Leyland National buses

[Twocky61]

Re: Leyland National buses

Really Mark? I didn't know that

[mark1970]

Re: Leyland National buses

Shares something with the triumph stag - both front ends by Michelotti.

[marc]

Re: Leyland National buses



This Leyland National was photographed at Barry transport festival a couple of years ago. It displays the X8 Maerdy - Cardiff Express service. It was discontinued to be replaced by the X32 Maerdy - Cardiff Express Service. This has also been discontinued due to low passenger use.

[Twocky61]

Re: Leyland National buses



For all us Leyland National fans

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbbdSW0K7UY

[Twocky61]

Re: Leyland National buses

In the summer there is a 'Wheels Festival' in Bournemouth which celebrates the bus. All the local operators (Wilts & Dorset/Bournemouth Yellow/Purbeck Breezer (which is an arm of Wilts & Dorset) plus many others from around the south

[80sChav]

Re: Leyland National buses

Some smaller bus operators do actually still use Leyland Nationals

One of the more popular buses now are the DAF Optares the size of a mini-bus ideal on small country lanes

Wow - really! They must be preserved ones I guess yeah?

I always liked the Mark 2s better than the Mark 1s - loved the Pod the Mark 2s more often than not had - which made them stand out better than the Mark 1s I think!

80sChav

[Twocky61]

Re: Leyland National buses

Some smaller bus operators do actually still use Leyland Nationals

One of the more popular buses now are the DAF Optares the size of a mini-bus ideal on small country lanes

[Arran]

Re: Leyland National buses

They were undoubtably a classic piece of British engineering (despite their transatlantic bodystyling which was a bit controversial at the time they were introduced) that really lived up to their name as they could be seen on roads throughout Britain well into the 1990s with some towns still using them in the early years of the 21st century. I can't help but think that they were specifically designed for use in medium sized towns and suburbs of larger cities in an era of rising car ownership just like Routemasters were specifically designed for use in central London in the 1950s. London now has new Routemasters (well, it's London so it has to get the best) but I doubt whether there will be another iconic and long lasting bus as the Leyland National used in provincial towns and cities across Britain.

[Twocky61]

Re: Leyland National buses

I remember Ribble buses had Nationals and then North Western buses taking over in 1986. I remember going to Southport on Nationls to go on a pub crawl around Southport way back in 1995 when i was 17. Happy days. BTW you could buy a Leyland National off ebay, every now and again they pop up on there. I was going to buy one at £2500, but i don't have the room to store it..

It was around the mid 70's Ribble took their first delivery of Leyland Nationals. At Southport bus station (since demolished) they would operate to & from & I believe were garaged overnight. The 100 route back then was from Southport to Preston via Hesketh Bank (where I then lived), Tarleton and then the A59 to Preston & back.

[escorteclipse1990]

Re: Leyland National buses

I remember Ribble buses had Nationals and then North Western buses taking over in 1986. I remember going to Southport on Nationls to go on a pub crawl around Southport way back in 1995 when i was 17. Happy days. BTW you could buy a Leyland National off ebay, every now and again they pop up on there. I was going to buy one at £2500, but i don't have the room to store it..

[80sChav]

Re: Leyland National buses

I have not noted any on my Travels, I guess now the great bus that is the Leyland National will be in Museums now, but amazingly they still ran in my home town about 9/10 years since. Same as Leyland Tigers - though techinicaly they are more of a Coach, they are both quality buses. I recall fondly going to College on both these buses in 1999. Often I have thought since "if I ever go on a road trip, these are the 2 i'd probably have in my list of vechiles, if I was in such a position to afford one".

I have always thought that Leyland National's are just such a quality vechile even though they were not always quiet but they truly have stood the test of time and rightly so I think as a ledgendary bus, more so in a way given they ran from the start of the 1970s, may-be the later year's of the 1960's i'm unsure, but considering their lifespan and the year's they ran, they just never appeared out of place at all I thought.

[Powdered toast man]

Re: Leyland National buses

Here's a Bristol RV done out in the livery of Northumbria Buses, one of the main companies running services across the North East in the 90s. These are the ones I remember. I quite like the livery. It was very distinctive but eventually the company was taken over by Arriva and the entire fleet was painted turquoise.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]3526[/ATTACH]

I love this livery. Reminds me of an OMD album cover

[Trickyvee]

Re: Leyland National buses

another bus I have fond memories of is the Bristol RV double decker. There are some in sf's clip. These were around up until the late 90s where I lived. They seemed much lighter and more clattery that their sturdy Leyland Atlantean rivals. Ours were often fitted with smooth plastic fake leather seats and had a metallic, dusty smell like old phone boxes. Many a time I've bounced around in a Bristol RV!

Here's a Bristol RV done out in the livery of Northumbria Buses, one of the main companies running services across the North East in the 90s. These are the ones I remember. I quite like the livery. It was very distinctive but eventually the company was taken over by Arriva and the entire fleet was painted turquoise.

[Richard1978]

Re: Leyland National buses

Here's a good write up of these buses, along with a feature on the engines used.

http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/2009...land-national/

http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/2011/10/10/essays-the-500-series-diesel-leyland-loses-its-head

Re: Leyland National buses

I found this when this thread made me think of the old buses in Reading I used to travel on...It shows Broad Street, the main high street in the town in 1989 as was before pedestrianisation kicked in a few years later...it shows some of my favourite old buses that Reading Transport used to have - the Metropolitan (oval lights) and the MCW Metrobus - I liked the livery of the buses and the noises these beasts made back then as a kid - still do.

When I watched the vid, I was amazed at how chaotic it was back then, steady streams of buses coming out of Station Rd, turning left or right up and down Broad St and all the pedestrians walking across the road whilst the buses came along - bit like a foreign country back then...Now its all so different, the buses as mentioned before are all ultra modern - I reckon Reading Buses have the best fleet in the country in terms of service, speed and modernity - we even have wi fi on buses now - for free! All the routes are coloure coded i.e. yellow 26, red 9, jet black Newbury, generic buses are metalic greys but all the designs are brilliant from the typography and the actual liveries, but I still recall fondly these old buckets and how the main street was back then. Not only that but I can see whats changed on the high st itself - Midland Bank, Lloyds Bank both changed now but still in the same places, Debenhams long gone and made way for the frontage to The Oracle Mall, LittleWoods is now Poundland and some other bar...etc, etc...

I actually hoped that in that vid I'd catch site of my parents...no go...:cry: