Leyland Olympian

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Leyland
Leyland Olympian three-axle truck in Hong Kong

Leyland Olympian three-axle truck in Hong Kong

Olympian
Manufacturer Leyland Motors
design type double-decker bus
Production period 1979-1993
engine Diesel engines : Leyland 11.1 liter TL11
Gardner 6LXB or 6LXCT
10 liter Cummins engine
length 2-axles:
9.56, 10.25 and 11 m
3-axles:
10.4 m, 11 m and 12 m
Previous model Bristol VRT
Daimler Fleetline
Leyland Fleetline
Leyland Atlantean
successor Volvo Olympian

The Leyland Olympian was a double-decker bus produced by Leyland Motors from 1979 to 1993 . It was developed from the Leyland Titan (B15) and replaced the manufacture of the Bristol VRT and the Daimler / Leyland Fleetline . After production of the Leyland Atlantean was discontinued in 1986, the Olympian was Leyland's only double-decker bus. His successor was the Volvo Olympian in 1992 , as Volvo had meanwhile taken over the bus division from Leyland.

construction

The Olympian was the result of a further developed Leyland Titan (B15) . The Titan (B15) was an integral double-decker bus that was built in large numbers for London Transport (LTE). The success of the Titan (B15) at London Transport, which replaced the Fleetline there, prompted Leyland to launch the B45 project , the result of which was named Leyland Olympian when series production began in 1979. The Olympian, like the Titan (B15), was descended from the Bristol VRT in many ways . Bristol Commercial Vehicles was merged with Leyland Motors in 1965, the Olympian was initially also manufactured in the former Bristol factories.

For the European market there was the Olympian with two axles in two different lengths of 9.56 and 10.25 meters. Initially, the diesel engine was the Leyland TL11 with 11.1 liter displacement as the drive source in the rear, as a reaction to the successful competitor model MCW Metrobus with its powerful engine, the Gardner 6LXB or 6LXCT as an option . A 10 liter Cummins diesel engine was also later available.

A three-axle version with lengths of 10.4 m, 11.32 m and 11.95 m was specially designed for the export market (Asia). This was bought in large numbers from Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB) from Hong Kong . From 1988 onwards, the Olympian's air conditioning system , which was used in the export market, was powered by the vehicle engine;

The world's first successful fully air-conditioned double-decker bus Leyland Olympian, here in use in Hong Kong at KMB

Body structures

The Leyland Olympian was available with different bodies from various body construction companies .

London

Although London Transport is buying Leyland Titans, London Buses have also bought Leyland Olympians, 263 of which are ECW built. All Leyland Olympians were withdrawn in 2005, some were converted to Open-Top for use in Blackpool Transport. London Transport had bought 40 Leyland Olympians, of which it was Alexander Body in 1992, but it was withdrawn in 2005 and sold to The Original Tour , Arriva's subsidiary.

United Kingdom

Leyland Olympian from 1988 with Alexander superstructure
A Bristol Bus Company Olympian with body by Charles H. Roe
A Leyland Olympian with a body made by Leyland for the Solent Blue Line from Southampton

The Leyland Olympian was popular in the UK in various brands, the Eastern Coachworks, Walter Alexander Coachbuilders, Northern Counties, East Lancs, Roe, Leyland Bus (custom body) and Marshall Bus. They were ordered before and after privatization. Operators who used the bus are Boroline Maidstone (then Kentish Bus ), London Country Bus Services and Armchair Travel .

The last remaining Leyland Olympians were withdrawn by December 2014 because they did not comply with the regulations for disabled people.

Ireland

Dublin Bus originally bought 63 in 1989, but this increased to 175 with the completion of orders in 1992. These buses were gradually withdrawn between 2002 and 2006, with the main exception being the Leyland Olympians, which are used for the city tours, which were withdrawn by February 2012. One of the Leyland Olympians has been relocated back to San Francisco and is branded as San Francisco Deluxe .

Hong Kong

Inside of a Leyland Olympian at China Motor Bus in Hong Kong

At the same time, various Hong Kong bus companies such as China Motor Bus , Citybus and Kowloon Motor Bus had bought Leyland Olympians, which Walter Alexander was built by. Some buses were repatriated to London for use in Big Bus Company. The last Walter Alexander bus was withdrawn in December 2015. At the same time, Big Bus Company buses were all being sold to San Francisco , Las Vegas , Miami, and Washington, DC .

China Motor Bus bought 37 Leyland Olympians from 1981 to 1993. All 35 three-axle Olympians switched to the New World First Bus, with the entire load of ten non-air-conditioned buses being sold to FirstGroup, which took them back to the UK in their East Counties, Glasgow, Manchester and PMT subsidiaries.

After importing some second hand Olympians from the UK, Citybus bought 294 new Olympians. In 2003, 54 buses were repatriated for the operation of several buses under the Megabus brand.

Singapore

Singapore Bus Services (now SBS Transit) acquired 200 Leyland Olympians in 1993-94 and 201 Leyland Olympians 3-axles in 1986-88. The 2-axle buses were withdrawn in 2003–05 and the 3-axle buses were withdrawn in 2010–13.

Greece

He was also deployed in Greece at EAS in Athens . EAS also received Leyland Olympians in 1983, all of which were withdrawn in 1994.

End of production of the Leyland Olympian 1993

After Volvo took over Leyland Bus , production of the Olympian continued only because of the large number of outstanding orders. After the incoming orders decreased, it was decided in 1991 to complete the last orders from Lothian Buses, China Motor Bus, Citybus Hong Kong and SBS Transit / Singapore Buses, with subsequent cessation of production of the Leyland Olympian and closure of the production facility in Workington in 1993 available successor Volvo Olympian was a redesigned Leyland Olympian and was produced in Irvine , Scotland . The last Leyland Olympian is kept by Dave Rogers (SBS9168S, later re-registered and exported as L888SBS).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Leyland Olympian

swell

  • Martin Curtis, Norman Freeman: Olympian-Bristol / Leyland / Volvo . Ian Allan Publishing, 2010, ISBN 978-0-7110-3479-2 .
  • Doug Jack: Beyond Reality . Venture Publications, 1994, ISBN 1-898432-02-3 .

Web links

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