AEC Regent II
| AEC Regent II | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | AEC |
| Body and chassis | |
| Doors | 1 door |
| Floor type | Step entrance |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | AEC |
| Chronology | |
The AEC Regent II was a front-engined double-decker bus built by AEC soon after the end of World War II in Europe. Despite officially being a new type it was very similar to the 1929 Regent. The Regent IIs were all documented as being new with the A173 (also known as the 7.7-litre) engine and a four speed sliding mesh gearbox. The only vehicles that were not standard were the 100 purchased by B.M.M.O. (Birmingham & Midland Motor Omnibus Company), which were classified as O661/20 as the front had to be re-designed so they could carry similar bonnets and radiator grilles that B.M.M.O. had designed for the double deckers they built themselves.
Operators
The only other Regent IIs to differ from standard were Dundee Corporation's fleet of ex-London Transport STLs, all of which carried flared-bottomed Weymann bodies. Dundee changed the sliding mesh gearbox for the pre-selective version - a move which may have been expected from a concern like London Transport (who favoured pre-select vehicles) but not of a corporation buying vehicles second-hand. Other operators who bought Regent IIs new included Lowestoft Corporation, Mansfield and District, Reading Corporation, City of Oxford Motor Services, Ebor Bus Co of Mansfield. The twenty from London purchased by Norths, a dealer and were sold to a variety of operators such as Grimsby-Cleethorpes Transport and Dundee Corporation.
Survivors
Out of almost 700 produced between 1945 and 1947, only nine survive. Two of those are derelict in America and one in England has been converted into a towing vehicle. Now the only place you can have a ride on a Regent II is at the East Anglia Transport Museum near Lowestoft.
There is also one in British Columbia. Canada which is running and ready to be restored .
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