Vehicle Interiors

Some of the following are unidentified - do you have any clues? Please contact me.

Lower & Upper Decks by Roe.    

Thumbnail image of a lower deck by Roe. Click here for a larger image that will open a new window.Thumbnail image of an upper deck by Roe. Click here for a larger image that will open a new window.

Mike Averill has kindly helped identify these: 

The lower deck is truly a Roe design and is very likely a Leyland PD2/20 of 1957 ("No. 838").  Registration YWA 838 and one of a batch of 40 (821 - 860).  The moquette is the same as in the 1959 Sheffield Bridgemaster 523.

The upper deck is assumed to have been built by Roe as "Roe" is stamped on the back of the original print.  However it is more likely a PRV design as the finishing strip above the windows continues into the rear dome at the same height, unlike those of Roe's designs that stepped down.  The date of the design strongly suggests the late 1940's due to the sliding window ventilators.   Pre-war, it seems that almost all buses had wind-down (often half drop) windows, whereas post-war, 1947 onwards, sliding vents were more prominent.  At first the sliders had heavy bars underneath whereas, by about 1950, much neater metal frames had been introduced. 

Lower Decks

Thumbnail image of a lower deck of London Transport RT. Click here for a larger image that will open a new window. London Transport RT.  An early Park Royal example of an AEC Regent taken in the later part of 1947.

Thumbnail image of a lower deck of the Guy Arab IV for Kenya. Click here for a larger image that will open a new window. The window arrangement here suggests that this bus was probably destined for a hot climate.  And it seems to me to be the interior of the Guy Arab IV destined for Kenya Bus Services Nairobi (see possible upper deck below) (please also see the Guy Arab page).

Thumbnail image of a lower deck of a Guy Arab - more clues required. Click here for a larger image that will open a new window. The sign above the number 205 says "Do Not Spit". The front window arrangement also resembles the Guy Arab.  Has anyone any clues? 

Thumbnail image of the driver's cabin of a Leyland for East Yorkshire. Click here for a larger image that will open a new window.Thumbnail image of the lower deck a Leyland for East Yorkshire. Click here for a larger image that will open a new window.  John Kaye comments that these are Roe photographs (R881 in the lower right corner of the first) and that they bear a strong resemblance to the interior of VKH 674 and could possibly be the interior of one of the batch of Leylands for East Yorkshire (VKH 668-673).

Can you add to this?

Upper Decks

Thumbnail image of the upper deck of the FRM. Click here for a larger image that will open a new window. This interior is almost certainly the upper saloon of the Front Entrance Routemaster and probably taken as one of the set of first photographs outside AEC's premises (please see FRM page).  The interior is definitely derived from the Routemaster as both the seating material and the sealed front windows (with air vents above) testify. Also the side windows are sealed as per the FRM, and lastly there is the front entrance staircase. 

I am grateful to Les Gale for the above analysis.

Thumbnail image of the upper deck of the Crossley Bridgemaster. Click here for a larger image that will open a new window. This is the upper deck of a Crossley built prototype Bridgemaster (Registration Number 9 JML) to PRV design (circa 1956).

Thumbnail image of the upper deck of the Guy Arab IV for Kenya. Click here for a larger image that will open a new window. I am sure that this is the upper deck of the same Guy Arab IV (see above) destined for Kenya Bus Services Nairobi (please also see the Guy Arab page).

Single Decks

Thumbnail image of the interior of the Regal IV prototype. Click here for a larger image that will open a new window. I have been advised by Basil Hancock that this photograph is of an AEC Regal IV prototype UMP227, that spent some time with London Transport and is now preserved at Cobham by the London Bus Preservation Group.  

Thumbnail image of an unidentified single deck interior. Click here for a larger image that will open a new window. Can you identify this?

Thumbnail image of an unidentified lower deck. Click here for a larger image that will open a new window. Or identify this?  See Lloyd Penfold's comments on the drivers cabs below! 

Doors, Door Gear & Switches 

I am grateful to Les Gale, Doug Ely and Dan Evans for the following analysis.

These photographs are almost certainly of an LT Daimler DMS, originally thought to be circa 1972.  However, it has been suggested by Doug that the photos show doors belonging to a DMS from the "P" or "R" registered deliveries of 1976/77.  The giveaway being that the original DMS doors were four leaf, folding away in pairs from the centre to each side, thus giving a door mounted hand rail to passengers boarding on either side.  The later two leaf variety (shown here) folded from the front back against the windscreen.  This door arrangement could be vicious to the unwary traveler more used to putting a foot on the step as the four leaf variety opened!

Dan Evans however further suggests that the bus is definitely one of two 1972 experimental 2-piece door vehicles DMS463-467.  He comments that the Peters doors (shown) match the original 4-piece design with a (very) narrow rubber nosing on the exit door. The 2-piece Deans doors, from 1976 onwards, had a different design to the windows and 3-inch nosing rubber on each leaf.  

Thumbnail image of the front entrance showing the Self-Service Auto Fare Collecting machine. Click here for a larger image that will open a new window. The front entrance showing the Self-Service Auto Fare Collecting (AFC) Machine just visible to the left.  Notice too the seating capacity sign for both decks.  These AFC machines were also used on some Red Arrow and LT Merlin Swift Single Deckers.

Thumbnail image of the front entrance doors. Click here for a larger image that will open a new window. The front (entrance only) doors on the same DMS (note the licence disc holder - bottom right  - visible through windscreen and the AFC centre gangway partition - bottom left).

Thumbnail image of the exit only doors. Click here for a larger image that will open a new window.Thumbnail image of the exit only doors. Click here for a larger image that will open a new window. The centre (exit only) doors probably on the same DMS (hence the NO ENTRY sign).

Thumbnail image of the front entrance door gear. Click here for a larger image that will open a new window.Thumbnail image of the exit only door gear. Click here for a larger image that will open a new window. The door gear for the entry and exit doors respectively.

The following is unidentified - but I think this and the staircase below might be something to do with MCW and South Wales - do you have any clues? Please contact me.

Thumbnail image of an unidentified interior. Click here for a larger image that will open a new window.

Staircase

Thumbnail image of an unidentified interior. Click here for a larger image that will open a new window.

Drivers Cabins

Thumbnail image of an unidentified driver's cabin. Click here for a larger image that will open a new window. Can anyone shed more light on this?

Thumbnail image of an unidentified driver's cabin. Click here for a larger image that will open a new window.Thumbnail image of an unidentified driver's cabin. Click here for a larger image that will open a new window.  Lloyd Penfold points out that the driver's cab shown in these two pictures are the same.  More than probably, a post WW2 Leyland (or very likely BUT - a sales branding of AEC and Leyland products in the '50's and '60's) single-deck trolleybus.  It clearly has two sets of powered doors (buttons just ahead of the direction indicator switch) and from the style of window surround it may well be the same vehicle as the last of the single deck interiors shown above.

In any case, he says there are many matching features between the cabins below and the single deck above to the Saunders-Roe bodied BUT (Leyland) RETB1 seen in Auckland NZ.  The split and angled driver's screen; half drop opening windows in the correct places; the lower-than-the-windows entrance door tops (the emergency handles to open the doors are just visible high up in one of the pictures below); even the large rectangular interior mirror visible at the top of the nearside windscreen and its two support arms match the Saunders-Roe bodies.

Lloyd has seen Saunders-Roe bodies with matching interior window surrounds, including a now-preserved double decker lightweight experimental bus that ran for Birmingham Corporation built at the approximately the same period and believes that these pictures are of trolleybuses bound for New Zealand.

Paul Gourley confirms: The photos are of a SARO body on a B.U.T RETB1/2 chassis and I believe this is number 60 that was fully built whereas most of the others were delivered in kit form to New Zealand to be constructed by the Auckland Transport Board.  The Museum of Transport and Technolgy in Auckland are working on number 85 (of the same batch).  Forty were supplied and given numbers 60 to 99.

Can anyone shed more light on this?