Strathclyde's Buses Leyland Atlantean LA 1204 (XUS 575S) (Non-Family Friendly Edition) 

I know exactly what you mean. I had a drive in a Leyland Atlantean bus for my 50th Birthday at a place near Nottingham. It was on an airfield and they had other things you could do. If you ever get the chance to drive one, I highly recommend it. You don't need a PSV license either, I've not got one. It was brilliant going round some traffic cones (and squashing one or two of them) and then reversing it and listening to it grumble.

I know exactly what u 'mean I used to ride on these with my grandad driving these beautiful old Leyland atlanteans beautiful memories and there beautiful engine notes

@@MultiRetroMan That sounds brilliant! I'd love a go at driving a bus, especially an Atlantean. My kids and I had a wee ride on one recently at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum, near Dunfermline but sadly they don't do driver days.

@@stevethomas363 Part of the soundtrack to my childhood. We didn't have a car in our family so had to travel everywhere by bus or on foot until I could drive. Atlanteans and Aislas were the buses on my local routes but there was something comforting about getting onto an Atlantean and settling into my favourite seat up the back, next to the engine.

@@sloblock1972 spot on Andy and the lovely smell off the engine as well I miss the old atlanteans it was a sad day when Kentish bus replaced them

As well as the clattering 510 in the National and thanks very much to Leyland I have grown fond of it. However a 680 in a Bristol re is rude loud as you like and the exhaust is fantastic to listen too. however I love Gardners too.

Tut tut should be a 2-3 second pause between gear changes

Idle seems a little high

If you pay attention, you’ll see the handbrake is applied at nearly every prolonged traffic light stop. These buses have close ratio gearboxes and low speed diffs, therefore, if your ear is attuned to the engine note, you realise the length of pause required to make nice smooth rev-matched gearchanges is short. The gap between 3rd and 4th gears is smaller than that between 2nd and 3rd or 4th and 5th. All these gearchanges are smoother and putting less wear on the brake bands than most of the fully auto Atlanteans which Strathclyde had! Also the length of pause is shorter when the engine is relatively cool at the beginning of the video, whereas towards the end, it has warmed up somewhat and takes longer to die down, thus the pauses are longer.

Maybe with the hydraulic change we can change faster and it releases and locks in the next band quicker. As a rule i understand from Leyland back in the early 70s we were recommended to select neutral for two seconds. I always blipped the accelerator on change downs like double declutching. I enjoyed the video 😊

The driver is absolutely great IMO. I travelled on many AN68s in service and heard the howls of protest as the driver smashed straight through the gearbox.... I even knew one driver who launched the gearbox into the road behind the bus!! In contrast it was a pleasure to watch this video and see one driven spiritedly but properly 👍