The Bristol Lodekka was a half-cab low-height step-free

double-decker bus A double-decker bus or double-deck bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. They are used for mass transport in the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, Europe, Asia and also in cities such as Sydney; the best-known example is the ...

built by

Bristol Commercial Vehicles Bristol Commercial Vehicles was a vehicle manufacturer located in Bristol, England. Most production was of buses but trucks and railbus chassis were also built. The Bristol Tramways and Carriage Company started to build buses for its own use i ...

in England. It was the first production bus design to have no step up from the passenger entrance throughout the lower deck; although Gilford and

Leyland Motors Leyland Motors Limited (later known as the Leyland Motor Corporation) was a British vehicle manufacturer of lorries, buses and trolleybuses. The company diversified into car manufacturing with its acquisitions of Triumph and Rover in 1960 and 1 ...

had developed

low floor Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...

city bus A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

es in the 1930s, these did not enter production.

Design and development

The point of its design and introduction was to end the uncomfortable and inconvenient Lowbridge double-deck bus layout, replacing it by lowering the chassis frame and integrating it with the body and fitting a drop-centre rear axle, so that there were no steps from the rear entrance platform to the front of the passenger gangway, itself sunk about 10 cm (4 inches) below the seating platforms on the LDX, LD and first five LDLs. A full flat floor was developed on the last LDL, then used on the LDS and the F series Lodekkas.

Eastern Coach Works Eastern Coach WorksCompanies House extract company no 318856
...

and some of their employees obtained a number of patents relating to the design. Bristol manufactured over 5,200 Lodekkas between 1949 and 1968 as a standard double-deck vehicle for the UK state-owned bus sector. With all examples bodied by

Eastern Coach Works Eastern Coach WorksCompanies House extract company no 318856
...

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the most easterly UK settlement, it is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and sou ...

, they have a traditional half-cab design and a lower floor level allowing a low overall height. The earlier LD-series and the later FL and FS had a rear platform, but the FSF and FLF had a forward (behind the front axle and driver's position, rather than 'front' ahead of the front axle and alongside the driver) entrance. Most were powered by five- or six-cylinder Gardner engines, with a small number having a Bristol or Leyland power unit. An engineering option was designed to reduce the power loss due to engine radiator fan operation and to increase the heat available for heating of the passengers. After experiments by Wing-Commander T.R. Cave-Browne-Cave (CBC), Professor of Engineering at

Southampton University , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

, a satisfactory design was produced. The 'CBC' system involved two small engine radiators being placed above the driver's cab roof level at the front outer corners of the double deck to give maximum aerodynamic air flow. The engine coolant water was pumped around these instead of the traditional radiator. In cold weather, all or a portion of the air passing through these radiators, was diverted by flaps, the left into the upper saloon and the right to the lower deck. In hot weather, the flaps could be changed by push-pull levers in the driver's cab roof to divert all the hot air to the outside of the vehicle. The movement of the vehicle was (usually) adequate to cool the engine without the need for a fan or radiator at the traditional position in front of the engine. The traditional 'radiator' grille at the front of the vehicle was not required, but was usually retained (with a few exceptions) and blanked off behind. 'Varivane' wax capsule operated shutters were fitted in front of the upper radiators to keep the coolant at optimum temperature. There were some disadvantages to the scheme and eventually customers stopped specifying it. Bristol Lodekka FHW 158D, front, M Shed

The first prototype vehicle (chassis no. LDX001) was operated by Bristol Tramways & Carriage Company Ltd Ltd who designed and made the chassis at its 'MCW' (Motor Constructional Works) which at that time was still an integral part of the company. It was allocated fleet no
LC5000
and registered LHY 949. There is a story that the first vehicle originally had two separate

propshaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power (physics), power and torque and rotation, usually ...

s – one to each rear wheel, with the differential at the front of the vehicle. This was soon changed to incorporate the differential into the off-side gear train - a concept still used today by several international bus manufacturers.

West Yorkshire Road Car Company The West Yorkshire Road Car Company was a major bus operator operating in North Yorkshire, North and West Yorkshire between 1906 and 1987. History West Yorkshire The Harrogate Road Car Company was formed in 1906, running at first steam buses in ...

had the second prototype Lodekka (chassis no. LDX002), originally fleet number 822 but renumbered DX1 under the April 1954 renumbering scheme, registere
JWT 712
which operated in the

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...

area. It lacked the distinctively stylish fairing of the production models. This bus was displayed at the

Festival of Britain The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Historian Kenneth O. Morgan says the Festival was a "triumphant success" during which people: ...

(South Bank Exhibition) in 1951. Lodekka users in the UK included Brighton Hove & District,

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, Crosville, Cumberland, Eastern Counties, Eastern National, Hants & Dorset, Lincolnshire Road Car Co,

Red & White Services Red & White Services was a bus company operating in south east Wales and Gloucestershire, England between 1929 and 1978. Red & White evolved into Red & White United Transport Ltd, formed in 1937, which owned bus and road freight companies in ...

, Scottish Omnibuses, Southern Vectis,

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

, Luton & District, Thames Valley & Aldershot, United,

United Counties The Province of Ontario has 51 first-level administrative divisions, which collectively cover the whole province. With two exceptions, their areas match the 49 census divisions Statistics Canada has for Ontario. The Province has four types of ...

, United Welsh, West Yorkshire Roadcar Co, Western National,

Western Welsh Western Welsh was a Welsh bus operating company, based in Cardiff covering South Wales and the northern parts of the West Country. Formed in 1920, it was nationalised when the BET Group sold their bus interests to the Transport Holding Company ...

, Central SMT and Wilts & Dorset. No Lodekkas were bought by any London-based companies, but they often worked into the capital on services operated by Thames Valley and Eastern National. With the arrival of more modern "OMO" or one person operated buses, such as the

Leyland Atlantean The Leyland Atlantean is a predominantly double-decker bus A double-decker bus or double-deck bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. They are used for mass transport in the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, Europe, Asi ...

and

Bristol VRT The Bristol VR was a rear-engined double-decker bus chassis which was manufactured by Bristol Commercial Vehicles as a competitor to the Leyland Atlantean and Daimler Fleetline. Development The Bristol VR was originally designed for sin ...

(the Lodekka's successor), many Lodekkas found themselves relegated to driver training duties. The urgency with which the National Bus Company wanted to convert operations to one man operated double deck vehicles led to the unusual exchange of 91 Lodekkas of the newest FLF type with a similar number of older

Bristol VR The Bristol VR was a rear-engined double-decker bus chassis which was manufactured by Bristol Commercial Vehicles as a competitor to the Leyland Atlantean and Daimler Fleetline. Development The Bristol VR was originally designed for s ...

T (rear engined and front entrance suitable for one man operation) double decks from 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 ...

which was keen to have the more reliable older design. The exchange took place at the Carlisle (Willowholme) depot of

Ribble Motor Services Ribble Motor Services was a large regional bus operator in the North West England based in Preston. History Ribble Motor Services commenced operating in 1919, and grew to be the largest operator in the region, with a territory stretching f ...

. The Bristol Lodekka was also manufactured by

Dennis Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius. The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is someti ...

under licence, and was sold as the

Dennis Loline The Dennis Loline was a low-height double-decker bus manufactured by Dennis between 1958 and 1966. History The Dennis Loline was basically a license-built Bristol Lodekka, being primarily supplied to municipal, private sector British Electri ...

. This arrangement was necessary because the Bristol company was prohibited by law from selling its products at the time to anyone other than similar government-owned undertakings. The design, though, was attractive to other operators, so this arrangement allowed them to purchase vehicles to the same design. Sometimes the Bristol Lodekka was offered as an

open-top bus An open top bus is a bus, usually but not exclusively a double-decker bus, which has been built or modified to operate without a roof. Early buses were constructed without roofs but in more recent times they have only been built for tourist and s ...

Chassis codes

In accordance with Bristol Commercial Vehicles practice, chassis were designated by a two or three letter code, followed by the number of engine cylinders and engine manufacturer. : LDX: Low 'Decker, Experimental (the first two LD vehicles) : LD: Low 'Decker : LDL: Low 'Decker, Long (Essentially pre-production FL models - introduced when the maximum legal length of double deck buses was extended from to . Braking was improved from the earlier vacuum assisted to compressed air assisted) : LDS: Low 'Decker, Short (Essentially pre-production FS models) : FS: Flat-floor, Short length : FSF: Flat-floor, Short length, Forward entrance : FL: Flat-floor, Long : FLF: Flat-floor, Long, Forward entrance Example engine classifications : FS5G: FS with Gardner 5LW engine : FL6B: FL with Bristol BVW engine (AVW type in Bristol LD6B) : FLF6G: FLF with Gardner 6LW or 6LX engine : FLF6L: FLF with Leyland O.600 or O.680 engine

Further use

Surrey-based Top Deck Travel converted approximately 100 to "decker home" caravan standard between 1973 and 1997, and used these buses on extended tours to Europe, Asia and North America. In the early 1990s, Surrey based "Leisurelink" used a former Southern Vectis example (MDL 954) on a weekend-only tourist service, linking Gatwick Zoo (now closed),

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...

and the

Bluebell Railway The Bluebell Railway is an heritage line almost entirely in West Sussex in England, except for Sheffield Park which is in East Sussex. It is managed by the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society. It uses steam trains which operate between an ...

Some overseas operators acquired second-hand Bristol Lodekkas from the UK for further service. For example, Fok Lei Autocarro S.A of

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

operated a small number of Lodekkas between the 1970s and late 1980s. Citybus of Hong Kong operated one example in 1980s. A charter/limousine company name
Double Decker PDX
in Portland, OR operates a refurbished Bristol Lodekka. A

bakery A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based food baked in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, donuts, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who ...

in Saratoga Springs, NY, named Bettie's Cakes, operates a Lodekka as a Double Decker Cupcake Stand affectionately named DeeDee. A number of Lodekkas were used during the 1970s by the British engineering consortium

Atomic Power Construction Atomic may refer to: * Of or relating to the atom, the smallest particle of a chemical element that retains its chemical properties * Atomic physics, the study of the atom * Atomic Age, also known as the "Atomic Era" * Atomic scale, distances com ...

(APC) for transporting workers to and from work during the building and running of Dungeness A and Dungeness B nuclear power stations.

Popular culture

In popular culture, Bristol Lodekkas featured extensively in the early-1970s

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 unt ...

series ''

On the Buses ''On the Buses'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom that was broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 1969 to 1973. It was created by Chesney and Wolfe, Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe, who wrote most of the episodes. It spawned thr ...

'', with actor

Reg Varney Reginald Alfred Varney (11 July 1916 – 16 November 2008) was an English actor, entertainer and comedian. He is best remembered for having played the lead role of bus driver Stan Butler in the LWT sitcom ''On the Buses'' (1969–73) and its thr ...

driving and Bob Grant his conductor. One of these Lodekkas has been preserved. A Hungry Horse pub named The Lodekka stands near the former site of the Bristol Commercial Vehicles factory.

References

{{Commons category, Bristol Lodekka Lodekka Buses of the United Kingdom Double-decker buses Half-cab buses Low-floor buses Open-top buses

Design and development

Chassis codes

Further use

Popular culture

See also

References