Vehicle History: Leyland Fleetline (was DMS discussion)

[A0wen]

D I believe was a DM modified for driver only operation, DM was one used on routes with a conductor and DMS (where S stood for standee) was a driver only operated bus from new. I got into buses whilst at university at Uxbridge and whilst living out for a couple of years our local route was the 90, which was tendered, believe to London Buslines? Mostly worked by G reg Olympians but occasionally a DMS would turn up. Think they were mostly M or N reg buses and they had about 7 of them always enjoyed a trip on them. I then realised my old school bus must have been an old DMS, was THM548N, if I remember correctly run by Castleways of Winchcombe, maybe someone could confirm?

Some info on London Buslines here along with class histories for each DMS.

IAN'S BUS STOP: Daimler Fleetline

Daimler Fleetline Bus London Transport: Drawings, Photos, Fleet History, Photo Index

www.countrybus.org

And here http://www.countrybus.org/DMS/DMSa15.htm

Looks like it was DMS1548

 

[Richard Scott]

Some info on London Buslines here along with class histories for each DMS.

IAN'S BUS STOP: Daimler Fleetline

Daimler Fleetline Bus London Transport: Drawings, Photos, Fleet History, Photo Index

www.countrybus.org

And here http://www.countrybus.org/DMS/DMSa15.htm

Looks like it was DMS1548

Thanks for that, was looking on that site yesterday at B15 Titans, didn't realise had other types on there.

 

[Swanny200]

Shortly after, or at about the same time, buses tended to have single letter designations - e.g. M (Metrobus), T (Titan), L (Olympian).

Thirded!

Fourthed if that is a word

Most of the LT fleet had single letter designations in the 80s-90's although don't know exactly when it changed

A Dodge s50s? I used to assume the A prefix was maybe bodywork i.e Alexander but these were bodied by someone else
C Was a one off Ailsa style bus with a weird name Cumulus or Cumulo, to do with the experimental system
H 3 Dominators that were part of trials and did not proceed with any more
L Leyland Olympians
M MCW Metrobus
T Leyland Titan
V Volvo Ailsa

 

[Richard Scott]

Fourthed if that is a word

Most of the LT fleet had single letter designations in the 80s-90's although don't know exactly when it changed

A Dodge s50s? I used to assume the A prefix was maybe bodywork i.e Alexander but these were bodied by someone else
C Was a one off Ailsa style bus with a weird name Cumulus or Cumulo, to do with the experimental system
H 3 Dominators that were part of trials and did not proceed with any more
L Leyland Olympians
M MCW Metrobus
T Leyland Titan
V Volvo Ailsa

Believe the H in respect of the Dominators was for Hestair(not sure of spelling), which were parent group of Dennis at the time. Think C1 was based on a Citybus?

 

[Swanny200]

Believe the H in respect of the Dominators was for Hestair(not sure of spelling), which were parent group of Dennis at the time. Think C1 was based on a Citybus?

The H makes sense, the C1 was based on the Volvo citybus with Alexander bodywork, so essentially the same that the SBG had, but I remember reading some kind of hydraulic system that was used on that one bus and it was named after that system.

 

[Kremlin Stooge]

As others have noted the D was a later sub-variant of the crew-operated DM. The D designation didn’t officially appear until June 1980, and arose following the AFC (Automatic Fare Collection) equipment on the DMSs being taken out of use in May 1979. On DMSs, the boarding aisle for the AFC was permanently blocked off, so all boarding passengers filed past the driver for their tickets. During this period some DMs had ticket machines fitted in the cab and a barrier fitted that could be opened or closed, according to whether bus was being crew-operated or driver-only, these vehicles were classified as Ds. They were also fitted with external signs to display which manner of operation was in use.

 

[Strathclyder]

I agree that London buses of that era look better with a touch of contrast, whether white around the windows or a white stripe. I liked the final London Buses livery before privatisation, with the white stripe around the middle and grey skirt

Apart from the colour scheme, the Bexleybus logo was tacky looking too

Bexleybus Daimler Fleetline Class DMS DMS1580 THM580M at Bexleyheath in 1988 on route 229 - Jan-88 - Cliff Essex Collection

thetransportlibrary.co.uk

Not a fundementally flawed livery, I personally don't think. Given it was the face of a operation that led a short, ignoble existance in a turbulent period for London's bus industry, it was bound to be viewed with some disdain in the wake of it's demise. Seperating the livery from the operation itself, it isn't really that bad.

Generally speaking, blue/cream liveries worked well on the slabby/boxy shape of the DMS - China Motor Bus' livery is perhaps the best example of this (from the megaanorak Flickr collection).

Hong Kong 1982: CMB XF89 (CS2448) on Repulse Bay Road at Repulse Bay

1974 Daimler Fleetline CRL6 Park Royal H44/29D New to London Transport, no. DMS823 (TGX823M) Originally configured H44/24D. To CMB in 1981.

www.flickr.com

Some info on London Buslines here along with class histories for each DMS.

IAN'S BUS STOP: Daimler Fleetline

Daimler Fleetline Bus London Transport: Drawings, Photos, Fleet History, Photo Index

www.countrybus.org

And here http://www.countrybus.org/DMS/DMSa15.htm

Looks like it was DMS1548

That site is a invaluable resource for London/ex-London stock (Glasgow/Western Scotland has had no shortage of them over the years with a plerthora of operators). Outdated in some parts, yes, but a fascinating read-up nonetheless if you wanna kill a hour or two.

The H makes sense, the C1 was based on the Volvo citybus with Alexander bodywork, so essentially the same that the SBG had, but I remember reading some kind of hydraulic system that was used on that one bus and it was named after that system.

Quoting Ian's Bus Page on this vehicle...

IAN'S BUS STOP: LONDON TRANSPORT Volvo Cumulo Citybus: C1

Experimental Volvo Citybus of London Transport: Drawings, Photos, Fleet History, Photo Index

www.countrybus.org

C1 was one of London Transport's one-off experimental buses. It looks rather like a Volvo Ailsa, but was more interesting than that. It was a "London special", a one-off, a Volvo Citybus with underfloor engine with a hydraulic pump/motor and energy accumulator (Volvo Flygmotor Cumulo) connected between the gearbox and differential. While the bus was stopping the accumulator collected kinetic energy, and released it during acceleration, reducing the engine load.

 

[PG]

Deleted

 

[Strathclyder]

Think somebody mentioned the Iveco repowers upthread, here are a few examples in action in 1990 with Suttonbus (from the BristolRE YT channel; skip to 3:44 for the relevent clips).