East Lancashire Coachbuilders

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East Lancashire Coachbuilders Ltd.
Type Private
Founded 1934
Headquarters Flag of the United Kingdom Blackburn, Lancashire
Industry Bus building
Products Bus bodies
Website www.elcb.co.uk
An Olympus, one of the last East Lancs badged products
An Olympus, one of the last East Lancs badged products
A 1987 high capacity East Lancs body on Scania K92 chassis: one of the last built to this flat-fronted style
A 1987 high capacity East Lancs body on Scania K92 chassis: one of the last built to this flat-fronted style

East Lancashire Coachbuilders Limited was a manufacturer of bus bodies and carriages founded in Blackburn in 1934.

In 1994 the company expanded in to new premises and commenced a programme of development that resulted in a range of single and double deck buses which was the primary source of income for the company.

On 17th August 2007 the company went into administration, but was saved and bought out by the Darwen Group the next day. It is thought that the problem is a direct consequence of changing to the Euro 4 chassis. [1] The Darwen Group rebranded the company as Darwen East Lancs.

Contents

[edit] Products

[edit] Past

ELCB has had many different styles of bodywork. They had a tradition of using misspelt product names which continues today.

[edit] Lolyne and Spryte series

In the early 1990s, ELCB created a new style of bus body. Like most ELCB buses, this body style didn't have a definite name and was named by its chassis as follows:

Double-Decker (Image)

Although they are collectively known as the Lolyne.

Single-Decker (Image)

  • Spryte (for Dennis Dart and Volvo B6BLE chassis)
  • Flyte, a full-size single-decker of similar syling to the Spryte, for step-entrance and high-floor buses.

[edit] Myllennium series

A Volvo B7TL with ELC Myllennium (convertible open-top) Vyking bodywork owned by Wilts & Dorset in the new livery.
A Volvo B7TL with ELC Myllennium (convertible open-top) Vyking bodywork owned by Wilts & Dorset in the new livery.

In 2001, a new body was launched. Again, the product didn't have a definite name, it varied according to the chassis.

Double-Decker (Image)

Single-Decker (Image)

  • Myllennium (for DAF SB220 and Alexander Dennis Dart) - This is out of sequence and not called the Myllennium-Spryte
  • Hyline (high-floor variant of the standard Myllennium single-decker body but used to re-body older chassis)

This series is collectively known as the Myllennium.

[edit] Other past bodies

[edit] Until bought by Darwen

The generation until East Lancs went into administration continues (in some aspects) the tradition of misspelt names but each has a different name and does not vary on the chassis.

[edit] Scania series

A Scania OmniDekka in Kensington, with body from East Lancashire Coachbuilders.
A Scania OmniDekka in Kensington, with body from East Lancashire Coachbuilders.

This series are the last surviving variants of the myllennium series. They are now part of their own series.

Single-Decker

Double-Decker

[edit] Esteem and Olympus series

The Esteem was launched early in 2006. The Olympus was launched at the Euro Bus Expo 2006 and its lower dash is the same as the Esteem. The Visionaire launched in summer 2007 with Arriva's Original London Sightseeing Tour.

Single-Decker

Double-Decker

Production of these buses continued under Darwen onwership.

[edit] Kinetec series

The Kinetec series was launched at the Euro Bus Expo 2006. They are designed as low-floor bodies for MAN chassis. They have the Esteem / Olympus body but with MAN's own Lion's City design front and rear.

Single-Decker

Double-Decker

[edit] East Lancs subsidiaries

East Lancs also ran sub-divisions of the company, in addition to the production of buses:

[edit] References

  1. ^ ELC goes into administration

[edit] External links

v • d • e
East Lancashire Coachbuilders(e) / Darwen Group(d)
Current buses
Discontinued buses (single deck)
Discontinued buses (double deck)
Darwen subsidiaries
Past East Lancs subsidiaries
Related companies