noe604r

[chrisbus]

Hello there everyone, i'm from Hull, and i remeber North Bank Travel had a fleet of Leyland Nationals, many of which were new to the West Midlands and include OOX821R, NOE604R. would anyone like to chat to me about leyland nationals, i would be grateful for a reply as most sites i have joined feel pretty hostile towards newcomers

[Tony]

Hello there everyone, i'm from Hull, and i remeber North Bank Travel had a fleet of Leyland Nationals, many of which were new to the West Midlands and include OOX821R, NOE604R. would anyone like to chat to me about leyland nationals, i would be grateful for a reply as most sites i have joined feel pretty hostile towards newcomers

Hi

NOE 604R was never a West Midlands Travel vehicle, It was new to Midland Red, then to Midland Red South before heading up to Hull

[BusFan94]

We are not Hostile to Newcomers @Chris welcome to WMBUS Forum

[fleetline6477]

Welcome @chrisbus what Nationals did North Bank travel operate?

[chrisbus]

North bank operated TTC538T, DOC34V, OOX821R, EPT876S, PTF745L, and the very first leyland national 2 still with roofpod if i'm not mistaken. North bank also operated AUP368W from march 1999 to june 2000 until Applebys took over, PTF745L did survive up until about 10 years ago, but very much cannabilised.

[chrisbus]

Also AKY611T which was only operated for a year before been dismantled to provide spares for newly bought nationals. i vaguely remember that OOX821R had red seats and a dark floor, and it was immaculate inside, a true testament to its design. XEU860T, OKJ514M new to maidstone and district, MFN119R among others, NOE604R did stay for a few weeks at North bank to cover for TTC538T which was taxed until August 2000

[Squiz1971]

Welcome @chrisbus to the forum we don't bite much lol. IIRC all early mk1 WMPTE etc nationals were red vinyl seated and a darkish floor they were a great bus even when they gained DAF/Volvo engines. They were a great workhorse but were prone to breakdowns like all buses of that time were

[chrisbus]

The volvo oympians that ran in Hull were very reliable, rather in stark comparison to the dennis tridents of today. But long live the Leyland National

[Tiptonian]

Originally, OOX 821R was one of the West Midland dual-purpose 11.3m National. They had unusual bench-type coach seats, autumnal moquette with biege vinyl headrests, very large and very comfortable. They had five-speed gearboxes and high-speed final drives, giving relaxed cruising at 65-70mph; indeed, a long distance trip on these was far more comfortable than most coaches of the time, bearing in mind that this was before the foreign invasion had got off the ground, and a typical coach would have been a Leyland Leopard with Plaxton Panorama Elite body.   

[Tony]

Originally, OOX 821R was one of the West Midland dual-purpose 11.3m National. They had unusual bench-type coach seats, autumnal moquette with biege vinyl headrests, very large and very comfortable. They had five-speed gearboxes and high-speed final drives, giving relaxed cruising at 65-70mph; indeed, a long distance trip on these was far more comfortable than most coaches of the time, bearing in mind that this was before the foreign invasion had got off the ground, and a typical coach would have been a Leyland Leopard with Plaxton Panorama Elite body.

The gearboxes were standard National ones, they were all 5 speed. The rear axle was the difference between the DOs and the rest

[Cheese]

Also AKY611T which was only operated for a year before been dismantled to provide spares for newly bought nationals. i vaguely remember that OOX821R had red seats and a dark floor, and it was immaculate inside, a true testament to its design. XEU860T, OKJ514M new to maidstone and district, MFN119R among others, NOE604R did stay for a few weeks at North bank to cover for TTC538T which was taxed until August 2000

I have a photo somewhere of MFN119R and SEO210M in about 1993 with an operator in Hull, they were using the fleet name Good News Travel, don't know if this was the same operator as North Bank or not?

[Tiptonian]

The gearboxes were standard National ones, they were all 5 speed. The rear axle was the difference between the DOs and the rest

Sorry to contradict you , but the earlier ROK_M and TOE_N Mk1s bought by WMPTE (4468-4526? later 1468 etc) were 4-speed. These had the "crawler" gear omitted, so though all had direct drive top gear, the different final drive ratios (or rear axle ratio) resulted in different top speeds. The ex.Midland Reds (HHA registration) were 5-speed, though drivers rarely used 1st.

At some point in the early 80s, Hartshill HHA 149L for some reason ended up with a high speed axle. As most drivers never used 1st gear, you can imagine the result when confronted with hilly stop-start Black Country work. It was continually being booked off for lack of power, though there was nothing actually wrong with it. It was later fitted with an experimental automatic gear control with accelerator interupt, but no kick-down. It retained a 5-speed gearbox and its high speed differential, so as you would guess, it rarely got into top gear! It was still in this condition when it left HL in October 1986.   

[dingding]

Ha ha this reminds me of the time I did a private hire with Yardley Wood's DP National (think it was 1830) from Blue Coat School in Walsall to Worcester. This was a Central Coaches job which they weren't able to cover due to Ascot Races being in full swing! Naturally the Sports Master was less than impressed that a bus had turned up and even less so when there was no space for all the kit which had to be piled up on the front seats. Off we shot down the M5 to Worcester in record DP National time to drop off at the sports field on the Malvern Road and all was well in the world! That is till the return journey. Reverse gear being particularly low when combined with the Leyland engine and the high speed gearbox I had to reverse out of the  sports field into a cul de sac to turn round. Despite three attempts it just wouldnt go over the crest of the dropped curb and into the road. After the last attempt the sports master shouts "four strong boys to the front" and so the pride of Yardley Wood was unceremoniously pushed up the hill by four school boys and off we went back to Walsall with a non too happy load of passengers! Great buses going down the Motorway but not in reverse!!

[chrisbus]

Yeah the operator traded as Humber Stagecoach "Good News Travels" and they lasted about the same time as north bank did, 5 years. 1 other ex midland red leyland national ended up with Applebys of Lincoln, in fact, they might of been several at one time, most were given different registrations except bvp816v, but that operated for amvale in Hull

[karl724223]

Sorry to contradict you , but the earlier ROK_M and TOE_N Mk1s bought by WMPTE (4468-4526? later 1468 etc) were 4-speed. These had the "crawler" gear omitted, so though all had direct drive top gear, the different final drive ratios (or rear axle ratio) resulted in different top speeds. The ex.Midland Reds (HHA registration) were 5-speed, though drivers rarely used 1st.

At some point in the early 80s, Hartshill HHA 149L for some reason ended up with a high speed axle. As most drivers never used 1st gear, you can imagine the result when confronted with hilly stop-start Black Country work. It was continually being booked off for lack of power, though there was nothing actually wrong with it. It was later fitted with an experimental automatic gear control with accelerator interupt, but no kick-down. It retained a 5-speed gearbox and its high speed differential, so as you would guess, it rarely got into top gear! It was still in this condition when it left HL in October 1986.

with regards to using 1st gear on nationals I found out when I learnt how to drive them it depended on the driver teaching you some would say use first gear some would say just use second