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London Transport’s Last Buses: Leyland Olympian L1-263
£9.50
The Olympian was Leyland’s answer to the competition that was threatening to take custom away from its second-generation OMO double-deck products. Simpler than the London Transportcentric Titan but, unlike that integral model, able to respond to the market by being offered as a chassis for bodying by the bodybuilder of the customer’s choice, the Olympian was an immediate success and soon replaced both the Atlantean and Bristol VRT as the standard double-decker of the NBC. It wasn’t until 1984 that London Transport itself dabbled with the model, taking three for evaluation alongside trios of contemporary double-deckers.The resulting L class spawned an order for 260 more in 1986, featuring accessibility advancements developed by LT in concert with the Ogle design consultancy, but the rapid changes engulfing the organisation meant that no more were ordered. During the 1990s company ownerships shifted repeatedly as the ethos of competition gave way to the cold reality of big business, an unstable situation which even saw London’s bus operations broken up.The L class was split between three new companies, but the backlog of older vehicles to replace once corporate interests released funding ensured the buses up to a further decade in service. Finally, as low-floor buses swept into the capital at the turn of the century, Olympian operation at last declined, and the final examples operated early in 2006.This profusely illustrated book describes the diversity of liveries, ownerships and deployments that characterised the London Leyland Olympians’ two decades of service.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Pen & Sword Transport (29 Feb. 2016) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| File size | 21341 KB |
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled |
| Screen Reader | Supported |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Not Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
| Sticky notes | On Kindle Scribe |
| Print length | 260 pages |
by Lesopc
Once again Matthew Wharmby has provided another fantastic insight, this time into the careers of LT’s L class Leyland Olympian’s. Full of information useful to anyone who remembers these vehicles.
by John Howden
For the LT enthusiast a good volume
by NH
The cover price is £19.99 – not £30.00
by Amazon Customer
This book provides a good amount of information about London Transport’s ECW bodied Leyland Olympians. Giving a history of the class from introduction into service with London Transport through to it’s break up and privatisation into separate operators. Written text and informative captions, provide information such as routes operated and garage allocations, all against a background of changing route tenders. A large number of colour photographs are also included, showing these vehicles in numerous places, including one or two involved in some mishaps to one on a much more rural summer only service. Photographic reproduction is generally good, though some are more reasonable, this likely to being the position of the sun or low light levels when photo was taken. The photographs show a lot of different liveries carried such as golden jubilee, the fairly short lived Cowie South London, and some liveries when sold on to other operators. Depending on price paid a good value book.
by Capital Citybus
Good book on a recent class of London bus. Comprehensive but there are some below quality pictures and the text is a bit subjective at times drifting from fact into opinions that are not always clearly based on reality such as on vandalism in S London and the curtailing of long routes into Central London
by Mick Walsh
Good book detailing the allocations & use of the L class bus predominantly in south London. Good pictures throughout from their London Transport to private corporate ownership days.
by little
Excellent in every way. Good pictures and words.
by Mike Harris
Good book, but not impressed with Amazon’s misleading information. The listing details state that this hardback book has 192 pages, but in fact has only 112 pages, so it’s not as good value as you might think. ‘nil points’ Amazon!!