Ship-Shape & Bristol Fashion

With its 1949 designed Lodekka nearing the end of its shelf life, and being unsuitable for one person operation, Bristol’s VR was designed by the company as a competitor to the Leyland Atlantean and Daimler Fleetline which were the leaders in the one-man-operated double-decker market. The VR was designed to accept either single or double-deck bodywork. Engine choices were Gardner 6LX or 6LW units or the Leyland O.600 and transmission was a 5 speed semi-automatic unit. Although originally designated the N-type, the chassis became known as the Bristol VR, an abbreviation for Vertical Rear, a reference to the layout of the engine which was positioned longitudinally behind the offside rear wheels, as opposed to transversely, which was the norm. Two lengths were available, 32ft 9in and 36ft, and these were designated VRS and VRL respectively. The chassis itself was broadly based on the FLF Lodekka but to keep the height of the vehicle down a drop-centre rear axle and low frame were utilised . Two prototypes were built in spring 1966, and were shown at the 1966 Commercial Motor Show. The prototypes had 80-seat ECW bodies and both entered into service the following year. One, GGM431D, with Central SMT and the other, GHW933D, with firstly, Mansfield District and subsequently Bristol Omnibus. In July 1967 the company introduced the VRT, with a more conventional transverse-engined layout. At this time the chassis also became exclusively a double-decker and two frame heights were available. The longitudinal mounted version remained, and became known as the VRL. However, the 1968 bus grant, intended to modernize the British bus fleets and speed the introduction of one-man operation, specified a transverse rear-engined vehicle, with the result that few VRLs were produced. The first production VRs entered service with Eastern Scottish in December 1968. Problems were experienced with the transmission and overheating of the engine. Co-incidentally, similar problems had occurred in early versions of both the Leyland Atlantean and Daimler Fleetline. A large number of the initial production versions entered service with the Scottish Bus Group. Continued reliability issues resulted in 1973 in the exchange of 91 Bristol VRTs from Central SMT, Eastern Scottish and Western SMT for front-engined Bristol Lodekka FLF6Gs from the National Bus Company. An updated version was introduced in 1970, designated Series 2, with changes including the replacement of the one-piece engine compartment door with a 3 piece version with a lift up rear section and swing out sides. Later series 2s were fitted with a wrap around windscreen as opposed to the flat screen of previous vehicles. In 1974 the Series 3 was introduced, with the main changes being to the engine compartment to keep in line with new noise legislation, the most visible change being to move the ventilation grills from alongside the engine to higher up, just below the top deck windows, connected to the engine compartment by trunking, plus the removal of the grilles from the rear engine compartment door. The short, lowheight version, became the standard vehicle for the National Bus Company. The VRT remained in production until 1981, by which time 4531 had been built.
Later versions of the VR proved reliable, and some remain in service with independent bus operators across the U.K whilst many have been exported to other countries. Although the overwhelming majority of VRs built carried ECW bodies, other manufacturers products were by no means uncommon on the chassis. Numerous examples were bodied by Northern Counties, Alexander and East Lancs, and to a lesser extent, Willowbrook. The ECW body featured a distinctive rounded rear upper deck, a throwback to the company’s bodywork on the Lodekka. In the main, buses were generally built in the two heights set out in the bus grant standards, 13ft 8in and 14ft 6in. Other versions were built, including the 13ft 10in convertible open-toppers for companies such as Hants & Dorset, Southdown and of course Devon General‘s “Warships“. In further posts I will review the VRs of Western National & Devon General