
| Surname | construction time | chassis | annotation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vista III | 1945-1950 | Bedford OB | Coach, 27–29 seats |
| A-type | 1946 | AEC Regal Guy Arab III Leyland Tiger PS1 Dennis Lancet |
Coach, 35 seats |
| B-type | 1947 | Multipurpose bus | |
| C-type | 1947 | Multipurpose bus | |
| D-type | 1947 | Bristol LL | City bus |
| Ambassador | 1950 | AEC Regal IV Leyland Royal Tiger Leyland Tiger Cub |
Coach, 26–41 seats |
| Roadmaster | 1950 | Bedford OB Leyland Royal Tiger Guy Arab UF |
Coach |
| Vega | 1950 | Bedford SB Commer Avenger II / III |
Coach, 28–41 seats |
| Elizabethan | 1953 | AEC Reliance | Coach |
| Britannia | 1955 |
Leyland Leopard AEC Reliance |
Coach |
| Donington | 1956 | AEC Reliance | Multipurpose bus |
| Great Vista | 1959 | Bedford C4 Bedford C5 |
Coach, 29/30 seats |
| Great Vega | 1961 | Bedford SB | Coach |
1960-1980
Duple Commander on Bristol RE
Duple Dominant Bus on Leyland Tiger
Duple Dominant I on Bristol LHS
| Surname | construction time | chassis | annotation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bella Vista | 1961 | Bedford SB Bedford VAS |
Coach, 41 seats |
| Bella Vega | 1961 | AEC Reliance Bristol RE |
Coach, 43–47 seats |
| Continental | 1961 | Leyland Leopard AEC Reliance |
, Coach 41-49 seats, also known as Alpine Continental referred |
| Vega Major | 1962 | Bedford VAL Ford |
Coach, 49–52 seats |
| Commander | 1964 | Bristol RE Leyland Leopard |
Coach, 44 seats |
| viscount | Bedford VAM AEC Reliance |
Coach, produced at Willowbrook | |
| Viceroy | 1966 | Bedford VAL Ford R-Series Bedford VAM |
Coach, 53 seats |
| Empress | 1966 | Ford R192 | Coach, 45 seats |
| Dominant | 1972 | Leyland Tiger Ford R-Series Bristol LHS |
Coach |
| Dominant II | 1976 | Leyland Tiger Ford R-Series |
Coach, also built as a regular bus |
1980-1988
Duple Dominant IV on Leyland Tiger
Duple laser on Leyland Tiger
Duple 300
Duple 320
Dennis Dart
.jpg)
| Surname | construction time | chassis | annotation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dominant III | 1980 | Leyland Tiger Ford R-Series |
Coach, also built as a regular bus |
| Dominant IV | 1980 | Leyland Tiger Ford R-Series |
Coach |
| Goldliner II-IV | 1981 | Leyland Tiger | Coach, 51 seats |
| Super gold liner | 1982 | Dennis Falcon | Coach |
| laser | 1982 | Leyland Tiger | Coach, 53 seats |
| Caribbean | 1982 | Volvo B10M Leyland Tiger DAF MB200 |
Coach |
| Calypso | 1983 | Bova | |
| Duple 300/320/340 | 1985 | Leyland Tiger Dennis |
Coach / public service bus, the name is derived from the height in cm |
| Duple 425 | 1985 | Dennis | Coach, the name is derived from the drag coefficient |
| Dennis Dart | 1988 | Dennis Dart | Public bus, also Duple Dart, Duple Dartline |
Web links
- The Classic bus website (English)
- Photos of various English buses (English)
- Register (worldwide) (English)
literature
- AA Townsin: Duple: 70 Years of Coachbuilding . Venture Publications Ltd, 1997, ISBN 1-898432-46-5 .
- Eric Ogden: Duple: A Pictorial Survey of Their Activities from the Twenties with a Brief History . Transport Publishing Company, 1976, ISBN 0-903839-12-1 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Nick Walker: AZ of British Coachbuilders . Bay View Books, UK 2000, ISBN 1-870979-93-1 .
- ↑ WHG is the name of the truck chassis, WHB of the derived chassis for buses
- ↑ WLG is the name of the truck chassis, WLB of the derived chassis for buses