Here are some anecdotes compiled from my own, somewhat limited, knowledge of Park Royal Vehicles and those (undoubtedly with more knowledge) who have kindly sent me information.
By Graham Hill
Some time during 1929 my father (aged 14) was the only family member in work. The family scraped along by living on bread and cheese (smell the cheese and eat the bread was his father's message to the siblings - mother had passed away in 1927). To increase his meagre earnings my father worked at Park Royal every Saturday morning. The pay was one Shilling (12 pence in pre 1971 duodecimal coinage - 5 pence today), but his return journey from Fulham was 11½ pence leaving the princely sum of an half penny (one four hundred and eightieth of a Pound) for his Saturday morning efforts!
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By Graham Hill
I recall my father telling me of the problems in creating the Bridgemaster; particularly in reducing the height and keeping within the regulations specified at the time. When any prototypes were complete a Ministry of Transport assessor would arrive at PRV and review the bus for regulatory sizes, space, rails, accessibility and the like. Invariably, so my father said, the assessor was hand picked to be at least 6 foot 6 inches (2 meters), with width to match and weighing around 17 stone (238lbs or 108 kilos). So if this giant could navigate the bus without stooping or turning sideways it was probably OK. My father was about 5 foot 4 inches (1.6 meters) and had to accompany these giants who looked down on him with an overbearing opinion of their omnipotent importance. They could (and would) condemn a design back to the drawing board with one scratch of the pen! My father was always anxious when the "Man-from-the-Ministry" was due!
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Kindly supplied by Stephen Jolly
I worked for Alf Hill as a junior draughtsman at Park Royal from Mar 77 to July 78. I recall him and his contemporaries being well browned off at the way they were being treated by the Leyland management.
The B15 bus (prototype name for the Titan), that all except one in the drawing office were working on, required every component to be drawn separately and then microfilmed. Thick, blunt lead pencils had to be used on plastic film and Alf hated this after a lifetime of drawing with a (reasonably) fine pencil point! At that time Alf and many of his colleagues were well into their sixties and I think they felt "used" by Leyland to get the B15 designed in extraordinary detail; even though they, and Alf, knew that previous sophisticated buses had been built without so much design effort.
When Alf was issuing instructions for new drawings; he would advise "remember, don't do the difficult bits first, because those 'b******' (expletive remark) might take the work away and give it to someone else after you've done the hard bits".
But actually, he just used to seem to get on with the job in hand anyway, and didn't follow his own advice!
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By Steve Eblet
As a small child in Sheffield in the late 1960' and early 70's, I used to do most of my traveling about the city by bus. Sheffield was well known for incredibly low bus fares. I could travel the city for 2p in the early seventies.
Both the AEC Bridgemaster and the Atlantean figured a lot in my childhood. I used to bus to school and I can vividly remember waiting for the bus one day, when most of the buses seemed to be the rear entry AEC buses. I can still recall being absolutely gob-smacked when the most modern bus I had ever seen rounded the corner for me to get on.
It was a Park Royal bodied Leyland Atlantean and what particularly amazed me were the dual doors and the front bumper that made it appear to me as a small kid, to be innovative. It seemed to be a pretty unique body shape and the whole design concept was exceptionally modern for that era, considering the fact that we were still riding around in the family Ford Popular.
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By David Welch (Christchurch [New Zealand] Transport Board)
Reference to the 1953 Regal IV in the AEC Non UK Market page where this text is duplicated.
I used to love the old "Mark Fours", lumbering but very comfortable to drive, I think partly because of their dependability, pre-select and the very comfortable (sitting at a table feel) body position for driving. They ran for about 25 years in Christchurch, not bad for buses that often ran 18 hours a day most days. The bodies were very heavy and solid. Sometimes I'd pat the bus when I came alongside, it used to make me think of an elephant. They had such a low torque I swear you could have driven up a hill in fourth gear and that no mud in the world would ever bog down a Mark IV. It would just complacently "chew its cud" and slowly turn over, and however slow, surely but steadily pull away. We would continue driving them even when boiling over (that was the advice) up our main hill route to the hose that was kept at the top - and boy watch out when you prized off the radiator cap!
Strange as it may seem, I specifically remember the 331 (pictured) [see AEC Non UK Market page] I used to look out for it (if I had the option of say taking a bus from the yard to do a special). For some reason the steering and acceleration on the 331 seemed a lot lighter and peppier to handle than most of the rest of the fleet! Amazing that the only one I specifically remember should be the one in the photo.
I suspect the picture was actually a UK factory publicity photo as I don't think there was ever a period when CTB provided dustcoats for drivers, always a full uniform. It is a very nostalgic image nonetheless.
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By Denis Griffin
I was just 15 when I started my apprenticeship in sheet metal work at Park Royal in 1966. I spent the first year making tea and impersonating a trestle. Over the next seven years I had a most interesting education in metalwork and of life in general.
At Park Royal, most of the sheet metal work was not carried out on the production lines, but in the "Panel Shop" within which there was various metal working machinery and work benches. It was quite a contrast to the manufacturing methods of today - it was in fact a veritable "Father Christmas's workshop" - with much tapping and hammering by all. There must have been up to a hundred men working there; indeed, with the many personalities came politics and intrigue, but also lots of laughter and smiles. I’m sure I can still put names to fifty or more of the faces I worked with.
One memory is of making work for home “homers”. Which if made in your own time was just about legal, providing it wasn’t the size of a bus. You paid a few bob for the material and got a gate pass from the Forman to take the “homer” home. One worker was always taking bus looking parts home especially naff gaudy looking off cuts of Formica. On seeing him leave with another piece for home, my friend with whom I was walking with, shook his head and gave a wry smile “how do you think his house looks” I asked “like a bus,” he replied “you ring his front doorbell and the house moves off.”
As a shop floor apprentice, with the exception of the initial job interview and an annual visit to the personnel manager Mr Morrel(?), I never went into the office building. I do remember seeing
Bill Shirley's black Humber Super Snipe you mention riding in, which was quite a car in its day.
Despite just seven years, as my first job, I have many memories of people and products from that remarkable company.
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Page last updated 24th August 2009