wheels

Up to the 1970s most operators in the UK kept the rings, on Leylands and AECs particularly, and left them part unpainted and shining, as seen in these photos. The exception was London Transport, which unaccountably painted over the rings on their AEC buses. In the course of the 1970s, most operators abandoned rings and discs and just had bare wheels, presumably for ease of maintenance.

763

Until the 1950s, Leyland nut-guard rings were just that, covering the wheel nuts, and the wheel centres were exposed. On the Worldmaster and Tiger Cub in the 1950s, Leyland introduced discs which covered the wheel centres as well, like those on the Olympians shown. PD2s and PD3s were generally supplied with rings up to the end of production in the late 1960s, while all new types from 1958 onward, Atlanteans, Leopards and Panthers, had the discs. In the 1980s the Olympian, Tiger and Royal Tiger appeared with discs. Notice that the ring part of the discs on 757 and 763 is wider and flatter than the one on 759. This variety was only supplied in the mid 1980s. The rounder version on 759 is the same as on older chassis.

Leyland lorries until the 1960s and buses until the 1970s were nearly always supplied with hub caps on the rear wheels, as shown on Tiger 71 here. Until the 1980s all Edinburgh and Lothian buses continued to have these. Lothian then stopped using them on Atlanteans and Olympians, but they were retained on the Tigers in the coach fleet and the Lynxes.

71, rear wheel

Notice the paint layout on this hub cap, the same as on PD2s of the early 1950s. Across the red area in the middle of the hub cap casting is the script name 'Leyland'. Along with the front discs, these selectively painted hub caps really benefit the appearance. Whether management or a paint-shop foreman who believes in design, someone is due thanks for maintaining a municipal tradition from half a century ago into the new millennium.

web hosting • domain names
web design • online games