Southern Vectis KDL 413
Southern Vectis KDL 413
I am hoping to acquire KDL 413, which we have found abandoned in a yard in Denver after 15 years. We hope to re-engine her and get her running and restored into Southern Vectis livery again. Pictures can be seen at this link.
Mike Pannell
07/02/13 - 14:19
Brilliant, Mike, and good luck. Have watched some of the slides of your preservation efforts on the Pullman carriage, a real labour of love.
Chris Hebbron
10/02/13 - 16:42
Seconding Chris H's comments Mike. Wishing you all the very best with your endeavours. The pictures are fascinating, especially the chassis views. It's hard to believe that the Lodekka is 59 years old isn't it?
Tempus certainly Fugits.
Brendan Smith
21/05/13 - 07:41
Well after much chasing and almost losing I have acquired KDL 413, now just working out the $1200 to move her by lowloader to Cheyenne from Denver, then working out how we are going to get her moving under her own power, she is missing Engine, Gearbox, prop shaft, fuel tank etc and all seats.
Mike Pannell
22/05/13 - 18:28
Here she is as of a month ago in the RTD yard in Denver, great shape bodywork wise, she lost her original grille before leaving the UK in 1976.
Michael Pannell
23/05/13 - 07:52
Lovely to hear she's been saved, Mike. Whatever travails you will experience in the restoration, a sound body, at least, is a very good start!
Chris Hebbron
24/05/13 - 14:01
When did these buses receive rear doors? KDL 413 has them and they look like professionally fitted Bi-fold doors with a ticket box on them too...were they on her in the UK at some point?
Mike Pannell
26/06/13 - 15:58
Well work has begun and her long road to restoration will begin shortly, this is a photo from yesterday after we had got her down onto her own tires for the first time in 15 years
Mike Pannell
28/06/13 - 06:27
Very nice Lodekka photos 10 out of 10 for interest and quality. Nice shots of DFG 157. However this bus was not withdrawn from Wrexham Depot until 1981 and entered into preservation straight out of service. Wrexham continued to use FSs on their trunk D1 Chester>Wrexham>Llangollen and D2 Chester>Wrexham>Oswestry until July 1981 however they retained about half FSs until august 1981 for Wrexham local routes and D1 short workings. Wrexham were fond of their Lodekkas indeed when Crosville tried to allocate them some ex Southdown Fleetlines in an attempt to withdraw their Lodekkas the buses were immediately blacked and the FSs continued in service.
Carl Richards
28/06/13 - 08:49
Could you take a close-up photo of said doors, Mike, so that we can get a better idea of what you're querying? Thx.
Chris Hebbron
30/06/13 - 07:39
Here is a rear view, everything smacks of a UK conversion down at the dealers maybe prior to sale to the US, this would likely be done for safety reasons with the platform being on the wrong side. The door is a Bi-fold heavy ECW looking thing with ticket box. I am asking whether Southern Vectis ever put rear doors on these but I suspect the answer is no.
Mike Pannell
01/07/13 - 07:13
Am I losing it, Mike, or are the n/s windows upside down?
Joe
01/07/13 - 07:14
If platform doors had been fitted for use in the UK then wouldn't C&U regulations have required a platform emergency exit to have also been fitted? I've only had the "pleasure" of driving a Lodekka twice - and that was once too many (actually, the first time I couldn't get out from behind the wheel quick enough - but you have to allow once for the "experience"): the whole driving position, with that raked steering wheel, was set up wrongly - I felt to be sat "in" the thing [that word should give you an idea of my prejudices here!] rather than "on top of" it, if you get my drift . . . and it wasn't just "different", I found it positively uncomfortable (perhaps there's a technique that somebody [ex-THC/NBC or ardent Lodekka preservationist] out there might care to share).
Philip Rushworth
01/07/13 - 09:21
Yes the windows are upside down and it took me ages to work out why! Think of the name on the bus 'The Ticket Bus' then think of dispensing tickets downstairs to the public outside....makes sense to have little sliding windows doesn't it ! We will flip them round.
Mike Pannell
02/07/13 - 07:32
Southern Vectis did have some Lodekkas, later than your vehicle, with platform doors and here's a photo showing the rear of one example: http://busmanjohn.files. You can see that the design is not the same and, as Philip says, there is a rear emergency door, required by UK law, to allow for passenger escape, should the bus have fallen on its left-hand side. This does not answer who did the conversion, and when, but it would not have been done whilst in passenger revenue service in the UK. Your guess as the dealers, prior to export, seems a reasonable one.
Chris Hebbron
03/07/13 - 06:55
Good points thank you, I know the conversions on other buses prior to export were done in the UK, some pretty elaborate ones too, like the Bath Bristol K in Tucson which had its top chopped and the stairs turned round to give a drivers side entrance. I can live with this conversion as it hasn't changed the look of the vehicle and uses UK parts no doubt salvaged from another bus, maybe the doors will reveal something of their past.
Mike Pannell
13/07/13 - 09:46
Exciting days these as the bus got moved to the street awaiting its Monday loading and delivery to me in Cheyenne from Denver, this is the first move this bus has made in 15 years and the second move in 25 years.
Mike Pannell
14/07/13 - 07:52
Let's hope the move goes well - fingers crossed!
Chris Hebbron
22/07/13 - 11:49
Well it all went well and KDL 413 is in Cheyenne!
Mike Pannell
15/10/13 - 09:13
KDL 413 is on the way back to health with a rebuilt platform and today moved to my new covered storage location....a ICBM silo, I have my 126 yr old Pullman car in there now and the 100 year old caboose so KDL is in great company.
Mike Pannell
16/10/13 - 06:57
Glad to know that progress is being made, Mike. With the bus being under cover, at least she's protected from the elements and you can choose when to work on her, rather than the weather! In case you don't know, SOUTHERN was the railway company who started up the company. VECTIS is the Roman name for the Isle of Wight, a diamond-shaped island just off the South Coast of England, roughly in the centre. And all vehicles with the second two letters being DL were registered in the IoW, up to 1963.
Chris Hebbron
18/10/13 - 07:51
I have followed this thread over the months. It's good to see another Lodekka saved, albeit away from these shores. I see that this vehicle lacks many parts and wondered whether Mike Pannell is aware of other abandoned Lodekkas in the US. On Flickr I noticed (not sure whether they still exist) ex-West Yorks DX58 in a rather parlous state and also another LD. Is it worth pointing these out to Mike? If he puts 'Bristol Double Decker Bus' into Flickr search box, DX 58 is about the 6th photo.
David Rhodes
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