Bristol Commercial Vehicles

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Bristol Commercial Vehicles Ltd was a manufacturer of buses and trucks based in Bristol, England.

Contents

[edit] Timeline

  • 1908 Bristol Tramways & Carriage Company built its first bus.
  • 1931 Bristol Tramways & Carriage Company was acquired by Tilling Group.
  • 1948 Bristol Tramways & Carriage Company became part of nationalised British Transport Commission.
  • 1955 Bristol chassis production was separated from Bristol Tramways & Carriage Company's bus operating activities and renamed Bristol Commercial Vehicles.
  • 1962 Rear-engined RE introduced
  • 1963 Bristol Commercial Vehicles became part of Transport Holding Company.
  • 1965 Leyland Motor Corporation buys a 25% holding of Bristol and ECW from the Transport Holding Company, allowing sales to non THC fleets.
  • 1967 LH introduced
  • 1968 VRT introduced
  • 1969 All English and Welsh THC (and BET) bus interests pass to newly formed National Bus Company. Leyland acquires an extra 25% holding of Bristol and ECW through a share swap scheme, 50% of Park Royal (and it's subsidiary Roe) and the Leyland National Company pass to the NBC in exchange. All of the above are formed into Bus Manufacturers (Holdings) Ltd.
  • 1981 Leyland Olympian introduced and VRT production discontinued
  • 1981 LH discontinued
  • 1982 Leyland Bus buys the National Bus Company's 50% stake of BM(H).
  • 1982 RE discontinued
  • 1983 Closed - All production moved to Leyland plant in Workington.

[edit] Products

[edit] Single deck

  • L type
  • SC - Small Capacity
  • SU - Small Underfloor engined
  • LS - Light Saloon
  • MW - Medium Weight
  • LH - Light Horizontal engined
Note: A small number of Bristol LH and LHL bus chassis were bodied as pantechnicons for Silver Cross prams
  • RE - Rear Engined
  • B21 - also known as Leyland Lion
  • B52 - sold as a Leyland

[edit] Double deck

Bristol KSW6B ECW Lowbridge
Bristol KSW6B ECW Lowbridge

[edit] Trucks

  • HG - Heavy Goods
  • HA
  • ST - Semi-Trailer

[edit] References

  • Curtis, Martin (1984). Bristol Buses in Camera, Ian Allen. ISBN 0-7110-1361-6
  • Curtis, Martin (1994). Bristol VR, Ian Allen. ISBN 0-7110-2238-0
  • Roberts, Duncan (2002). Bristol RE, NBC Books.
  • Townsin, Alan (2000). The Bristol Story Part Two, Venture Publications. ISBN 1-898432-78-3