Leyland and Volvo Olympians

[Jordan Adam]

Perth only got 4 of the D-XRS batch. 14486, 14487, 14488 and 14489. I seem to remember them having very high backed seats instead of the usual bench seats that the Leylands used to have.

I edited my reply just after i posted. If you look at the photo during conversion you can see that most of the seats on the top deck had been removed (it looks as if they're stacked up on the lower deck), then on the "after" photo you can see it had been fitted with the high back seats you mention.

 

[scotraildriver]

When I worked at Kelvin Central buses many moons ago i remeber our first Volvo Olympipan - L827 YGA with Alexander Royale bodywork. It was an absolute revelation compared to the heaps we were used to and a beautiful drive. There was an initial batch of 7 and drivers used to "steal" them out the depot having been allocated something else. There was even a fight between 2 drivers at least once over them. We then got a further batch of low height ones M-DUS registrations, and these were equally good and everyone got one so was happy. It was a shame they became quite shabby over the years then got refurbished just a few months before withdrawl. Great buses.

 

[GusB]

B357LSO (14457) seemed to have the longest gear ratios out of the batch. The length of time it took to go from from 1st to 2nd too an absolute age.

What batch was it that were originally dual door? I seem to remember a batch of Bluebird Oly's being dual door but by the time they came to Perth they had been converted to single door.

The dual door Olympians were the D-XRS batch. Bluebird bought them for "City Bus" services which went in competition with Grampian.

One of the B-LSO batch had a 5-cylinder Gardner (5LXCT?) installed instead of the usual 6LXB. I'm unsure if this was fitted later, or whether it had it from new. If I recall correctly it was the former NLO57, which may go some way towards explaining if the gearbox was set up slightly differently, but don't quote me on that!

*EDIT* I'm havering - it was NLO49 which had the 5-cylinder engine.

Of the C-SSO batch, NLO67-74 were dual-door, and NLO75-82 were D-XRS, all delivered in Citybus livery. The D-XRS batch appear to have been wheeched away fairly soon after privatisation, and were split between Ribble and United counties initially. Many of them had received GSO-V or MHS-P registrations.

 

[GaryMcEwan]

One of the B-LSO batch had a 5-cylinder Gardner (5LXCT?) installed instead of the usual 6LXB. I'm unsure if this was fitted later, or whether it had it from new. If I recall correctly it was the former NLO57, which may go some way towards explaining if the gearbox was set up slightly differently, but don't quote me on that!

Of the C-SSO batch, NLO67-74 were dual-door, and NLO75-82 were D-XRS, all delivered in Citybus livery. The D-XRS batch appear to have been wheeched away fairly soon after privatisation, and were split between Ribble and United counties initially. Many of them had received GSO-V or MHS-P registrations.

Perth got GSO1V not sure if this came straight from Bluebird or elsewhere. Am I right in thinking that this later got it's old plate of C471SSO back and national fleet number of 14471 or am I thinking of another one?

 

[GusB]

Perth got GSO1V not sure if this came straight from Bluebird or elsewhere. Am I right in thinking that this later got it's old plate of C471SSO back and national fleet number of 14471 or am I thinking of another one?

It's possible, but I didn't really keep track of further re-registrations - it used to be that if a vehicle was given a "cherished" plate and subsequently re-registered again, it was given an entirely new identity. At some point this policy changed and vehicles would re-gain their original registration (provided it was still available, I presume). The last source I have is dated 1992 (Stagecoach Fleet Handbook), and at this point 071 is still with Bluebird.

 

[GaryMcEwan]

I've got A4 paper fleet lists which head office sent me back in 1996 for Bluebird, Perth and Western as part of a school project.

I'll need to try and find them and see what's on it.

 

[mbonwick]

R121XNO (16121) is currently registered EUI656 has been in storage at Insch since withdrawal just over 2 years ago, It's still in working order (i believe) and would be a good preservation candidate if anyone was after a R-XNO. Further to that it still has it's original grey seating. They appear to be in no rush at all to move it on.

Already been sold back in May 2017, obviously never been collected by the scrapman. It's actually on it's original registration (R121XNO) but displaying the previous plates. EUI656 is on retention.
Would be interesting to see what happens if you asked Stagecoach about it though, e.g. through a tweet...

Perth got GSO1V not sure if this came straight from Bluebird or elsewhere. Am I right in thinking that this later got it's old plate of C471SSO back and national fleet number of 14471 or am I thinking of another one?

Correct. Originally C471SSO, then GSO1V, then back to C471SSO. Bluebird 071, then 14471 in the national numbering system.

I've got A4 paper fleet lists which head office sent me back in 1996 for Bluebird, Perth and Western as part of a school project.

I'll need to try and find them and see what's on it.

If you can find a way to scan them, they would be a very welcome addition to my archive of fleetlists.

 

[Jordan Adam]

Already been sold back in May 2017, obviously never been collected by the scrapman. It's actually on it's original registration (R121XNO) but displaying the previous plates. EUI656 is on retention.
Would be interesting to see what happens if you asked Stagecoach about it though, e.g. through a tweet...

A bit like 22707/9 which were listed as sold years ago, but remain intact inside the annex at Tullos depot in Aberdeen - where they have sat for 3 and half years! I thought 16121 may have reverted back to it's original plate, but i wasn't too sure. In all honesty tweeting them probably wouldn't get any more info than that which i can get through other "easier" means.

 

[Bus Lightyear]

The early Stratchlyde's Buses Leyland Olympians were pretty good. Most of them had Eastern Counties bodies. The L-reg batch that arrived a year after the huge Larkfield Depot fire 25 years ago weren't quite as good as they were very pedestrian and the cabs were cramped but they had good heaters.
The Kelvin Central Leyland Olympians which may have had different engines or gearboxes from the early SBL ones were very sluggish and some of them were moved to the short lived GCT subsidiary of the Strathclyde's Buses Holdings group.

When I worked at Kelvin Central buses many moons ago i remeber our first Volvo Olympipan - L827 YGA with Alexander Royale bodywork. It was an absolute revelation compared to the heaps we were used to and a beautiful drive. There was an initial batch of 7 and drivers used to "steal" them out the depot having been allocated something else.

I remember these buses well. Very fast and they were warm too.

 

[Darklord8899]

.....I always thought Lothian's ECW bodied Olympians looked far better than the Alexander bodied versions.....

Ride wise, I can't remember one being better than the other....

 

[Eyersey468]

Were these the original ECW Olympians (1983-6)? Probably Leyland’s own hydracyclic boxes - the auto did have Hold in each gear though

No they were Northern Counties bodied ones, they did have ECW ones but the last of those were sold before I started

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

No they were Northern Counties bodied ones, they did have ECW ones but the last of those were sold before I started

Hmmm... Don’t know in that case.

Always liked East Yorkshire Olympians as they were in much better nick

 

[route101]

Remember in 2014 , colchri travel operated a A reg Olympian between Silverburn and Braehead.

 

[Swanny200]

I seem to for my first 20 odd years of my life always end up somewhere with a steady stable of Olympians. Was in Aberdeen for the first 12 years of my life, and living between Mastrick and Northfield had a choice of the Atlanteans from Grampian or the Olympians of Bluebird to get to town, mostly it was Grampian but then in the late 80's they had the new E reg Oly's come in with the Alexander bodywork. In 1990 I moved down to M&D land and one of my frequent trips was on the Invictaway 101 to and from Gillingham which usually if a double decker was one of the ECW coach seated olympians that seemed to fly, they disappeared around 94/5 when the new Volvo Palatines came in, unsure if they were actually Olympians at that time. From there back up to Scotland, this time to Fife/Lothian territory where plenty of Olympians were still running until about 8 or 9 years ago in Royale form.

 

[Robertj21a]

Green Bus, Birmingham, still have 3 Olympians, R364LGH, R365LGH and P929RYO. They occasionally see use on school services that are "available to the general public", the destination displays show "available for public use".

Surely, that shouldn't be possible ?

No Olympian will meet the DDA regulations necessary for 'stage carriage' operations.

 

[Eyersey468]

Hmmm... Don’t know in that case.

Always liked East Yorkshire Olympians as they were in much better nick

They were probably either Voith or ZF but can't remember which. The Alexander Royale Olympians were nice to drive but after about 10 years on the road were badly rusted underneath, the Northern Counties ones didn't seem to rust as badly but leaked like a sieve when it rained.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

They were probably either Voith or ZF but can't remember which. The Alexander Royale Olympians were nice to drive but after about 10 years on the road were badly rusted underneath, the Northern Counties ones didn't seem to rust as badly but leaked like a sieve when it rained.

Some of the later Olympians did suffer badly with corrosion. Go Ahead Northern (and later Arriva NE received some similar aged Alexander R types from Merseyside) that were known for their water ingress and consequent "musty stench"

 

[Jordan Adam]

Some of the later Olympians did suffer badly with corrosion. Go Ahead Northern (and later Arriva NE received some similar aged Alexander R types from Merseyside) that were known for their water ingress and consequent "musty stench"

It was the Volvos (mainly early ones) which are appalling for rust. I think i said earlier in the thread but K/L reg examples were particularly bad.

 

[overthewater]

It was the Volvos (mainly early ones) which are appalling for rust. I think i said earlier in the thread but K/L reg examples were particularly bad.

When it rained you needed an umbrella inside aswell, I remember one trip the upstairs was flooded with the amount of water...

 

[Eyersey468]

The Alexander ones were N reg, the Northern Counties Volvos were N, P and S reg. Wonder why the Volvo ones rusted far worse than the Leylands

 

[overthewater]

It was just Northern Countie that rust...

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

It was just Northern Countie that rust...

The Volvo chassis did corrode badly - mainly the later P/R/S reg ones. Bristol had some NC bodied ones K/L reg that were long lived, managing 20 years service.

Believe there were issues in the steel quality employed but that may just be hearsay

 

[Jordan Adam]

When it rained you needed an umbrella inside aswell, I remember one trip the upstairs was flooded with the amount of water...

I recall a few years back travelling on a R-XNO (i think it was 16112) during a heavy rain storm, all the rubber gaskets on the windows had a good sized hole at the top and as such all the passengers got soaked! On the other examples it wasn't rare to see some sort of black sealant "carelessly" sprayed over the gaps.

It was just Northern Countie that rust...

There were other cases too, N863VHH which is Alexander RL bodied had to be taken off the road a few years back due to a split and corroded chassis. Strangely enough it has been bought by new owners and to my knowledge still runs, i can only assume it got repaired after it's time with Stagecoach.

The Alexander ones were N reg, the Northern Counties Volvos were N, P and S reg. Wonder why the Volvo ones rusted far worse than the Leylands

The whole L-JSA batch were held together with welded on plates, possibly the worst Olympians i can personally recall. Albeit 16200 did struggle on for quite some time.

The Volvo chassis did corrode badly - mainly the later P/R/S reg ones. Bristol had some NC bodied ones K/L reg that were long lived, managing 20 years service.

Believe there were issues in the steel quality employed but that may just be hearsay

The K-ORLs were apparently pretty bad for corrosion.

Poor steel quality was the reasoning i've heard from multiple sources before too.

 

[overthewater]

he whole L-JSA batch were held together with welded on plates, possibly the worst Olympians i can personally recall. Albeit 16200 did struggle on for quite some time.

Thats the batch that required umbrellas, mind you there went like stink.

I also remember one time on a later N reg Northern Counties body, again heavy rain but this time the floor split and a huge wave came crashing up form the side seat, thank goodness no one was sitting near by.

 

[Jordan Adam]

Thats the batch that required umbrellas, mind you there went like stink.

16200 for most of 2010 had a massive hole in the roof, i think there's photos online where it's clearly visible, although it's hard to check just now as i'm not on my PC!

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

I recall a few years back travelling on a R-XNO (i think it was 16112) during a heavy rain storm, all the rubber gaskets on the windows had a good sized hole at the top and as such all the passengers got soaked! On the other examples it wasn't rare to see some sort of black sealant "carelessly" sprayed over the gaps.



There were other cases too, N863VHH which is Alexander RL bodied had to be taken off the road a few years back due to a split and corroded chassis. Strangely enough it has been bought by new owners and to my knowledge still runs, i can only assume it got repaired after it's time with Stagecoach.



The whole L-JSA batch were held together with welded on plates, possibly the worst Olympians i can personally recall. Albeit 16200 did struggle on for quite some time.



The K-ORLs were apparently pretty bad for corrosion.

Poor steel quality was the reasoning i've heard from multiple sources before too.

The K-ORLs lasted quite long - all did at least 17 years (801/3 still survive in preservation) and that was with the sea air

 

[Driver362]

They used to rot bad in the area of chassis that formed the engine cradle.I remember taking one for its 6week inspection and the vehicle examiner inviting me down the pit for a look at the hole in the chassis you could easily fit your fist into ! . Seen to recall it was from the S***AKS Batch .water ingress was always a problem on any Olympian I drove in the rain .
however given the chance I would still drive one all day every day ! My only complaint was the noisy fan up front

 

[Mitchell Hurd]

One Olympian I'd love to ride is a preserved ECW coach one - either C454 DKE or similar.

My opinion of the C-reg one (from listening to it on YouTube about a few times) is it's basically a bus chassis with a coach body. I say this as I don't think it was ever suited to motorway work given its gear ratios + higher revs at high-speed.

If I've missed something then apologies.

I think it was at an Oxfordshire Bus Enthusiasts Society meeting when I learnt these Olympians weren't very reliable / particularly reliable.

 

[route101]

The ones Stagecoach had in Fife R and S reg , always thought they looked older than they actually were .
Glasgow had royale up till 2012 at least .

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Slight typo - it's C454GKE

The issue with the Leyland Olympian coaches is that they were a reaction to the new world of double deck coaches so Leyland were keen to avoid firms choosing Neoplan Skyliners etc. Hence the prototype (ADD50Y) was rather rushed into service. In the event, it was clear that it wouldn't be able to compare with Neoplans or MCW Metroliners - it was a bus chassis at heart and the lack of development was really highlighted. Therefore, it became more of a commuter coach rather than a Rapide style motorway mile muncher, explaining why it was Eastern National, M&D, Alder Valley and London Country who were the main users.

I did enjoy them when some were sent north and worked for Northumbria on their expresses from Newcastle. One run (which may have been on a former M&D machine) from Newcastle to Hexham was perhaps one of the most relaxing journeys I've ever been on.