Nottingham Lions’ den
Nottingham City Transport bought two small batches of the underfloor-engined Leyland Lion double-decker during its brief production, taking ten examples of the 32 supplied to British customers. From the second tranche, East Lancs-bodied 389 (F389KVO) is seen entering Old Market Place, passing the characterful Bell Inn - a place of frequent pilgrimage in my Nottingham visits. These were the final buses delivered to Nottingham’s own bodywork specification: subsequent vehicle orders were to off-the-peg designs.
One must rue the near-stillborn nature of the Leyland Lion. It had the potential to be a market contender, gaining a niche as did its direct competitor, the Volvo B10M Citybus. Leyland Bus fell victim to two factors, however: firstly, the impact of the 1985 Transport Act all but stifled the market for new full-size vehicles, a result of the big bus market being flooded by nearly-new vehicles made redundant as the old Passenger Transport Executives were forced to contract. Secondly, Leyland Bus was chronically under-capitalised after it had been bought by its management in the break-up of the British Leyland empire. In such dire circumstances, Leyland Bus fell into the hands of Volvo, which wasted no time in whittling down the Leyland model range.
September 1990
Rollei 35 camera
Kodak Ektachrome 100 film.
Nottingham Lions’ den
Nottingham City Transport bought two small batches of the underfloor-engined Leyland Lion double-decker during its brief production, taking ten examples of the 32 supplied to British customers. From the second tranche, East Lancs-bodied 389 (F389KVO) is seen entering Old Market Place, passing the characterful Bell Inn - a place of frequent pilgrimage in my Nottingham visits. These were the final buses delivered to Nottingham’s own bodywork specification: subsequent vehicle orders were to off-the-peg designs.
One must rue the near-stillborn nature of the Leyland Lion. It had the potential to be a market contender, gaining a niche as did its direct competitor, the Volvo B10M Citybus. Leyland Bus fell victim to two factors, however: firstly, the impact of the 1985 Transport Act all but stifled the market for new full-size vehicles, a result of the big bus market being flooded by nearly-new vehicles made redundant as the old Passenger Transport Executives were forced to contract. Secondly, Leyland Bus was chronically under-capitalised after it had been bought by its management in the break-up of the British Leyland empire. In such dire circumstances, Leyland Bus fell into the hands of Volvo, which wasted no time in whittling down the Leyland model range.
September 1990
Rollei 35 camera
Kodak Ektachrome 100 film.