The Bristol VR was Bristol's version of a rear-engined bus chassis, designed as a competitor to the Leyland Atlantean and Daimler Fleetline. The Leyland Atlantean was a double-deck bus built by British Leyland in United Kingdom from 1958 to 1986. ...

Development

The Bristol VR was originally designed for single-deck or double-deck bodywork. The design featured a longitudinal mounted engine set behind the rear offside wheels, rather than the more typical transverse layout. A choice of Gardner 6LX or 6LW engines or the Leyland O.600 engine was to be available. The transmission was a semi-automatic unit by Self-Changing Gears. Originally intended to be designated the Bristol N-type, the chassis became known as the Bristol VR, an abbreviation for Vertical Rear, a reference to the layout of the engine. Two lengths were available, 32ft 9in and 36ft, and these were designated VRS and VRL respectively. A drop-centre rear axle and low frame were employed to keep the height of the vehicle down.

Two prototypes were built in spring 1966, and were shown as the 1966 Earls Court Motor Show. This was the first show at which Bristol could exhibit since 1948, their products being available to the open market again. The prototypes had 80-seat bodies by ECW (Eastern Coach Works) and entered service with Central SMT and Bristol Omnibus.

In July 1967 Bristol introduced a new version, to be known as the VRT, with a more conventional transverse-engined layout. The chassis also became exclusively a double-decker. There was also a choice of two frame heights. The longitudinal mounted version remained, and became known as the VRL. However in July 1968 the British government introduced a grant intended to modernize the British bus fleets, and speed the introduction of one-man operation. The standard specification for the grant required a transverse rear-engined vehicle, with the result that few VRLs were produced.

Production

The first production vehicles entered service with Eastern Scottish, a member of the Scottish Bus Group, in December 1968. Almost immediately problems were experienced with the transmission and overheating of the engine, problems similar to those experienced by early versions of the Leyland Atlantean and Daimler Fleetline. A large number of the initial production versions entered service with the Scottish Bus Group. Continued reliability issues resulted in 1973 in the exchange, on a one-to-one basis, of 91 Bristol VRTs from Central SMT, Eastern Scottish and Western SMT for front-engined Bristol Lodekka FLF6Gs from the National Bus Company. The National Bus Company was a bus company in the United Kingdom. ...

A revision of the vehicle, the Series 2, was introduced in 1970, followed in 1974 by the Series 3. The short, lowheight version, became the standard vehicle for the National Bus Company. The VRT remained in production until 1981, by which time 4531 had been built. The National Bus Company was a bus company in the United Kingdom. ...

Later versions of the VR proved reliable, and remain in service with many independent bus operators across the United Kingdom. A notable number have been exported to other countries. Some of the major bus companies still operate VRs, including Wilts & Dorset, and, until recently, First Essex Buses, who withdrew the last service VRs in 2004. Their withdrawal is being hastened by DDA compliance issues. Wilts & Dorset Bus Company is a bus company based in Poole, Dorset in the United Kingdom. ... First Group-owned First Essex is one of many operators of London Buses. ...

Bodies

The Bristol VR was typically built with an ECW body, however, examples exist that carried bodies by Northern Counties, Alexander and East Lancs, with a few rare VR's having Willowbrook bodywork. The ECW body was distinctive for its rounded rear upper deck. The vehicles were typically constructed in the two heights set in the bus grant standards, 13ft 8in and 14ft 6in. Other versions were built, including 13ft 5in for City of Oxford Motor Services, and the 14ft 2in height allowed under later versions of the grant specification. Northern Counties Motor and Engineering Company was a manufacturer of bus bodywork located in Wigan Lane, Wigan, Lancashire, United Kingdom. ... Walter Alexander Coachbuilders is a Scottish bus bodybuilder based in Falkirk. ... East Lancashire Coachbuilders is a manufacturer of busses and carriages founded in Blackburn in 1934. ...

Chassis types

The chassis code of a Bristol VR is very logical, and reveals a lot of information regarding the vehicle. The format is VRw/xxx/yyy, where w is the engine orientation (T or L: transverse or longitudinal, respectively. The prototype chassis carried an X here, i.e. VRX), xxx reflects the chassis details, and yyy the engine, e.g. VRT/SL3/6LXB is a short, low, Series 3 with a transverse Gardner 6LXB engine. The VRT/SL3/6LXB with ECW bodywork is the most common variant of the VR.

The chassis types are as follows:

• LH - Long/High; Series 1 (note: VRLs were only of the form VRL/LH)
• LH2 - Long/High; Series 2
• LL - Long/Low; Series 1; built primarily for Scottish Omnibus
• LL2 - Long/Low; Series 2; built primarily for Reading Transport
• LL3 - Long/Low; Series 3
• SL - Short/Low; Series 1
• SL2 - Short/Low; Series 2
• SL3 - Short/Low; Series 3

Engines: Reading Transport is a bus operator serving the towns of Reading, Newbury and the surrounding area in the English county of Berkshire. ...

• 6LXB - Gardner 6LXB (Gearbox: Type RV90 5-speed semi-automatic)
• 501 - Leyland 501

External Links

• Bristol Commerical Vehicles Enthusiasts Site - with VR histories