Bradford 325 - Leyland Lion PLSC3  - ( KW 2260 )

Bradford 467 - Leyland Atlantean  - ( TKU 467K )

By having a chassis which was cranked over the back axle, this allowed the chassis to be reduced to a height of 2' 4" at its lowest point, with a consequent reduction in the overall height of the vehicle. This type of chassis was to remain standard for the next 30 years, new designs becoming necessary only on the introduction of underfloor and rear engined vehicles.

This particular vehicle was built in 1927 for Bradford Corporation and was one of several early batches of vehicle bought in 1926/27 with a view to fighting off competition from private operators running within the city boundary who were attempting to attract passengers from the Corporation's tramway services. They were among the first motorbuses bought by the Corporation, as they had previously relied on trams and trolleybuses, not seeing, unlike their municipal neighbours, that the motorbus was a viable alternative until they themselves were threatened by the appearance of such vehicles on the streets of Bradford.

Given the fleet number 325, KW 2260 was initially allocated to Thornbury tramshed along with the other early motor buses, but on completion of the purpose-built Ludlam Street depot  in 1931 was transferred there until its withdrawal in 1935. The vehicle was sold to a traveling showman, but eventually ended its days as a static caravan at Boynton Hall near Bridlington, where it was the home of a local parish councilor. In 1969 the vehicle was purchased for preservation by a group of bus enthusiasts in Hull and restored in the livery of the East Yorkshire Motor Services. The vehicle was first rallied in 1973 and later appeared in the television serial South Riding. Problems in finding accommodation led to the vehicle being sold, and it eventually came into the hands of the West Yorkshire Transport Museum in 1984.

It was acquired by Keighley Bus Museum from the administrators of Transperience in September 1998 with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Science Museum PRISM Fund and Bradford Metropolitan Borough Council.

KW 2260: Leyland Lion PLSC3 Leyland B36R 1927

The Leyland Lion, although far removed from the present day single deck bus in terms of design and appearance, can be said to be the forerunner of a long line of vehicles which have gradually evolved into the modern vehicles which one sees on the road today. Prior to the appearance of the Lion, most manufacturers had simply built bus bodies on lorry chassis, which meant that vehicles were unduly high, which was a particular problem when building double deck buses which had to negotiate low railway bridges.

TKU 467K :

Leyland Atlantean PDR2/1 Alexander H47/29D 1971

The Leyland Atlantean entered production in 1958, some 4 years before its rival the Daimler Fleetline. However, when the maximum permitted length for double deckers was increased to 33 ft, it was to be Daimler to the fore, with the extended version of the Fleetline first making an appearance in 1966, as exemplified by Leeds 131 in the Keighley Bus Museum collection. The longer variant of the Atlantean, designated as the PDR2/1 model, did not enter production until 1972.

Bradford City Transport’s first 33 ft deckers were a batch of 40 Fleetlines with Alexander bodies numbered 2401 – 2440 and delivered in 1970. They were followed 30 PDR2/1 Atlanteans the following year, again with bodies by Alexander. These were numbered 2441 – 2470 with registrations SKY 441-460J and TKU 461-470K as the latter did not enter service until the change of year suffix letter in August 1971.

At this time, Bradford’s trolleybus system was in the process of replacement, and the entry into service of the first 20 of these Atlanteans on 1st July 1971 corresponded with the conversion of services 40 (Saltaire) and 42 (Greengates). Services 37/38 (Clayton) and 45/46 (Wibsey and Buttershaw) followed as from 1st August. No further new vehicles were added before the final trolleybus conversions in March 1972.

2467, as it became in the West Yorkshire PTE fleet, was withdrawn in September 1986 shortly before deregulation, and was sold along with sister vehicles 2453, 2464, 2465, 2466, 2468 and 2469 to Kingston-upon-Hull City Transport in October 1986. They entered service in PTE livery on schools and other contracts and were given fleet numbers matching their registration digits and their original Bradford numbers. 467 was repainted into Hull’s own blue livery in July 1987 and around this time gained a ticket machine mounting to allow its use on normal stage services. In early 1988, 3 lower deck seats were removed to create additional luggage capacity for dedicated use on the Ferrybus service between the railway station and the North Sea ferry terminal.

It was withdrawn in June 1991 and in the following February passed to Humberside Constabulary who converted it to serve as a mobile crime prevention exhibition unit. One of Bradford’s 33ft Fleetlines, 2414, had incidentally already been converted for a similar role with West Yorkshire Police.

Back in 1987,  one of the 33ft Atlanteans, 2448, had been set aside for the now defunct West Yorkshire Transport Museum. It was however deemed surplus to requirements and offered for sale in 1989; it was subsequently exported to the USA. It was therefore fortuituous that Keighley Bus Museum was able to acquire 467 when retired from its active police service in April 2003.