Volvo Ailsa B55
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The Volvo Ailsa B55 was a front-engined double-deck chassis built in Scotland by Ailsa, Volvo's British commercial vehicle agency. It was in production from 1973 to 1985, and was a relatively successful alternative to the ubiquitous rear-engined Leyland Atlantean and Daimler/Leyland Fleetline of the period.
The vehicle first appeared at the 1973 Scottish Motor Show, and was well received. The chassis was designed with a front mounted engine that still allowed a front entrance position suitable for one-person operation. In this sense there was a common goal with the earlier, unsuccessful, Guy Wulfrunian. The engine was the Volvo TD70, a compact turbocharged unit of 6.7-litres. The rest of the design was relatively simple, with beam axles and leaf springs. A Self-Changing Gears semi-automatic gearbox was used.
In 1977 an improved MkII version appeared, with two transmission options offered - a Self-Changing Gears pneumocyclic unit and a Voith D851 with retarder. It was followed in 1980 by a MkIII version, for which the Ailsa name was dropped. This continued to use the Volvo TD70H turbocharged engine, and utilized a Volvo truck rear axle in place of the previous troublesome axle. Air suspension was also an available option.
The Ailsa B55 type was particularly popular with the Scottish Bus Group, as well as Tayside Region and Strathclyde PTE. Significant orders also came from West Midlands PTE and South Yorkshire PTE. Ayrshire independent operator A1 Service, who's operating area included the Ailsa plant in Irvine, also purchased several of the vehicles new, increasing its fleet where it could through the purchase of used examples.
As part of its Alternative Vehicle Evaluation program, London Transport took delivery of three MkIII vehicles in 1984. The program was intended to evaluate alternative vehicle types for future fleet replacement in London, which at that time was purchasing Leyland Titans and MCW Metrobus. The most interesting of the three vehicles was fleet number V3. This vehicle maintained the usual front entrance door, but had an additional exit door behind the rear axle, and a second staircase adjacent. This had the advantage of improving passenger flow during peak loading and off-loading times. Unfortunately, the second staircase created a blindspot for the driver, and the vehicle was restricted to crew operation. The vehicle remained unique, and after a fatal crash on a stormy night on which V3 crashed into a Mini and turned over on its side, the bus was sold for scrap, but rescued by Black Prince of Leeds, the rear door and staircase were removed. No further orders for new B55s were placed by London Transport, but numerous second-hand examples were purchased from South Yorkshire PTE and West Midlands PTE in the late 1980s.
A number of 2-axle Ailsa B55 were sold overseas. Indonesia received 320 buses between 1981 and 1985. China Motor Bus in Hong Kong received 8 between 1975 and 1978 (6 out of these 8 buses were destroyed by fire). One B55 was exported to Singapore as demonstrator.
In 1981, a 3-axle version of Ailsa B55 was developed to meet the demand of 3-axle buses in Hong Kong. Only three 3-axle Ailsa B55s were built, two were sold to China Motor Bus as demonstrators, and the third was exported to Indonesia.
In all, just over one thousand B55s were built, 890 with bodywork by Scottish bodybuilder Alexander.
