Leyland National: books - history, models and technology

The Leyland National

The Leyland National was conceived as a joint venture between British Leyland and the National Bus Company to replace all the rear-engined single-deckers in the British Leyland Group - the AEC Swift, Leyland Panther, Daimler Roadliner, single-deck Daimler Fleetline, and Bristol RE.

The Leyland National was built at a new factory at Lillyhall in Cumbria and had several novel features, including integral construction, a sophisticated heating and ventilation system that meant a rear pod on the roof, and a turbocharged 8.3-litre horizontal Leyland engine.

Most Leyland Nationals were 10.3 or 11.3 metres long and the first was delivered to Cumberland Motor Services in March 1972, registered ERM 35K.
Over 7,000 Leyland Nationals were built, but it never achieved its full production targets due to the advent of one-person-operated double-deckers. The last Leyland National was registered C49 OCM and delivered to Halton Transport in November 1985.

Utilising their fantastic collections of previously unpublished images, Peter Horrex and Robert Appleton pay tribute to this popular and iconic chariot of the people.

The Leyland National (Nostalgia Road)

It is only since the start of the new century that the National has ceased to be an everyday sight on our streets. Its varied and colourful history is illustrated in this pictorial tribute to the marque, being captured by the camera in a range of hues from the original Poppy Red or Leaf Green, to bright pink and multi-coloured versions. The fleets pictured vary from great undertakings like Crossville, Midland Red and United, to the smallest of independent operators.

The London LS : The Leyland National Bus in London Service

Dissatisfied with the reliability of its AEC Merlin and Swift single-deck buses, London Transport in 1973 purchased six Leyland Nationals for evaluation. Liking what it saw of this ultimate standard product, where even the paint swatch was of Leyland s choice, LT took up an option to buy 50 more from a cancelled export order and then bought further batches of 110, 30 and 140 to bring the LS class to 437 members by the middle of 1980. A year later the last MBAs and SMSs were replaced on Red Arrow services by sixty-nine new Leyland National 2s.

Straightforward but reliable, the LS satisfied London Transport's single-deck needs for a decade and a half, often standing in for double-deckers when needed, and then going on to help hold the fort during the tough years of early tendering, during which some innovative LS operations introduced several new liveries and identities.

The type served the 10 years expected out of it with few worries, only starting to disappear when minibuses came on strength at the end of the 1980s. Although the LS was formally retired by 1992, refurbishment programmes gave survivors an extended lease of life, bringing us the National Greenway, the ultimate development of the Leyland National.
Most of the Red Arrow National 2s thus became GLSs, and lasted until 2002.

Matthew Wharmby is an author, photographer and editor specialising in London bus history.