Prewar Rear Engined 40 Seat Single Decker

A friend has asked me to try and find out if anyone knows of such a vehicle as a demonstrator - make and specification unknown - which is believed to have run for Leeds City Transport in 1938 or 1939.
I know nothing of any such episode or vehicle and I wonder if anyone has any ideas. My friend has somewhere a brief snippet from a trade magazine referring to the loan.

Chris Youhill

21/05/15 - 06:43

The only rear engined single deck I've ever known with Leeds City was a Demonstrator (LRW 377 Daimler Freeline G6H/S 25001 with Duple 95/1 B30D in 1951 with fleetnumber 800 belonging to Daimler, Coventry. Qd), but that was 11 years later and only had 30 seats. most of the prewar single deckers were Leyland Tigers, a few Maudslays or the very early Dennis machines but all with front engines.

Ron Mesure

22/05/15 - 09:32

Thanks Ron, but sadly that's not the one by age.

Incidentally LRW 377 seated, at least eventually, 36 plus 28 standing and was operated for years by Samuel Ledgard of Leeds (at Otley and later Bradford depots). Firstly it ran on the two local services at Otley but the populace couldn't or wouldn't adhere to using the correct door when entering or leaving. It was then transferred to Bradford depot with standing reduced to the normal 8. Sold on then to Bere Regis in Dorset its rear door was removed and extra seats installed. It was a fascinating vehicle in its time but in general didn't seem to enjoy much popularity.
Photo : source unknown, location forecourt of Ledgard's Otley depot.

Chris Youhill

22/05/15 - 09:32

Ron, as you rightly state LRW 377 was a Daimler Freeline G6HS, denoting a Gardner 6HLW horizontal engine under the floor, but this was positioned amidships, rather than rear mounted.

You've certainly set us a puzzle Chris.

Brendan Smith

23/05/15 - 07:17

There were several experiments during the thirties aimed at developing an alternative to the front engine, half-cab or forward control norm, with an entrance forward of the front axle. The Leyland Gnu and Panda, and the earlier Q come to mind, as well as NGT's SE4/6. However, the only true rear-engine vehicle that I can think of was London Transport's CR prototype which appeared around 1938 but was much smaller. Could it be that the vehicle in question was then forward entrance rather than rear engine? In this case Leeds might have considered the Maudsley SF40? The diesel-engine version, the Magna, was released around 1937. The engine was at the front but the front axle set back to enable a forward entrance. I'm probably clutching at straws but Leeds did operate Maudsleys.

Mike Morton

23/05/15 - 07:17

If we are sure that the 1930's date and/or the seating capacity is correct, it must be a very rare beast indeed, as almost everyone was still years away from anything with the engine away from beside the driver. Did any of the following ever visit Leeds?
AEC "Q", whose production ended in about 1938, or the Northern General SE6, where production ceased in 1936. Both seem to have had the engine midway along the off side.
Leyland REC might be nearer the target, having its engine mounted at the rear.
There doesn't seem to be anything of this sort preserved, but were BMMO at least experimenting with this layout in the relevant era?

Pete Davies

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