I can remember being on these buses in and out of Wigan back in '98 when I was just 4 years old. I do recall that by that time, they were rapidly being replaced by a wave of Wright Axcess-Ultralow, Scania L113 and similar buses like them. I dare say, it was a Leyland National that spark my love for buses. I certainly won't forget it. :)
1100HondaCB totally agree with you there, they drive like crap, slow witted horrible things, transmissions drop out of drive on the road and re engage with a jolt if you don’t catch it with the throttle, suspension is unrefined and rough, acceleration from a standstill is dangerously slow and makes a busy roundabout challenging, in plain they are appalling, and I’m talking about 66 and 67 reg vehicles here! A leyland National would run rings around ADL E200 mmc’s!
Superb stuff. I would have been working at Manchester Victoria at the time, as a train driver. The white minibus you passed at 2.30 was our staff van for travel to/from Newton Heath depot, Oxford Road and Piccadilly stations, and other delightful spots in Manchester. Lovely noise from the 510 - I used to go to school in the 70's in Crosville Nationals, with the odd RE and even an LH thrown in too.
Thanks for posting this, still can't believe this thing was still in service 30-something years later. Agree with many others here, it ain't a Mk1 National if it don't thrash, rattle and whine, probably one of the most distinctive sounding buses ever made to my ears (along with Gardner 6LX VRs and 0.680 engine Bristol REs. I used to live in Worthing in the late 70s and Southdown had stacks of Nationals, VRs, Daimler Fleetlines, all individual sounds unlike today where all sound the same
that sound brings back memories of when i actually didnt mind riding the bus when they used to have these an the bristol vrs in south east kent with stagecoach them leyland 501s and gardners sounded so much better than all the oversized transits we have now
Now that's what a Nash SHOULD sound like! They always sounded (and looked) like happy little buses; the Mk IIs always sounded (and looked) so grumpy...
Memories catching one to Epping Railway Station in Sydney Australia as a seven year old in 1980 and being greeted with a throng of high school boys from the local boys high school waiting to pile on as I was getting off at the station on Beecroft Road!!
I've got many happy memories of these going around Romford in the late 80s to late 90s. Capital Citybus, Eastern National, Thamesway, Thameside, Townlink, Blue Triangle and East London were the main operators that used mk1s although CCB and Townlink could also provide mk2s.
my mom used to work for midland red at carlyle works and she took me in the print room one day when all these nationals were firing up. That beautiful noise still rings in my ears. They had that noise cos u could not see a damn thing with all the smoke lol
lovely, that national clatter on tick over and the whine that comes in when you get going i'd swear i could recognize the sound of the poles/handrails etc. rattling when it hits a bump as well lol! remember the HSC 1xxTs at fife scottish
I would love to own one of these, but I've nowhere to garage it! Ever since I got my PCV licence, and a long time before that, I've been dying for a shot of one of these!
Happy memories of these coming back from school, it was likely to be a National, or a Bristol VR, or earlier still a Leyland Leopard, some had coach type seats. All were badged "Maidstone&District" and sometimes, MANY moons ago, even a Harrington-bodied coach, they didn't look right in all white mind. In warmer weather most drivers went along with the doors open. Happy, simple, pre - PC/Elf'n'safety killjoy days.
+River Huntingdon I remember back in 1994 when we had Nationals on my route to and from school and it was a really hot summer. The drivers would drive with the front doors open and no one would even care. Good old days. The company that operated in Portsmouth mainly used ex London Transport Nationals on my route but one day they used an old ex Southdown National (BCD824L) on a Friday afternoon in June 1994. I will never forget the experience of that melodic Leyland 510 engine and green uPVC seats..
+1100HondaCB Yes, happy days indeed. Remember them on the Hastings/Maidstone run on the number 4 or 5, and the bus depot at Hawkhurst, about half way, complete with cafe. All gone now and the depot has had yet more homes for yuppies built on it alas. But we have our happy memories. In Hastings we had the "Topline" buses which were yellow and black. There were some Nationals and VRs on their books too. Good times. Must be getting old !
We used to have Leyland Nationals on our school bus always loved them. I ended up driving them years later but our Company got rid of them in 1998. I'd still rather drive a National compared to a Dennis Dart, they felt like a proper bus
I actually preferred the old Plaxton's / Leyland Leopard's (They also had a few Duple's, but was short lived) that Barton's in Nottingham used, but when they joined up with Trent in Derby under the Welglade Group banner, we did end up with a lot of these MKI / II Leylands, and it is true what folks say..... right noisy beasts, but you can not help but remember the clack / thrash / whine on the engines on these, and unlike modern crap of today, they actually moved pretty dam quick.
I've got an Eastbourne Buses Leyland National diecast model. We had these, Atlanteans, Dennis Dominators then Leyland Olympians in Eastbourne. Oldest bus company in the world until Stagecoach took over!
Had these in Hobart, Australia from about 1976 through until about 1991. Ran under the old MTT (Metropolitan Transport Trust) banner, now known as Metro.
@kienzel1 LOL! I have been on a Dennis Trident overtake a BMW, but also a Dennis Dart undertaken by an old lady in a Nissan Micra or something similar. Actually my old School bus a Bristol VR sometimes overtook cars, should have seen the looks on the drivers faces when 70 odd kids all went past giving all the signs and signals you may expect lol! Go buses!
I've had the same speed from an Enviro300, then the limiter kicked in. I love it when the Voith gearbox on an Enviro300 holds in a lower gear and the engine screams, but it will never compare to a mk1 National.
You are comparing a Mark 1 Natty to a an Enviro 300, a f-----g cracker box powered by the motor from a cheap sex toy bought off an Ann Summers website , how many Ketamine tablets have you popped ?. Its bad enough looking at a cracker box let alone ride the things. In those halcyon days of the dark ages, the 1970,s, 4 day working weeks, power cuts, medallion man, the government falling to pieces. Mark 1 Natty stood out, noisy smelly ,smoky and overloaded they waddled like a Tart after one too many rum and cokes,. Should know Stroud Depot had JHW103- 104P ,KHT 121-122P, PHW987S-988S and the last four Mark 1Nattys built for BOC, VEU 228T-229T,230T-231T and 232T . Stroud Depot now under Stagecoach ownership, blighted with Slugs, Cornflake Packets, Cracker Boxes, and a bus designed by Dipsy, Tinky Winky, La La and Po, yes cats & kittens the dreaded Optare Solo.
I used to go to school on single doored LN1's. They did not rattle like the buses we have now and carried 71 passengers (49 seated, 22 standing) coming back today on the box on wheels it can only carry 56.
wmpte, TVP852S, was a beast, we overtook a 2 ltr capri at over 80 mph. should have seen his face! should have seen mine, it was my 14th birthday. no better present than that!!!!
Coming round the double bends at the bottom of Tonge Moor Road in Bolton with a full load. Watch all the punters hands start to grip the seat in front as they thought the bus was going to go over!!! The desty winders, guaranteed to take your knuckles off with that stupid push/pull winder.The rock hard brake pedal. The intense heat that used to travel DOWN the screen from the demisters, even in the middle of summer. One wonders how much more Leyland could have developed given more time!!
went to school on a leyland National Mk2, typical noisey leyland 4 cyl lump , more reliable that what they use now and had a gear box that actually made the bus move , much better that new buses
The phase 1's also had fuel tank problems as fuel used to surge up the filler neck & spill out when cornering. They are tough buses though are Nashers. Far better built than the sucessor, the Leyland Rotbox (Lynx)
The only time we broke down on the school bus was if it was a national. The usual problem was the gear selector refusing to go into low gears to pull off.
That's a nice sounding National 1. Shame about the badly-maintained road surfaces spoiling the noise in the video. The sound of a bus going over potholes is one noise I cannot stand when trying to listen to an engine, others are people talking and babies crying.
@fatquad1 I rode on them as a kid too, but was unfortunate not to drive them. Luckily I drove a mk2 a few times in service, but not the same as the mk1 with the 510 engine.
yes lots of smoke, could nearly blame them buses for all the lung problems people have these days with the pollution they pumped out, probably hasnt helped
OMG! This is a National MK1, cant remember the last time I saw one of those, they used to run the Mk2 here until around 94-5 & very rarely ever saw a Mk1, they still look & sound fantastic, an Icon I think, extremely well built too! Does anyone ever remember seeing one broken down anywhere? Damn I really miss these old buses now thinking about it, these plastic peasant replacements are Shit & are frequently hooked up to a tow truck round here, fucking peasants! Bring Back The National's!!!!!
Sadly these vehicles are few and far between these days.I liked thme and the MK1 was my favorite.London Transport had lots of them and they proved popular in LT service.They got better as they went along as it were,the series B versions were much better.I didn't like the podless variant but can see why it was developed.I don't like the Greenways,a waste of a good bus and a bloomin' awful body!
Where is the smoke plume ,all Mk1 Natty,s smoked like fuck especially in winter, could not see the arse end of a Natty so thick and claggy was the cloud of exhaust. The scream of a tortured 510 is magical and whine of the cam shaft drive gears is fabulous!!!
@@cidertom5140 You sure ,it is the belt drive?, the 510 in Bristol VR,s still had that whine, like some newish Volvo FM,s. The Cummins 6BTA,s powering 18 Ton DAF,s sound similar, its the accessory drive gears.
The hardest semis to drive 100% correctly. A touch of gas, nowt, a touch more, still nowt. A bit more, then nananana ...full revs. Nightmare. At GMT a couple set off, even with handbrake on, through the bus station glass. Some had the air gubbins removed and were converted to cable throttles. Remember the clouds upon clouds of lazy, thick grey smoke out of the fishtail exhaust when starting from cold. Pull the lock on, keep going round in a circle, unless you PULL the lock off too.LOLOL
iv never drove a national im only 28 these are the buses i was getting to school back in the day and no you cant beat the sound of a national can you think of a louder bus coz i cant id love to drive one think the oldest bus iv drove is a volvo olympian and it drove better than are enviro's
chris jones any bus with a 680 esp Bristol buses and leopards some buses with gardners in were great but for me it's got to be the om402 in the Sentra s 215 or om403 in a skyliner
iv had 65 out of an enviro 400 with a cummins in it its top when you overtake people and thay look at you and think what the fuck buses are faster than people think
