Fastest Saloon in the West
37 and 38 are oddballs in the fleet since they depict a type of vehicle that doesn’t exist in real life, although quite easily could have done. They are ADL Lances; the full size single decker engineered to share its underpinnings with the Trident, cheaply allowing Alexander Dennis to offer a more heavyweight alternative to the Mk1 Enviro 300 and Pointer Dart. And – obviously – act as an updated version of the 1990s Dennis Lance SLF.
As with the Trident, power comes from the mighty Cummins 8.3 litre ISC engine (hence the blind), longitudinally mounted to simplify the driveline and attached to a ZF transmission. Typically the engines would be de-rated for use in single deckers, but at some point in its past 38 gained a replacement engine straight out of a normal Trident, so it absolutely goes like stink. 37 isn’t exactly a slouch either, and they’ll about match the performance of the Scanias on the X11 if needed.
ADL Lance production would have ended when the new integral Enviro 300 came in with the 6.7l engine, which would also be powering the Enviro 400 by then, and heavyweight versions being restricted to just E300 bodies on Volvo, MAN or Scania chassis. In real life it would have been interesting to see all-ADL ALX300s on Lance chassis instead of the MAN 18.220 that Stagecoach bought. I really do wonder why Transbus/ADL didn’t go for selling them complete vehicles with their own chassis instead of letting their best customer turn to MAN for their larger single deckers?
For now 37 and 38 are remaining in their existing liveries, despite the fact they look a bit rough in places. This one has had the lower offside panels towards the rear replaced so the grey skirt is missing on those panels. All of 25, 26, 27, 37 and 38 are to stay as they are at least until the Park & Ride gets its new double deckers, after which the decision will come as to whether they are leaving, staying or being painted.
Fastest Saloon in the West
37 and 38 are oddballs in the fleet since they depict a type of vehicle that doesn’t exist in real life, although quite easily could have done. They are ADL Lances; the full size single decker engineered to share its underpinnings with the Trident, cheaply allowing Alexander Dennis to offer a more heavyweight alternative to the Mk1 Enviro 300 and Pointer Dart. And – obviously – act as an updated version of the 1990s Dennis Lance SLF.
As with the Trident, power comes from the mighty Cummins 8.3 litre ISC engine (hence the blind), longitudinally mounted to simplify the driveline and attached to a ZF transmission. Typically the engines would be de-rated for use in single deckers, but at some point in its past 38 gained a replacement engine straight out of a normal Trident, so it absolutely goes like stink. 37 isn’t exactly a slouch either, and they’ll about match the performance of the Scanias on the X11 if needed.
ADL Lance production would have ended when the new integral Enviro 300 came in with the 6.7l engine, which would also be powering the Enviro 400 by then, and heavyweight versions being restricted to just E300 bodies on Volvo, MAN or Scania chassis. In real life it would have been interesting to see all-ADL ALX300s on Lance chassis instead of the MAN 18.220 that Stagecoach bought. I really do wonder why Transbus/ADL didn’t go for selling them complete vehicles with their own chassis instead of letting their best customer turn to MAN for their larger single deckers?
For now 37 and 38 are remaining in their existing liveries, despite the fact they look a bit rough in places. This one has had the lower offside panels towards the rear replaced so the grey skirt is missing on those panels. All of 25, 26, 27, 37 and 38 are to stay as they are at least until the Park & Ride gets its new double deckers, after which the decision will come as to whether they are leaving, staying or being painted.