The Ford R series was a range 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

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...

, built by

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

that evolved from designs made by

Thames Trader The Thames Trader was a range of trucks manufactured by Ford UK built between 1957 and 1965. Forward Control models Design The distinctive cab design, which sets it apart from other British commercial vehicles, was a forward-control (or semi-for ...

until the mid-1960s. A number of components were shared with the D-series lorry, including the engine which was mounted vertically at the front of the vehicle, ahead of the front

axle An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearing ...

so as to provide a passenger entrance opposite the driver. The original R192 and longer R226 models later became the R1014 and R1114 variants (nominally 10 and 11 metres long respectively with 140 bhp engines) which with constant revision and upgrading had become R1015 and R1115 by the mid-1980s. In an attempt to lower the floor height of the vehicle, the

turbocharged In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

was tilted over to one side around 1978.

Synchromesh transmission A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission system, where gear changes ...

was fitted as standard but some later examples were equipped with

Allison Allison may refer to: People * Allison (given name) * Allison (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Eugene Allison Smith (1922-1980), American politician and farmer Companies * Allison Engine Company, American aircraft engine ...

automatic gearboxes to ease the driver's workload in urban areas. It ceased production in 1985.

Hyundai Hyundai is a South Korean industrial conglomerate ("chaebol"), which was restructured into the following groups: * Hyundai Group, parts of the former conglomerate which have not been divested ** Hyundai Mobis, Korean car parts company ** Hyundai ...

licensed this bus to 'R Bus' in 1970s.
''보배드림'' 20 April 2006

Popularity

In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

the design was popular during the 1970s, when considerable financial assistance was available to operators for fleet renewal, but following the election of the

Conservative Government Conservative or Tory government may refer to: Canada In Canadian politics, a Conservative government may refer to the following governments administered by the Conservative Party of Canada or one of its historical predecessors: * 1st Canadian Mi ...

in 1979, the

subsidy A subsidy or government incentive is a form of financial aid or support extended to an economic sector (business, or individual) generally with the aim of promoting economic and social policy. Although commonly extended from the government, the ter ...

money began to dry up causing demand for full-size buses and coaches to decline and the last R series was built around 1986. Front-engined buses have generally fallen out of favour in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, as new accessibility requirements favour rear- or side-engined designs so a low front entrance can be provided. Few examples of the Ford R series remain in current passenger use, but many have gone on to second lives as

mobile homes A mobile home (also known as a house trailer, park home, trailer, or trailer home) is a prefabricated structure, built in a factory on a permanently attached chassis before being transported to site (either by being towed or on a trailer). Us ...

and stock car transporters.

Major users

A significant user of the type was Jersey Motor Transport, who, during the 1970s and 1980s, purchased little else. Its fleet consisted 100% of this bus model for several years during this period, and was chosen because of the manufacturer's willingness to supply chassis of non-standard width and length to suit local size limits. Many of these vehicles received bodywork by Duple whose narrow-width Dominant also found buyers on other chassis in the UK, but earlier examples were constructed by Willowbrook and later versions by

Wadham Stringer Wadham Stringer was an English ambulance and bus manufacturer. History Wadham Stringer was formed when Wadham merged with Stringer Motors in 1968. It was a distributor for Morris cars and British Leyland commercial vehicles. It also was an Aus ...

. JMT also had a number of longer and wider examples, which had started life in the late 1960s with Trimdon Motor Services in

North East England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authorit ...

: these

Plaxton Plaxton is an English builder of bus and coach vehicle bodies based in Scarborough. Founded in 1907 by Frederick William Plaxton, it became a subsidiary of Alexander Dennis in May 2007. In 2019, the maker was acquired by Canadian bus manufac ...

-bodied buses required special dispensation to operate on the island, being restricted to certain services where the roads could accommodate them. All were sold for further use after a few years. A similar model was used by the

Inner London Education Authority The Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) was an ad hoc local education authority for the City of London and the 12 Inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990. The authority was reconstituted as a directly elected body corpor ...

school bus A school bus is any type of bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district. It is regularly used to transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter bus or transit bus ...

es.

References

External links

Ford R series brochure
{{Ford of Europe R series Bus chassis Buses of the United Kingdom Coaches (bus) Step-entrance buses Vehicles introduced in 1965