Leyland Olympic

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Leyland Olympic HR40

The Leyland Olympic was a bus from the British commercial vehicle manufacturer Leyland Motors . The type was built from 1948 to 1971 mainly for export. It was developed by Leyland Motors together with Metro Cammell Weymann .

The first HR40 Olympic was first introduced at Earl's Court Motor Show in 1949. With its underfloor six-cylinder diesel engine of the type Leyland O.600, it was intended to be a supplement to the conventionally constructed Leyland Tiger . The advantages of this arrangement of the engine were the greater seating capacity for a given length, the easier entry and exit for passengers, the better weight distribution and the easier access to the mechanical assemblies, which led to savings in maintenance costs. The bus had two doors, the entrance door was located in front of the front axle, which made one-man operation easier, as the driver could also take over the cashing of the passengers when boarding. The Olympic was a so-called integrated bus, with the chassis and body from the same manufacturer. In the case of integrated buses, the design and manufacture of the frame and body could be optimized, resulting in a lighter body and easier production. Since Leyland Motors was specialized in the construction of chassis and engines and had little experience in the development of bus bodies, Metro Cammell Weymann was involved in the development. The type designation VR has the built-in motor lying down ( H orizontal, R ight hand drive), the number 40 to the number of seats. The length of the bus was 27 feet and 6 inches and the wheelbase was 15 feet 7 inches. After the length restriction for two-axle buses was raised to 30 feet in the UK in 1951, it was also offered as the 44-seat HR44 . The buses were 7 feet 6 inches wide, also due to size restrictions. The engine made 125 bhp at 2000 rpm. A manually shifted, synchronized four-speed transmission was installed. The bus was cushioned with leaf springs , the steering worked without power assistance.

From the HR until 1958, 182 units were produced, 147 vehicles were bought in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man , the rest were exported. Since integrated buses were not particularly popular with bus operators in Great Britain, Leyland Motors brought a stand-alone underfloor chassis with an identical wheelbase onto the market in 1950. This chassis from the PSU1 series was named Royal Tiger .

Since the size restrictions did not apply to export, Leyland only brought out the bus as the EL ( E xport, L eft hand drive) and ER ( E xport, R ight hand drive) in the 8 foot wide version. While the ER was only built as an ER44 from the start , Leyland initially only built a left-hand drive long vehicle and only followed suit with the EL44 in 1953 . The largest customers for left-hand drive vehicles were urban transport companies in Argentina , Belgium , Canada and Uruguay , while right- hand drive vehicles went to Jamaica and South Africa .

The Olympic Series II was first introduced at the 1955 Commercial Motor Show. The diesel engine now made 150 bhp. A semi-automatic gearbox was used. The frame was stiffened and the structure designed for greater loads. The HR was no longer produced due to lack of demand, the other two types as EL2 / 44 and ER2 / 44 were continued. In 1960 the market in Cuba was opened up for the Olympic . Deliveries to the island nation were not without controversy after the US imposed the embargo . A total of around 500 buses were sold to Cuba. On October 27, 1964, the Magdeburg sank on the Thames, on board were among other things 42 Olympic , which were intended for Havana. Some of the buses could be salvaged and were given new bodies. As left-hand drive vehicles, they were used by British tourism companies for journeys on the European continent.

In 1967 Leyland brought out the Olympic Series III with a modified structure. Designated as EL3 / 41 , it now offered 41 seats. A small number of EL3 / 45s were sold to the Dominican Republic , a larger series of EL3 / 45 / 34s with 36 seats went to Turkey . A right-hand drive version of this series was no longer produced.

Although it was not very common on the domestic market, the Olympic had become an export success. It was particularly popular in Latin America and South Africa and remained in use for a long time. In 2004, Olympic were still in action in Havana . During the long period of use, the buses were subjected to various modernizations and changes.

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