Next into RBW.
If Belfast, Northern Ireland, and indeed many more parts of the province had a bus it could call its own, Like London did the Routemaster, then it would be these Alexander (Belfast) bodied Bristol REs. The body design harked back to a similar offering from the firm of Potter, who were later to become part of the great Alexander empire.
Those with longish memories will recall that at the height of Leyland's dominance of the UK bus building industry, they were very much inclined to tell customers what was on offer, rather than allowing customers to buy their chosen types. Many orders abroad were lost for things like AEC Swifts and single deck Fleetlines with those orders going to people like Volvo and Mercedes. BL attempted to tell Ulsterbus that they would bo longer be able to buy their beloved REs as the chassis was being discontinued for the home market in favour of the Leyland National. The RE was to stay in smaller scale production in order to satisfy export markets like New Zealand. Ulsterbus was not happy about this decision, and their position as a major buyers of Leyland products went on to carry some weight, especially when they sounded out other manufacturers. Eventually, Leyland ended the impasse by deeming NI to be an 'export' market. Ulsterbus continued to buy REs and even stockpiled chassis, the last of which was eventually built in 1982 by which time the NI state operator had taken over 600 of them. The final examples weren't bodied until 1984, indeed BXI 2570 is one of them.
This was the scene today as we collected the RE from the compound to take it up to our main yard for some attention.
Next into RBW.
If Belfast, Northern Ireland, and indeed many more parts of the province had a bus it could call its own, Like London did the Routemaster, then it would be these Alexander (Belfast) bodied Bristol REs. The body design harked back to a similar offering from the firm of Potter, who were later to become part of the great Alexander empire.
Those with longish memories will recall that at the height of Leyland's dominance of the UK bus building industry, they were very much inclined to tell customers what was on offer, rather than allowing customers to buy their chosen types. Many orders abroad were lost for things like AEC Swifts and single deck Fleetlines with those orders going to people like Volvo and Mercedes. BL attempted to tell Ulsterbus that they would bo longer be able to buy their beloved REs as the chassis was being discontinued for the home market in favour of the Leyland National. The RE was to stay in smaller scale production in order to satisfy export markets like New Zealand. Ulsterbus was not happy about this decision, and their position as a major buyers of Leyland products went on to carry some weight, especially when they sounded out other manufacturers. Eventually, Leyland ended the impasse by deeming NI to be an 'export' market. Ulsterbus continued to buy REs and even stockpiled chassis, the last of which was eventually built in 1982 by which time the NI state operator had taken over 600 of them. The final examples weren't bodied until 1984, indeed BXI 2570 is one of them.
This was the scene today as we collected the RE from the compound to take it up to our main yard for some attention.