London Transport - Volvo Ailsa B55 buses - V11 (NAK 416R)
These photographs were taken by Roger Hall and it by his kind consent they appear here - the copyright in these images remains with Mr Hall.
In the early 1980s London Transport started to look at what might form the next generation of buses for the city's fleet and, mindful of the earlier decades rather chaotic purchase of large numbers of vehicles with little or no evaluation, in 1983 they bought three Volvo Ailsa B55 buses with Alexander bodywork, the latter I'm sure being a first for the London fleet. The three vehicles were put to work at Stockwell in 1984 - well V1 and V2 were as it was 1985 before the unique 'rear door' V3 appeared in service. In 1987 the trio went to Potters Bar garage, V3 rebuilt to 'standard' layout and there, to help provide economies for the more 'out of London' routes in this part of Hertfordshire, they were joined by an unusual London purchase of secondhand vehicles.
What were to become V4 to V16 came from South Yorkshire PTE and were Van Hool McArdle bodied B55 chassis. As the original "V15" was cannibalised for spares the intended V16 took that bonnet number. These were followed by fifty ex-West Midlands PTE examples that had been delivered to ex-Midland Red garages in 1976 as part of the massive shake-up of the ex-MR fleet in PTE hands and I recall these buses appearing at Oldbury garage to make quite an impression as against the more 'leisurely' BMMO vehicles there! These too had Alexander AV bodies, more akin to A1 -3. This batch was split between Potters Bar and the "Harrow Bus" outfit at Harrow Weald garage.
By 1989 with changes to tendering and LT's sphere of operations, the secondhand Ailsas were withdrawn with quite a number ending up in Leeds with Black Prince. V1 to V3 soldiered until they too went - V1 and V2 to Merseyside and V3, after a serious accident, went to Yorkshire and Black Prince for intended reconstruction. Eventually V3 resurfaced in preservation and, like many other of Mr R Wight's amazing fleet, was extensively reconstructed to rear door/two staicase condition.
This view is of V11, NAK 416R, 416 in South Yorkshire PTE fleet when new. It entered service at Potters Bar in April 1987 and was withdrawn in October 1989 going for scrap. It is standing close to a "standard" LT concrete bus stop and a rather delapidated LT style timber bus shelter.
London Transport - Volvo Ailsa B55 buses - V11 (NAK 416R)
These photographs were taken by Roger Hall and it by his kind consent they appear here - the copyright in these images remains with Mr Hall.
In the early 1980s London Transport started to look at what might form the next generation of buses for the city's fleet and, mindful of the earlier decades rather chaotic purchase of large numbers of vehicles with little or no evaluation, in 1983 they bought three Volvo Ailsa B55 buses with Alexander bodywork, the latter I'm sure being a first for the London fleet. The three vehicles were put to work at Stockwell in 1984 - well V1 and V2 were as it was 1985 before the unique 'rear door' V3 appeared in service. In 1987 the trio went to Potters Bar garage, V3 rebuilt to 'standard' layout and there, to help provide economies for the more 'out of London' routes in this part of Hertfordshire, they were joined by an unusual London purchase of secondhand vehicles.
What were to become V4 to V16 came from South Yorkshire PTE and were Van Hool McArdle bodied B55 chassis. As the original "V15" was cannibalised for spares the intended V16 took that bonnet number. These were followed by fifty ex-West Midlands PTE examples that had been delivered to ex-Midland Red garages in 1976 as part of the massive shake-up of the ex-MR fleet in PTE hands and I recall these buses appearing at Oldbury garage to make quite an impression as against the more 'leisurely' BMMO vehicles there! These too had Alexander AV bodies, more akin to A1 -3. This batch was split between Potters Bar and the "Harrow Bus" outfit at Harrow Weald garage.
By 1989 with changes to tendering and LT's sphere of operations, the secondhand Ailsas were withdrawn with quite a number ending up in Leeds with Black Prince. V1 to V3 soldiered until they too went - V1 and V2 to Merseyside and V3, after a serious accident, went to Yorkshire and Black Prince for intended reconstruction. Eventually V3 resurfaced in preservation and, like many other of Mr R Wight's amazing fleet, was extensively reconstructed to rear door/two staicase condition.
This view is of V11, NAK 416R, 416 in South Yorkshire PTE fleet when new. It entered service at Potters Bar in April 1987 and was withdrawn in October 1989 going for scrap. It is standing close to a "standard" LT concrete bus stop and a rather delapidated LT style timber bus shelter.