I’ve got a small stash of contemporary photographs in my North America file, but to squeeze all of them into the main story page would clutter things up. So this page is a collection of extra photos which give some more detail and context.
The New York Atlanteans made their way there from Britain by sea, sailing from Liverpool. All the Olympians were shipped from Southampton.
One of the Atlanteans gets the tilt treatment. Is that man running for his life!
Atlantean D4 plies one of the less fashionable streets of Manhattan.
Atlantean D6 in rather more salubrious surroundings on 18 May 1979, loading passengers a surprising distance from the kerb. | Paul Bateson
A queue of tourists eagerly board one of the New Yorkers when working at Gray Line of San Francisco in the early 1980s. When the Olympians were delivered several were sold for further service to Gray Line of Victoria, BC, Canada.
The Americans’ fascination with red British double-deck buses may well go back to the extraordinary journey made by three new London Transport buses right cross the USA (and into Canada) between March and July 1952. One of the trio is RT 2775, a Park-Royal bodied RT seen at the British Commercial Vehicle Museum. It was fitted out with crew quarters upstairs and a workshop (with blacked out windows) downstairs. RT 2776 gave bus rides to the crowds, and RTL 1307 contained a ‘Welcome to Britain’ exhibition.
This map (propped inside the cab of RT 2775) shows just how daunting and extensive the trip was.
The University of California Davis campus has a bus operation largely run by students. It was the only place in the United States to operate double-deckers in transit service for many years, including this ex-London 1954 RT (RT 4735) seen around 1982.
Scania was one of several European firms punting their wares to the American bus market at trade shows.
The Gillig Phantom, which entered production in Hayward CA, in 1980. The story is there was a long standing rumour in the industry that Gillig was working on a transit bus, and with no sign of it transit executives would chide Gillig executives, saying, “Where’s this phantom bus of yours?” When it eventually appeared, it seemed the obvious name. | Contemporary Gillig publicity photo
Chris Hampson was a superbly talented designer and he prepared a number of studies of what a North American Olympian could look like. I imagine there was a debate about whether a three-axle bus would be the better basis for the demonstrator – looking back it might have been the wiser course given what operators tend to buy today. Heavy duty bumpers were a familiar feature of American buses in the 1980s.
We put together a sales leaflet summarising the advantages of the Olympian. Not everyone was convinced by my slogan.
The leaflet set out the basic specification. The engine was from an American firm, but the transmission was a Leyland product.
This handy brochure graphically explained why double-deckers are such a good idea. It was intended for world-wide use, but made the case for North America.
This view shows a left-hand-drive example of the Olympian chassis. The front radiator was in a more effective location than a rear-mounted one, and the perimeter frame formed a stout foundation for the body. | Basil Hancock
A worm’s eye view of the demonstrator in the UK. The distinctive nut guard on the front wheels was a familiar feature of Leyland buses over the decades. | Basil Hancock
The driver’s area on the demonstrator was a good deal neater than even that on the ADBs, being the product of ergonomic studies conducted by Leyland in the 1970s.
Product liability was a major concern for firms importing goods into America – the risk that they would be ruinously sued if anyone was injured due to a defect in the design or use of their products. It is interesting then that Leyland did not opt for a straight staircase that would be safer to negotiate than this type.
One of the many emergency exits.
The downstairs seating was certainly opulent, although the thickness of the cushions looks like it restricted legroom within facing seats.
The single step to the main floor was a major advantage compared with the Advanced Design Buses, and a lift was theoretically possible but never fitted.
The transverse rear power pack layout would be completely familiar to American mechanics, and the access is excellent.
The self-contained air-conditioning system was installed on the left hand side of the vehicle, partially under the staircase.
The appearance of the demonstrator was well-balanced all round, enhanced by the striking livery. Much use was made of the traditional Leyland scroll, adopted by Leyland Bus when it was spun out as a separate business in 1981, and a powerful and distinctive logo.
The demonstrator undergoes brake testing on different surfaces at the Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA) in 1985.
The US demonstrator is seen at work on an unidentified service in an unidentified city. Look closely and the ‘Gillig’ brand is written in the red area between the decks. | Eric Woodcock collection.
Here the US demonstrator is running in San Diego, still carrying the Dallas DART colour scheme. At this point it does not have a local licence plate. | Eric Woodcock collection.
This is actually a three-axle Olympian chassis destined for right-hand-drive Hong Kong. The image has been mirrored to give a better impression of what the Gray Line chassis would have looked like. It is quite likely that a driver would have to sit in the open on a temporary seat and drive each chassis 330 miles in any kind of weather from the Leyland plant in Lilyhall, outside Workington, to the ECW body factory in Lowestoft. | Basil Hancock
Chris Hampson produced this scheme for the livery of the Gray Line Olympians, which was enthusiastically accepted by Grosvenor Bus Lines. The drawing suggests a plug front door, which might have interfered with the front wheel if it was on full lock.
Here is Gray Line 603 at Leyland in June 1986, prior to shipping from Southampton. It does indeed have a front plug door (or possibly a hinged door), which gives a particularly good view of the nearside for the driver. | Basil Hancock
The rear quarters of Gray Line Olympian 606 were seen in 1995. Whether all the Gray Line Olympians were eventually fitted with front leaf doors like 606 here is a puzzle, given the photo of 603 above. Also, I’m not sure if the second axle was self-steering to save tyre wear.
This was a study for a commuter express coach for DART in Dallas. Note the different window treatment compared with the Gray Line graphic, showing the versatility of the body design.
The demonstrator Olympian endured being plastered with a number of all-over adverts during its time at Brampton. Exhibit 1 is from 1996. There should be laws against this kind of thing. Notice the bizarre polished wheel trims. | Paul Bateson
Exhibit 2 from 1997 is even worse. Who on Earth designed it? | Paul Bateson
Stripped down to its base colour at Brampton in 2006, these photos show off the details of the ECW body. The asymmetric front glider leaf doors are clear to see. At some point clips were added to the window frames, apparently to make sure the windows could not pop out. Whether this followed such an event I do not know. | City Sightseeing Toronto
An offside view of the Olympian working on City Sightseeing duties in Toronto in August 2016. The grille for the air conditioning system is clearly visible. It must have been turned off otherwise the bus – with no roof – would be valiantly trying to cool down the entire city! | Paul Bateson
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