Hutchings and Cornelius
Copyright Unknown

Demonstrator
1949
Jensen JLP1
Sparshatt B40F

In December 1949 the first prototype of the Jensen JLP1 passenger chassis visited the Manchester area while on an extensive demonstration tour. The vehicle was unregistered and its (presumed!) the trade plate had been removed for this publicity shot and replaced with the false registration mark 1 AEA – in real life this wasn’t issued until 1960. It was distributed by North-West area Jensen dealership J R Evans of Cross Street, Manchester 2. Despite a fondness for Jensens (and other lost causes) I’ve never seen a photograph of the prototype during its demonstration tour before. Are there any others?
The JLP1 was an extended (27ft 6in) version of the JP1 personnel carrier offered to industrial and social welfare users. Less than 50 of the JP1 were sold and only five of the longer PSV version. All had aluminium chassis frames to reduce weight to slightly less than 5 tons – not bad for a 40 seat vehicle but aluminium was an expensive material which resulted in a price-tag 25% higher than that of a comparable Sentinel STC4.
The bus version was offered as a semi-integral, bodied by Sparshatt as seen in this view. The only order came from Hutchings & Cornelius of South Petherton for two vehicles, the first prototype (as seen here) which became MYA 391 in July 1950, and a second vehicle (which had already been built as a "speculative" sale) as MYA 816 in August.
The coach version was slightly more successful, with three being produced in 1949/50 for small operators in London (with a Strachans body), the Isle of Wight (with a Reading body), and County Durham (with ACB bodywork). Jensen soon gave up on goods vehicles and PSVs to concentrate on its sports cars.

(With thanks to Mike Shaw and George Turnbull of GMTS for finding the shot and allowing me to borrow it for scanning)

Photograph and Copy contributed by Neville Mercer

20/08/15 – 05:57

Thanks for posting, Neville. Another ‘blast from the past’ as they used to say on a radio station of the mid to late 1960’s. I understand that it’s still with us (the radio station, I mean, not this gem) At first glance, it looks rather Beadle or MCW Olympic in origins, so it’s interesting that the price comparison is with a Sentinel!

Pete Davies

20/08/15 – 05:58

A very interesting photograph indeed Neville, and thank you very much for posting, and thanks also to Mike Shaw and George Turnbull for granting permission to do so. I must admit to not knowing a great deal about JNSN, apart from it being the commercial vehicle arm of Jensen Motors of West Bromwich at one time, and I believe the bus/coach model utilised a combination of Perkins engine and David Brown gearbox. The Sparshatt body looks quite neat, but there does not appear to be a door fitted at the unusually-shaped entrance, which must have made for a draughty ride. (That would have confined any cigarette smoke well and truly to the rear of the vehicle!). Use of aluminium for the chassis/underframe obviously led to the impressive unladen weight, and is reminiscent of Bristol’s two LS prototype buses, which also had aluminium alloy underframes. Subsequent LS production models had steel underframes however – steel lending itself better to welding techniques and also being less expensive than aluminium.

Brendan Smith

20/08/15 – 10:32

Interesting post – JNSN certainly lived a shadowy life. Much was against the success of this vehicle. As usual, conservatism in the industry and 1950 was a bit late, post-war, for the benefit of distressed purchases. I can’t make out the entrance at all. There seems to be a bulkhead behind the driver, but only a half-height partition in front of the front nearside passenger seat, making for an even draughtier journey!
Interesting that Sparshatts and Reading both get a mention above. They were physically next door neighbours at Hilsea, Portsmouth. Reading eventually sold out to Sparshatts, who carried on with Reading’s order book, but did not take over their building, which slowly decayed over the years.

Chris Hebbron

24/08/15 – 06:01

I always enjoyed the occasional glimpse of a Jensen lorry on the road but never saw a bus. Without those silly black shapes over the wheelarches this well-proportioned example would look very good: neat and businesslike. I’m surprised they didn’t manage to get the weight below 5 tons. Wonder what the fuel mileage was like? With the Perkins P6, perhaps not all that wonderful. In the yard outside the 1964(?) Commercial Motor Show in London there was a Dennis Pax demonstrator bus giving rides. It had much in common with the Jensen: entrance ahead of front axle, light weight, Perkins P6; but a Dennis gearbox instead of the Jensen’s David Brown. Good try…

Ian T

24/08/15 – 09:30

Ian T – I can remember going up the Great Orme once on a Dennis Pax bus, rather basic, but built for a challenging job. It didn’t have an entrance forward of the front wheels, however.

Chris Hebbron

26/08/2015 17:22:16

Jensen has popped up on this site before, but not in a form to be indexed. There was a question about them which provides a bit more info from David Oldfield and Peter Tulloch and some scratchbuilt models by Iain Simms. I am always intrigued by the radiator grille which seems the opposite of the discreet identities we are generally used to, and I wonder if it was OTT for some operators- RR might have been OK. I dimly remember seeing it on pantechnicons too?

Joe

23/11/15 – 06:31

My father worked for Martins the Cleaners based at Apperley Bridge Bradford. I remember they had a few Jenson pantechnicons and these were followed by Commer Avengers and Ford R226.

Geoff S

23/11/15 – 14:46

With Regard to Ian T’s comment, we at Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust recently were donated a number of mid 1960s editions of Passenger Transport courtesy Model Bus Federation Scotland. In one of them Alan Townsin road tests a Dennis Bus for rural services. It was a Dennis bodied Dennis Pax IIA PSV model and had as you say a Dennis gearbox but the engine was a Perkins 6:308 the direct injection development of the P6.
It was photographed in Dennisville, Guildford carrying registration HPC 153C but that does not show on BLotW which has a list of all Pax IIA buses, the majority wheelchair accessible school buses for London Authorities.
AIUI the surviving Llandudno bus has a 6:354 and a David Brown Gearbox.

Apologies. I appreciate BLotW is an evolving site. HPC 153C does now appear if you search for it. but not in the Pax IIA list. NO chassis number is listed so it might be the one sold to Merseyside Fire Brigade on the other list.

Stephen Allcroft

28/10/17 – 17:11

I remember travelling on the two H&C JNSN vehicles many times, particularly to work in Taunton. In the winter they were rostered on the route via Isle Brewers because they were very good at passing through the floods in Isle Brewers and over the River Isle to Fivehead. I wonder if they were bought especially for their capacity to pass through deep water.
I recall one occasion when the driver stopped at the top of Fivehead hill, came round and changed into wellington boots and told us to take our luggage up off the floor. He set off through the flood which at is deepest was running through the sunken footwell to a depth of several inches.
There was a door to the passenger compartment which ran on rails behind the drivers compartment. When the buses were converted for one man operation an operating lever was fitted behind the drivers seat, which possibly caused injured backs amongst the drivers. At the same time the drivers seat was boxed in and a ticket machine and cash tray fitted.
By the mid 60s the aluminium body was becoming sloppy around the rivet holes and swayed from side to side on corners.
By the way Len Cornelius, son of the founder, taught my father and my self to drive and we both took and passed our test on the same day in 1965.

Richard Burton

16/09/18 – 07:20

A pity this almost unique vehicle is listed as a demonstrator. To list it by it’s operator would give Hutchings and Cornelius it’s only apparent entry on this excellent website

Richard Burton

16/09/18 – 07:20

Couldn’t agree more it is now listed to Hutchings and Cornelius as well.

Peter

Southern Vectis Omnibus Company
1951
Bristol KS5G
ECW L27/28R

New to Southern Vectis in 1951 with an Isle of Wight registration a Bristol KS5G with an ECW lowbridge body and was withdrawn by them in 1967. Sold on to dealer W Norths (PV) Limited, Sherburn-in-Elmet in May 1967 it then went to Jameson of Sunderland the following month. It was later purchased by Carneys Coaches of Sunderland in October 1967 and was used on shipyard contracts transporting workers between Wearside and Teeside, it was also used to take local Scout groups on holidays. It remained in its original Southern Vectis livery a dark shade of Green with a white band all through its working life. In November 1968 Carneys disposed of it to a dealer, unfortunately from that point on I have no further history.

Photograph and Copy contributed by Alan Coulson

County Borough of Darlington Transport Department
1953
Guy Arab III 5LW
Roe B41C

The small operation of Darlington Corporation does not seem to be mentioned on the Website.
I have only been to the town once back in 1968. I took just one photo probably as it was unusual even in those days to see a passenger ready to leave the centre entrance whilst the bus was still in motion. A single deck Guy Arab III was also unusual for me.
I have recently rediscovered this old slide taken with a very basic camera, I hope it may be of interest.

Photograph and Copy contributed by Keith Newton

13/08/15 – 08:15

I don’t think the Roe West Riding Red AEC’s had doors to their centre entrances, either. This made the rear saloon a chilly place- and as you suggest the elfansafety doesn’t bear thinking about- the step backwards system of alighting from a moving bus platform was impossible and twisting sideways must have been just right to fall against the rear wheels. End of an era, here.

Joe

13/08/15 – 08:51

I attach a bought slide of a Swindon Daimler CV single decker with a similar centre entrance/exit arrangement. How popular was it, exactly? I know some of Blackpool ones in the 1930s, and we all know about their PD2/5 fleet, but single deckers like this seem very rare.

Pete Davies

13/08/15 – 11:53

Not centre-entrance and a decker, but London Transport’s Country Area STL’s posed the same hazards as the other two vehicles. LPTB’s 1936 (ex-STL 1470) offering was lauded by them as ‘draught-free’, a statement, from personal experience, I heartily disagreed with, despite the angled front bulkhead and rear partition to entrance! Note the staircase opposite the entrance. LINK: www.flickr.com/photos/

Chris Hebbron

13/08/15 – 13:55

Joe, I think the West Riding centre-entrance Regents had doors. However, like you, I also remember being cold in their rear saloons so they probably spent most of their time open (to save the conductors’ time).
This photo seems to show the door in a closed position. //www.bus-and-coach-photos.com/picture/number5402.asp  Some photos suggest they were double doors, hinged outwardly opening. If only 111 had survived beyond early preservation.

Paul Haywood

13/08/15 – 14:40

Municipal conservatism at work with these Guys? By 1953 underfloor engined saloons were well established and virtually the norm so these purchases seem a bit of an anachronism. Doncaster and Burnley, Colne and Nelson were other operators that stuck to half-cab single deckers well into the 1950’s with BCN taking PS2 Tigers right up to 1955. More examples of those little things that make our hobby so interesting.

Philip Halstead

14/08/15 – 11:51

Hunter of Seaton Delaval had two TS7 Leyland Tigers, JR 4901, from 1935, and JR 6600, 1936: both Burlingham B35F. In 1953 and 54 respectively, they were rebodied by Roe as B39C, they were very similar to this Darlington example, but differed slightly in that they had doors which were flush with the side of the bus when shut, but I cant for the life of me remember if they were two single doors, or a two piece folding type. The only thing that let them down, was that they had been rebodied as 8ft on a 7’6" chassis, which tended to make them look a bit unbalanced.

Ronnie Hoye

16/08/15 – 06:35

Must have been a job keeping them clean,,,,

Mike

16/08/15 – 06:36

The last conventional half-cab saloons (both complete buses and new bodies for old chassis) date from 1955, after which only a few specialised vehicles were built on chassis normally bodied as double-deckers – a Leyland PD2 for West Mon, eight Regent Vs for South Wales Transport and two more as non-PSVs registered in Leeds.

Geoff Kerr

01/09/15 – 07:43

Rotherham Corporation ran a large fleet of Bristol L5G and L6B buses mostly with central entrance. FET 821 f/n 121 was one of the last delivered in 1951 with an East Lancs body and makes an interesting contrast to the standard ECW bodies which never -to my knowledge – offered this option. It was photographed in 1970 in Carlisle clearly on a school outing but from where and who was the operator- perhaps owned by the school itself?

Keith Newton

02/09/15 – 07:02

Keith, thanks for John Kaye who gave me this information regarding Rotherham 121 (above).
It was withdrawn by Rotherham in September 1968 it is recorded with Army Cadet Force, Dearne Valley Area, Wath (later Wakefield) in January 1969 and sold for scrap 1970.

Paul Haywood

02/09/15 – 07:03

This bus appeared on the SCT61 site and the discussion following the photographs gives some explanation as to why the bus would have been in Carlisle: //www.sct61.org.uk/rr121

David Beilby