Walter Alexander Coachbuilders

Leyland Olympian with construction by Alexander

Walter Alexander Coachbuilders was a coachbuilder from Falkirk , Scotland . Founded in 1922, the company exists today as part of the bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis Ltd. (ADL) continued.

history

The company's founder, Walter Alexander , ran a bus company in Scotland called Alexander's Motor Service . In 1922 he decided to manufacture the superstructures for the buses on his bus routes himself and founded W. Alexander & Sons Limited with his son .

In 1928 the two major British railway companies London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) and London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) bought into Scottish Motor Traction (SMT) , which operated an extensive bus network in Scotland, and converted the SMT into a holding company . Alexander took a stake in the SMT and thus gave the company access to new sales markets as well as access to services and products of SMT . The following year he sold his body shop to SMT .

In 1948 the company's name was changed to Walter Alexander & Co (Coachbuilders) Limited . The Northern Irish coachbuilder Potters took over Walter Alexander & Co (Coachbuilders) Limited in 1969 . As a result of the takeover, a subsidiary was established in Belfast , which for a long period of time built almost all the bodies of the Northern Irish bus companies Citybus and Ulsterbus .

The company's ownership structure has changed several times since the early 1990s. In 1995 Alexanders was taken over by Mayflower Corporation and has been part of Alexander Dennis Ltd. since 2001 .

Models

Between the 1970s and 1990s, Alexander was a leading company in the manufacture of bodies for double-decker buses . The company was also able to establish itself in the single-decker bus market as early as the 1960s. The company had a particularly strong position in Northern Ireland , where in the 1970s and 1980s virtually all new buses were built by Alexander . In addition, Alexander also built bodies for motor coaches of British Rail .

Railcar

British Rail Class 143
British Rail Class 144

Class 143 of the Great Western
Class 144 of the Northern Rail

Double decker buses

A type / J type - body for Leyland Atlantean and Daimler Fleetline (until 1972)

D type / K type / AD type - lightweight construction, mostly on a Fleetline chassis

L type / AL type - body for Leyland Atlantean , Daimler Fleetline and Bristol VR (from 1972); (A for alloy = aluminum alloy , denotes particularly light design)

AV type - body for Volvo Ailsa B55

R type - including RH, RL, RV, RLC, RVC, RHS and Royale - bodies after 1981

ALX series - ALX 400 - two-axle low - floor bus / ALX 500 - three-axle low-floor bus

CB type - for China Motor Bus

KB type - for Kowloon Motor Bus

LB type - for New Lantao Bus

MB type - for Manila Bus

SB type - for Singapore Bus Service

Alexander AD type on Daimler Fleetline
Alexander AV type on Volvo B55
Alexander R type on Leyland Olympian
Alexander ALX 400 on DAF

Coaches and buses (single-story)

Y type - including AY and AYS (A for alloy - aluminum alloy, indicates particularly light design)
W type
M type - Motorway-compatible coach for express transport England – Scotland by the Scottish Bus Group
T type - including AT, TS, TC, TE (A for alloy, S for stage, C for coach, E for express)
P type
PS type - further development of the P type
X type - made by Alexander (Belfast)
N type - made by Alexander (Belfast)
Q type - manufactured by Alexander (Belfast)
AF type (Strider) - for chassis with rear engine
AM type
- Sprint - minibus body
- Dash - Midibus body (for Dennis Dart or Volvo B6 )
Ultra - manufactured by Alexander (Belfast), version of the Säffle body for the Volvo B10L
ALX series
- ALX 100 - minibus
- ALX 200 - small low-floor bus
- ALX 300 - normal-sized low-floor bus