Trivia: Rare and unusual bus and coach types

[GusB]

A few months ago, I purchased a copy of The Volvo Bus by Doug Jack. I already had copies of The Leyland Bus Mk2 and the follow-up Beyond Reality by the same author and I was interested to read his views on the subject of Volvo. It mentioned some body types that I'd never heard of and, naturally, there were numerous internet searches as a result!

I thought it'd be interesting to pull together a list of rare and unusual vehicle types. I'm not specifically looking for "one hit wonders" where there was only ever one example of a particular type; if there was a dozen vehicles of a particular type built, that's fine (there is flexibility, within reason).

What counts?

• Chassis that were fairly common, but only had a few examples built with a particular body
• Bodies that were fairly common, but only had a few examples built on a particular chassis
• Integral vehicles that were only built in very small numbers

What doesn't count?

• Combinations of body/chassis that were common when built, but are rare now
• Vehicles that have had various "grafts" over the years to allow them to remain on the road or make them look a bit more modern
• Chassis that have been re-bodied later in life; similarly, vehicles that had second-hand bodies fitted
• Minor detail differences in bodywork, eg windscreen arrangement, dual-door etc.
• Engine variations, eg Gardner Vs Leyland - these do not count as separate chassis types

As I specifically mentioned Volvo, I'll kick off with a few examples.

• XSA5Y - Volvo B57/Alexander Y (unique) - https://www.flickr.com/photos/southlancs/6230504006
• RMH869Y - Volvo B57/Wadham Stringer Vanguard - https://www.flickr.com/photos/southlancs/6336851996/
• BUS653K - Volvo B58/Alexander Y (unique - rebuilt with Van Hool body and still in existence to my knowledge) - https://www.flickr.com/photos/southlancs/5378391933
• VEB566L - Volvo B59/Marshall - https://www.flickr.com/photos/iainrobbie9/50481371897

A few others from my childhood:

• XSA4Y - Dennis Lancet/Alexander Y (unique) - https://www.flickr.com/photos/77000628@N02/37022102215/
• A502-6FSS - Dennis Lancet/Alexander P - https://www.flickr.com/photos/william-walker/22395632309

 

[stadler]

There must be hundreds of examples of rare buses built especially the further back you go but these are just all of the rare low floor buses that i can think of:

• Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 11.3m (x41)

• Cannon 150BEL (x2)

• DAF SB220 Ikarus Polaris (x11)

• Dennis Dart SLF Novosadska Neobus (x1)

• Dennis Dart SLF Plaxton Pointer MK1 SPD 11.3m (x2)

• Designline Olymbus (x10)

• Higer Steed (x16)

• Mercedes Benz O405GN (x15)

• MMCI (x2)

• MAN 18.220 Marcopolo Viale (x2)

• Neoplan Centroliner N4421 (x6)

• Optare Rapta (x1)

• Optare Solo Plus (x1)

• Optare Tempo SR (x18)

• Scania L94UA Wright Solar Fusion (x11)

• Scania Omnicity CN94UA (x29)

• Scania Omnicity CN280UA (x11)

• Scania Omnicity N94UA (x30)

• Technobus Pantheon (x6)

• Temsa Avenue (x27)

• Transbus Enviro 200 Prototype (x5)

• Transbus Enviro 300 Prototype (x3)

• Volvo B7L Hispano Habit (x1)

• Volvo B7LA Hispano Habit (x1)

• Volvo B7LA Wright Eclipse Fusion (x88)

• Volvo B7LA Wright Streetcar (x39)

• Volvo B7TL Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 (x1)

• Volvo B10LA Wright Fusion (x40)

• Wright NBFL ST (x1)

Those are all the rare low floor buses that i can think of but i am sure there are probably dozens more and then when you get in to step entrance buses and coaches there will be hundreds of rare types.

Also it is probably debatable whether some of the above are rare. For example i have included the E200 11.3m (i am talking about the original type and not the MMC) which had 41 built because this is a tiny number compared to all the other lengths which had hundreds if not thousands of orders. Then some of the bendies had significant amounts ordered with 39 or 40 or 88 buses but they still seemed very rare especially compared to the rigid versions. But other than that the rest of them on my list are definitely rare with only a dozen or so or less made.

 

[GusB]

There must be hundreds of examples of rare buses built especially the further back you go but these are just all of the rare low floor buses that i can think of:

• Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 11.3m (x41)

• Cannon 150BEL (x2)

• DAF SB220 Ikarus Polaris (x11)

• Dennis Dart SLF Novosadska Neobus (x1)

• Dennis Dart SLF Plaxton Pointer SPD 11.3m (x2)

• Designline Olymbus (x10)
Was
• Higer Steed (x16)

• Mercedes Benz O405GN (x15)

• MMCI (x2)

• MAN 18.220 Marcopolo Viale (x2)

• Neoplan Centroliner N4421 (x6)

• Optare Rapta (x1)

• Optare Solo Plus (x1)

• Optare Tempo SR (x18)

• Scania L94UA Wright Solar Fusion (x11)

• Scania Omnicity CN94UA (x29)

• Scania Omnicity CN280UA (x11)

• Scania Omnicity N94UA (x30)

• Technobus Pantheon (x6)

• Temsa Avenue (x27)

• Transbus Enviro 200 Prototype (x5)

• Transbus Enviro 300 Prototype (x3)

• Volvo B7L Hispano Habit (x1)

• Volvo B7LA Hispano Habit (x1)

• Volvo B7LA Wright Eclipse Fusion (x88)

• Volvo B7LA Wright Streetcar (x39)

• Volvo B7TL Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 (x1)

• Volvo B10LA Wright Fusion (x40)

Those are all the rare low floor buses that i can think of but i am sure there are probably dozens more and then when you get in to step entrance buses and coaches there will be hundreds of rare types.

Also it is probably debatable whether some of the above are rare. For example i have included the E200 11.3m (i am talking about the original type and not the MMC) which had 41 built because this is a tiny number compared to all the other lengths which had hundreds if not thousands of orders. Then some of the bendies had significant amounts ordered with 39 or 40 or 88 buses but they still seemed very rare especially compared to the rigid versions. But other than that the rest of them on my list are definitely rare with only a dozen or so or less made.

It may be helpful if you actually read the opening post before replying.

 

[stadler]

It may be helpful if you actually read the opening post before replying.

Maybe i am misunderstanding but the vehicles on my list are either chassis that were common with a rare body type or bodies that are common with a rare chassis type or rare integral vehicles which i thought is what you are looking for? Or are you looking for reg numbers of actual vehicles rare rather than just rare vehicle types? Apologies if i have misunderstood?

 

[citybus2500]

It may be helpful if you actually read the opening post before replying.

Indeed. I'm also wondering in what world Mercedes Benz O405GN and Scania Omnicity artics were rare. There were probably more O405GNs than Tridents!

There were also more than 2 Dennis SPDs, For instance, First had 44 of them and Lothian even more.

A few months ago, I purchased a copy of The Volvo Bus by Doug Jack. I already had copies of The Leyland Bus Mk2 and the follow-up Beyond Reality by the same author and I was interested to read his views on the subject of Volvo. It mentioned some body types that I'd never heard of and, naturally, there were numerous internet searches as a result!

I thought it'd be interesting to pull together a list of rare and unusual vehicle types. I'm not specifically looking for "one hit wonders" where there was only ever one example of a particular type; if there was a dozen vehicles of a particular type built, that's fine (there is flexibility, within reason).

What counts?

• Chassis that were fairly common, but only had a few examples built with a particular body
• Bodies that were fairly common, but only had a few examples built on a particular chassis
• Integral vehicles that were only built in very small numbers

What doesn't count?

• Combinations of body/chassis that were common when built, but are rare now
• Vehicles that have had various "grafts" over the years to allow them to remain on the road or make them look a bit more modern

As I specifically mentioned Volvo, I'll kick off with a few examples.

• XSA5Y - Volvo B57/Alexander Y (unique) - https://www.flickr.com/photos/southlancs/6230504006
• RMH869Y - Volvo B57/Wadham Stringer Vanguard - https://www.flickr.com/photos/southlancs/6336851996/
• BUS653K - Volvo B58/Alexander Y (unique - rebuilt with Van Hool body and still in existence to my knowledge) - https://www.flickr.com/photos/southlancs/5378391933
• VEB566L - Volvo B59/Marshall - https://www.flickr.com/photos/iainrobbie9/50481371897

A few others from my childhood:

• XSA4Y - Dennis Lancet/Alexander Y (unique) - https://www.flickr.com/photos/77000628@N02/37022102215/
• A502-6FSS - Dennis Lancet/Alexander P - https://www.flickr.com/photos/william-walker/22395632309

A101-6 CVN - Ward Dalesman with Wadham Stringer bodywork for Darlington.

 

[JASONTWEBBER]

thamesdown had a large fleet of dennis spds and stagecoach west had a number of them too in swindon

 

[Towers]

H523 CTR comes to mind, ACE Cougar with Wadham Stringer body. Transverse seating down the nearside, too! A functional but smart looking thing which carried on in service for a good while after Firsthgroup absorbed its owner, People’s Provincial of Hampshire, and is thankfully now preserved.

Image below of said vehicle, taken from Flickr.

 

[jammy36]

There were also more than 2 Dennis SPDs, For instance, First had 44 of them and Lothian even more.

But they all had Plaxton Pointer 2 bodies. @stadler is referring to the fact that there were only two 11.3m Dennis Darts with the original style of low floor Plaxton Pointer body.

 

[Lewisham2221]

The PMT Knype bodied Leyland Swift and Ami bodied Merc 811D must qualify?

Not my photos

315 PMT F315REH Leyland Swift LBM6T PMT Knype

www.flickr.com

Potteries ( PMT ) . 347 G347ERF . Hanley Bus Station. Staffordshire .

Mercedes Benz 811D - PMT Ami B28F New to this Operator during February-1990 . From my purchased print collection , at Hanley , Staffordshire . Working on Route 1 to Longton . Exact date of shot unknown .

www.flickr.com

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

I'm surprised that @GusB when mentioning Leyland Bus didn't mention the two Leyland Tiger Cubs with DAB bodywork, with A499MHG and B500MPY. The former was a demonstrator whilst the latter was new to United. As a comparison, United also had the sole Bombardier Rural Bus C529XEF for the UK market (though obviously, CIE had hundreds in Ireland

This seemed to be a common issue in the mid 1980s when operators were looking for vehicles for lighter loaded routes. Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire went for the Dennis Domino of which only 34 were built, and were a rather overengineered solution being a cut down Dominator. The GM ones had Northern Counties bodies (and were quite stylish) whilst the SY had rather austere Optare bodies. The same bodies were put on Leyland Cub chassis for West Yorkshire PTE uniquely, and it seems that there were many body permutations for the Cub but in no great numbers.

The Leyland Swift sort of replaced the Cub, and was based on a truck chassis. I think the idea was it was a more rugged, larger option against the van derived minis like the Merc 811, and before the Dart arrived. Most were delivered with Reeve Burgess bodies but Stevensons took 6 which I think were the only Wright Handybus bodies not on a Dart chassis. You could identify them as the waistrail moulding was much higher up as they were on a truck chassis!

Then you have the Quest 80 - a truly awful machine in terms of reliability. Merseyside PTE had a batch of them with Locomotors bodies (about a dozen) whilst Excelsior took some on Plaxton Paramount bodies that almost destroyed the firms reputation.

Jonckheere bodied Scanias weren't the most common of coaches in the 1980s but even rarer were the 5 (plus a demo) that were delivered with dual doors for Scancoaches for use on LRT tendered contract 283.

 

[Statto]

I was thinking of a starting thread like this, ther OP beat me to it, anyway.

Ikarus Citibus, Hungary based manufacturer that had small batches of vehicles made for UK, here's one with Merseybus

6330 Wirral Peninsula K130TCP DAF SB220LC550 Ikarus Citibus. Old Haymarket Liverpool 11.8.94

www.flickr.com

Neoplan N4016, MTL brought them for the Merseytravel cross Liverpool City Centre Smart services, these were notable for being the first in the modern generation of low floor buses that entered service in the UK, i believe beating Go North East by a couple of weeks, they were later found on the 18A Liverpool - Croxteth Park when the Smart services tender was won by Arriva, this just before Arriva brought MTL, withdrawn from service in 2010

Merseybus 6403 L403 TKB

Merseybus 6403 L403 TKB Neoplan N4016 seen in Liverpool on the first day of 'full' Smart bus running, 19/02/1994.

www.flickr.com

Neoplan N4009, these were the short version of the N4016s, only 3 of these were brought for the UK by MTL, which later became Arriva merseyside

0602 M302 YBG

Arriva on Merseyside Neoplan N4009.

www.flickr.com

 

[Ken H]

Leeds City Transport bought 5 Daimler CVG6LX buses with Roe bodies in 1962 They had half cab but a front power door. They were the only Leeds buses with this configuration, everything else was rear platform entrance until Fleetlines and Atlanteans came to Leeds.

Yesteryear coaches have one for hire but it does come out to play on running days

 

[busesrusuk]

Here's a couple of "rare" types including probably one of the most famous one-offs:

London's future:

Preserved LT FRM1 Sep06

Queen Victoria Street. Sep 2006.

www.flickr.com

Arriva took this DAF SB220/Ikarus Polaris - was ita one off? https://www.flickr.com/photos/190667959@N08/52020435824/in/photolist-2nfSkcW-2nMXbB8-2nNLh2J-2p1T9jc

BYD complete vehicle (only 2 in the UK?)

GAL EB2 Apr14

Millbank Apr 2014

www.flickr.com

If we are stretching the boundaries abroad, there were only 30 of these MAN/Berkhof double deckers that were originally ordered by Citybus but the order was cancelled and the majority went to KMB with one going to Kwoon Chung Motors:

KMB AMN11 HK07

Tsuen Mun, Hk 2007

www.flickr.com

The original E200 design including the rear door:

Buses Excetera S12 Apr13

Cobham, spring gathering. Apr 2013

www.flickr.com

A couple more that come to mind...

The Northern Counties Foden double decker:

Preserved WYPTE 7250v2 Jun22

NorthWestVRT open day, Jun 2022

www.flickr.com

The Wright bodied hybrid single deckers supplied to Go Ahead London (13) and Travel London (5?)

Travel London 8801 Feb09

North Greenwich, Feb 2009

www.flickr.com

Also, the Volvo B9 with Enviro 400 bodywork wasn't exactly popular with 3 in London and a handful with East Yorkshire. As far as I recall the only big order for that combo was Dublin Bus:

GAL VE3 Feb22

Kingston town centre, Feb 2022

www.flickr.com

Dublin Bus EV3 May18

D'Oiler Street, Dublin. May 2018

www.flickr.com

 

[DunsBus]

The seven Darts, X461-7UKS, which Munro's bought new in 2000. At first glance looking like standard Dennis Dart SLF/Alexander ALX200s, they were actually SPDs with ALX200 bodies. The SPD chassis was chosen as two of the services they ran, the 29 and 30 from Jedburgh and Kelso to Edinburgh, involved flat-out running along the A68.

 

[Statto]

How about Wright Pathfinder, built on Dennis Lance SLF or Scania N113CRL chassis, only 95 were built between 1993 & 1995 (38 of them built for London), the seats at the rear being high up (what felt like almost double decker height), i remember the London ones being awful, i don't think they lasted long in London, being replaced as soon as low floor deckers became widely available.

 

[didbygraham]

Thankfully very rare - and didnt last long in Plymouth were three Volkswagen / Devon conversions minibuses
https://flic.kr/p/2oMq8i3 (not my photo)

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Here's a couple of "rare" types including probably one of the most famous one-offs:


A couple more that come to mind...

The Northern Counties Foden double decker:

Preserved WYPTE 7250v2 Jun22

NorthWestVRT open day, Jun 2022

www.flickr.com

The Foden wasn't a one off but it was rare. PMT had one, as did Derby whilst Greater Manchester had two. West Midlands had one that survives IIRC. They were Foden-NCs which I think related to the Northern Counties bodies.

However, South Yorkshire had one with East Lancs bodywork that I think was unique.

 

[GusB]

How about Wright Pathfinder, built on Dennis Lance SLF or Scania N113CRL chassis, only 95 were built between 1993 & 1995 (38 of them built for London), the seats at the rear being high up (what felt like almost double decker height), i remember the London ones being awful, i don't think they lasted long in London, being replaced as soon as low floor deckers became widely available.

No, this does not count. By rare I meant no more than about 12, although I was prepared to be a bit flexible with the upper number.

The Foden wasn't a one off but it was rare. PMT had one, as did Derby whilst Greater Manchester had two. West Midlands had one that survives IIRC. They were Foden-NCs which I think related to the Northern Counties bodies.

However, South Yorkshire had one with East Lancs bodywork that I think was unique.

The Foden NC is a good example. Only 7 were built, all with Northern Counties bodywork bar the sole example that East Lancs bodies. There was a mix of different heights too.

 

[Steve440]

What about an AEC Regent IV

 

[andy1571]

The East Lancs Esteem, whilst never a particularly widespread body in its own right, was rarer on a handful of types:
Enviro 300 - just a pair, new to Courtney
MAN 12.240 - five which went to Metrobus
Volvo B7RLE - six new to Kent Top Travel for Canterbury P&R

 

[Pit_buzzer]

The Volvo b5lh with Wright SRM bodies are quite a rarity. I seem to remember there were just 6 of these 2 door new routemaster lookalikes delivered around 2016.

 

[GusB]

I'm surprised that @GusB when mentioning Leyland Bus didn't mention the two Leyland Tiger Cubs with DAB bodywork, with A499MHG and B500MPY. The former was a demonstrator whilst the latter was new to United. As a comparison, United also had the sole Bombardier Rural Bus C529XEF for the UK market (though obviously, CIE had hundreds in Ireland

Apologies - I meant to reply to this earlier and got distracted.

To be honest, I didn't really know much about the short Leyland-DAB buses. I certainly wasn't aware that they were referred to as Cubs, especially considering that Leyland had the front-engined Cub that had been built in sizeable numbers.

On the subject of DAB, I think most of the output for the UK would qualify. There were the artics with National-styled bodies, and i think a few with DAB bodies too. Then there's the Lion. There are 32 listed on buslistsontheweb.co.uk - breaking the numbers down, there were 3 with Northern Counties bodies and less than a dozen by East Lancs. The Alexander examples are slightly too numerous to qualify.

 

[Strathclyder]

Quite a few examples that haven't been mentioned.

BMMO's mid-engined double decker prototype design, the D10, of which only two were built, the second example (1944 HA/4944) with two sets of doors and a staircase for each, requiring the emergency exit in the lower deck to be moved to the rear from the side. Both the rear entrance and staircase were removed in November 1962 when the bus was converted to single-door as per it's sister vehicle, but the emergency exit remained at the rear until the vehicle's withdrawal in January 1973.

Another that sprang to mind was the one-off Plaxton Mini Pointer 2-bodied Bluebird LMD LFCC9, NK53 TJV. Looked like a bog-standard Mini Pointer Dart SLF from a distance, but one of the 'tells' the closer you got, aside from the wheel size (which seem smaller than even the Dart's) was a extra square grille on the rear off-side, as seen here (linked photo copyright of Flickr's billogs).

Huddersfield Bus Company 540 - 2003 Bluebird LMD LFCC9 Plaxton Pointer 2 NK53TJV $

540 is not, as it might first appear, a Dennis/Plaxton MPD Dart. It is actually a Bluebird (maker of school buses) LMD and came into the fleet with Northumbria Coaches of Ashington. Now with the Huddersfield Bus Company divison of Centrebus. Seen on sevice 262, now reliveried and with company...

www.flickr.com

Another candidate worth mentioning would be the AEC Sabre from 1968, only four were ever built I believe.

Lastly, the majority of the 137 Guy Wulfrunians built were bodied by Roe (131 total), but 6 others differed in this respect: 5 were bodied by East Lancs (2 examples for both Wolverhampton & Accrington and one for West Wales) and a single example bodied by Northern Counties for Lancashire United (linked photos from the Dewsbury Bus Museum and campaigner1010 Flickr streams respectively).

938 - 802RTC

Very few Guy Wulfrunians were purchased by bus operators other than West Riding and even fewer Wulfrunian chassis were bodied by builders other than Charles H Roe. One vehicle that falls into both categories was 802RTC. Lancashire United Transport was a large independent bus operator based in...

www.flickr.com

Guy Wulfrunian

Although seen here brand new and she did end up with West Riding, I don't think XBX350 is quite as attractive as her Roe bodied counterparts, but then I wouldn't would I ;-)

www.flickr.com

The Accrington examples were also built with rear entrances, had a full-width cab and had a different Gardner engine variant (6LW as opposed to the type standard 6LX) mounted on the chassis centreline as opposed to being crammed right underneath the cab. May as well have bought two Arab Mk Vs and be done with it, given how all that work completely negates the Wulf's supposed advantages (linked photo copyright of Flickr's John S. Hinchcliffe).

Accrington 156 GUY WULFRUNIAN

50 Years of the Guy Wulfrunian Accrington 156 (35VTF)

www.flickr.com

 

[Bungle965]

Connexions Buses have this one off:

Connexionsbuses: YP52CUU

Connexionsbuses - Scania N94UB / Castrosua City - YP52 CUU seen on Station Parade, Harrogate operating a duplicate journey on service X52 as far as Otley Bus Station on April 29th 2021 This operated with Kings Ferry as their B8, later operating with South West Coaches with the registration L55BUS

www.flickr.com

Also, whilst pushing the original limit, Irisbus AgoraLine with Optare bodywork seen here had around 23 orders:

AU05FKB Norfolk Green 124

Irisbus AgoraLine Optare at Wells-next-the-Sea Norfolk named Florence Ada Coxon during May 2012. New in 2005 to Norfolk Council Services (NORSE) as fleet number 5605.

www.flickr.com

 

[DunsBus]

The two Seddon Pennine 7s that didn't have bodies by either Alexander or Plaxton - Seddon-bodied UBU72N which went to Crosville, and Willowbrook 003-bodied BNC344Y which was bought by Pathfinder, Newark.
Another Seddon Pennine 7, OK's EBR850S, was the only "bus grant" spec one bought new by an independent.

Mention should also be made of the 12 dual-door Leyland Lynx IIs bought by Lothian in 1991, the four Volvo-engined Leyland Tigers bought by Lowland from an Ulsterbus order later that same year, and five Optare MetroRiders bought by First Lowland in 1997 for Border Courier services and which had a goods compartment at the rear - the only MetroRiders built thus.

And should we also include the Northumbria ex-Green Line Olympian with the Northern Counties rebody?

 

[Lewisham2221]

The two Seddon Pennine 7s that didn't have bodies by either Alexander or Plaxton - Seddon-bodied UBU72N which went to Crosville, and Willowbrook 003-bodied BNC344Y which was bought by Pathfinder, Newark.
Another Seddon Pennine 7, OK's EBR850S, was the only "bus grant" spec one bought new by an independent.

Mention should also be made of the 12 dual-door Leyland Lynx IIs bought by Lothian in 1991, the four Volvo-engined Leyland Tigers bought by Lowland from an Ulsterbus order later that same year, and five Optare MetroRiders bought by First Lowland in 1997 for Border Courier services and which had a goods compartment at the rear - the only MetroRiders built thus.

And should we also include the Northumbria ex-Green Line Olympian with the Northern Counties rebody?

Talking of Leyland Lynx, there were also the very rare Alexander bodied examples - of which, according to Wikipedia (I know, I know) there were only 7 ever built in that combination. One saw out its days with Midland Classic of Burton.

 

[Strathclyder]

Neoplan N4009, these were the short version of the N4016s, only 3 of these were brought for the UK by MTL, which later became Arriva merseyside

0602 M302 YBG

Arriva on Merseyside Neoplan N4009.

www.flickr.com

Somehow, I literally had no clue these 'stumpy' Neoplans existed in the UK until now, was well aware of their larger N4016 cousins. Almost like a heavyweight Dart or B6, or is that just me? lol

 

[A0wen]

Then you have the Quest 80 - a truly awful machine in terms of reliability. Merseyside PTE had a batch of them with Locomotors bodies (about a dozen) whilst Excelsior took some on Plaxton Paramount bodies that almost destroyed the firms reputation.

Point of order, those were different Quest models.

Quest 80 was the company, the Merseyside midibuses were Quest B types. The Excelsior ones were VMs - built to the specification of Excelsior's MD, Vernon Maitland, hence the VM designation.

More here>

A futile Quest

Quest 80 and the U-drive I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds the failures of the motoring world so much more fascinating than the suc...

rustyoldrubbish.blogspot.com

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Connexions Buses have this one off:

Connexionsbuses: YP52CUU

Connexionsbuses - Scania N94UB / Castrosua City - YP52 CUU seen on Station Parade, Harrogate operating a duplicate journey on service X52 as far as Otley Bus Station on April 29th 2021 This operated with Kings Ferry as their B8, later operating with South West Coaches with the registration L55BUS

www.flickr.com

Remember getting onto that one day in Shepton Mallet; the usual Urban 90 style continental Europe seats. I was so pleased to get off it in Yeovil.

Point of order, those were different Quest models.

Quest 80 was the company, the Merseyside midibuses were Quest B types. The Excelsior ones were VMs - built to the specification of Excelsior's MD, Vernon Maitland, hence the VM designation.

More here>

A futile Quest

Quest 80 and the U-drive I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds the failures of the motoring world so much more fascinating than the suc...

rustyoldrubbish.blogspot.com

Thanks for clarifying - the years have dimmed the memory. I seem to recall there was a problem with even finishing the MPTE order?

 

[GusB]

Mention should also be made of the 12 dual-door Leyland Lynx IIs bought by Lothian in 1991, the four Volvo-engined Leyland Tigers bought by Lowland from an Ulsterbus order later that same year, and five Optare MetroRiders bought by First Lowland in 1997 for Border Courier services and which had a goods compartment at the rear - the only MetroRiders built thus.

I'll give you the Lynxes, but not the Tigers - while there were only 4 for Lowland, there were quite a few built for Ulster bus, so they're not really rare in this case.

Talking of Leyland Lynx, there were also the very rare Alexander bodied examples - of which, according to Wikipedia (I know, I know) there were only 7 ever built in that combination. One saw out its days with Midland Classic of Burton.

I was aware that there were 6 built with Alexander (Belfast) N-type bodies for Citybus but had no idea about the 7th. Having checked the chassis list on buslistsontheweb.co.uk, it would appear that there was one built for Singapore with PS body. Every day's a school day!