The Plaxton Derwent 3000 was a
step entrance 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 ...
body
Body may refer to:
In science
* Physical body, an object in physics that represents a large amount, has mass or takes up space
* Body (biology), the physical material of an organism
* Body plan, the physical features shared by a group of anima ...
built by
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 manu ...
. It was introduced in 1986, and is not related to the earlier body which was built between 1962 and 1977, with the same name.
Around 250 were built, almost four times as many as its predecessor, the Plaxton Bustler, over a similar number of years.
It was built mainly on
mid-engined
In automotive engineering, a mid-engine layout describes the placement of an automobile engine in front of the rear-wheel axles, but behind the front axle.
History
The mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive format can be considered the original layout of ...
chassis, although a small number of Scania K93
-engined chassis were also bodied. The most common chassis was the
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 ...
, largely due to orders from the
UK military
The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, su ...
for over a hundred, some of which were
left-hand drive
Left-hand traffic (LHT) and right-hand traffic (RHT) are the practices, in bidirectional traffic, of keeping to the left side or to the right side of the road, respectively. They are fundamental to traffic flow, and are sometimes referred to ...
. Other chassis were the
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 ...
(including short
wheelbase
In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...
examples); some of the last
Bedford Y series to enter service;
Dennis Javelin; and around fifteen secondhand
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 being rebodied.
The Derwent 3000 was superseded by the
Plaxton Verde
The Plaxton Verde was a high-floor, step-entrance rigid bus, full-size single-decker bus Coachwork, body built by Plaxton between 1991 and 1997. It was built on a rear-engined chassis, the most popular of which was the Dennis Lance which accoun ...
from 1991.
Body numbering
In the pre-1989 system of body numbers, the Derwent 3000 initially took the code D1B. This later became L2B, presumably to avoid confusion with the Paramount 4000, which also used the letter D. For military vehicles, MOD was used instead.
In the post-1989 system, the letters E and F identified the Derwent.
Naming
The number 3000 in the model's name refers to its approximate height in millimetres (like the
Paramount
Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to:
Entertainment and music companies
* Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
3200, 3500 and 4000).
The model was initially launched as the Derwent II, even though the numeral II had already been used for the previous Derwent model between 1966 and 1977.
See also
*
List of buses
Year refers to the first year introduced. A range of years is the period the bus was manufactured.
#
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
...
External links
*
*
{{Plaxton
Derwent 3000
Single-deck buses
Step-entrance buses
Vehicles introduced in 1986