Held in Halls 19 and 20 at the NEC on Wednesday and Thursday the 2nd. and 3rd. of October 2013.
The show had so much to offer and there was so much to see that to try and put it all in to one article would be a mammoth undertaking and would probably overwhelm the reader.
What I propose to do then is to look at a number of areas that I found of interest and present them starting today. Over the next few days I will cover as much as I can.
Plaxton’s ‘Big Cats’.
It is interesting to see that Plaxton have picked up the baton laid aside with the disappearance of the ‘Leyland’ group.
That is the policy of naming its products after the largest members of the cat family.
Prewar there was the Leyland Lion, Tiger, Cub etc. Post war we had the Tiger again, the Royal Tiger and its offspring the Tiger Cub, Leopard, Panther and finally the Lynx.
I may have missed a few breeds out so if I have and your favourite is not there, please forgive me.
Firstly the Panther.
The one on display in the hall was this magnificent ‘beast’ which is destined for ‘Alpine of North Wales’.
This Panther is the latest to carry the name and to quote Plaxton’s own comments.
“A new generation of Plaxton’s stylish Panther with a contemporary look and even more customer and passenger friendly features”.
On 2 axles it can be built up to 12.8 metres long (that’s almost 42 feet in old money) and on 3 axles it can go up to 15 metres long ((that’s over 49 feet).
Can you remember the uproar in the 1960’s when 36 feet long was considered too long ??
Whatever, I cannot see them on the ‘Round the Great Orme’ tour in Llandudno. A pity really !!
Derived from the ‘Panther’ is its recently introduced offspring the ‘Panther Cub’. This is built to a length of 10.8 metres. This almost 36 feet long and is considered a ‘midi’ coach.
Both versions of the Panther are produced on versions of Volvo’s B9R chassis.
The Plaxton Leopard
If Plaxton build the same number of Leopards that Leyland built, they will be well satisfied.
Developed for the low cost sector of the market, the intention is to keep operator costs down. A look around the interior shows no sign of cost cutting by Plaxton to achieve it.
This one is going to Roy McArthy Coaches who are based in Macclesfield and have over 40 years in the industry.
PA63 SMF
Also on display was this Leopard for ‘Prospect’ of Stourbridge in the West Midlands. Another operator with a long history in the industry.
The lighting on this picture was nothing to do with me but is produced by the lighting effects in the Live Showcase Arena.
While outside was this Leopard demonstrator (which if you look close enough is running on trade plates) giving potential customers a ride round the NEC.
While we are outside. This was where the only Plaxton Cheetah I could find that was on display.
A comfortable 29 seater, the same capacity incidentally as the Bedford OB seen in part 1.
(I wonder if this coach will still be around in another 60 years).
The Cheetah has been a firm favourite for over 10 years being built on the Mercedes-Benz Vario chassis.
City Circle have operating bases in both London and Edinburgh. Their publicity states that the provide,
“top-quality coach services to the leisure, corporate and tourism markets”.
Something completely removed from the world of ‘Big cats’ and high specification touring coaches is the world of the bus refurbishment specialist.
There seems to be a growing market for older buses being given a mid life or even late life update as is seen by this former 'Dublin Bus' decker.
Since Ireland’s ‘Celtic Tiger’ boom of the earlier years of this century fell apart, a lot of former Dublin Bus (DB) vehicles have come into the UK and they are in widespread use.
This particular one 00-D-40054 was a member of (DB) class AV with Volvo B7LDD chassis and Transbus Alexander built ALX 400 body.
Rowan Telmac were founded in the UK in 1981. They came into being to produce pressed and welded metal parts for use in the production of wheelchairs and scooters.
They progressed from parts to bus seats and in 2009 the bus refurbishment work commenced. Based in Coventry the company will undertake any work varying from crash repairs to the full refurbishment of buses including re spraying in their own modern spray booth.
The internal images show the standard of the work produced. The quality of the upholstery work and the wood effect floors produce an interior that is probably better than when the bus was new.
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