37 was taken out for it's weekly run, this time encompassing the streets of Shoreham-by-Sea and Southwick. Filmed on board by a Go Pro Hero 4 Black mounted to one of the interior grab rails.
I used to catch these home from primary school here in Sydney in 1983.1976 build two door 10.9m models.Will never forget the jet of black smoke shooting out the side when sitting near the tailpipe behind the rear axle. Priceless memories.
Reminds me of coming home from school on the M&D No 4 bus, used to get these quite a lot. Lovely sounds from these, same with the Bristol VR or Leyland Leopards, some had coach - type seats in cut moquette. Happy days when public transport had character, like the old electric or diesel electric units did here in the South East.
I'm having to make do with virtual Leyland Nationals this year as I won't see any real ones. In 2018 I rode on a Southdown National at Winchester, and was impressed by the way it didn't clag- even when pulling away from a standing start. Although some National enthusiasts might think this wasn't right.
They were quite innovative but suffered from some basic design flaws. Ceiling heating by basic science lead to cold feet. Brake airlines, front to back were neatly tucked away in a U shaped channel which compacted ice and froze the braking system. The early models were very light at the front and on wet roads were very likely to slide, (relocating the batteries helped the solution.. The gearboxes. Although nothing wrong with the gearboxes they were not ideal and partly because of that were subject to abuse. Although on this video the driver is making it seem easy, smooth gearchanges actually require a high level of skill and practice, especially the downshifts. The driver shouldn't need to work so hard to maintain a smooth ride. The National 2,s were much smoother, the gearbox and 680 in particular, perfectly matched. On the credit side from a driving point of view, the cab layout was just about perfect, everything was well placed. They also had fewer blind spots than many other buses. Braking was beautifully smooth except on the fully autos where the gearchange destroyed any hope of smooth deceleration.
No offense, but why the improper use of "thrash" on these videos ,as a current bus driver ,I've not seen one thrash video ,whare there's been a thrash ! If u want to see a proper thrash with a bus travelling light back to depot a finishing time ,then younwill see a proper thrash !!
