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The Teesside Daimler Fleetlines

The Daimler Fleetline double deck bus was the mainstay of Teesside's transport system for almost thirty years.

In this section we shall explore the models and variations that were purchased over the years. We will illustrate the differences between the various body styles and the reasons why changes were made over the twenty-three years that the vehicles were in production.
The model will be examined from the earliest vehicles, the ten supplied to a Middlesbrough order of 1962 to the last; the Leyland built models supplied in 1983 that lasted until 2000.

To be continued

The anatomy of a Fleetline

All Daimler Fleetline models have basically the same chassis frame.
They are thirty feet long and eight feet wide. This allows for the fitting of a seventy-seat double deck body.
Engines were either Gardner or Leyland, mounted transversely across the rear of the chassis on a removable sub frame. This also held the drive, which went through a fluid flywheel into a four-speed semi automatic gearbox. It then passed out and forward to the drop centre rear axle.

Air and fuel tanks were mounted amidships on the ladder frame and the driver’s cab was mounted at the front right. All main controls in the cab were powered, the throttle and steering being hydraulic and the gear-change air operated.

The chassis was extremely robust and allowed for either single or dual entrance bodies to be fitted. With a vehicle weight was about 10,000 kg.

Middlesbrough buy their first Fleetlines

In the early 1960s, the bus industry was about to take a bold new turn.

During 1960, Middlesbrough Corporation received eight of its new ‘Standard Bus’, the Dennis Loline Mk.II. They were considered state of the art at the time but in 1961, Transport vehicles (Daimler) Ltd of Coventry loaned the Corporation Transport Department one of their new, innovative, rear engine buses for evaluation.
It was on loan for two weeks during November 1961 but the die was cast and the Department reallised the potential of this radical new design and ordered ten for its 1962 delivery program

Northern Counties mounted a handsome seventy-seat body on the chassis; they were an instant success with passengers, who appreciated their comfort and the warmth from their efficient heating systems. The operating department had a vehicle that was suitable for any type of service and the maintenance department easily adapted to their relatively accessible mechanical components.

These first ten had powerful Gardner 6LX engines and were the most powerful vehicles in the fleet. The engine compartments were faired into the rear bodywork giving the buses an integrated look. They had the full gold lined livery with the Corporation crest on upper and lower decks, as was the custom

The first batch PDC110-119 were allocated fleet No.s 110-119

PDC116 is seen at the Transporter, North Side, about to pull forward onto the vehicle deck. The large translucent upper saloon roof panel can be clearly seen. It gave the passengers a hitherto unknown sense of space.
The picture was probably taken very early in the life of the bus, it was new in April 1962 and survived until May 1979, being scrapped at one of the Barnsley bus breaking yards.

The Fleetlines were an instant sucess

Following the generally good experiences with the first batch others followed in 1963, ‘64, ‘65 and 1966

A further ten, with Gardner 6LX engines followed in 1963 and ten more, this time with Gardner 6LWs in 1964.
These were RDC120-129 (Fleet No,s 120-129)
And ADC130-139B (Fleet No,s 130-139)
These buses replaced the Leyland PD1s with Eastern Coachworks bodies that had operated since 1949
A further batch of Fleetlines followed in 1965 they were
BXG749-758C (Fleet No,s 49-58) and they too had the less powerful 6LW engines.
1966 saw another ten buses,
EXG459-468D (Fleet No,s 59-68); 6LW engines wee fitted to this batch

Several of the 1966 batch were delivered in the new Teesside Turquoise colour scheme, but with Middlesbrough Corporation crests. EXG468D (Fleet No. 68) was however quite unique. It was delivered in the full Middlesbrough blue livery but had a Gardner 6LX
It is seen here in Stockton High Street, Turquoise vehicles can be seen, as can, the soon to be obsolete Stockton Corporation Green. It is Market day and the services are obviously very busy

The FXG series of Fleetlines

The 500 Group members hold collections containing many extremely valuable photographs which record the vehicles as they were, when they were new.
One such series is of Daimler Fleetline FXG872E.
These photographs were taken by the body builders, Northern Counties Motor Engineering Ltd for their own Company records.
This was one of a batch of a batch of ten supplied in mid 1967 to Middlesbrough Corporation Transport.
They were registered FXG 869 to FXG878E and allocated Fleet No.s 69 to 78. They were delivered in the Teesside Turquoise livery, but with Middlesbrough Corporation crests and fleet names.

The first picture, is of the complete vehicle, taken at the works in Wigan in 1967 as it was awaiting delivery.
These were extremely stylish buses, having very distinctive front and rear "panoramic" screens

The lower deck - front

Carrying passengers is the prime purpose of any bus and much thought was given to the design of the interior
This photograph is taken on the lower deck, from just over the rear axle, looking forward.
It shows the wide entrance with the stairs ascending just behind the drivers cab, on the right. A luggage pen was fitted under the stairway and a space for push chairs is behind the entrance door
The seats were arranged as ten doubles and then two inward facing ones over the wheel arches. The back seat held five and was fitted in a raised position over the engine bulkhead.

The lower deck - rear

The second picture is of the lower deck, looking towards the rear, from the area of the lugage pens.

As can be seen, the upholstery was in dark blue leather, the side paneling in light blue 'malamine' plastic.
Sliding vent windows were fitted and heating, using waste heat provided by the engine water,was pumped into the interior. Flourescent lighting was provided, the unit over the nearside luggage pen, having a translucent blue cover to minimise glare from the interior of the vehicle reaching the driver

The inward facing seats, over the rear wheel arches, were raised, as was the bench back seat over the engine compartment. Tthese five seats got quite hot in the summer but the passengers were protected by a fire proof heat shield !

The upper deck - panoramic windows

The most distinctive feature of the batch was their panoramic screens.
This window had extremely narrow pillars and gave an extremely light and airy feel to the upper deck. This was added too by the two translucent roof lights.
Forty one seats were provided , there were three single ones opposite the stairway on the nearside front and nineteen doubles.

The high gloss ceiling reflects the light coming in from the huge glass area.

The upper deck - rear

The final picture in the series is of the upper deck rear, highly popular with school children.
The conductor could keep an eye on what was happening upstairs via the stairwell mirror.

Unusually, the rear seat was not a bench, making access to the emergancy door easier

The "Bus Grant" Fleetlines

The 1969 delivery program was influenced by the “Bus Grant” legislation
Central Government recognized that bus usage was being affected by the proliferation of the private car in the late nineteen-sixties. The 1968 Transport Act brought in legislation that dictated certain standards on the industry, in exchange for a subsidy on the initial purchase cost of new buses that were to be used on stage carriage services.
Ease of access was one criteria and saw the development of a dual door system to speed up loading and unloading times for passengers, and therefore traffic flow. Even body details like headroom inside, and window size were specified.

The ten Fleetlines that were delivered in 1969, to the newly formed Teesside Municipal Transport, were carried over from the Middlesbrough Corporation order. The specification of these buses was altered to meet the new requirements. Fifteen Leyland Atlanteans ordered by the former Stockton Corporation were also delivered and had very similar bodies

Fleetline MXG228G was the first of the twin door versions delivered. It was new in April 1969 and was allocated T.M.T. Fleet No. A28

The Teesside "Standards"

Following the amalgamation of the three undertakings into “Teesside Municipal Transport”, it was decided that a new standard bus would be adopted.

Once again, the Daimler Fleetline was specified and Northern Counties were to be the body builders. They were ordered in batches of twenty for delivery each year, replacing the older half cab buses inherited from the amalgamation. The demise of the trolley buses in 1971 also meant the acquisition of replacement vehicles. A change was made, however, and the Leyland 0-680 engine was specified instead of the Gardner.

Seventy-six of the buses were purchased between 1970 and 1973. They were handsome vehicles, with a body style only ordered by Teesside and one other authority.

They were built to full bus grant specification but to a height of only thirteen foot five inches, in order that they could pass under Albert Road and Ladgate Lane bridges. One-man operation was on the horizon and so the specification was built to suit single crew working. When they were single crew operated, a plate was affixed to the rear, over the engine cover which read “one man operated”

Passengers were required to board at the front and the air-operated centre doors were used for dis-embarkation. These were controlled by the driver from the gear lever quadrant, they could only be operated when the bus was stationary and out of gear. They had an elaborate system of mirrors so that the driver could see that even the smallest child was safe as they got off in the middle of the vehicle.

BXG 538K was one of the 1972 deliveries and shows the definitive “Standard”. It had a three box destination system and illuminated “pay as you enter” lights under the front screen and behind the front doors. They also had front fog lamps together with front wheel embellishers and a side route number display. The latter two items were later removed. The livery was delightful when new, but soon faded in the Teesside atmosphere prevalent in the mid seventies.

The interior of a standard

The Northern Counties body of the standards seated forty-three on the upper deck and twenty-seven on the lower
To ease loading, the front entrance was wide and had a flat floor, rising slightly to the central gangway. The centre door was behind the second window on the nearside and was air operated. It was linked to the gear-leaver, and formed an inter-lock, it being impossible to move off without closing the door, or indeed to open it when the vehicle was in gear. A system of mirrors gave the driver a view of the platform area at the centre vestibule. The stairs were opposite the centre door and ascended by two steps towards the off side of the bus and then forward to the upper deck, turning then to the central gangway for the final step. The vehicles were fitted with “bus stopping” lights, which lit up when a passenger rang the stop bell and extinguished when the doors were opened. The lower saloon had an unusual window in the off side, it had a central glass with two oblong glasses flanking it, this was to accommodate the spacing required for the stairway area. This arrangement was probably unique on U.K. buses. The bus was only thirteen feet, five inches high and the lower deck was quite claustrophobic with only five foot eleven headroom.

No, 569 was one of the 1973 batch and the photograph below shows the forward part of the interior, the upper picture illustrates the vehicle with the “autofare” system fitted in Transit days.

The Cleveland Transit Fleetlines

After local government re-organisation in 1974, Cleveland Transit was formed.
They lost no time in ordering more Fleetlines, in all twenty were ordered in two batches. They were, once again CRL6/30 models with Northern Counties built bodies. By this time, however, the decision had been made to operate with one person as crew and so the centre entrances were dropped.
The bodies were of a much more modern design, with “Manchester” type profiles to the roof domes and windows. They were allocated Reg. No. LDC67 – 86P and given Fleet Nos. H67 – H86

LDC83P (H83) was an imposing vehicle, pictured at Church Road depot.

Another Motor show Star

In 1978, production of Fleetlines was moved to Leyland and the model sent to the Commercial Motor Show was one for Cleveland Transit, YVN512T {H115)
The bus was photographed prior to going to Earls Court and the pictures below are of it when new.

The upper picture shows the forward end of the lower saloon, the stairway ascended towards the rear of the bus leaving the front wheel arch area for luggage etc.
The middle picture is of the lower rear of the vehicle and illustrates the standard moquette used by Cleveland Transit
The lower picture is of the upper deck, looking forward. The large, square corned windows are evident as is the melamine on the seat backs

The final Fleetlines

By the early nineteen eighties, Leyland were replacing the Fleetline with the Olympian and the Titan.
Cleveland Transit had had good service with the model but supply was becoming difficult, in fact a batch of Bristol VRs had been bought and various demonstrators were tried in order to find a replacement. Finally they settled on the Dennis Dominator. The 1992/93 batch were the last ones supplied.

YAJ157Y (H157 was the very last to be bought. As usual it had Northern Counties bodywork

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