Walter Alexander CoachbuildersCompanies House extract company no SC026103
Walter Alexander (Falkirk) Limited formerly Walter Alexander & Company (Coachbuilders) Limited was a Scottish builder of bus and coach bodywork based 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 ...

. The company was formed in 1947 to continue the coachbuilding activities of W. Alexander & Sons when their bus service operation was

nationalised Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to p ...

. After several mergers and changes of ownership it now forms part of

Alexander Dennis Alexander Dennis is a British bus manufacturing company based in Larbert, Scotland. The largest bus and coach manufacturer in the United Kingdom with a 50% market share in 2019, it has manufacturing plants and partnerships in Canada, China, E ...

History

In 1913, Walter Alexander founded Alexander's Motor Service to expand upon the Falkirk & District Tramways Company's route into previously unserved

Grangemouth Grangemouth ( sco, Grangemooth; gd, Inbhir Ghrainnse, ) is a town in the Falkirk council area, Scotland. Historically part of the county of Stirlingshire, the town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, east of Falkir ...

. In 1924, believing in the future of the omnibus, Alexander established W. Alexander & Sons Limited, to run them and to manufacture bodywork for its own fleet and for sale to other operators. In 1928, several of the major British railway companies bought into the Scottish Motor Traction Company (SMT). Walter Alexander decided to sell his business to the SMT group in 1929, and through this action, received access to a vast supply of resources and services. Alexander became an in-house supplier of bodywork for the whole of the SMT group, and only a few bodies were built for other customers during this period. Coachbuilding work had initially taken place at the company's main bus garage and works in Brown Street,

Camelon Camelon (; sco, Caimlan, gd, Camlann)
is a large set ...

, but it outgrew this facility and in 1930 a bus garage in Drip Road, Stirling was converted into a dedicated coachbuilding factory, although a few bodies for Alexander's own fleet did continue to be built at Brown Street in the 1930s and '40s. In 1947, in anticipation of the newly elected Labour Government's

nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to p ...

of the SMT group's bus services, a new company, Walter Alexander & Company (Coachbuilders) Limited was formed in order to keep the coachbuilding business in private hands. Although Alexander remained the largest supplier of bodywork to what became the Scottish Bus Group, the independent company also began to broaden its customer base. The company outgrew the Drip Road premises and in 1958 it relocated to a purpose-built factory at Glasgow Road, Camelon. The coachbuilding business continued to flourish and expansion was rapid. In 1969, the company bought out Potters, a bodybuilder in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

, and set up a subsidiary Walter Alexander & Co (Belfast) Limited, and within six years started selling buses to the Far East. In 1981 the company was awarded the

Queen's Award for Export The Queen's Awards for Enterprise is an awards programme for British businesses and other organizations who excel at international trade, innovation, sustainable development or promoting opportunity (through social mobility). They are the highest ...

. By 1983, the company was the largest supplier of double-deck bus bodies in the world, and a year later it won a

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four (British ra ...

contract to construct 25 Class 143 carriages. In 1987, Walter Alexander became a publicly listed company, having previously been a private firm run by the Alexander family. The ownership of the company subsequently changed several times: In 1990 the family sold the company to Spotlaunch plc but within two years a management buyout occurred and it became a standalone company until 1995, when it was bought by the Mayflower Corporation plc. In 2001, it was incorporated into TransBus International. It is now part of

.Walter Alexander
Falkirk Wheel

Products

Walter Alexander built many different types of bodywork over 50 years, with the most famous being the Y-Type single decker.

Railcars

British Rail Class 143 The British Rail Class 143 is a diesel multiple unit railbus, part of the Pacer family of passenger trains introduced between 1985 and 1986. During the 1980s, British Rail (BR) was interested in replacing its first-generation diesel multiple ...

- on

underframe An underframe is a framework of wood or metal carrying the main body structure of a railway vehicle, such as a locomotive, carriage or wagon. See also * Chassis * Headstock * Locomotive bed * Locomotive frame A locomotive frame is the struct ...

s by Andrew Barclay *

British Rail Class 144 The British Rail Class 144 ''Pacer'' was a diesel multiple unit (DMU) passenger train built at Derby between 1986 and 1987. BR, seeking to procure improved derivatives of the earlier Class 141, placed an order with the manufacturers British Ra ...

- on underframes by

British Rail Engineering Limited British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) was the railway systems engineering subsidiary of British Rail. Established in 1970, the maintenance arm was split as British Rail Maintenance Limited in 1987, and the design and building of trains was ...

File:143610_in_July_1991.jpg,

Regional Railways Regional Railways was one of the three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982 that existed until 1997, two years after privatisation. The sector was originally called ''Provincial''. Regional Railways was the most subsidised (per pas ...

Class 143 File:Leeds_railway_station_MMB_48_144006.jpg,

Northern Rail Northern Rail, branded as Northern, was an English train operating company owned by Serco-Abellio that operated the Northern Rail franchise from 2004 until 2016. It was the primary passenger train operator in Northern England, and operated th ...

Class 144 The British Rail Class 144 ''Pacer'' was a diesel multiple unit (DMU) passenger train built at Derby between 1986 and 1987. BR, seeking to procure improved derivatives of the earlier Class 141, placed an order with the manufacturers British ...

Double-deck buses

* A type and J type - double-deck body (for

Leyland Atlantean The Leyland Atlantean is a predominantly double-decker bus chassis manufactured by Leyland Motors between 1958 and 1986. Only 17 Atlantean chassis were bodied as single deck from new. It pioneered the design of rear-engined, front entranc ...

Daimler Fleetline The Daimler Fleetline (known as the Leyland Fleetline from circa 1975) is a rear-engined double-decker bus chassis which was built between 1960 and 1983. It was the second of three bus models to have a marque name as well as an alphanumeric ...

) to 1972 * C type -lowheight double-deck body for

Albion Lowlander The Albion Lowlander was a Scottish-built low-height double-decker bus. Origins During 1960 the Scottish Bus Group faced Leyland Motors (which had absorbed Albion Motors in 1951) with a dilemma. They had bought around 180 double-decker buses ...

1961–65. * D type, K type and AD type (A for alloy) - lowheight double-deck body (mainly on Fleetline chassis) * L type and AL type - double-deck body (for Atlantean/Fleetline/VR) from 1972 * AV type - double-deck body for

Volvo Ailsa B55 The Volvo Ailsa B55 was a front-engined double-decker bus chassis manufactured in Scotland by Ailsa, Volvo's British subsidiary in which it owned 75%, from 1974 until 1985. Versions The B55 was designed with a front-mounted engine that sti ...

* R type - including RH, RL, RV, RX, RLC, RVC, RHS and Royale - post 1981 double deck body * ALX series - including ALX400 & ALX500 - low-floor bodies * CB type - for

China Motor Bus The China Motor Bus Company, Limited (), often abbreviated as CMB, is a property developer in Hong Kong. Before its franchise lapsed in 1998, it was the first motor bus operator in Hong Kong, and was responsible for the introduction of double-d ...

* KB type - for

Kowloon Motor Bus The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB) is a bus company operating franchised services in Hong Kong. It is the largest bus company in Hong Kong by fleet size and number of bus routes. It is a subsidiary of Transport International. ...

* LB type - for

New Lantao Bus The New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited, commonly known as New Lantao Bus or NLB, is a franchised bus company operating in Hong Kong. It mainly operates bus routes on Lantau Island. History NLB was formed in 1973 through the merger of three b ...

* MB type - for Manila Bus * SB type - for

Singapore Bus Service SBS Transit Limited (SBST or just SBS) () is a multi-modal public transport operator in Singapore operating bus and rail services. With a majority of its shares owned by Singaporean multinational transport conglomerate ComfortDelGro Corporatio ...

File:West Midlands PTE bus 4775 (JOV 775P) 1976 Volvo Ailsa B55 Alexander AV, Birmingham, 1982.jpg, West Midlands PTE AV type bodied

, pictured in Birmingham in 1982 File:Western Scottish SBG preserved bus Leyland Fleetline Alexander AD Type in Paisley, Renfrewshire 22 September 2006.jpg, Preserved Western Scottish AD type bodied

File:Trans-Clyde Volvo Ailsa.jpg,

Strathclyde PTE Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) is a regional transport partnership for the Strathclyde area of western Scotland. It is responsible for planning and coordinating regional transport, especially the public transport system in the are ...

RV type bodied Volvo Ailsa, pictured in Glasgow in 1984 File:DF9565.jpg,

RH type bodied

Mercedes-Benz O305 The Mercedes-Benz O305 was a single deck, double deck and articulated bus manufactured by Mercedes-Benz in Mannheim, West Germany from 1968 until 1988. It was built as either a complete bus or a bus chassis and was the Mercedes-Benz adaptatio ...

File:CtbLeyland.jpg, Citybus RH type bodied

Leyland Olympian The Leyland Olympian was a 2-axle and 3-axle double-decker bus chassis manufactured by Leyland between 1980 and 1993. It was the last Leyland bus model in production. Construction The Olympian had the same chassis and running gear as ...

Single-deck buses and coaches

* Y type - including AY and AYS types (A for alloy, S for bus specification) * W type * M type - Motorway coach for Scottish Bus Group Anglo-Scottish services * T type - including AT, TS, TC, TE (A for alloy, S for stage, C for coach, E for express) * P type * PS type - development of P type, popular with

Stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are dra ...

and

SBS Transit SBS Transit Limited (SBST or just SBS) () is a multi-modal public transport operator in Singapore operating bus and rail services. With a majority of its shares owned by Singaporean multinational transport conglomerate ComfortDelGro Corporation ...

* Strider - for full-size rear-engined chassis * AM type ** Sprint - minibus body **

Dash The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

- midibus body (for

Dennis Dart The Dennis Dart is a rear-engined single-decker midibus chassis that was introduced by Dennis Specialist Vehicles of Guildford, England in 1989, replacing the Dennis Domino. Initially built as a high-floor design, In 1996 the low-floor seco ...

Volvo B6 The Volvo B6 was a engined midibus chassis manufactured by Volvo between 1991 and 1999. It was also available as the low-entry Volvo B6LE. History In the United Kingdom, the B6 competed in the midibus market with the Dennis Dart, and with th ...

) * ALX series ** ALX100 - minibus ** ALX200 - small low-floor single-deck ** ALX300 - full-size low-floor single-deck File:LeylandLeopardAlexanderYTypeMFR306P.jpg, Preserved Y type (AYS) bodied

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 ...

on display in Blackpool in 2001 File:Stagecoach_Cumbria_%26_North_Lancashire_21007_M393VWX_(8852909977).jpg,

Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire operates both local and regional bus services in Cumbria, Lancashire, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear, England, as well as Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group, which ...

Strider bodied

Volvo B10B The Volvo B10B was a rear-engined step deck single-decker bus chassis manufactured by Volvo between 1992 and 2001. The first prototype were built in 1990, but the B10B wasn't launched until the 1992 Geneva Motor Show. It superseded the Leyland ...

File:Leven Valley Coaches minibus Mercedes Benz 709D Alexander Sprint P776 BJU Middlesbrough bus station 5 May 2009.JPG, Leven Valley Coaches Sprint bodied Mercedes-Benz 709D File:Big_Lemon_K779_DAO.jpg,

The Big Lemon The Big Lemon is a bus and coach operator in Brighton, East Sussex, Bristol and Bath. It is registered as a Community Interest Company. History The Big Lemon was founded by Tom Druitt in 2007. After gaining an operator licence, the first pu ...

PS type bodied

Volvo B10M The Volvo B10M was a mid-engined city bus and coach chassis manufactured by Volvo between 1978 and 2003. It succeeded the B58 and was equipped with the same 9.6-litre horizontally mounted Volvo diesel engine mounted under the floor behind the ...

File:Timeline_bus_(N210_WBA),_Manchester.jpg, Timeline

bodied

Alexander (Belfast) buses

* X type (unofficial title) - for

and Bristol RE * N type - for

Leyland Tiger The Leyland Tiger, also known as the B43, was a mid-engined bus and coach chassis manufactured by Leyland between 1981 and 1992. This name had previously been used for a front-engined bus built between 1927 and 1968. It replaced the Leyland Le ...

Lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, ...

, and B21 * Q type - for Leyland Tiger and

* D type - Alexander (Belfast) version of Alexander RH for

and

Volvo Olympian The Volvo Olympian was a rear-engined 2-axle and 3-axle double decker bus chassis manufactured by Volvo at its Irvine, Scotland factory. The first was built in 1992 and entered production in March 1993, replacing the Leyland Olympian. History ...

* Ultra - Alexander (Belfast) version of Swedish Säffle body for the

Volvo B10L The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...

File:Ensignbus_bus_163_(P563_SWC)_ex-Dublin_Bus_RV341_(97_D_341)_1997_Volvo_Olympian_Alexander_(Belfast),_St_Paul%27s_Cathedral,_7_October_2010.jpg,

Ensignbus Ensignbus is a bus and coach operator and bus dealer based in Purfleet, Essex. History Ensignbus was formed in 1972 by Peter Newman, who remains involved today as chairman and his sons Ross and Steve as directors. Ensignbus commenced with ...

D type bodied

File:Metro_(Belfast)_bus_2743_(LAZ_2743)_1997_Volvo_B10L_Alexander_(Belfast)_Ultra,_2_June_2011.jpg, Metro Ultra-bodied

Sources

*P.S.V. Circle (1995), ''W. Alexander & Sons Ltd; Part One 1914 to 1931 (fleet history PM14)'', P.S.V. Circle, Harrow.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Walter Alexander Dennis Coachbuilders of the United Kingdom British companies established in 1913 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1913 Companies based in Falkirk (council area) Manufacturing companies of Scotland 1913 establishments in Scotland Motor vehicle manufacturers of Scotland