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.
Tucked away in a corner was another Spanish produced vehicle the ‘INDCAR’ MOBI BUS
Based on the Iveco Daily 70C. It can carry 33 seated passengers or five wheelchairs or a combination thereof.
Only present in left hand drive form. It will be interesting to see if it generates many sales.
Another vehicle that I thought was interesting was MAN Lions’ City. Another bus in left hand drive form.
Three doors on a rigid bus has never been common in the UK. However if the
‘New Bus For London’ (I refuse to call it the B.........r) proves to be a success with three doors things might change.
It was some features of the internal layout that I thought were interesting.
From the front doorway, it all looks reasonably straightforward but what drew my attention was
the arrangement of seats over the rear wheel arches. To maximize the seating capacity it has been necessary to arrange the seats on two levels. Whilst I have no doubt that it is a practical solution, it does look odd.
At the very back of the bus is what appears to be a row of three seats which share the width of the bus with a cabinet which houses parts of the buses ‘mechanicals’.
Closer inspection shows these not to be seats but upholstered ‘bum perches’ where the passengers can lean rather than stand.
Whether its the two axle coach or its bigger three axle ‘brother’ the Irizar i6 is a magnificent vehicle.
In the past I have always been impressed by the King Long stand. I think their vehicles are well built and well presented.
However, this time I was disappointed with the stand. All they seem to have done was to line the coaches up side by side as if they were in a depot.
A look outside is always worthwhile although this year the vehicles seemed to be packed tighter than usual. Perhaps it’s all down to cost.
New to London Transport in 1952 152 CLT (RM1152) looks as good as it did 51 years ago when it joined LT.
King Long are the only manufacturer brave enough to put the cost price of the vehicles on the windscreen and credit due to them for that.
Dawson Rentals possibly had the shows biggest bargain at 14.99 per day for a Mercedes-Benz Citaro articulated bus.
The ‘big hitters’ on display were the Neoplan Tourliner.
While Plaxton had its Elite i
Before I close this epic which I have spread out over four days. I would like to say how much I enjoyed the show.
I would like to thank everyone who participated in making the show the success that it was and say that all being well I shall be back next year.
To you. Dear reader. If you got this far.
A very well done and thank you also.
Just for those who only want to look at images, these are for you.
I must have one of these for the dining room !!!
The end
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