Tayside Regional Council 273 (WTS 273T)
History
Tayside received a batch of six early Mark II Ailsas in 1979, having been an enthusiastic customer for the Mk I version. 273 was one of these. It was used by Tayside as a benchmark in vehicle comparison trials in 1980, run in conjunction with the trade magazine Commercial Motor. It represented the existing standard vehicle against four others (Ailsa 276, similar but fitted with a Voith gearbox; MCW Metrobus 278; Dennis Dominator 279; and a Leyland Titan ordered by Tayside but cancelled by the manufacturer).
273 was the last Tayside vehicle to operate in normal service in dual door form. It was sold in June 1997 to a farmer in Perthshire for transporting fruit pickers, and continued in this role until it was purchased for preservation in the summer of 2000.
Restoration
Work to date has included extensive replacement of exterior panelwork, the fitting of two new air tanks, and the removal of the steering box in order to fit new seals. A superb full repaint was undertaken by Peter Mitchell at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum at the start of 2008, and the bus returned to the road in its original Tayside Regional Council livery in May 2008.
