Eastern Coach Works

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A Bristol RE built by ECW

The Eastern Coach Works Ltd , abbreviated ECW was a manufacturer of bodies for buses and rail buses from Lowestoft , England.

history

The company's origins go back to United Automobile Services , which was founded in 1912. This company operated two bus routes in Suffolk and between Bishop Auckland and Durham . In 1920 the company in Lowestoft began manufacturing bus bodies. The company's activities in East Anglia were reorganized in 1931. The Eastern Counties Omnibus Company operated the bus routes in this area and continued to manufacture bus bodies. At that time, more than 600 workers were employed in the body shop . The body department was outsourced to the newly founded Eastern Coach Works in July 1936 . The company grew to become the largest employer in Lowestoft.

In May 1940, the company was asked by the military to stop production. It was assumed that after the outbreak of World War II, the east coast of England would be the first to fall victim to the invasion of German troops. Therefore, the production facilities of motor vehicles were relocated to other parts of the country so as not to let them fall into enemy hands. As a result, 950 workers were laid off. After the end of the war, production was resumed and in 1947 reached the pre-war level.

ECW was nationalized in 1947. For the next 18 years mainly bodies for Bristol chassis were manufactured for the state bus companies . In 1965, the state-owned Transport Holding Company , which brought together chassis and superstructure manufacturers and state bus companies, sold a 25% stake in ECW to Leyland Motors . This enabled ECW to tap into private bus companies as customers. In 1969, ECW became part of a joint venture between the National Bus Company (the successor to the Transport Holding Company ) and British Leyland (the successor to Leyland Motors ). Both partners each held a 50% share in the company. In 1982, after the re-privatization of the state bus sector Leyland, took over complete control of ECW and closed the company in 1987. At peak times, ECW had a workforce of 1200 employees.

vehicles

Until the 1980s, it was common for chassis and superstructures for buses to be manufactured by different manufacturers. In the 1960s, chassis without superstructures were often seen in Lowestoft, which were transferred on the road to the ECW plant for completion. ECW mainly manufactured superstructures for the chassis of the Bristol company :

In addition, superstructures for other chassis, such. B. by Leyland or AEC .

  • Leyland Atlantean AN681R

  • Bristol MW

  • Leyland Olympian

  • Bristol VRT

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bristol / Eastern Coach Works Railbus (web) The Railcar Association. Retrieved January 11, 2008.
  2. ↑ United - a potted history ( Memento from October 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ^ A b c d e White, Malcolm R. (2007) Coachwork by Eastern Coach Works Lowestoft , Coastal publications. ISBN 9780954732356 .
  4. ↑ Townsin, Alan (2000). The Bristol Story Part Two , Venture Publications. ISBN 1-898432-78-3
  5. ↑ COACHWORK BY EASTERN COACH WORKS LOWESTOFT . In: Publishers book info ( ISBN 9780954732356 ) . Ian Allan Publishing. Archived from the original on February 23, 2008. Retrieved January 11, 2008.
  6. ^ The Benjamin Britten High School - About Lowestoft (web) Retrieved January 11, 2008.

Web links

Commons : Eastern Coach Works buses in the United Kingdom  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

literature

  • A. Witton: ECW Buses and Coaches . Capital Transport publishing, 1989. ISBN 1-85414-107-4