Lothian Buses Limited Volvo B5TL/Wright Gemini 3
An bit of an oddball…..
When Volvo decided to replace its hugely successful B9TL with its B5TL, Wrightbus took the opportunity to refresh its Gemini 2 body at the same time. As a key customer, Lothian’s first such B5TLs received the revised body style, imaginatively called the Gemini 3.
The main difference between the two was the addition of daytime LED running lights, increasingly appearing on other vehicles and this led to a slightly different front lower dash although the styling at the front was more evolutionary rather than revolutionary.
The sides and rear had more effort put into them. Wrightbus had a reputation for design flare but it always seemed to struggle with the rear of buses, particularly the Gemini. The original Gemini was nothing fancy at the rear, particularly with its registration plate offset on the upper deck and indeed it could be argued that the Alexander ALX400 was more interesting aesthetically at the rear. The Gemini 2 rectified a number of these design flaws at the rear. The Gemini 3 introduced a more rounded, stylish design at the rear and kept it the design at the top. Also introduced was a glass windowed staircase, a feature Wrightbus borrowed from its New Routemaster design.
However Lothian only received one batch of these buses to this design. Shortly after this, Wrightbus launched irs ‘stealth’ design language - which seemed a bit of an acquired taste after the universally praised Gemini 2, and certainly wasn’t to everyone’s taste. It used this stealth front to launch its integral Streetdeck design. It also grafted this onto its Gemini 3 design, although Dublin Bus obviously was not that impressed with it as it continued to order the original front end.
Therefore Lothian’s original Gemini 3s to the original design are an interesting one-off batch. This is 415 (BN64CRU). Also of note is that this bus was registered by Volvo at Warwick rather that Wrightbus, hence the BN registration.
Lothian Buses Limited Volvo B5TL/Wright Gemini 3
An bit of an oddball…..
When Volvo decided to replace its hugely successful B9TL with its B5TL, Wrightbus took the opportunity to refresh its Gemini 2 body at the same time. As a key customer, Lothian’s first such B5TLs received the revised body style, imaginatively called the Gemini 3.
The main difference between the two was the addition of daytime LED running lights, increasingly appearing on other vehicles and this led to a slightly different front lower dash although the styling at the front was more evolutionary rather than revolutionary.
The sides and rear had more effort put into them. Wrightbus had a reputation for design flare but it always seemed to struggle with the rear of buses, particularly the Gemini. The original Gemini was nothing fancy at the rear, particularly with its registration plate offset on the upper deck and indeed it could be argued that the Alexander ALX400 was more interesting aesthetically at the rear. The Gemini 2 rectified a number of these design flaws at the rear. The Gemini 3 introduced a more rounded, stylish design at the rear and kept it the design at the top. Also introduced was a glass windowed staircase, a feature Wrightbus borrowed from its New Routemaster design.
However Lothian only received one batch of these buses to this design. Shortly after this, Wrightbus launched irs ‘stealth’ design language - which seemed a bit of an acquired taste after the universally praised Gemini 2, and certainly wasn’t to everyone’s taste. It used this stealth front to launch its integral Streetdeck design. It also grafted this onto its Gemini 3 design, although Dublin Bus obviously was not that impressed with it as it continued to order the original front end.
Therefore Lothian’s original Gemini 3s to the original design are an interesting one-off batch. This is 415 (BN64CRU). Also of note is that this bus was registered by Volvo at Warwick rather that Wrightbus, hence the BN registration.