Dundee Corporation 180 (GSL 908N)

History

Dundee Corporation’s last order for buses was a batch of 15 Alexander-bodied Daimler Fleetlines, similar to the 1972 delivery but with curved windscreens, reflective number plates and automatic gearbox control. They were delivered by December 1974, but required gearbox modifications by BLMC’s Glasgow service centre before entering service (these were the first vehicles in the fleet with automatic transmission). GSL 908N entered service on 28 March 1975, only weeks before Tayside Regional Council took over the Dundee Corporation fleet. Although Tayside ordered a further batch of Fleetlines, the order was converted to Bristol VRTs (one of which, 204, is in the Society’s collection) and no more Daimlers were bought.

Numbered 120 on delivery, it was renumbered along with the rest of the batch in April 1976 and became 180: Dundee Corporation had a long tradition of renumbering vehicles and this tradition was continued by Tayside. The numbers vacated by this batch of vehicles were taken by new Ailsas.

Tayside Region was very keen to rid itself of British Leyland products, and this meant that the final batch of Fleetlines was withdrawn when they were still relatively youthful, replaced by Tayside’s final batch of Ailsas. 180 was one of the last to be withdrawn, in March 1984. The whole batch was resold by Ensign, the well-known Purfleet dealership. Three were exported to Argos Bus Service of Hong Kong (nos 175–7: the first now available as a diecast model), and one was converted into a mobile exhibition on behalf of the European Community, becoming probably the only double-decker bus ever to carry diplomatic registration plates. Others ended up with Independent, Horsforth and Osborne, Tollesbury.

180 was sold by Ensign, converted to single door configuration, to Cedar Coaches, Bedford. These pictures in Cedar ownership show it in service in Bedford and at Cedar’s depot with a similar bus new to Aberdeen Corporation. It was bought for preservation during the 1990s (seen here not long after purchase) and was added to the Society’s collection of vehicles in 2004.

Restoration

The single door conversion has been removed, and a set of exit doors rescued from a scrap Grampian Atlantean is awaiting fitment. The fibreglass assembly for the front dome and destination screen has been removed and is being repaired.

© 2007–2008 Taybus Vintage Vehicle Society. Scottish Registered Charity no. 032525