Neoplan jumbo cruiser
_WePil_b.jpg)
Jumbocruiser is the name of the double-decker articulated bus with the type designation N138 / 4 built between 1975 and 1992 by the German bus manufacturer Neoplan . Its approx. 90 m² floor space theoretically allows 144 seats. Equipped with a bar and a large luggage compartment, the vehicles were delivered with a maximum of 110 seats. In terms of usable space, it is still the largest road-going bus in the world.
The Jumbocruiser is a four-axle double-decker articulated bus that uses the (then) maximum dimensions allowed for German vehicles. In total, only eleven vehicles were made. The first ten models had the engine and drive axle in the middle of the vehicle. The engine compartment is in a separate housing in front of and under the joint, so that a transition is only possible on the upper deck. The eleventh and last vehicle in this series was designed as an articulated pusher bus . This vehicle was designed differently at the customer's request, but was still assigned to the N138 / 4 series.
The cost of a new jumbo cruiser in 1977 was around 1.1 million DM. A comparable Skyliner double-decker type N122 / 3 cost only around 460,000 DM at the time.
commitment
Of the eleven vehicles of this type, nine are still in service, but in most cases no longer with their original function as a coach . This is mainly due to the fact that countries such as France generally refuse entry to articulated buses or require expensive special permits. Furthermore, the market for bus travel also declined, so that travel companies were forced to purchase vehicles as cheaply as possible. For these reasons, the four-axle, 15 m long double-decker Neoplan "Megaliner" with two front steering axles could not make a breakthrough.
Whereabouts
_der_Treberhilfe_Dresden.jpg)
,_2012_North_Weald_bus_rally.jpg)
.JPG)
Vehicle no. 1, built in 1975 for Globus Reisen Köln, is today the largest mobile home in the world, known under the label “The Bus”.
Vehicle No. 2, built in 1976 for TRD-Reisen Dortmund, was in the meantime touring bus of the Kelly Family . Vehicle is privately owned and currently in storage.
Vehicle no. 3, built in 1976 for Hallo Reisen Essen, today belongs to the company Reiseienst Lücke in Dülmen and is the last jumbo cruiser to be approved as a bus.
Vehicle no. 4, first registered with Mundstock Reisen in 1977 after several order cancellations , is today a mobile social station at Treberhilfe Dresden eV
Vehicle No. 5, also built in 1977 for TRD-Reisen, is not ready to drive today in the holdings of the U-Boot-Museum in Peenemünde .
Vehicle No. 6, built in 1977 and used for the first time as a Car-O-Tel hotel bus in the USA, is now also a motor home.
Vehicle No. 7, probably also built in 1979 for Hallo Reisen in Essen, is rumored to have burned down in the 1980s.
Vehicle no. 8, built in 1982 for Sola Ruten in Norway, had a serious accident in the early 1990s when the car collided with a bridge.
Vehicle No. 9, built in 1983 for a Japanese travel company, was only 3.80 m high. In addition, the vehicle was right-hand drive and had the doors on the left. Its whereabouts are unknown.
Vehicle no. 10, built in 1986 for TRD-Reisen in a new design, is now used as an advertising vehicle by Smart Moving Media.
Vehicle No. 11, built in 1992 for Best Tours in Belgium, had a serious accident shortly after it was put into service. The vehicle was only refurbished in 2006. The vehicle has been in Berlin since 2015 and is being converted into an event vehicle.
Comparable vehicles
VDL Berkhof Excellence 2000 HDA: There were only two prototypes of this vehicle, which besides the Jumbocruiser were the only articulated double-decker buses in the world.
Van Hool TG 822 Altano (nickname Alligator): Execution as super high decker (only one continuous upper deck).
Neoplan N121 / 4 Spacelongliner: Execution as a super high-decker (vehicle was a one-off).
Footnotes
- ↑ The Jumbocruiser: The last giant of its kind - for 100 travelers. Travel service gap, accessed on March 1, 2020 .
- ↑ Neoplan N 121/4 “Spacelongliner”. (No longer available online.) In: Rotary-Motorsport.de. Archived from the original on May 12, 2014 ; accessed on May 11, 2014 .
