Wright Eclipse Fusion | |
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Overview | |
Manufacturer | Wrightbus |
Production | 1999–2005 |
Assembly | Ballymena, Northern Ireland |
Body and chassis | |
Doors | 2 or 3 |
Floor type | Low floor |
Chassis | Volvo B7LA |
Related | Wright Eclipse |
Powertrain | |
Engine | Volvo D7C |
Transmission | ZF Friedrichshafen |
Dimensions | |
Length | 17.95 m |
Width | 2.50 m |
Height | 3.00 m |
Chronology | |
Predecessor | Wright Fusion |
Successor | Wright StreetCar |
The Wright Eclipse Fusion was a low floor articulated single-decker bus body built on the Volvo B7LA chassis by Wrightbus. It was the articulated version of the Wright Eclipse, succeeding the Wright Fusion.
Of the 88 produced, the FirstGroup took delivery of 67 Wright Eclipse Fusions between 2000 and 2005, with the majority entering service with First Aberdeen, First West of England for services in Bath and First West Yorkshire for services in Bradford, with smaller fleets delivered to First Hampshire & Dorset and First Glasgow. [1] The other 21 Fusions were delivered to Dublin Bus in 2000. [2]
In October 2001, two Wright Eclipse Fusions were sent from First Hampshire & Dorset to First London's Greenford garage to operate a six-month trial on route 207. One was painted into First London's fleet livery during this period. No orders resulted from the trial and the Fusions were returned a year later. [3]
The FirstGroup would later partner with Wrightbus in developing the Wright StreetCar, which is built on a modified version of the chassis used for the Eclipse Fusion. Most of the Eclipse Fusions are similar in appearance to its Wrightbus single deckers with the arched roof.
The Volvo B9TL is a low-floor double-decker bus built by Volvo from 2002 until 2018. It superseded the Volvo Super Olympian and the Volvo B7TL. The 2-axle version has been superseded by the Volvo B5TL in 2014 and the 3-axle version has been superseded by the Volvo B8L in 2018.
Wrightbus is a Northern Ireland-based bus manufacturer and a pioneer of the low-floor bus. The company was established in 1946 by Robert Wright and was later run by his son William Wright, until it was acquired in 2019 by British businessman Jo Bamford.
The Volvo B7TL is a low-floor double-decker bus chassis which was launched in 1999 and replaced the 2-axle version of the Volvo Olympian. It was built as the British bus operators seemed hesitant to purchase the B7L double decker with a long rear overhang.
The Volvo B7L is a fully low floor single-decker bus, double-decker bus and articulated bus chassis with a rear engine mounted vertically on the left of the rear overhang. It was built as a replacement for the Volvo B10L, and the Volvo Olympian. It was used as both a single-decker bus and a double-decker bus chassis largely in Continental Europe.
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First Hampshire & Dorset is a bus operator providing services in the counties of Hampshire and Dorset. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup.
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The Wright Renown was a low floor single-decker bus body built on Volvo B10BLE chassis by Wrightbus in Ballymena, Northern Ireland.
The Wright Fusion was a low floor tri-axle articulated single-decker bus body built on the Volvo B10LA chassis by Wrightbus from 1998 until 1999. It was the articulated version of the Wright Liberator.
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The MAN Lion's City is a range of low-floor and low-entry public buses built by German truck and bus manufacturer MAN Truck & Bus since 1996 primarily for the European market, but is also available in chassis-only variants worldwide. The name Lion's City has been used since 2006, when MAN's public bus models which had been marketed separately were gathered into one range, when also most models received a facelift. The first models to be introduced were the 12-metre low-floor intercity bus NÜ xx3 (A20) in 1996, the 12-metre city bus NL xx3 (A21) in 1997 and the articulated NG xx3 (A23) in 1998. As with former MAN bus models the power-rating made up part of the model name, giving the NÜ-series buses with power-ratings of 260 and 310 hp model names NÜ 263 and NÜ 313 respectively. The main production sites are in Starachowice and Sady in Poland, but the models have also been built in Germany, Turkey and Malaysia. Initially most of the midibus variants were manufactured by Göppel Bus in Augsburg, later Nobitz.
Articulated buses, colloquially known as "bendy buses", were rarely used in the United Kingdom compared to other countries, until the turn of the millennium. This was due to a preference for the double-decker bus for use on high capacity routes. In June 2006, there were over 500 articulated buses in the United Kingdom, although they were still heavily outnumbered by double deckers. The majority of this fleet was used in London, although these buses would be withdrawn by end of 2011.
The Volvo B5LH is a low-floor hybrid electric bus chassis for both single-decker buses and double-decker buses manufactured by Volvo between 2008 and 2023. It is the basis for Volvo's integral 7700 Hybrid full low floor city bus and its successor, the 7900 Hybrid from 2011. In 2008, pre-production batches of both types of chassis were manufactured. Serial production started in June 2010. From 2013 it is also available as an articulated bus chassis. First entering service in London, the B5LH is the only current double decker type in service in the United Kingdom that uses a parallel hybrid drive system.
The Wright StreetDeck is an integral double-decker bus manufactured by Wrightbus since 2014, originally delivered as standard with a Daimler OM934 diesel engine. Hybrid-electric, full-electric and hydrogen-powered variants have subsequently been produced. Production of the StreetDeck range was briefly suspended when Wrightbus entered administration in September 2019.
The Wright StreetAir is a low-floor single-decker electric bus design built by Wrightbus in Ballymena, Northern Ireland in 2016 and 17. An integral product based on a single-deck variant of the Wright StreetDeck chassis, the StreetAir replaces the Wright Electrocity in Wrightbus' product range.
The Wright GB Kite is a range of full-size zero-emission single-deck buses manufactured by Wrightbus since 2022. Similar in body style to the diesel powered Wright GB Hawk, the GB Kite is an integral design that can be built as a battery electric vehicle, the Electroliner BEV, and as a fuel cell electric vehicle, the Hydroliner FCEV.
Media related to Wright Eclipse Fusion at Wikimedia Commons
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