The Alexander Y Type was a long-running design of
single-decker bus
A single-decker bus or single-decker is a bus that has a single deck for passengers. Normally the use of the term ''single-decker'' refers to a standard two- axled rigid bus, in direct contrast to the use of the term double-decker bus, which ...
and
single-decker intercity bus
An intercity bus service (North American English) or intercity coach service (British English and Commonwealth English), also called a long-distance, express, over-the-road, commercial, long-haul, or highway bus or coach service, is a public tr ...
bodywork built by
in
Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
, Scotland. It was built on a wide range of chassis between 1962 and 1983. A small number were built at
Alexander
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
's
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
subsidiary.
From 1971 it became the AY Type (with the A signifying alloy construction) or AYS Type (with the S signifying service bus specification), although in common usage all are referred to simply as Y Type.
Chassis
The majority of Y Type bodies were fitted to
Leyland Leopard
The Leyland Leopard was a mid-engined single-decker bus and single-decker coach chassis manufactured by Leyland between 1959 and 1982.
History
The Leyland Leopard was introduced in 1959. It was developed from the Leyland Tiger Cub, one of ...
chassis, and most were built for the
Scottish Bus Group
The Scottish Bus Group (SBG) was a state-owned group of bus operators covering the whole of mainland Scotland.
The origin of the grouping was the operators owned by and including the Scottish Motor Traction company, which were transferred to ...
and its predecessors.
Other customers
As can be seen from the table above, SBG was by far the biggest customer, buying over 86% of the total output of Y Types. However other customers also existed, amongst these being the
North Western Road Car Company with 75 Leopards and 30 Bristol REs, Venture of Consett with 32 Leopards and 12 Reliances, Lancaster City Council with 26 Leopards, and
Potteries Motor Traction
First Potteries is a bus company based in Stoke-on-Trent operating services in North Staffordshire, England. It is a part of First Midlands and a subsidiary of FirstGroup.
History
The company began life as Potteries Motor Traction. As part ...
with 25 Reliances.
External links
Preserved Ex Clydeside Scottish Leyland Leopard Bus Website
{{Walter Alexander bodies
Y
Buses of the United Kingdom
Intercity buses
Single-deck buses
Step-entrance buses
Vehicles introduced in 1962