They're also quite mechanically basic, the engines are quite simple. They're large capacity engines with bags of low down grunt, which means they can last forever. Modern buses have gone the same way as cars, using smaller capacity engines with high outputs, and they really don't last as well. For example, a Wright's Streetlite powered by a euro 6 Mercedes engine will be lucky to do 250,000 miles before they throw a con rod. 250k sounds a lot but in bus terms it really isn't.
The door opener integrated with the gearshift is a great idea. Here in Sydney around 30 years ago a woman was dragged to her death after her leg became stuck in the door of a departing bus. The solution was to cut the corners off all the doors and cover the opening with rubber flaps.
Nice to see David and his bus, a gentleman i met a few years ago at Blackburn bus garage were he was a driver for Blackburn and Darwen council, lovely RE and well done David for keeping it that way, cheers Andy the bus electrician
The gearbox was a product of a Leyland Motors subsidiary called Self Changing Gears of Coventry and first appeared fitted to the Mk 1 Leyland Atlantean in the very early 60s. It soon became a common fitment to vehicles of all types throughout the bus industry.
Not quite correct. This gearbox was built by Bristol Commercial Vehicles themselves, under licence from Self Changing Gears. SCG was founded by Walter Gordon Wilson, co-designer of the first tanks in the Great War. He conceived the epicyclic gearbox for tank use, though it never saw use in a tank until long after the war. His preselector gearbox only saw success in buses when Daimler obtained the rights to manufacture it, and mated it to the Vulkan-Sinclair coupling, which they christened the "fluid flywheel", later licensing AEC to use the combination. Leyland were twenty-five years behind in adopting the SCG gearbox when they developed their own direct-selection version in partnership with SCG, but they did not buy SCG until 1956, after which AEC, Bristol and Daimler all continued to build their own versions of SCG gearboxes under licence.
Got engrossed in David's chat there. We had a bus at our scout group (in Stockport) but it was more like a coach than this Bristol, the engine blew up on a motorway coming back from North Wales so probably went to the scrap heap in the sky long before this was salvaged !!
Drove on RE Coach with that box so know the system well.....company engineer would go mad if he saw you pulling away in 2nd gear , but we have all done it .
I remember Bristol REs being a staple of Eastern Counties buses when I was a child. Good to see one again. Also remember six (and eight) cylinder Gardner engines were used in BR shunters - the Gardner 6L was used in the Class 01s at the Holyhead Breakwater.
Ulsterbus had a large fleet of REs, in their striking blue/creamy white livery. I used to travel on one regularly as a school bus. The scream from them as they charged downhill on the overrun was both exciting and terrifying in equal measure!
I, too, used to travel to school on an Ulsterbus, in the late 1970s. Sometimes the bus wasn't there, because they were usually set on fire. You'd always see them burning on the side of a road. I can still smell that burning rubber.
As I always see the Bristol RE as well the VR and other bus products by Bristol, they are mostly with Eastern Coach Works, or ECW body due to their relationship with each other, but this NC body RESL really unique indeed!
"Ting, Ting, Fares Please" ! What a lovely video and THE 1967 BRISOL RE. I'm sure you enjoyed that Ian as we did. And by the way, You Ian are an excellent driver, well done 👍 🏁. More Like This would be great ! *
Bristol Buses we all love you in your British Racing Green When we're waiting at the Bus Stop seldom heard and never seen ! Happy memories of catching these all over Bristol in my youth Thanks Ian.
Although I'm not aware of the bus station connection, GPT (GEC Plessey Telecom) were installing the first digital telephone exchanges, System X, in the early 1980s.
Great to hear an audible indicator,a lot of modern buses seem to have problems with silent indicators,so if you see a bus that hasn't cancelled their indicator, this could be why.
I was born in Belfast in the late 80s and Bristol REs were still a common sight when I was a kid... (CityBus flogged them until they were done!) Beautiful buses!
I believe that Ulster continued to get REs for some time after the rest of the UK. My understanding was that the RE was made export only in order to promote sales of the Leyland National, but Northern Ireland was exempt from this due to a requirement that buses have locally built bodies. The REs operated in Ulster had bodies made in Belfast by Alexander, but the National, being unit construction did not allow for this option.
Loving the wiper action! It reminds me of when I used to drive Leyland Olympians in service on rainy days.. both wipers doing a completely different thing, it amused me on challenging days when I was a bus driver. Thank you for uploading and interesting bus history.
Bristol was owned by British Leyland from the 1960s, so it was always planned that the Leyland National would replace it, but Ulsterbus and Belfast Citybus liked it so much (and had a steady turnover of needing replacements) that it was kept going just for them well into the 1970s
As a kid, in the 80's, I was mesmerized by the craft of bus driving. Every time I tried to stand or even better, sit, in a position from where I could have a front row seat view on a driver driving. Double clutching, button pushing, rev matching, windscreen wipers operating... All of that. It was the ASMR before there was any such thing 😅
The rear end looks very similar to the East Lancs body design. The ECW flat screen design were standard fare for my trip to school in Hereford. Abergavenny also had R4865 (GAX 1C). The Marshall bodied examples had already transferred to SWT.
Driven like a pro, well done Ian. Chesterfield had a similar small fleet of these with Northern Counties bodies but built on Leyland Panther chassis, one is preserved ENU93H.
Being a northern Seventies lad, the Leyland National and Atlantean will always be my favourite buses but that is a truly lovely old thing and looks like it was an absolute pleasure to drive. Never understood why the preselector gearbox went out of favour - they're so good to drive. Great video!
the Bristol RE was my fav kind of bus i live in Mossley and we use to get them on the 350 service with Pennine Blue buses being going to Skipton vintage bus running day every October there was one there HDV626E and that was a really loud one ie the engine
Watching Public Eye from the 1970's on Talking Pictures TV Ian ....... loads of single decker green painted bus action. Prior to the Sweeney and the Professionals crime drama was much different lol. Following a suspect who is on a bus in an Avenger !
Wonderful Ian, the sound of the Gardner with SCG semi auto, fantastic. What history and what a job on the restoration, like with cars, old buses are far more interesting than new
Excellent and what a fab bus. Well done to you but especially to David for preserving this. I don't think I ever rode on one of these but there are so many typical cues, such as the ticket bins, coin trays, signs noises (rattles!) and I'm sure smells for you. While we got an interesting side view, I'd have liked to see this over a pit for the underneath. That indicator seemed a very long way from being ergonomic! Thanks for making and sharing. More please!!
From my childhood travelling on buses was a great experience, going to school from Bordesley Green to near East Birmingham hospital was an adventure, waiting for the conductor to get back on after he/she had collected the enamelled tea jug to getting behind the driver in his half cab to watch him swing it round the Broadway island (not roundabout because it was oval I was told by a driver once). Then came the Antaleans no longer able to get behind the driver (bloody stairs in the way) so upfront sideways view, icy blasts in the winter, never wanted the bus to stop for passengers loved the gearshift actions better than a Ferrari gate shift, by 11 years old if given the chance I could have driven one as I had studied loads of drivers techniques. Cheers HubNuts lovely memories
Congratulations to David for restoring this bus so well. It was interesting to hear it's history and of the options/variations which were available on these buses.
Having spent the first 10 years of my life in Burnley, I can just about remember the batch of 5 Bristol RE/Northern Counties buses David mentioned that Burnley, Colne & Nelson had. Great video, it really put a smile on my face seeing an old bus on the road, thank you!
David tells a fantastic story about his buses. I don’t ride buses regularly these days. Recently I rode on a Routemaster at a railway event in Loughborough, and was impressed by its smoothness. Then two weeks later a did a journey using a total of four modern Enviro buses around Derby. The ride and vibration were terrible! I find it hard to understand how refinement has gone backwards in 60 years of ‘progress’!
My mate has a Crosville RE stored at Hooton. Great buses and about 3 miles from where I live! It was Pontins Prestatyn not Haven and where the film Holiday on the buses was filmed. Silver Star in Caernarfon had many RE and LH in service not that long ago!
Although never been a regular bus user these bring back such wonderful nostalgic thoughts. With a 47mph flat out speed these could be the "future" once again.
My late father in law was a driver for the Lancashire United Transport (L U T ) in Atherton. They had a large fleet of Bristol R E's they were the long body versions with the Gardner 6LXH some of the fleet, which had a slightly different colour scheme. Were dual purpose in that they could be both a bus or a coach and thus had better seating. He thought very highly of the Bristol marque but disliked intensely the Seddon Pennine bus, which at first glance looked like the Bristol. I remember him telling me the steering on the Seddon was awful and the brakes were rubbish.
The colour of those vinyl seats reminds me of what the late lamented John Fishwick & Sons of Leyland Lancashire had in their buses, particularly Leyland Nationals. Great review, I enjoyed it.
Lovely old bus, love the wipers. Two places I recommend for a visit if you are in the North West are Manchester Transport Museum and Bury Transport Museum/East Lancashire Railway
Great to see an RE again! I have fond memories of one of our school buses which was an ex-Ribble RE. Very comfortable and a pleasant change from the Leyland Nationals!
Never seen the RE with that type of Body, very Northern Counties indeed! Amazing restoration. My home town of Swansea had a few REs, and I remember riding in them, awed by the body flex and bloody noise! Great video, thanks.
We lived in Orsett Essex from 1974 to 1976. I can remember going on a green bus much like this to and from school which was in Stanford le hope. Thanks for reigniting those memories for me Ian …..
You really make that drive look effortless, fair play Ian. As a bus driver I can truly appreciate the driving experience, love the fact the door opener is integrated into the gearshift pattern, the modern buses have a "doorbrake" which prevents you moving if the door is open but is not failsafe. That looks stupid simple. brilliant!
Great video again Ian. Wait till you get behind the wheel of a Leyland 680 powered RE, they can be like chalk and cheese compared to the Gardner powered versions. I'm about to start an engine swap on mine (the one in the corner of the shed where I keep the Super National, so the Gardner is coming out and a 680 going back in. A lot of work, but will be worth it in the long run.
I can't believe he mentioned Keighley Bus Museum I was literally there yesterday. This is indeed a fine and unique example. There are many of the ECW bodied REs left but this is the last NC.
It seems they didn't care much for ergonomics back then by the look of the placement of that indicator switch. You had to reach away from the wheel and quite forward to operate it. This bus remind me of the DAG powered vanHool busses we used to have in the 1970's. Very similar cab design.
