• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Midland Red East Lancs EL2000 - How Many Left?

Status
Not open for further replies.

SWTH

Member
Joined
12 Mar 2013
Messages
418
Location
Shrewsbury/Porthmadog/Exeter
I'm trying to trace the former Midland Red North Leyland Tigers that were rebodied with East Lancs EL2000 bodies in the early '90s. So far the list reads like this:

Leyland Tiger DP49F East Lancashire Coach Builders 2000
1710 TPC 101X - Scrapped 2005

Leyland Tiger B51F East Lancashire Coach Builders 2000
1711 WPH 121Y - Scrapped 2002

Leyland Tiger B55F East Lancashire Coach Builders 2000
1712 TPC 102X - Exported to Zambia 2008

Leyland Tiger DP49F East Lancashire Coach Builders 2000
1713 TPC 103X - Unknown Showing as untaxed from 2006 on DVLA
1714 TPC 104X - Scrapped 2007


Leyland Tiger B51F East Lancashire Coach Builders 2000
1715 WPH 125Y - Unknown Showing as untaxed from 2008 on DVLA
1716 WPH 126Y - Unknown, last known operator Islwyn Borough Transport. Showing as untaxed from 2007 on DVLA

Leyland Tiger DP51F East Lancashire Coach Builders 2000
1717 TPC 107X - Unknown Showing as untaxed from 2003 on DVLA

Leyland Tiger B51F East Lancashire Coach Builders 2000
1718 TPC 114X - Scrapped 2008
1719 WPH 139Y - Scrapped 2010
1720 WPH 122Y - Exported to South Africa 2003

Leyland Tiger B61F East Lancashire Coach Builders 2000
1721 C141 SPB - Scrapped 2013
1722 B102 KPF - Unknown Last operator possibly RML Travel, Cotes Heath, Showing as untaxed from 2010 on DVLA
1723 B103 KPF - Scrapped 2012
1724 B104 KPF - Unknown, No details held by DVLA
1725 B105 KPF - Preserved in working order (last noted 9/16)
1726 C262 SPC - Scrapped 2012
1727 B107 KPF - Destroyed in depot fire, Stafford 1992
1728 B108 KPF - Unknown, passed to Autocar Bus & Coach Services in 2004. Showing as untaxed from 2008 on DVLA
1729 B109 KPF - Unknown
1730 YPJ 207Y - Unknown, passed to Morrow, Glasgow in 2003. Showing as untaxed from 2014 on DVLA
1733 LTS 93X - Unknown, re-registered LUI 6018 & passed to unknown dealer 2010. Showing as untaxed from 2012 on DVLA

Leyland Tiger B55F East Lancashire Coach Builders 2000
1735 DJN 25X - Donated to Centre for Alternative Technology, Machynlleth, 2000. Scrapped 20??.
1737 UJN 430Y - Scrapped 2010
1738 WPH 118Y - Scrapped 2012

Leyland Tiger B61F East Lancashire Coach Builders 2000
1740 AAX 590A - Scrapped 2012

Leyland Tiger B55F East Lancashire Coach Builders 2000
1742 A42 SMA - Scrapped 2007
1743 WPH 123Y - Unknown Showing as untaxed from 2003 on DVLA

As far as I can tell, 1725 is the only UK-based survivor of the type. If anyone has any information about the machines with unknown next to them, it would be much appreciated.

Thanks.
 
Last edited:
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

wellwhatitis

Member
Joined
12 Jul 2014
Messages
176
Cracking motors, loved driving them. The bodywork on the later longer examples was extremely high quality and I think they actually spent too much on them considering the life left in the chassis.

Imagine a 61 seat bus on a single deck in the current environment! C141 SPB was operating daily close to its original home until very recently.
 

wellwhatitis

Member
Joined
12 Jul 2014
Messages
176
Yes and they were operating 1724 and 1740 aswell at the same time (as Val's Classic Coaches before Tamworth C&B acquired the business) 1740 was in excellent condition.

There is a book by Neil Macdonald on Midland Red North containing a great chapter on the development and purchase of these vehicles.

I was lucky enough to drive some of them on the 825 between Stafford and Tamworth for a few years.
 

SWTH

Member
Joined
12 Mar 2013
Messages
418
Location
Shrewsbury/Porthmadog/Exeter
I keep meaning to pick up a copy of the MacDonald book, there's a copy on eBay for £8.

1726 was the one I wanted to survive, I drove it at Tanat Valley and it was the best of the lot.
 

wellwhatitis

Member
Joined
12 Jul 2014
Messages
176
I can definitely recommend the book and they hold their value so can always be resold. The time around the Tiger rebodying programme was a very interesting one for MRN and British Bus which makes it all the more sad to see the shocking state of its successor.

This area is very difficult bus territory to screw up but they have pulled out all the stops to achieve it.
 

SWTH

Member
Joined
12 Mar 2013
Messages
418
Location
Shrewsbury/Porthmadog/Exeter
I've given up with the industry today, I just do whatever interests me as a freelance driver.

Just bought a copy of the MRN book, I shall await its arrival with interest! Not many MRN buses survive, I know to a couple of Nationals, a couple of Tigers and a handful of other vehicles. It's a shame none of the 90's stuff has been preserved, I always wanted one of the M-EFD Scania N113CRLs (1401-1404).
 

wellwhatitis

Member
Joined
12 Jul 2014
Messages
176
Let me know what you think of the book.

A couple of Olympians and Leopards are preserved, notably 1902 EEH 902Y and 1918 G918 LHA, both of which I used to drive. National 2 808 is around somewhere too.
 

carlberry

Established Member
Joined
19 Dec 2014
Messages
3,169
Let me know what you think of the book.

A couple of Olympians and Leopards are preserved, notably 1902 EEH 902Y and 1918 G918 LHA, both of which I used to drive. National 2 808 is around somewhere too.

One of the bus tigers (A706HVT) is around and, I told, looking for somebody who wants to put it on the road.
 

SWTH

Member
Joined
12 Mar 2013
Messages
418
Location
Shrewsbury/Porthmadog/Exeter
As ever it's a matter of finding someone with the time and money to take it on.

If I remember correctly a couple of MRN Nationals survive too, 702/TOF 702S & 765/BVP 765V.

Preserved:
National 1
702 TOF 702S
765 BVP 765V

National 2
808 BVP 808V

Tiger
1511 A511 HVT
1725 B105 KPF

Olympian
1902 EEH 902Y
1918 G918 LHA

Any other ex-MRN vehicles to add to the list?

Known to still exist:

Leopard:
784 BVP 784V (was on eBay last week)

Tiger:
1706 A706 HVT

Several Nationals were preserved according to midlandred.net but I don't know how many are still out there.
 

A0wen

On Moderation
Joined
19 Jan 2008
Messages
7,451
I'm trying to trace the former Midland Red North Leyland Tigers that were rebodied with East Lancs EL2000 bodies in the early '90s. So far the list reads like this:

Leyland Tiger B55F East Lancashire Coach Builders 2000
1735 DJN 25X - Donated to Centre for Alternative Technology, Machynlleth, 2000. Scrapped 20??.

I'm pretty sure this one was originally TPC106X - TL6 in the Green Line fleet. For some reason MRN re-registered it.

It also had a non-standard Green Line livery - it had been painted in cream / blue and assigned to Sampson's after County Bus took it over. It ran for a time in blue with Green Line fleet names and then the blue was repainted into County Bus green. Remember it turning up on the 724 fairly frequently.
 

SWTH

Member
Joined
12 Mar 2013
Messages
418
Location
Shrewsbury/Porthmadog/Exeter
Let me know what you think of the book.

A couple of Olympians and Leopards are preserved, notably 1902 EEH 902Y and 1918 G918 LHA, both of which I used to drive. National 2 808 is around somewhere too.

Had the book the last few days. Not bad at all, plenty of good pictures and information. Naturally there is the odd mistake here and there but nothing that detracts. Almost a shame it wasn't written three years later when the MRN name disappeared.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top