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Dennis Dorchester | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Manufacturer | Dennis |
Production | 1983-88 |
Assembly | Guildford |
Body and chassis | |
Floor type | Step entrance |
Powertrain | |
Engine | Gardner 6HLXCT |
The Dennis Dorchester was a mid-engined heavy-duty single deck coach chassis manufactured by Dennis in small numbers between 1983 and 1988. [1] [2] Designed as a premium underfloor mid-engine coach chassis, it was unveiled at the 1982 Motor Show. It was aimed at operators who had purchased the Seddon Pennine 7. [3]
Of the 67 built, 44 were bought by Scottish Bus Group subsidiaries Western Scottish, Central Scottish and Clydeside Scottish. These consisted of 23 with Plaxton Paramount coach bodywork, and 21 with Alexander bodywork, with each of the three T-type variants represented — five each of the TS service bus and TE express semi-coach, and eleven of the TC full coach. [4] One was exported to South Africa. [3] [5]
Leicester City Transport bought three Dorchester coaches with Plaxton Paramount bodywork, but sold them fairly quickly to Kingston-upon-Hull City Transport, which also bought one new. South Yorkshire Transport also took on three similar vehicles.
Of the Dorchester customers in the independent sector, Geoff Amos of Northamptonshire included three high-capacity bus versions among their five examples, two with Wadham Stringer bodywork and one with Reeve Burgess bodywork, all with 71 seats. Tillingbourne Bus Company also purchased two 61-seat Wadham Stringer-bodied buses. [6]
Other body manufacturers for the Dorchester were Duple (five, including the sole export Dorchester, for South Africa), Caetano (two coaches which made up the remainder of the Amos contingent), and Berkhof (one vehicle). [7]
Dennis Specialist Vehicles was an English manufacturer of commercial vehicles based in Guildford, building buses, fire engines, lorries (trucks) and municipal vehicles such as dustcarts. All vehicles were made to order to the customer's requirements and more strongly built than mass production equivalents. For most of the 20th century the Dennis company was Guildford's main employer.
Plaxton is an English builder of bus and coach vehicle bodies based in Eastfield, Scarborough, England. Founded in 1907 by Frederick William Plaxton, it became a subsidiary of Alexander Dennis in May 2007. In 2019, the maker was acquired by Canadian bus manufacturer New Flyer which then became NFI Group.
The Dennis Dart is a rear-engined single-decker midibus chassis that was introduced by Dennis of Guildford, England in 1989, replacing the Dennis Domino. Initially built as a high-floor design, in 1996 the low-floor second generation Dennis Dart SLF was launched. In 2001, production of the Dart SLF passed to TransBus International, during which time it was sold as the TransBus Dart SLF; Alexander Dennis took over production in 2004, renaming the product as the Alexander Dennis Dart SLF.
The Dennis Dominator was Dennis's first rear-engined double-decker bus chassis, it was launched in 1977.
The Scania N112 was a transversely-engined step-entrance single-decker bus, double-decker bus and articulated bus chassis manufactured by Scania between 1978 and 1987.
The Ford R series was a range of single-decker bus and single-decker coach chassis, built by Ford that evolved from designs made by Thames Trader until the mid-1960s. A number of components were shared with the D-series lorry, including the engine which was mounted vertically at the front of the vehicle, ahead of the front axle so as to provide a passenger entrance opposite the driver. The original R192 and longer R226 models later became the R1014 and R1114 variants which with constant revision and upgrading had become R1015 and R1115 by the mid-1980s. In an attempt to lower the floor height of the vehicle, the turbocharged diesel engine was tilted over to one side around 1978. Synchromesh transmission was fitted as standard but some later examples were equipped with Allison automatic gearboxes to ease the driver's workload in urban areas. It ceased production in 1985.
The Northern Counties Motor & Engineering Company was an English builder of bus and coach bodywork based in Wigan.
Duple Coachbuilders was a coach and bus bodybuilder in England from 1919 until 1989.
The Volvo B10M was a mid-engined city bus and coach chassis manufactured by Volvo between 1978 and 2003. It succeeded the B58 and was equipped with the same 9.6-litre horizontally mounted Volvo diesel engine mounted under the floor behind the front axle. An articulated version under the model name Volvo B10MA was also offered, as was a semi-integral version known as the C10M, with the engine in the middle of the chassis.
The Leyland Tiger, also known as the B43, was a mid-engined bus and coach chassis manufactured by Leyland between 1981 and 1992. This name had previously been used for a front-engined bus built between 1927 and 1968. It replaced the Leyland Leopard, which had been in production for over 20 years.
The Dennis Lance was a single-decker bus chassis manufactured by Dennis between 1991 and 2000, replacing the Dennis Falcon. Its low floor variant, the Dennis Lance SLF was built between 1993 and 1996. Between 1995 and 1998, Dennis also built its double-deck variant, the Dennis Arrow, as the replacement of the Dennis Dominator.
Barton Transport was a bus company that operated in Nottinghamshire from 1908 until 1989.
The Dennis Falcon was a rear-engined single-decker bus, double-decker bus and coach chassis manufactured by Dennis between 1981 and 1993. It was mostly built as a single-decker bus, although some express coaches and a small number of double-decker buses were also produced. The total number built was 139, plus one development chassis.
The Dennis Lancet was a lightweight underfloor-engined chassis manufactured by Dennis during the 1980s.
The Bristol RE was a rear-engined single-decker bus or single-decker coach chassis built by Bristol Commercial Vehicles from 1962 until 1982. It is often considered the most successful of the first generation of rear-engined single-decker buses.
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 Bedford SB was a front-engined bus chassis manufactured by Bedford in England. It was launched at the 1950 Commercial Motor Show as the replacement for the Bedford OB.
The Seddon Pennine 7 was a mid-underfloor-engined single-deck bus or coach chassis built by Seddon Atkinson between 1974 and 1982.
The Leyland Cub CU series was a midibus manufactured by Leyland between 1979 and 1987. There was a previous Leyland Cub, the K series built at Leyland's Ham factory between 1931 and 1939.
The Duple 300 Series were a range of bus and coach bodywork built by Duple between 1985 and 1989. The range comprised the 3,000 mm high Duple 300 service bus, the 3,200 mm high Duple 320 coach, and the taller 3,400 mm high Duple 340 coach. The 320 and 340 coaches were announced at the Bus and Coach Show at Earls Court in September 1985 as replacements for the previous Laser and Caribbean. Deliveries of these models commenced in 1986, whilst the 300 bus was launched in 1987 as a replacement for the Dominant Bus. After Duple closed down the designs were sold to Plaxton and a small number of additional 320 bodies were built as the Plaxton 321.