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Bus Chassis

The ladder seems to be an integral part of the maintenance trolley. I guess maintenance men were used to them.
 
BON531C after it caught fire. A rather unsafe looking ladder and platform trolley by the side of it.
View attachment 137459
Wow I hope we are looking at a bus that's had some what of a clean up after the fire
There is not a lot left, there must be a lot of fibre glass used I can not think of what else could burn and take the bus to the chassis
The trolley looks like a self build affair narrow to go between the buses the lower platform raised for a better work hight, has a little Heath Robinson look about it
 
BON 531C (3531) a Daimler Fleetline entered service in early 1966. It was burned out on 13/10/71 when in PTE ownership. It was used for a while for training of mechanical apprentices. It was re-bodied, with a slightly longer body, re-entering service in August 1978 as 5531. It had the distinction, it is said, of being the only post war ex BCT bus to be re-bodied.
Since those days of the nineteen seventies other, usually metal, tall steps have been the order of the day I guess.
 
The trolley looks like a self build affair narrow to go between the buses the lower platform raised for a better work hight, has a little Heath Robinson look about it

Not so much Heath Robinson, I would suggest, but more designed to fit a purpose. From the spalling at the higher level it seems to be made from aluminium. Even today, in the Restoration of Railway Carriages, we still use similar Towers. Climb up the inside of the ladder and then access the work platform through a 'trap-door'.

Perfectably acceptable and not in any way dangerous.
 
Not so much Heath Robinson, I would suggest, but more designed to fit a purpose. From the spalling at the higher level it seems to be made from aluminium. Even today, in the Restoration of Railway Carriages, we still use similar Towers. Climb up the inside of the ladder and then access the work platform through a 'trap-door'.

Perfectably acceptable and not in any way dangerous.
I think the "spalling' you speak of is paint wear, looking at the long platform support beams are solid at the ends, if they were aluminium I would expect them to be open, the same can be said for the short support for the lower platform which goes through both uprights,
The ladder seems to taper towards the top, lot of work in metal, I think this was a ladder that got repurposed, the platform that its built on looks like a old cart with steel wheels from a railway platform.
I would of thought using round tube would have been more in line for a store built unit.

Now what ever its built of it works and that is what counts.
 
There were two types of trade plate General and Limited, the General plates were red with white digits and an oblong licence holder the Limited were white with a red border and red digits and a triangle licence holder.
General trade plates cost more and could be used at any time for business or leisure, Limited plates were for business only and you had to have a written chit stating the purpose when using them, also limited to only two persons in the vehicle.
 
i dont see the connection? they are trucks.
I do it shows the evolution of a chassis and all the ways it could be configured, after all for me that's what a bus is a truck chassis with windows and seats
When looking at many of the bus pictures they show how many varying body styles were on the same chassis
The auto industry has a long history of putting a new style body on a old platform, example Morris Marina under the sheet metal was a Moggy 1000.
 
na this is a recovery truck.View attachment 137478
That's a keeper looks like it may be out of commission but just looking at it you can see it's been a work horse for many years.
I really like the cab configuration, makes me think that this was indeed a purpose built break down rig, rather than some kind of conversion of a truck.
I really love the whole bus affair, but for some reason I want to pull the curtains aside, I want to see what made and makes the whole system tick.
I have spent a major portion of my life with chassis and engines and the roadshow that goes along with that
 
I do it shows the evolution of a chassis and all the ways it could be configured, after all for me that's what a bus is a truck chassis with windows and seats
When looking at many of the bus pictures they show how many varying body styles were on the same chassis
The auto industry has a long history of putting a new style body on a old platform, example Morris Marina under the sheet metal was a Moggy 1000.
i dont know about that .most bus chassis were made for buses. not cement mixers,or dust carts.
 
In the 1960s-1970s I lived on the Wolverhampton Road in Oldbury and I regularly saw bus chassis being driven along that road. I always assumed that they Leylands. The driver always had a motorcycle crash helmet and goggles.
 
i dont know about that .most bus chassis were made for buses. not cement mixers,or dust carts.
You are of course correct the point I was trying to make is all the variants of body's on the same platform.
Some bus coach work has 2 sets of doors and other differences on the same chassis.

When I went to college a instructor said a bus chassis had the axles above the frame rails ?, I have always thought this was to lower the COG this increasing the angle of the dangle.
 
You are of course correct the point I was trying to make is all the variants of body's on the same platform.
Some bus coach work has 2 sets of doors and other differences on the same chassis.

When I went to college a instructor said a bus chassis had the axles above the frame rails ?, I have always thought this was to lower the COG this increasing the angle of the dangle.
Also probably stopped your head banging on the ceiling!
 
In the 1960s-1970s I lived on the Wolverhampton Road in Oldbury and I regularly saw bus chassis being driven along that road. I always assumed that they Leylands. The driver always had a motorcycle crash helmet and goggles.
Spent many hours waiting to collect parts from Leyland Motors Wolverhampton road, only parts dept that rarely answered their phone and you needed a packed lunch as you could be there for most of the day,
 
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