Leyland Atlantean

Leyland
Atlantean
Manufacturer	Leyland Motors
design type	double-decker bus
Production period	1958-1986
engine	Leyland O.600 / O.680 / O.690
length	30 ft = 9.14 m 33 ft = 10.04 m
successor	Leyland Olympian

Leyland Atlantean was a chassis for double-decker buses built by Leyland Motors between 1958 and 1986 . The superstructures for this came from different manufacturers . Leyland was a pioneer in the production of double-deck buses with rear engines and front entry for one-man operation. The Schaffner ( Conductor ) receiving the exit signal from the rear part of the vehicle to the driver transmitted and collected the fare was unnecessary. After Volvo acquired the Leyland bus division in 1986 , production of the Atlantean ceased and the Leyland Olympian was now Leyland's only double-decker bus.

Model history

In the years immediately after the Second World War , bus and bus companies in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland faced a decline in passenger numbers, and later there was a shortage of staff, so they looked for ways to save. Even before the war there were bus prototypes with engines in places other than in front of the front axle, but they did not get beyond the experimental stage. In order to restrict the space for the passengers as little as possible by an engine compartment, there were different designs of single deck buses with underfloor motors . Due to the design, this increased the body floor , which required an additional step at the vehicle entrance. In the case of double-deck buses, these problems were even more severe - either the bus became very high overall or the interior height was insufficient.

In 1952 Leyland therefore began to experiment with ideas for a rear-engined double-decker bus. A prototype was built with the then maximum width of 7 feet 6 inches (2.29 m), the body of which came from Charles H. Roe . The Leyland O.350 diesel engine with a turbocharger was mounted across the back of the subframe . The platform frame had longitudinal members made of steel, some parts were made of light metal . An automatic clutch and a Vorwähl transmission with pneumatically operated circuit manufacturer SCG were installed. The vehicle with the no. 530001 was designated as PDR1 (R for rear-engined, rear engine).

In 1956 a second prototype, No. 542209, was produced, this time with a body by Metro Cammell Weymann . It had a centrifugal clutch and an angular gear with pneumatically assisted switching. This vehicle was 4.03 meters high with a 4.94 meter long wheelbase with a total length of 9.09 meters and had 78 seats. Leyland called the prototype Lowloader . Although two prototypes were extensively tested, the same problem with the front-engined buses remained: the entrance was at the rear and the space next to the driver was unused.

PDR1 / PDR2

The first Atlantean series with a Wallasey body

Rear view, hood removed

In 1956 the legal regulations for the construction of double-decker buses were changed. Now a maximum length of 30 ft (9.14 m) was allowed, which made a wide entrance in front of the front axle possible. The basic idea was that the driver monitors access to the vehicle and the conductor collects the fare. Leyland Motors built the first prototype Atlantean due to the new regulation, which was presented at the 1956 Commercial Motor Show in Earls Court . This now had the door in front, which later became popular in buses, but several factors still prevented series production. The main problem was the loud engine noise in the lower passenger compartment, as the engine was under the rear bench seats. Mechanically, the prototype Atlantean (281 ATC) was similar to the lowloader with a Leyland O.600 diesel engine with an angular gear installed across the rear . The light metal base plates were riveted directly to the frame, which both reinforced the frame and created a base for the floor while being light. An inverted portal axis at the rear enabled a continuous flat floor, which meant that the bus was only accessible from the street with one step. The prototype was demonstrated to various transport companies across the country. A duplicate that was not registered under road traffic law was also built and made available to the transport companies as a test vehicle at the Leyland plant.

A special feature (together with the Daimler Fleetline 2nd from right) was the recess in the rear that was made necessary by the lift-up bonnet

Until 1958, Leyland continued to experiment with the prototypes to solve most of the problems. Then both were subsequently scrapped and the Atlantean PDR1 / 1 presented at the 1958 Commercial Motor Show . This now had the engine in a closed engine compartment separated from the rest of the structure in the rear, and a wheelbase of 16 feet 3 inches (4.95 meters). With conventional front and rear axles, leaf springs all around and a steel frame, it was technically simpler than the prototypes. The Glasgow Corporation , James from Ammanford and Wallasey were the first customers and put their copies into operation from December 1958.

Early Atlantean EDW 68D built by Walter Alexander Coachbuilders

From 1964, a rear axle with a lower drive for the Atlantean was offered as the Atlantean PDR1 / 2 (later version PDR1 / 3), which meant that the access for the passengers was lower.

In 1967 the production of the Leyland Atlantean PDR2 / 1 started, which could be equipped with a 10 m long body.

In some bodies the depression was not full width

Although some companies initially continued to buy front-engined vehicles for better reliability, the Atlantean became a very popular model. For example, the major national transport companies such as the National Bus Company (NBC) and the Scottish Bus Group of Bristol VR and Daimler Fleetline were the models used, while the municipal operators in Aberdeen , Bournemouth , Glasgow , Edinburgh , Newcastle , Manchester , Liverpool , Newport , Nottingham and Plymouth the Atlantean became more and more the main model and was bought in large numbers.

The Atlantean was also popular with Australian bus companies. The New South Wales Public Transport Commission in Sydney purchased 224 locally-produced cars from Pressed Metal Corporation between May 1970 and April 1973.

Many of the Atlantean PDR1 / PDR2 formerly used in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland were exported to Australia in the 1970s. Kirkland Bros Omnibus Services from Lismore and Westbus of Sydney were the main buyers. In April 1974 a PDR1A / 1 chassis originally produced for the Southampton Company was damaged by fire while the body was being built at East Lancashire Coachbuilders . Pressed Metal Corporation made it into the only Atlantean single-decker bus that was used by Seven Hills Bus Company .

By 1972 over 6000 Leyland Atlantean PDR1 and PDR2 had been sold.

Atlantean emblem on New South Wales buses

AN68 / AN69

Leyland Atlantean with the establishment of Northern Counties Motor and Engineering Company

In February 1972 the AN68 series replaced the PDR1 / PDR2 models. The new chassis allowed a wider door and offered some new security features. An acoustic and visual alarm now informed the driver in good time if the engine was about to overheat. A fail-safe brake was introduced and the steering box and brakes were protected from damage in the event of severe frontal collisions. Stainless steel tubes have now been used for greater resistance to corrosion.

Two models were offered: AN68 / 1R, 9.4 m long and AN68 / 2R, 10.2 m long. Power steering was standard on the AN68 / 2R and optionally available on the AN68 / 1R. The only engine available was the new Leyland O.680 diesel engine. A multitude of body styles from different manufacturers continued to be offered, so that the Atlantean was also available tailored to the requirements of small independent operators with different needs than the corporations from the big cities.

From 1978, Leyland offered the AN69 with the Leyland O.690 diesel engine, a variant of the O.680 with a turbocharger , which was mainly ordered for export models.

An AN68A / 1R built in November 1978 with bodywork by Charles H. Roe at South Yorkshire PTE

The Atlantean continued to be sold in large numbers and many customers stayed loyal to the model. Above all, London Transport (LTE) opted for the Daimler Fleetline (later Leyland Fleetline ) with special equipment instead of the Atlantean as their large rear-engined double-decker bus. These proved to be technically vulnerable and required special maintenance.

When the British Leyland Motor Corporation was created in 1968 , former competitors Daimler Motor Company and Bristol Commercial Vehicles came together with Leyland Motors. As a result, there were also the two competing rear-engined chassis Daimler Fleetline and Bristol VR with the Atlantean in the same group. As a result, the Bristol brand was retained, while the name "Daimler" was only used for Jaguar Cars and the commercial vehicle products were renamed Leyland. After the reorganization, a new project was started at Leyland to develop a new double-decker bus with a rear engine especially for the London market, which was supposed to replace the technically fragile Fleetlines. This became the Leyland Titan (B15) , from which the Leyland Olympian was later developed as a joint replacement for the VR, the Fleetline and the Atlantean. The demand for the Atlantean AN68 remained so constant that it finally remained in production alongside the Olympian until 1986. The last Atlantean for the domestic market rolled off the production line in 1984 and Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive was the last domestic transport company to acquire a new Atlantean. In the following two years of production, the export models were mainly built for the other countries in the Commonwealth of Nations and the state-owned Baghdad transport company in Iraq .

By the end of production, over 15,000 Atlantean had been built. Greater Manchester PTE was the largest operator of Atlantean body fleets for Northern Counties Motor and Engineering Company and, to a lesser extent, Park Royal Vehicles . This was followed by Glasgow PTE with superstructures mainly from Walter Alexander Coachbuilders . Merseyside PTE operated the third largest fleet with around 800 vehicles, mostly bodyworked by Walter Alexander Coachbuilders and East Lancashire Coachbuilders , as well as smaller batches with bodies from Metro Cammell Weymann and Willowbrook .

Exports

Notably, Atlantean's fourth largest customer was Singapore Bus Service with 520 Atlantean AN68 / 2Rs between 1977 and 1986 in three batches with Duple Metsec , British Aluminum Company and Walter Alexander bodywork.

In 1977 Singapore Bus Services (SBS) received 20 Leyland Atlantean AN68s with BACo and Metal Sections bodies to test their suitability on Singapore roads. These were Singapore's first double decker buses. They were first used on Service 86, which runs from Tampines Way to Shenton Way, before being switched to Services 140 and 159. These buses were withdrawn in January 1990 and sold to Guangzhou .

SBS was satisfied with the trials and ordered 200 Leyland Atlanteans in 1978. Half of that was under Metal Sections and the other half under Alexander L Bodywork. They were in service on the roads from 1980 to 1982, but were all retired by December 1995. These buses were gradually withdrawn after 1991. 100 of the Alexander L buses were sold to Citybus in Hong Kong and 37 of the Duple Metsec buses were sold to China. The Citybus buses were equipped with the Alexander R body and became a training fleet. These buses were withdrawn in 1998 after reaching a service life of 17-19 years.

In 1982, SBS had ordered another 100 Leyland Atlantean to increase the capacity of all bus routes, with the exception of Jurong Bus Depot, which will be using the double-decker Mercedes-Benz O305 and Leyland Olympian from 1984 onwards , the ECW body. Some of them had the Flexvision billboards. These buses were introduced in 1983 but were all withdrawn by 1996.

The last 200 Leyland Atlantean were ordered in 1983 and delivered between 1984 and 1986. These buses were scrapped in 1996-2001 after a 15 year lifespan accumulated and more than enough Volvo Olympians ordered.

Competition with other models

Although the Atlantean was the first rear-engined double-decker bus on the market, the Daimler Motor Company quickly caught up with the Fleetline, while Bristol did not follow suit until a few years later with the VRT. The Bristol VRT was preferred by the state-owned National Bus Company (NBC) and the Scottish sister company, the Scottish Bus Group , acquired numerous examples of the first models after good experience with the front-engined Bristol Lodekka . However, the Scottish Bus Group was not satisfied and later exchanged them for ex-NBC Lodekkas and decided on the Daimler Fleetline for the double-decker needs.

After the reorganization of the British Leyland Motor Corporation , both VR and Fleetline were Leyland models. Many bus companies now turned to other manufacturers who could offer alternatives to the state manufacturer. Delivery problems at Leyland Motors caused a slump in the market for double-decker buses with rear-engined buses - in favor of products such as the Scania Metropolitan and Dennis Dominator . The reintroduced Volvo Ailsa double-decker, front-engined bus also sold with some success. In 1981 the production of the model series, built in over 6,400 VR and 11,500 Fleetline, ended.

The Metropolitan partnership between Scania and Metro Cammell Weymann ended in the late 1970s, which is why MCW presented its own model, the MCW Metrobus . The success of the Metrobus, especially at West Midlands PTE and London Transport, led Leyland to deliver the actual successor to the Atlantean, the Leyland Olympian , with engines from other manufacturers in order to be able to make a contemporary offer when the Atlantean is replaced by the bus operators.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ LAP Australian bus fleet list
2. ↑ (File 12) Seven Hill Atlantean Single Decker Bus
3. ↑ Decommissioning of Leyland Atlantean at Singapore Bus Service begins
4. ↑ Last Leyland Atlantean put out of service at Singapore Bus Service  ( page can no longer be accessed , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
5. ↑ Biggest Alexander or Commercial Motor August 20, 1983

Web links

Commons : Leyland Atlantean  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Website with information about Leyland buses (English)
• Website various information about Leyland buses operators (English)