Daimler Fleetline

Daimler Fleetline chassis designations started with the letters CR, of which the C is variously reported to stand for Coventry or Commercial, and the R stands for Rear-engined. For single-deckers this became SR (although not on the earliest examples which were referred to with the standard CR).

This was followed by a code to indicate the engine fitted: D6 (Daimler 6-cylinder, prototypes only); G6 (Gardner 6-cylinder, more often than not this was expanded to the more specific G6LW, G6LX or G6LXB); L6 (Leyland 6-cylinder); C6 (Cummins 6-cylinder).

The standard length of the Fleetline was 30 feet but lengths of 33' feet[8] and 36' feet were also available, which were sometimes (though not consistently) identified by a suffix of -33 or -36 (sometimes with an oblique stroke in place of the hyphen).

Later Leyland Fleetline chassis designations were different: FE for Fleetline, followed by 30 or 33 (length in feet); A for Air brakes; G for Gardner or L for Leyland engine; R for Right-hand drive.

London Transport was the largest British Fleetline operator, purchasing 2,646, the last 400 being built as B20s, in addition to the earlier XF (eXperimental Fleetline) class of eight buses.[9][10][11][12][13][14] At the time of delivery of London Transport's first Daimler Fleetline (December 1970), the Fleetline was a successful model (when comparing sales against other chassis), more than 3,500 Fleetline buses having been produced for other operators.

London's Fleetlines were fitted with either Park Royal or MCW bodywork.

The first vehicles entered service on 2 January 1971 on routes 95 and 220 from Brixton and Shepherds Bush garages.[15] The last was withdrawn on 20 January 1993 from South Croydon Garage.

The first batch of London Fleetlines had Gardner engines, but Leyland engined the majority. Nearly 200 B20 Fleetlines were fitted with Iveco engines during the 1980s.[16]

The Fleetlines proved unpopular in London, mainly due to the slow boarding times compared to those of the open-platform AEC Routemasters. To counter this, London Transport trialled the AFC (Automated Fare Collection) turnstile entry system on some of the fleet. This was coin-operated and was intended as a quicker, second boarding option as an alternative to paying the driver. However, the AFC system proved unpopular due to unreliability, and by 1979 the trial had been abandoned and the equipment removed.

Maintenance was also another major issue, as the parts became defective much sooner. Maintenance costs for rear-engined, front entrance buses were much higher than the older half-cab models due to the inability to separate the body from chassis for modular overhaul. This was also exacerbated by the presence of a 50% government grant for new vehicles at the time, rendering withdrawal a cost-effective option at or around the time of their first (seven-year) recertification for service.

Withdrawal commenced in February 1979 with Leyland Titans and MCW Metrobuses purchased as replacements.[17]

Many of the sold Fleetlines were sent to dealer Ensignbus, Purfleet.[18][19][20] So many vehicles were despatched there between 1979 and 1983, that the yards became known as the 'DMS graveyards' as not enough buyers could be sought. Often vehicles could not be brought out and so rotted away where they sat, however the last of these were not finally scrapped until 1990.

However, hundreds of London Fleetlines proved popular secondhand purchases for operators throughout Britain from 1979 and during the 1980s, including the aftermath of deregulation. In some cases, the special modifications which had been built into the buses to meet London Transport's own specifications were removed at the request of the purchaser, to improve reliability and restore standardisation with other Fleetlines in their fleets. There were also a number sold for export, many going to Hong Kong.[21] In addition, nearly 50 vehicles found operations in the United States for open-top sightseeing work.

Second in fleet size was Birmingham City Transport and its successor West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive with well over 1,000 buses, including the first single-decker Fleetlines in 1965.[22] Other constituent municipal fleets - and Midland Red [23] - also contributed Fleetlines to the WMPTE Fleetline fleet to boost the number to over 2,100.

West Midlands PTE preferred the Gardner engine, but received 220 Fleetlines with Leyland engines during 1974-76 when Gardners were hard to obtain. However, the Leylands were found to be less reliable, particularly in the hilly Black Country, and most received Gardner engines during the early 1980s. The 700 or so Fleetlines inherited by West Midlands Travel in 1986 all had Gardner engines, and the last withdrawn in 1997.

Park Royal-bodied Daimler Fleetline. Ordered by Manchester City Transport but delivered new to SELNEC Central in June 1971. It was withdrawn in 1984 by Greater Manchester Transport and is now restored in the 1974-80 livery. Seen here at Heaton Park, Manchester on Sunday 7 September 2014 during the annual Trans Lancs Rally event

Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive purchased over 500 Fleetlines in addition to a similar number inherited from its constituents, all had Gardner engines. (although even in such numbers they were still outnumbered by Atlanteans).

South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) operated a significant number of Fleetlines during the 1970s.

Other English PTEs, plus many fleets in the municipal, such as Cardiff Bus with 90 examples, BET Group, Scottish Bus Group and independent sectors purchased Fleetlines.

Walsall Corporation specified some non-standard short-wheelbase Fleetlines, the first of which, 1 UDH , was only 25 ft 7 in long, had no front overhang and had its entrance behind the front axle. The next 29 vehicles were 27 ft 6 in long with a short front overhang and again only an entrance behind the front axle. The remaining 69 were 28 ft 6 in long, with a narrow entrance in the usual position along with the entrance behind the front axle. 1 UDH had Northern Counties bodywork with wrap-around windscreens on both decks, similar to that specified by Barton Transport on AEC Regents and a Dennis Loline.

Several operators purchased single-deck Fleetlines (Birmingham was the first, in 1965). Rotherham Corporation purchased two 33' single deck fleetlines with 45 seat Willowbrook dual purpose bodies. Mexborough and Swinton Traction Company ordered three similar vehicles with Marshall bodywork for White Rose Express services. However they were delivered to Yorkshire Traction following the takeover in October 1969. In late 1970, Yorkshire Traction purchased nine 36' Fleetlines with dual door Walter Alexander W type bodywork.

Unusual engines temporarily fitted by operators in Fleetlines in the 1960s included a Perkins V8 installed in a Walsall Fleetline, and a BMMO 10.5 litre unit in a Midland Red unit. Most remarkably, in 1972 a Rolls Royce LPG engine was fitted to a Teesside Municipal Transport Fleetline.[24]

Following damage caused by hitting a low bridge, WMPTE converted double deck Leyland Fleetline 6956 (WDA 956T) into a single deck vehicle. Renumbered 1956 to fit in with the single-decker fleet number sequence, the bus passed to successor West Midlands Travel and is preserved at Wythall Transport Museum.