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Private Owner (preservation)/
Leyland National #1
2 august 2009 - Stokes Bay, Gosport, Hampshire (UK) – A ‘dual-purpose’ version of the National, intended for longer-distance trips, so the seats had higher backs and were just a tiny bit softer – that was about the only difference, as far as passengers were concerned . The attempt by Leyland to create a standard bus was not popular with many operators, who preferred new buses built to their own specification, so they began to buy from other manufacturers, and Leyland eventually went broke.
Author: dvigar
Author: dvigar
Comments: 4
Leyland National #127
Leyland National #251
2 august 2009 - Stokes Bay, Gosport, Hampshire (UK) - – I was amazed to find that more Nationals hadn’t been pictured here (even though there are relatively few British buses on TWB) - thousands were built, so it’s a bit like us having no Ikarus photos. This is a typical example, originally owned by Alder Valley, which was a merger of the Aldershot and District and Thames Valley companies. The colour scheme is also typical – to keep costs down, Leyland supplied just a few standard colours and that was all – many traditional bus company liveries disappeared as a result.
Author: dvigar
Author: dvigar
Comments: 4
Leyland National #2883
2 august 2009 - Stokes Bay, Gosport, Hampshire (UK) This Mark 2 National was new to Devon General, one of the many companies with a long history that were swallowed up in the 1980s. The Mark 2 was an improved version of the original design and was a lot more reliable, but still didn’t look very inspiring. The distinctive ‘pod’ on the roof has gone, though.
Author: dvigar
Author: dvigar
Comments: 1
Leyland National #330
2 august 2009 - Stokes Bay, Gosport, Hampshire (UK) – The Leyland National is hugely important – the British Konstal 105N. Intended to be the ‘one size fits all’ bus of the 1970s, built using mass production techniques, it came as a complete bus (not as a bare chassis for someone else to provide a body) and Leyland offered very few variations from the standard design and only a limited range of colours. Operators used to specifying their own requirements didn’t like it, not helped by engine problems, uncomfortable seating and poor quality control. Although many were built, companies like Dennis and Volvo began providing much better buses – Leyland soon went out of business as a result. A TWB debut for the Leyland National, I think.
Author: dvigar
Author: dvigar
Comments: 3
Leyland National #432
2 august 2009 - Stokes Bay, Gosport, Hampshire (UK) – This National was new to British Airways but later passed to First Group, who used it on Provincial bus services in the Gosport area. A dual-door version of the National was available, but most had just one. The ‘pod’ on the roof of a Mark 1 National is quite distinctive and contains the air management system.
Author: dvigar
Author: dvigar
Comments: 4
Leyland National #76
2 august 2009 - Stokes Bay, Gosport, Hampshire (UK) – Another ‘dual purpose’ National, this one was new to Hants and Dorset and transferred to Provincial in 1983, then to first Hampshire until 2000, when it was bought for preservation.
Author: dvigar
Author: dvigar
Leyland National #KCG 627L