Plaxton Prestige

Last updated

Plaxton Prestige
Northern Counties Paladin LF
DAF SB220 Plaxton Prestige 1.jpg
Arriva North West and Wales Prestige bodied DAF SB220 in Liverpool in 2007
Overview
Manufacturer Northern Counties (1995–1997)
Plaxton (1997–1999)
Production1995–1999
Assembly Wigan, Greater Manchester, England (1995–1997)
Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England (1997–1999)
Body and chassis
Doors1 or 2
Floor type Low floor
Chassis DAF SB220
Volvo B10BLE
Powertrain
Engine DAF ATi 8.6L GS160M
Volvo DH10A-245 9.6L
Capacity35 to 42 seated
Power output218bhp (DAF)
245bhp (Volvo)
Transmission ZF 4HP500 (automatic)
ZF 5HP500 (automatic)
Dimensions
Length11.9 m (39 ft)
Width2.55 m (8 ft 4 in)
Height3.0 m (9.8 ft)
Curb weight 9,615 kg (21,197 lb)
Chronology
Predecessor Northern Counties Paladin
Successor Plaxton Pointer 2

The Plaxton Prestige is a low-floor single-decker bus body built by manufacturers Northern Counties and Plaxton between 1996 and 1999.

Contents

Design

Rear of a Arriva North East Plaxton Prestige bodied DAF SB220 in Middlesbrough bus station in May 2009 Arriva bus 4027 DAF SB220 Plaxton Prestige R427 RPY in Middlesbrough bus station route 63 branding 5 May 2009.JPG
Rear of a Arriva North East Plaxton Prestige bodied DAF SB220 in Middlesbrough bus station in May 2009

Northern Counties, who had then been recently purchased by the Henlys Group, developed a body then known as the Paladin LF to be the low-floor successor to their step-entrance Paladin, with the bus first being unveiled at the Coach & Bus '95 expo by the manufacturer. [1] Production of the Paladin LF would later transfer to Plaxton's Scarborough factory during 1997, with the model also renamed to the Prestige, a name that had earlier been briefly used for an export variant of the Plaxton Excalibur. [2] In Plaxton's body numbering system, the letter H identified the Prestige, although not all Prestiges received a Plaxton body number, with early models being numbered in the Northern Counties series.

Some Plaxton Prestiges on DAF SB220 chassis were powered by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as part of early developments into the manufacture of zero-emissions buses. Storage tanks for the LPG fuel were located on the roof of the Prestige body. [2] These LPG Prestiges were demonstrated by a number of operators, including Mainline Buses and East Yorkshire Motor Services, [3] [4] and though a handful of orders resulted, diesel-powered SB220s would be preferred throughout the Prestige's production run. Production of the Prestige ceased in 1999 in favour of the lighter Super Pointer Dart variant of the Plaxton Pointer 2, with only 150 Prestiges having been built. [2]

Operators

Two years after the Paladin LF was launched by Northern Counties, the first production models entered service with Stagecoach Manchester in March 1997, with five built on Volvo B10BLE chassis - the only Prestiges built on the chassis - being delivered to the operator. [5]

The largest operator of Prestiges on DAF SB220 chassis was Arriva, with multiple examples delivered to the group's subsidiaries throughout the Prestige's production run, 54 of which entered service with companies today grouped under the Arriva North East name. [6] Nine Prestiges equipped with coach seats also entered service with Arriva The Shires on Green Line service 724 in early 1998, [2] while smaller numbers of Prestige bodied DAF SB200s would enter service with Go North East. [7] [ better source needed ]

Another large operator of Prestiges on DAF SB220 chassis was the National Express-owned Speedlink Airport Services, taking delivery of 19 dual-doored Prestiges equipped with extra luggage capacity in early 1998 for use on the temporary FastLink shuttle service between Heathrow Airport and the short-lived Heathrow Junction railway station. [8] [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dennis Dart</span> British rear-engined single-decker midibus

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander ALX200</span> Single-decker bus body

The Alexander ALX200 was a single-decker bus body built by Alexander of the United Kingdom. It was created for low-floor bus chassis produced from the late 1990s and was launched in spring 1996 as a low-floor replacement of the Alexander Dash. It was marketed in Alexander's 'ALX' series to fill in the gap between the ALX100 minibus and the ALX300 full-size single-decker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VDL Bus & Coach</span> Netherlands based bus manufacturer

VDL Bus & Coach is a Netherlands based bus manufacturer. It is an amalgamation of several bus building companies within the VDL Groep. VDL Bus & Coach has manufacturing plants in Belgium and the Netherlands. By 2018 VDL Bus & Coach sold 500 electric buses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander ALX400</span> 2-axle double decker bus body

The Alexander ALX400 was a 2-axle double-decker bus body built by Walter Alexander Coachbuilders. It was one of the ALX-series bodywork, all of which featured the same designs on the front and rear panels that were originally designed for the new generation of mainly low-floor bus chassis produced since the late 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plaxton President</span> 2-axle low-floor double-decker bus body

The Plaxton President was a low floor double-decker bus body built by Plaxton at the former Northern Counties factory in Wigan, England. It was first unveiled in 1997 on the longitudinal Volvo B7L chassis and later built between 1998 and 2005 following a body redesign. When it became part of TransBus International, the body was sold under the TransBus name. The President was built on the Dennis/TransBus Trident, the DAF DB250 and the Volvo B7TL chassis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VDL DB250</span> Twin-axle double-decker bus chassis

The VDL DB250 was a twin-axle double-decker bus chassis manufactured by VDL Bus & Coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Optare Spectra</span> Double-decker bus bodywork on DAF DB250 chassis

The Optare Spectra was a double-decker bus body built on both the step entrance DAF DB250 and low-floor DB250LF chassis between 1991 and 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dennis Trident 2</span> 2-axle low-floor double-decker bus

The Dennis Trident 2 is a 2-axle low-floor double-decker bus chassis originally manufactured by Dennis, which was unveiled in 1997 and replaced the Dennis Arrow. It was built by TransBus after Dennis was incorporated into the group in 2001, then from 2004, it was built by Alexander Dennis following the collapse of TransBus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DAF SB220</span> Full-size single-decker bus chassis produced by DAF Bus International

The DAF SB220 was a full-size single-decker bus chassis produced by DAF Bus International from 1985. Initially only built in left hand drive, in 1988 a right hand drive version was launched for the United Kingdom market. An articulated version was also manufactured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Lancs Myllennium</span> Type of single-decker bus body

The East Lancs Myllennium was a type of single-decker bus body manufactured by East Lancashire Coachbuilders on DAF SB220, Dennis Dart SLF, MAN 14.220 and Scania N94UB chassis. It was superseded by the East Lancs Esteem in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volvo B10L</span> Motor vehicle

The Volvo B10L was a rear-engined, low-floor single-decker public bus chassis built by Volvo between c. 1993 and c. 2005. An articulated version of the B10L, known as the B10LA, was also produced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Bus and Coach Services</span>

Blue Bus was a large independent bus company serving Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plaxton Verde</span> Step-entrance single-deck bus body

The Plaxton Verde was a step-entrance full-size single-decker bus body built by Plaxton between 1991 and 1997. It was built on a rear-engined chassis, the most popular of which was the Dennis Lance which accounted for over half of the Verdes built. The rest were on Volvo B10B, DAF SB220 and Scania N113 chassis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wright Crusader</span> British single-decker bus body

The Wright Crusader was a single-decker bus body built on Dennis Dart SLF, Volvo B6LE and Volvo B6BLE chassis by Wrightbus between 1995 and 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Counties Paladin</span> Single-decker bus body

The Northern Counties Paladin, also badged as the Plaxton Paladin towards the end of production, is a step-entrance single-decker bus body built by Northern Counties of Wigan, UK, between 1991 and 1998. The replacements for the Paladin are the Prestige and the Pointer as low-floor models for the Paladin LF.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Counties Palatine</span> Step-entrance double-decker bus body

The Northern Counties Palatine was a step-entrance 2-axle and 3-axle double-decker bus body built by Northern Counties from 1988 to 1999 in Wigan, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wright Endurance</span> Step-entrance bus body on Scania N113 and Volvo B10B chassis

The Wright Endurance was a step-entrance single-decker bus body on Scania N113 and on Volvo B10B chassis by Wrightbus between 1992 and 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Privatisation of London bus services</span> Transfer of bus operations in London from public bodies to private companies

The privatisation of London bus services was the process of the transfer of operation of buses in London from public bodies to private companies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plaxton Pointer</span> Single-deck midibus body built on Dennis and Volvo chassis

The Plaxton Pointer is a single-deck midibus body that was manufactured between 1991 and 2006, predominantly on the Dennis Dart chassis, by Reeve Burgess, Plaxton and latterly Alexander Dennis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Ultra</span> Low-floor bus body on Volvo B10L chassis

The Alexander Ultra was a low floor single-deck bus body built on the Volvo B10L chassis by Walter Alexander Coachbuilders from 1995 to 1998. It was the right-hand drive equivalent of the Volvo 5000 and was built on license from Volvo Buses.

References

  1. ↑ Cole, Martin (6 October 1995). "Coach & Bus '95 Stand Guide". Bus & Coach Buyer. No. 327. Spalding. p. 16. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Brown, Stewart J. (2007). Plaxton: a century of innovation. Hersham: Ian Allan Publishing. pp. 118–120. ISBN   978-0-7110-3209-5 . Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  3. ↑ "DAF's LPG bus on trial for Quality Partnership". Coach & Bus Week . No. 285. Peterborough: Emap. 4 September 1997. p. 4. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  4. ↑ Start, Hannah (23 February 1998). "Green bus takes to the road". Hull Daily Mail. p. 10. Retrieved 27 April 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Stagecoach take first Volvo B10BLE Northern Counties". Bus & Coach Buyer. No. 400. Spalding: Glen-Holland Ltd. 14 March 1997. p. 4.
  6. ↑ Lidstone, John G. (February 1999). "Fleet News England & Wales". Buses . No. 527. Shepperton: Ian Allan Publishing. p. 41. Retrieved 27 April 2024. New are DAF SB220/Northern Counties Prestige B39F 702-7 (S702-7 KFT) at Jesmond for service M55 and the 42-group of services to Cramlington.
  7. ↑ "Window of opportunity". Coach & Bus Week. No. 271. Peterborough: Emap. 31 May 1997. p. 24. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  8. ↑ Izatt, Andy (30 January 1998). "BAA Heathrow: investing in public transport". Bus & Coach Buyer. No. 444. Spalding: Glen-Holland Ltd. pp. 14–17. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  9. ↑ "Fleet Additions". Bus & Coach Buyer. No. 447. Spalding: Glen-Holland Ltd. 20 February 1998. p. 23. Retrieved 27 April 2024.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Plaxton Prestige at Wikimedia Commons

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.