PRV Body No. B37293; this is believed to be a "one off" body design on an AEC Ranger chassis
built for the 1954 Trade Fair in Baghdad. This regular event in (pre Saddam)
Iraq, usually featured a couple of buses sometimes built to order but at other
times speculative. PRV built a huge amount of buses for Iraqi operators on
the AEC Regal chassis. (My father was asked on occasion to attend these
trade fairs but he didn't like traveling much so he refused.)
This a 1951 Regal III with PRV bodywork (Body Nos. B34674-688). It was used by Linjebuss of Stockholm as
a long distance (international) coach.
Björn Forslund of the Svenska Omnibusföreningen (Swedish Omnibus Association) advises that, during the 1950s, about a hundred AECs were imported to Sweden. Approximately seventy were pre-built in the UK with PRV bodies and the rest were bodied in Sweden. The majority (about eighty), including all the PRV bodied buses, went to the Linjebuss company. However, when Sweden converted to right hand traffic in the autumn of 1967, almost all AECs were scrapped. A few survived for some years converted for other duties and, since the mid 60's, one of them (No. 506) has been "resting" at a former scrap-yard in Varmland, near the Norwegian border; however, after an accident, 506 was rebuilt with a Swedish Arvika body.
Only Linjebuss 439 was preserved. Björn
Forslund
kindly sent in his photograph of the only remaining Park Royal bodied AEC Regal in
Sweden; built in
1952 this AEC Regal Mark IV was restored in the 80's by the Linjebuss company but when the company was bought by Connex in the
90's the bus was eventually donated to the the Svenska Omnibusföreningen (Swedish Omnibus
Association); the photo, ©Björn
Forslund, was taken at the Swedish 100 year celebration of the first regular bus
service at Malmkoping in 1999; at that time it was still was owned by Linjebuss/Connex company.
Storstockkholms Lokaltrafik ( Greater Stockholm Transport Board) operated 200 Leyland Panther single-deckers and 50 Atlantean double-deckers bodied by Park Royal. The single-deckers were in service between 1967 to about 1984 (double-decker operation ceased in 1976).
Please visit the Svenska Omnibusföreningen (Swedish Omnibus Association) website where you will find links to photos and descriptions of their preserved buses (Ed; in Swedish but the Google toolbar translator solves the issue for those like me!).
This is a 1954 Regal III (Body Nos. B37190-191). One of a batch of four in service with COPSA in Pando,
Uruguay.
This is an 1957 Reliance one of a batch of eight in service in Trinidad.
This is a 1952 Regal IV with Crossley bodywork that was in service with the Christchurch Transport Board in New Zealand.
(My father was offered to go to New Zealand to design buses there but as a
stick-in-the-mud he refused.)
This
is a 1953 Regal IV with PRV bodywork. One of the many also in service with the Christchurch Transport Board in New Zealand.
(The photograph demonstrates an
unusual method of carrying perambulators!)
The following anecdote has been kindly provided by David Welch formerly of the Christchurch Transport Board.
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). 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.
General bus details courtesy of Martin Ingle