Daimler Bus and Coach Books - History and Models

Daimler Coaches in Colour

The Daimler Company was one of the oldest established builders of PSV chassis in the United Kingdom and enjoyed a reputation for quality and innovation, particularly with the fluid flywheel. From the earliest charabancs on solid tires, through the half-cab front-engined CVD6 and underfloor-engined Freelines to the rear-engined Roadliner, Daimler continued to prove their reputation was well earned.
Ownership of the company changed several times over the years, until they were finally absorbed into the British Leyland empire, sealing their fate and eventual demise.

With over 100 color images, this title provides insight into the history of Daimler throughout the years.

The London DMS Bus

Prohibited by circumstances from developing its own rear-engined Routemaster (FRM) concept, London Transport instituted comparative trials between contemporary Leyland Atlanteans and Daimler Fleetlines for double-deck one-man-operation.
The latter came out on top, and massive orders followed, the first DMSs entering service on 2 January 1971.
In service, however, problems quickly manifested. Sophisticated safety features served only to burn out gearboxes and gulp fuel.
The passengers, meanwhile, did not appreciate being funnelled through the DMS's recalcitrant automatic fare-collection machinery only to have to stand for lack of seating. Boarding speeds thus slowed to a crawl, to the extent that the savings made by laying off conductors had to be negated by adding more DMSs to converted routes!

Second thoughts caused the ongoing order to be amended to include crew-operated Fleetlines (DMs), noise concerns prompted the development of the B20 'quiet bus' variety, and brave attempts were made to fit the buses into the time-honoured system of overhauling at Aldenham Works, but finally the problems proved too much.
After enormous expenditure, the first DMSs began to be withdrawn before the final RTs came out of service, and between 1979 and 1983 all but the B20s were sold - as is widely known, the DMSs proved perfectly adequate with provincial operators once their London features had been removed.

This book describes the whole history of the Daimler DMS series. The B20 DMSs finally did survive to something approaching a normal lifespan, but the new cheap operators awakening with the onset of tendering made use of the type to undercut LT, and it was not until 1993 that the last DMS operated.

Daimler Fleetline

Produced between 1960 and 1980 the Daimler Fleetline was the Coventry-based Daimler's design of rear-engined predominantly double-deck bus produced to compete with the slightly earlier Leyland Atlantean. During the 20 years that the model was produced, several thousand examples were constructed.
The single biggest customer for the type was London Transport, which acquired some 2646 examples following on from the earlier XF order. Other major customers included Birmingham Corporation/West Midlands PTE, which acquired more than 1000 examples including the first of the type to be bodied as single-deckers, and Greater Manchester PTE, which acquired more than 500.

The type was also to see widespread use in BET Group companies and with subsidiaries of the Scottish Bus Group. As a result a large number were to pass to the National Bus Company when the remaining BET Group operators were nationalised.
A significant number of the type were also to be exported, with Hong Kong a particularly lucrative market both for new buses - China Motor Bus for example taking 336 between 1972 and 1980 - and later for second-hand ex-London Transport examples. Although it's now almost 30 years since the last of the type was built, a handful can still be found in service whilst other examples have entered preservation.
This volume provides a complete history of the Daimler Fleetline, from inception to final retirement and beyond. Fully illustrated throughout with an attractive array of photographs and memorabilia.