China Motor Bus Co Leyland Titan

Virtually all British manufacturers of double-deck buses were competing fiercely for the rapidly expanding Hong Kong market in the late seventies. Leyland had planned to build two prototype Titans for the Hong Kong market, both for China Motor Bus Co. Eventually only one was built T41 based on the home market single-door specification TNLXB1RF type, and completed in September 1979, by this stage Leyland had taken the decision to close Park Royal due to poor production which was one Titan a week! This Titan was retained by Leyland for testing and did not enter service with the operator until February 1980. Interesting a second Titan was planned for China Motor Bus which was to be 11-metre with dual doorways, only the underframe was constructed and numbered T63.

 

Reading Borough Council were the only other operator who were lucky enough to receive their Titans and took delivery of two Titans during 1979 registered YJB 68T (T38) and YJB 69T (T39) H44/25D, these were built to the same specification as the London Transport Titans thus used the same identification code.

 

I have already mentioned that due to poor production figures at Park Royal that British Leyland had no option to close Park Royal after all outstanding orders were completed meaning that Greater Manchester Transport PTE and West Midlands PTE only received a small percentage of their orders, other operators simply were persuaded to cancel their orders. London Transport demanded that their order for 250 Titans would be completed by June 1980 and that Leyland would find an alternative factory to continue to build the Titan. Leyland agreed a redundancy package with the staff at Park Royal that London Transport's Titans would be delivered on time, the Financial Times reported this cost Leyland between one and two million pounds! Production jumped from one Titan a week to eight Titans a week, resulting in the last London Transport Titan T250 completed three weeks ahead of the deadline. The staff at Park Royal had a vested interest in slowing Titan production down knowing that Leyland would close the factory with a redundancy package and they would walk into a better paid job. I will discuss the search for a new home for the Titan in another post.

 

While Leyland went through the trauma of the Titan, they had realised in 1978 that they needed a chassis to replace their rear-engined double-deck bus chassis range. Leyland commenced on a project in 1978 coded B45 which would use the more desirable features of the Titan in a chassis which bodybuilders could easy body with normal height or low height bodywork. The B45 was launched in September 1980 as the Olympian, which I will cover once I finish the Titan story.

 

This official Leyland Vehicles publicity photograph shows the front near side view of the solitary Titan built for China Motor Bus Co, note the sliding side windows, also the large block Leyland name under the windscreen. I have interior photographs of this Titan which show leather covered coach seats, I will post an interior photograph.

 

Photograph credit: Leyland Vehicles Ltd/Basil Hancock

 

Bibliography:-

 

Books: The Best of British Buses No9 Leyland Titans 1945-1984 Alan Townsin

 

Websites: Bus Lists on The Web (BLOTW)

 

Vehicle information:-

 

Operator: China Motor Bus Co

 

Registration: CD 1213

 

Fleet number: TC1

 

Vehicle identification: TNLXB1RF T41

 

Park Royal build number: T41

 

Seating: CH43/30F

 

Engine: 10.45-litre Gardner 6LXB

 

Gearbox: Five-speed Hydracyclic gearbox with the G2 control system

 

Factory built at: Park Royal Vehicles Ltd Abbey Road Park Royal London NW10

Done