The Wright Crusader was a

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 on

Dennis Dart SLF 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 se ...

Volvo B6LE 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 ...

and

Volvo B6BLE The Volvo B6BLE was a 5.5-litre engined low-entry midibus chassis manufactured by Volvo between 1999 and 2001, with three unfinished or unsold chassis being bodied in 2004 and 2005. History The Volvo B6BLE was presented in November 1998 as a rep ...

chassis by

Wrightbus Wrightbus is a Northern Ireland based bus manufacturer and a pioneer of the low-floor bus. The company was established in 1946 by Robert Wright and was later run by his son William Wright, until it was acquired in 2019 by British businessman ...

between 1995 and 2002.

First generation (1995–2000)

The Wright Crusader was introduced in 1995, replacing the Wright Handybus. Early Crusaders have tall, square-cornered or gasket side windows and a shallow roofline, similar to their predecessor. Most had a double-curvature windscreen. Following the construction of one prototype and a demonstrator, the first production batch of Crusaders, on B6LE chassis, were delivered to Mainline in October 1995. The first Dennis Dart SLF Crusaders were delivered to London United in September 1996.Wright Crusader
Bus Lists on the Web Of the 425 first generation Crusaders produced, 154 were on Dennis Dart SLF chassis and 272 on Volvo B6LE chassis. Travel West Midlands purchased 149 B6LEs, subsidiary

Travel Merry Hill Travel Merry Hill was a bus operator in the West Midlands. It was a subsidiary of National Express. History In 1988, the Merry Hill Minibus company was formed by the former owners of the Merry Hill Centre, Richardson Developments. Originall ...

took a further 23. GM Buses North purchased 46, while Australian operator

ACTION Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

purchased 25 Darts.

Second generation (1999–2002)

The second generation Crusader, known as the Crusader 2, was introduced in 1999 on

chassis, the successor to the B6LE. In contrast to early first generation Crusaders, all Crusader 2s have shallower windows with a deeper panel above, bringing them in line with other

designs like the

Endurance Endurance (also related to sufferance, resilience, constitution, fortitude, and hardiness) is the ability of an organism to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from an ...

and

Pathfinder Pathfinder may refer to: Businesses * Pathfinder Energy Services, a division of Smith International * Pathfinder Press, a publisher of socialist literature Computing and information science * Path Finder, a Macintosh file browser * Pathfinder ( ...

; some of the later built first generation Crusaders shared this characteristic however, making the two designs indistinguishable except for the different chassis. It retained its double-curvature windscreen. The first Crusaders 2s were delivered to Mainline in April 1999; the delivery included one rebodied B6LE with prototype Crusader 2 bodywork, as well as nine newly built Crusader 2s. Of the 267 Crusader 2s produced,

FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.Arriva Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.Dublin Bus Dublin Bus ( ga, Bus Átha Cliath) is a State-owned bus operator providing services in Dublin. By far the largest bus operator in the city, it carried 138 million passengers in 2019. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann. ...

52.Wright Crusader 2
Bus Lists on the Web

Gallery

File:Volvo bus in First Group livery.jpg, Wright Crusader 2 bodied

File:Avon Buses Volvo B6 10.JPG, Wright Crusader bodied

, showing well the original body style with square cornered windows. File:Transdev Yellow Buses 152 VDZ 8003 rear 2.JPG, Wright Crusader bodied

rear

References

* Millar, Alan (2007) ''Bus & Coach Recognition'' : Ian Allan Ltd.,

External links

{{Wrightbus, state=collapsed Low-floor buses Midibuses Vehicles introduced in 1995 Crusader