| AEC Bridgemaster | |
|---|---|
 Park Royal bodied AEC Bridgemaster (forward-entrance) | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | AEC |
| Production | 1956-1963 |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | AEC AV470 (first two prototypes) AEC AV590 |
| Transmission | AEC synchromesh |
| Chronology | |
| Successor | AEC Renown |
The AEC Bridgemaster was a front-engined low-height double-decker bus chassis manufactured by AEC.
The AEC Bridgemaster was introduced by AEC in 1956 to meet the demand of low-height double-deckers from municipal and independent bus operators across the United Kingdom, which were barred from purchasing the Bristol Lodekka. It was designed as a fully-integral vehicle, utilising two sub frames like the contemporary Routemaster. Four pre-production examples were bodied by Crossley with an aluminium body; production examples bodied by Park Royal were introduced from 1958 with steel body frames at the request of British Electric Traction. [1]
In 1960 a forward-entrance version with slightly different driveline layout was introduced. [2] A total of 180 were produced before it was superseded by the AEC Renown in 1963. [3] East Yorkshire Motor Services were the largest customer, purchasing 50. [1] [4] [5]
Bulgy the Double-Decker bus, as well as several other related characters from The Railway Series children’s books, and its television adaptation Thomas & Friends, are based on the AEC Bridgemaster.
Crossley Motors was an English motor vehicle manufacturer based in Manchester, England. It produced approximately 19,000 cars from 1904 until 1938, 5,500 buses from 1926 until 1958, and 21,000 goods and military vehicles from 1914 to 1945.
Seddon Atkinson Vehicles Limited, was a manufacturer of large goods vehicles based in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, was formed after the acquisition in 1970 of Atkinson Vehicles Limited of Preston by Seddon Diesel Vehicles Limited of Oldham. In 1974, the firm was acquired by International Harvester, which sold it in March 1984 to the Spanish group Enasa which made it a subsidiary of Pegaso. In 1990, it became part of Iveco which used the brand for various types of specialised vehicles in the United Kingdom. The range of models produced included EuroMover, Pacer and Strato, which are aimed at refuse collection, recycling and construction operators.
The Leyland Titan was a forward-control chassis with a front-mounted engine designed to carry double-decker bus bodywork. It was built mainly for the United Kingdom market between 1927 and 1942, and between 1945 and 1969.
Duple Coachbuilders was a coach and bus bodybuilder in England from 1919 until 1989.
The Leyland Atlantean is a predominantly double-decker bus chassis manufactured by Leyland Motors between 1958 and 1986. Only 17 Atlantean chassis were bodied as single deck from new.
The Bristol VR was a rear-engined double-decker bus chassis which was manufactured by Bristol Commercial Vehicles as a competitor to the Leyland Atlantean and Daimler Fleetline.
The Bristol Lodekka was a half-cab low-height step-free double-decker bus built by Bristol Commercial Vehicles in England. It was the first production bus design to have no step up from the passenger entrance throughout the lower deck; although Gilford and Leyland Motors had developed low floor city buses in the 1930s, these did not enter production.
The East Kent Road Car Company Ltd is a bus company formed in 1916 and based in Canterbury, Kent. The company operated bus and coach services in Kent. In 1993 it was one of the first companies to be acquired by the Stagecoach Group, which eventually rebranded the operation as Stagecoach in East Kent, and made it part of the Stagecoach South East bus division.
Charles H Roe was a Yorkshire coachbuilding company. It was for most of its life based at Crossgates Carriage Works, in Leeds.
A lowbridge double-deck bus is a double-decker bus that has an asymmetric interior layout, enabling the overall height of the vehicle to be reduced compared to that of a conventional double-decker bus. The upper-deck gangway is offset to one side of the vehicle, normally the offside, and is sunken into the lower-deck passenger saloon. Low railway bridges and overpasses are the main reason that a reduced height is desired.
Barton Transport was a bus company that operated in Nottinghamshire from 1908 until 1989.
The Daimler Fleetline is a rear-engined double-decker bus chassis which was built between 1960 and 1983.
The AEC Swift was a rear-engined step entrance single-decker bus chassis manufactured by AEC between 1964 and 1980. The chassis design was closely related to the Leyland Panther. It was available in 33-foot (10 m) and 36-foot (11 m) lengths, with an AEC AH505 or AH691 engine.
The Daimler Roadliner was a single-decker bus and coach chassis built by Daimler between 1962 and 1972. Notoriously unreliable, it topped the 1993 poll by readers of Classic Bus as the worst bus type ever, beating the Guy Wulfrunian into second place. It was very technologically advanced, offering step-free access some 20 years before other buses; as a coach, it was felt by industry commentators to be in advance of contemporary UK designs.
The Daimler Freeline was an underfloor-engined bus chassis built by Daimler between 1951 and 1964. It was a very poor seller in the UK market for an underfloor-engined bus and coach chassis, but became a substantial export success.
The Leyland Tiger was a heavyweight half-cab single-decker bus and coach chassis built by Leyland Motors between 1927 and 1968, except the period of World War II.
H. V. Burlingham was a British coachbuilding business based in Blackpool, Lancashire from 1928 until 1960 when they were taken over by London-based rivals Duple Motor Bodies. Duple initially renamed Burlingham as Duple (Northern) but in 1969 they closed their Hendon factory and concentrated production in Blackpool. Duple coach bodies were built in the former Burlingham premises until Duple itself was liquidated in 1989.
The Albion Lowlander was a Scottish-built low-height double-decker bus.
Coventry Corporation Transport was the operator of trams and motorbuses in Coventry, Warwickshire from 1912 to 1974. The operations of Coventry Corporation Transport passed to West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive in the local government reorganisation of 1974.
The AEC Renown was the name given to three distinct forward control bus chassis manufactured by the Associated Equipment Company (AEC) at different periods between 1925 and 1967. All were of the front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. The first and third types had two axles, the second had three. Each was intended to be fitted with bodywork by an outside coachbuilder – single deck for the first type, double deck for the third, whilst the second could be bodied in either form.
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