AEC Regal IV

Last updated

AEC Regal IV
Bus (1302130229).jpg
Preserved London Transport Metro-Cammell bodied AEC Regal IV
Overview
Manufacturer AEC
Production1949–1962
Assembly Southall, England
Body and chassis
Doors1–3
Floor type Step entrance
Chronology
Successor AEC Reliance

The AEC Regal IV was a bus chassis manufactured by AEC from 1949 to 1962.

Contents

History

The AEC Regal IV was AEC's first mainstream underfloor engined vehicle. A prototype was built in 1949, before production commenced in 1952. [1] The first 25 were built to the maximum permissible length of 8.4 metres (28 ft) for London Transport before maximum length for PSVs increased to 9.1 metres (30 ft). [2] [3]

Over 2,600 were built, London Transport was the largest operator, purchasing over 700, while British European Airways purchased 64 as coaches. [4] [5] Production for UK market finished in 1955 with the introduction of the AEC Reliance but it remained in production for export markets until the 1960s. [2]

Exports

New Zealand

At least 117 Regal IV vehicles were exported to New Zealand between 1952 and 1955. For Christchurch and New Plymouth, these were specifically to replace the city's tram networks. These included:

References

  1. London Transport First RF Bus Placed in Service Railway Gazette 19 September 1952 page 329
  2. 1 2 Companion to Road Passenger Transport History. Walsall: Roads & Road Transport History Association. 2013. p. 32. ISBN   978-0-9552876-3-3.
  3. Berry, Howard (2018). AEC Single Deckers. Stroud: Amberley Publishing. ISBN   9781445676722.
  4. Flying High Bus & Coach Preservation August 2016 page 56
  5. John, Godwin (2020). Great British Buses. pp. 28–32. ISBN   9780244847784.
  6. "Bus No. 290 will drop the curtain on another era of local transport". Press. Papers Past. 29 July 1981. p. 21. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  7. "Database of New Zealand Buses". Bus Info NZ. Retrieved 23 August 2025.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to AEC Regal IV at Wikimedia Commons