I absolutely loved the National, the ultimate single decker in my eyes, trouncing any others, even those who stand by the RE and REL (I do appreciate many mechanics had a different view). I go to the occasional bus show when I can, even now I can't help but be attracted to that distinctive clatter of that National engine either on starting, idling, or starting off on a round-town drive.
I used to work for Chase, have nothing but superb memories driving these buses around. Agricultural as they were, I don’t ever recall having a breakdown. I’m still a bus driver to this day and still wish I was driving the National
They maintained them well (they needed to) and had fixed the engine's casting flaws making them more reliable than before. You were lucky to get to drive for them. Annoyingly one driver was on a RUclips clip murdering one by downchanging the gears too low causing the engine to rev super fast.
@@jamesfrench7299 yes there were a few that did that. Not very mechanically sympathetic at all 🤦🏼♂️ I come from a family of mechanics and understand only too well how one treats a gearbox and engine 👌 but some of the drivers at the time really should have stuck to Automatics 🤦🏼♂️
@@jamesfrench7299now that’s discipline 👌 I wish we had that then. I’ve always been very mindful of my passengers then and now. Think from a passenger point of you. If I was a passenger I’d want as smoother ride as possible. I drive as I would want be driven 👌
@@superade1000 they simply couldn't afford needless gearbox failures. Parts were getting scarcer for these still daily used old buses and they were not swimming in cash. They even had 2100 rpm max labels on the rev counters as the horizontal 760 motors were known for cracking their crankshafts over revving.
Love the National. Went to school on the Mk 1 every day in the ‘80’s. The rattle and clag from the engine lives with me to this day, and the spinning fan in the grille on the back end used to fascinate. Best wishes, Chris.
My favourite bus. Probably because I grew up when they were the most common single deckers around, inc where I live which was prime Midland Red, then Midland Red West, territory. I can still hear that distinctive engine sound of the National 1 in my head!
The local bus comany where I was raised (Hyndburn Transport) completly escaped the National, opting for Lepards mostly. Although Pilkigtons and Ribble had a lot. Loved the scream of the original National engine. Traveling to Blackpool on a National sitting on the back seat was lively indeed. the National was so successful they even made it to the national rail network. The post-privatisation Ribble livery really suited the National.
I loved Leyland Nationals when I was a kid! I loved the noise, and they SOUNDED much faster than the other buses even if they probably weren't. However, they obviously had their flaws - they may have tested them in the Arctic Circle and in Spain, but they didn't do much real life testing in actual UK bus operations. The mk2 was clearly a much better bus (and I did love the deeper growl they made), but it was too late by then.
I love a National but also the Enviro200MMC is a lovely looking bus I think. There’s nothing to dislike the Enviro200MMCs imo. Each to their own I suppose.
This is an incredible video! I’ve been on the hunt for a history that digs deep into the history of the National for ages! Fantastic work and YES PLEASE to a further video regarding all the mad and wonderful variations they made and the further history of the Leyland National! 👌👌👌
What a great bus, I used to love driving these in the 80's for West Riding, We had one that had a Volvo engine in and a small steering wheel, 192 was the fleet number. that bus could outrun pigeons!!!! good times, badge no 85887.
I remember Nationals when they replaced Swifts at Hounslow. At the time we hated them although they had great acceleration. Now, they're buses with character.
@@DaveInBridport I always remember the National being described as the most advanced single decker bus in the world. And now they're being restored by blokes in sheds.
Another first class instalment ! Even if practicalities dictated much of the design Michelotti's styling touches were so perfectly executed they elevate the first production Nationals to objects of elegant beauty. Your photograph of the different marks drawn up on parade only emphasises that fact.
My local bus company (when it was on the go) used to run these. One was going up past my house one day, it gave 3 massive bangs and stopped 😂 Another time, the engine cover fell off one on the way up the road, and the driver never noticed. My mum stood at the side of the road and held it out as he came back down, it was like something out of on the buses lol
Interesting memories there. I always remember they seemed to have door issues. Either not working, one only working or them getting easily blown open in the wind.
@jakeyb2003 happy memories. Like most people of a certain era I can remember the smells and sounds clearly. Sure wish public transport was like that now!
@@kevinburns5762 I'm sure it is to people who've grown up with SLF Darts and Tridents and even E200s. Remember when our generation was mocked for wanting to preserve VRs and Nationals?
Thank you so much! I didn't know anything about buses before I started driving them, but I was told the first bus I drove, before I was assigned a driving instructor and vehicle, was a Leyland National. It looked nothing like the bus that had briefly taken me to school in the 80's, and didn't look like a MKII either. All I had been told was that it was a "Facelift". It was a Greenway, like the London General pictured, and probably HPF310N. That answers a question that I've had for years.
The National became my fav when I was around 20, mainly because they seemed like a tank - chunky, and really noisy when being thrashed along Devon's roads!
I'm in Scotland ...I remember Nationals from the mid 80s both in my school run and as service buses I saw out and about. I preferred the type 2 and I think it was the Daf engine with it's pleasing clunk clunk idle and underload " thrum" over the Type 1 rattle. There is a restoration project in Glasgow involving LN18 , ex Strathclyde buses and Millport Motors . It's been getting slowly restored by volunteers at Glasgow Vintage vehicle Trust
@@gordonsmith3706 Hi Gordon. Thanks for commenting. I must admit, the Mk 1 National has more nostalgic memories for me but the Mk 2 and the Greenways are a much better drive. It can be hard work restoring a National with all the tin worm. Hats off to them.
Hi i'm viatron from Sheffield, this was the first integral bus video featuring the Leyland National series 1 & 2 & what followed it soon afterwards. It were the replacement type known as the Leyland Lyinx version which it was more boxier than the standard Leyland National type which many bus operators around the UK had pressed into service such as West Riding in Wakefield, West Yorkshire what includes the very short lived Sheffield & District in 1987 until they were replaced by second hand Leyland Nationals from West Riding in exchange when it were taken over by Shefline. But another classic bus histories will also feature an integral rear engined double deck bus known as the M.C.W. Metrobus what many bus operators around the UK such as West Midlands P.T.E. who had a very large fleet of them via with many of them are now in preservation including at the bus museum at wythall near Birmingham, West Midlands & that's another type of bus what will feature on this very special series. Thanks for your co-operation on this subject of integral buses on youtube with more episodes to come in the near future. From David Viatron Esquire of crookes in Sheffield. So hold very tight please: DING! DING!
A couple of significant features of the Leyland National were things thst passengers probably appreciated because of what wasn't there! Air suspension removed lots of harshness from the ride; and the flat-six configuration of the 510 engine made it almost entirely vibration-free. Basically, they were very comfortable buses from the passenger's point of view; and if you didn't like the engine noise, you could sit at the front, where it was much more muted.
The number 24 was almost always one of these to take me to and from school. I liked the one that took me home best. Would be really interested to hear more on the disability mobility side of things with these and other buses. And that jumbo Ambulance with hover craft sounded like something from the Usborne book of the future.
@@OneSwitch Yes the Lifeliner ambulance looked amazing and such a good idea. I couldn't believe it when I found out it had been rebuilt as a normal bus.
I've just watched this video & it is Totally Amazing the Leyland National is my favourite bus ever I totally love the sound of the Leyland National. I'd love 2 C a video about the Leyland Olympian it's my favourite Double Decker ever especially the ECW bodied Olympian & I love the sound of it aswell
Love these old things reminds me of getting the bus home from school.. deafening things if you sit at the back jolty when the gears changed liked the sound of the them though nice old diesel sound you don’t hear anymore
Like others below I grew up in the 70s. Went to school on an Alder Valley Leyland National, I do recall them being very noisy at the rear (where the hard guys were!), so you had to shout. We lived near a steep hill, I went to bed to the sound of the LN screeching up there.
Thank you doe documentary near-perfection - much appreciated. The distinctive whine and rattle of the TL510 was part of childhood. Happy memories - school days in Hampshire and DP versions running along the Hogs Back to my university (Sunday nights via a half-hour freeze in Aldershot Bus Station). Yes please to "the variants".
Giovanni Michelotti. Both the double "n" and double "t" are actually pronounced as long consonants, so with a very brief pause, and the "ch" is pronounced as a "k" sound. That's what the "h" is for. Without it, it would be a "ch" sound (as in "Cheshire").
A very good overview. I liked these buses and was sad to see them phased out. Talking to the CEO of an ex-NBC company though, he said it messed up their financial planning as they were too thirsty on fuel and too big for many rural routes with low passenger demand. He had wanted to stick with lower spec Bristols but was over-ruled by NBC.
@@philevans9980 Thanks Phil. Glad to enjoyed it. Very interesting what you say, I think the NBC era was the start of the accountants running the bus industry to be honest.
Very well done summary of (as you say) a Marmite bus. Eons ago I lived in Worthing (Southdown territory) and Mk1s were every other bus so the clatter and whine of the 0.510 is still familiar. I'm glad you mentioned the 10.9m version exported to Oz (where I now live) - they were few and far between in Sydney but the ACT (Canberra) had them and AFAIK Brisbane had a few. NZ (another established export market for British buses) wasn't on the export list because they wanted Leyland to supply the RE chassis which they had terrific service from - Leyland, of course, refused, so NZ came up with some hybrid buses like the Hess-bodied RE with the 0.510 engine. I'll shut up now. Cheers 👍
Dear Jake you did miss out 2 or more bus companies, you mist out Alder Valley, Guildford & West Surrey, and London & Country but perhaps you could mention them some other time. Despite i really enjoyed the clip. ( you also missed Reading/Newbury buses . Regards Barry
Hi Barry. I made up for it not mentioning Alder Valley in this video by mentioning them a lot in this one! ruclips.net/video/ZYREHcztn_s/видео.htmlsi=UrV2hPoBWkUSEZ6x
Excellent video Jake, comprehensive and detailed. I went up to the Workington plant a few times, it really was an excellent facility with state of the art equipment for bus manufacture and an excellent workforce. However it was not a good decision commercially to build the plant in Workington, we had to ship engines, gearboxes and axles up there, a two hour minimum drive. Plant should have been built in Leyland adjacent to the LAP (new truck plant). Also it did not help sales because of Leyland's reluctance to specify Gardner engines. I understand wanting to be all Leyland but obviously Gardner was generally the preferred engine for bus operators no operators really wanted the Leyland 500 engines, neither did truck operators either.
More about the National variants please. SYPTE had an easy access one, marketed as ‘The Kneeling National’ and also one with wheelchair ramp access via the rear door. Is it true that Southern Vectis didn’t want the National but NBC forced them on them? Excellent video again - really liking this series.
Great informative video! As a bus driver in the '70s, I drove mainly RE's and Mk1 Nationals, and the odd VR. I found that the Nationals were terrible in the wet, and the non self-centering steering had no feel, so the RE was a better bus to drive in my opinion!
I am into old cars. Am just getting into old motorcycles. I am seriously considering an old tractor. I have occasionally thought about an old bus. But now, no bus without it's own hovercraft will ever do!
I drove the first and last Nationals registered in Scotland. They were in the AA Buses fleet in Ayrshire. The first National was XSD789L, and the last was C112GSJ, both sadly scrapped. The biggest improvement must've been around 75 or 76 when they were fitted with anti roll bars. It transformed the handling completely. The AA Buses fleet was known as the Green Buses. I loved driving them, but later drove Leopards which were brilliant to drive, but not so good for passengers due to the high steps. Very interesting video though.
Watch the tail swing! Many a driver used to a decker then was given a National to drive forgot that there was a large bit of bus hanging out past the rear wheels...
Nothing beats a bunch of these on a cold start in a yard on a cold winters morning, producing Leyland Fog.... I prefer the 680 engine, however the 510 is pretty dam good.
I rather enjoyed this video The Leyland National is one of my all time favorite buses Both our local companies operated them Northampton Transport ran the 2 door model while United Counties ran the single door model
Started by hating these Nationals, they replaced the Marshall bodied AEC Reliances on the 7 route from Herne Bay garage at East Kent., Now, some 50 years later I have warmed to them, often trying get a ride on one at bus events, but I still prefer AEC Regents and Leyland PD’s. Great video.👍
Great video, very good series, can't wait for the next one! The National was overall a very solid bus, many happy memories. Must have had hundreds of journey's in London and then Eastern Counties when I moved to Cambs. The doors on the mark 1s never seemed to work though! :D The Greenway though is further proof that East Lancs designers must have been blind, all their designs fell out of the ugly tree and hit all the branches on the way down.
Southern Vectis service 38 saved my little legs many a time getting from the beach at Shanklin back into town. Sometimes the driver would let me off at Fiveways when the lights were red.
fantastic video I was eagerly awaiting when the National would be the topic of a video. As a child of the 80s these were my childhood into my mid teen years. I've always loved the National mk1 with the 510 engine 👌 I loved the sound of the engines and the ride.. stood out from other buses on the roads back then. With regards to the roof pods, not only were they for heating etc buf if i remember correctly passengers could smoke in the rear, past the step and glass partition windows. In the early 90s my home town Milton Keynes was the adopted home of out of town company R&I buses under the franchise name Inter MK. I believe (may be wrong) was when NBC went into privatisation which meant out of town companies would compete against the other offering cheaper fares etc.. R&I ran a batch of Mk 1s with a smart paint scheme and were named after western movie characters. One mk1 I remember was fully automatic and thus was much quieter, another had semi coach seating, They also had some ex/leased West Midlands Travel National mk2. As mentioned in the video I'd be very interested to hear more about the Nationals with regards to the use of Gardner and Volvo engines. Keep up the good work with the very interesting and informative classic bus videos 👏🖒
Thanks, I'm glad you liked the video. Yes you're right about the smoking. If I remember rightly, the air recirculated via the back of the saloon and pumped all the cigarette smoke around the interior!
Awesome video and channel Jake very informative thank you and who can forget how these went on to become basis of famous pacer train 😂 keep up awesome work ❤
Great Video. Lots on the Wirral in their day run by Crossville. Very futuristic for their time. Great lean on the bends and the dentist drip like sound that comes raterearly on in the rev range. Keep up the good word sir!
the mid-late 90s Lothian regional transport had acquired most national buses for the incoming bus fare war with first bus. first are no longer around in Edinburgh and LRT now Lothian buses who put profit back into the business and training are huge, going strong and expanded when first pulled out
Great video, I really appreciate all the tech stats and detail, very well researched! Many thanks. ❤👍P.s Giovani Micholotti,( I know I've not spelt his name correctly), also worked for Standard Triumph, and was responsible for styling the Triumph Herald and pretty much the rest of the range too.
Very nice Video as I got to User this type of bus as a tourist in London. According to ny memory, they were in service between Paddington and Victoria, or was it Euston ...anyway between Londonrailwaystations, being called RedArrows
although i passed my test in a vrt i did a couple of days on a national.and unlike the vrt i did manage to drive one in service.i still have an original brochure featuring a pic of a yorkshire woollen one
Maybe check out the very varied and wonderfully colourful, full bus advert Nationals that ran on the Isle of Man, for Manx National Transport , as it was back then….👍👌🇮🇲
A couple of questions regarding the National. Firstly did any independent UK operators (ie not NBC or municipal) buy them new? Also why was the National 2 not called National 3 given there had been a phase 2 National?
I could be wrong here but the only independents I can think of are the Scottish Bus co-operatives (I'm sure they bought new Nationals), AERE at Harwell and British Airways. I do stand to be corrected if I'm wrong though. There was in fact a Mk3 National, normally a Mk1 that had been rebuilt with a new interior, new engine and sometimes a face-lifted front end.
You ask if there's interest in more in depth videos on the many variants. There's a bear in the woods question. The ACTION example with the long pod 22:37 was one of the early batch from 1974, the majority being with the short pod delivered during 1975. 20 or so of the 50 short pods recieved 11.4 litre MAN/Voith DIWA transplants in the late 1980s. I loathed the London Greenways when I saw them but now think they're quite a good looking bus and am glad at least one has been preserved.
A MAN Voith National must be an interesting and smooth version? We had MAN single deckers at Stagecoach about 10 years ago and they were quite nice. Almost like a single deck Metrobus!
@@JakeSCOC I imagine so. 20 years ago I drove MAN Sl202s with 3 speed Voith DIWA 851.2 gearboxes and D2566UH engines which were a reworked version of the engines the ACTION Nationals got and were very smooth with a very nice note. Nice hub reduction axles. The MAN in the AEC Swift I mentioned before (mo5013) was from the same engine family. That had a Renk Doromat gearbox. A three speed that sounds like a two speed and with a different retarder whine to the Voith.
cracking video please can you help me how many did mansfield district traction have of the leyland national in service i would be greatful if you would help please many thanks chris hales from mansfield
It would be good to see history of operatora etc, my local fleets were wmpte, midland red west, ludlows and birmingham coach company, ludlows reengined theirs for sure
The Nationals were effortless to drive, especially liked driving the D/P Nationals which had semi coach seats and a higher speed axle. The B series short Nationals didn't have the same character IMO.
Would you know if any of the buses was sent to northern ireland or ireland, i think NIR over here had a rail bus build on a national body work would love to see the video of all different types of nationals,
Not no issues with these, they did their job etc (Though I preferred the Plaxton's Barton Transport had), that was until British Rail decided to turn these into the much hated Pacer! Big user of these in my area, was Nottingham City Transport (NCTX), whom also did a number of unique things, especially with their Leyland Atlantean's.
I'd like as many vids on the National as possible, and the re-engine one would be good, especially the pros and cons of each engine and why if the 510 engine was so bad why didn't London Transport change the engines
I guess the poor fuel economy of the 510 engine as mentioned by a guy who got to drive the Super National on his channel @ 9MPG 😲 plus the fixed head caused issues regarding maintenance etc
The Leyland National did not do it for me. Seen everywhere, they proved popular with operators. London Transport chose to bring in the Leyland National to remove mainly the Swift SM family single decker types. They also replaced DMSs on some routes. The Nationals served their purpose getting customers from A to B more reliably than the Swift vehicle types they replaced. The MK1 LSs were noisy vehicles. I don't hold these vehicles with much affection. The LS was functional. It proved fit for purpose. And that's it. London Transport saw the type as a necessity. As already stated they were there to rid the Swifts from the streets and of course onto routes with physical restrictions. The Leyland Nationals cannot be denied as being part of bus history but I did not see them as nice vehicles.
I thought the Leyland National (and Pacer train) was built at Whitehaven and not Workington. I’ve actually been round the factory and it is just outside Whitehaven
@@paulnolan1352 Well what’s that factory near Whitehaven then ? I was at LN51 at Whitehaven and there were trips to the factory. I’m sure it was just outside Whitehaven. Thanks for the correction tho. That’s opened up a bit of a mystery now.
Between the two, but much closer to Workington (about 2.5 miles) than Whitehaven (5.5 miles). Factory became an Eddie Stobart depot but I believe it now stands empty.
@@vincitveritas3872 No such thing as a daft question if you don't know the answer. No, Nationals were either semi auto (which on some types of buses can look like a preselect control) or fully automatic. Semi auto you change gears like a car but there's no clutch.
As a retired SBG driver of 35 years I didn’t have much experience of the National but I must admit of the few I did drive I was not all that impressed with them preferring the Alexander Y Type. The only National we had that I did k Like was retrofitted with a 680 engine and the difference was like night and day.
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
I absolutely loved the National, the ultimate single decker in my eyes, trouncing any others, even those who stand by the RE and REL (I do appreciate many mechanics had a different view). I go to the occasional bus show when I can, even now I can't help but be attracted to that distinctive clatter of that National engine either on starting, idling, or starting off on a round-town drive.
I used to work for Chase, have nothing but superb memories driving these buses around. Agricultural as they were, I don’t ever recall having a breakdown. I’m still a bus driver to this day and still wish I was driving the National
They maintained them well (they needed to) and had fixed the engine's casting flaws making them more reliable than before. You were lucky to get to drive for them. Annoyingly one driver was on a RUclips clip murdering one by downchanging the gears too low causing the engine to rev super fast.
@@jamesfrench7299 yes there were a few that did that. Not very mechanically sympathetic at all 🤦🏼♂️ I come from a family of mechanics and understand only too well how one treats a gearbox and engine 👌 but some of the drivers at the time really should have stuck to Automatics 🤦🏼♂️
@@superade1000 here in Oz there was a bus operator that ran 7 AEC Swifts that sacked any driver caught flat changing the semi automatics.
@@jamesfrench7299now that’s discipline 👌 I wish we had that then. I’ve always been very mindful of my passengers then and now. Think from a passenger point of you. If I was a passenger I’d want as smoother ride as possible. I drive as I would want be driven 👌
@@superade1000 they simply couldn't afford needless gearbox failures. Parts were getting scarcer for these still daily used old buses and they were not swimming in cash. They even had 2100 rpm max labels on the rev counters as the horizontal 760 motors were known for cracking their crankshafts over revving.
Love the National. Went to school on the Mk 1 every day in the ‘80’s. The rattle and clag from the engine lives with me to this day, and the spinning fan in the grille on the back end used to fascinate. Best wishes, Chris.
I am not the only one who used to look at the fan spinning in the offset rear end then as a kid.
One of the first of the modern buses. I think nearly every feature seen here can be seen on today's buses.
Totally agree there.
My favourite bus. Probably because I grew up when they were the most common single deckers around, inc where I live which was prime Midland Red, then Midland Red West, territory. I can still hear that distinctive engine sound of the National 1 in my head!
I drove Nationals for years and loved them, would love to see more
The local bus comany where I was raised (Hyndburn Transport) completly escaped the National, opting for Lepards mostly. Although Pilkigtons and Ribble had a lot. Loved the scream of the original National engine. Traveling to Blackpool on a National sitting on the back seat was lively indeed. the National was so successful they even made it to the national rail network. The post-privatisation Ribble livery really suited the National.
I loved Leyland Nationals when I was a kid! I loved the noise, and they SOUNDED much faster than the other buses even if they probably weren't. However, they obviously had their flaws - they may have tested them in the Arctic Circle and in Spain, but they didn't do much real life testing in actual UK bus operations. The mk2 was clearly a much better bus (and I did love the deeper growl they made), but it was too late by then.
In good condition they were actually quite fast
I definately think the 0.680, L11 and DAF engine were the loudest types depending on how the exhaust was routed!
I remember us having wheelchair accessible Nationals in Hull in the very smart ‘Kingstonian’ livery.
Quite a few Nationals were converted to carry wheelchairs. Nice memories
the national has a timeless look about it, and still looks modern even today, better than any enviro 200!
I love a National but also the Enviro200MMC is a lovely looking bus I think. There’s nothing to dislike the Enviro200MMCs imo. Each to their own I suppose.
This is an incredible video! I’ve been on the hunt for a history that digs deep into the history of the National for ages!
Fantastic work and YES PLEASE to a further video regarding all the mad and wonderful variations they made and the further history of the Leyland National! 👌👌👌
Thanks for your kind words. I'm glad you liked the video.
What a great bus, I used to love driving these in the 80's for West Riding, We had one that had a Volvo engine in and a small steering wheel, 192 was the fleet number. that bus could outrun pigeons!!!! good times, badge no 85887.
I remember Nationals when they replaced Swifts at Hounslow. At the time we hated them although they had great acceleration. Now, they're buses with character.
@@DaveInBridport I always remember the National being described as the most advanced single decker bus in the world. And now they're being restored by blokes in sheds.
I loved driving Leyland Nationals,I think they're great buses!
Oh yeah, I'd love to see a vid on all the weird and wonderful mutations on the Leyland National theme!
Thank you, and yes to a full length version of all the types!
Love to see similar video of the Leyland lynx
I will see what I can do in the future.
Used to love travelling on the MK1 & 2 but always MK1 in Manchester livery
Another first class instalment ! Even if practicalities dictated much of the design Michelotti's styling touches were so perfectly executed they elevate the first production Nationals to objects of elegant beauty. Your photograph of the different marks drawn up on parade only emphasises that fact.
I'm glad you liked it. The National is certainly a classic.
Ch in Italian is pronounced ck as in Mickelotti
My local bus company (when it was on the go) used to run these. One was going up past my house one day, it gave 3 massive bangs and stopped 😂
Another time, the engine cover fell off one on the way up the road, and the driver never noticed. My mum stood at the side of the road and held it out as he came back down, it was like something out of on the buses lol
Interesting memories there. I always remember they seemed to have door issues. Either not working, one only working or them getting easily blown open in the wind.
@jakeyb2003 happy memories. Like most people of a certain era I can remember the smells and sounds clearly. Sure wish public transport was like that now!
@@kevinburns5762 I'm sure it is to people who've grown up with SLF Darts and Tridents and even E200s. Remember when our generation was mocked for wanting to preserve VRs and Nationals?
I'd love a series of different types of Leyland Nationals..
The red 141 to Nottingham was usually a Leyland National. We also had green ones more locally with the extra side door. Spent many an hour on them.
Thank you so much! I didn't know anything about buses before I started driving them, but I was told the first bus I drove, before I was assigned a driving instructor and vehicle, was a Leyland National. It looked nothing like the bus that had briefly taken me to school in the 80's, and didn't look like a MKII either. All I had been told was that it was a "Facelift".
It was a Greenway, like the London General pictured, and probably HPF310N. That answers a question that I've had for years.
Glad you liked it and found it interesting. Lovely bus to drive.
The National became my fav when I was around 20, mainly because they seemed like a tank - chunky, and really noisy when being thrashed along Devon's roads!
They've certainly gained a cult following over the years Graham.
Love the Leyland national....wonder how many survived
@@UOO303T must be a few hundred around still in various states of repair. I would think the Leyland National group would have that answer.
Got my PSV licence in a semi auto full length National. Lovely to drive once you got the hang of the gear shifts.
I'm in Scotland ...I remember Nationals from the mid 80s both in my school run and as service buses I saw out and about. I preferred the type 2 and I think it was the Daf engine with it's pleasing clunk clunk idle and underload " thrum" over the Type 1 rattle.
There is a restoration project in Glasgow involving LN18 , ex Strathclyde buses and Millport Motors .
It's been getting slowly restored by volunteers at Glasgow Vintage vehicle Trust
@@gordonsmith3706 Hi Gordon. Thanks for commenting. I must admit, the Mk 1 National has more nostalgic memories for me but the Mk 2 and the Greenways are a much better drive.
It can be hard work restoring a National with all the tin worm. Hats off to them.
Hi i'm viatron from Sheffield, this was the first integral bus video featuring the Leyland National series 1 & 2 & what followed it soon afterwards. It were the replacement type known as the Leyland Lyinx version which it was more boxier than the standard Leyland National type which many bus operators around the UK had pressed into service such as West Riding in Wakefield, West Yorkshire what includes the very short lived Sheffield & District in 1987 until they were replaced by second hand Leyland Nationals from West Riding in exchange when it were taken over by Shefline. But another classic bus histories will also feature an integral rear engined double deck bus known as the M.C.W. Metrobus what many bus operators around the UK such as West Midlands P.T.E. who had a very large fleet of them via with many of them are now in preservation including at the bus museum at wythall near Birmingham, West Midlands & that's another type of bus what will feature on this very special series. Thanks for your co-operation on this subject of integral buses on youtube with more episodes to come in the near future. From David Viatron Esquire of crookes in Sheffield. So hold very tight please: DING! DING!
A couple of significant features of the Leyland National were things thst passengers probably appreciated because of what wasn't there! Air suspension removed lots of harshness from the ride; and the flat-six configuration of the 510 engine made it almost entirely vibration-free.
Basically, they were very comfortable buses from the passenger's point of view; and if you didn't like the engine noise, you could sit at the front, where it was much more muted.
The number 24 was almost always one of these to take me to and from school. I liked the one that took me home best.
Would be really interested to hear more on the disability mobility side of things with these and other buses. And that jumbo Ambulance with hover craft sounded like something from the Usborne book of the future.
@@OneSwitch Yes the Lifeliner ambulance looked amazing and such a good idea. I couldn't believe it when I found out it had been rebuilt as a normal bus.
My Father drove Leyland Nationals in Melbourne, Australia, in the 1980s.
Would love to hear the story about the beginnings of Optare. If I was told correctly, it is a great story, and they are doing brilliantly these days.
Yes please, variations on Nationals would be a great follow up video. The sound and smell of going to school
Slough bus garage had nothing but nationals when I was young been a bus driver for four years now would love to drive one ahhhh memories
We don't realise we drive the classics of tomorrow!
I've just watched this video & it is Totally Amazing the Leyland National is my favourite bus ever I totally love the sound of the Leyland National. I'd love 2 C a video about the Leyland Olympian it's my favourite Double Decker ever especially the ECW bodied Olympian & I love the sound of it aswell
Glad you liked it Alan. The Oly is definitely on the list.
Love these old things reminds me of getting the bus home from school.. deafening things if you sit at the back jolty when the gears changed liked the sound of the them though nice old diesel sound you don’t hear anymore
Like others below I grew up in the 70s. Went to school on an Alder Valley Leyland National, I do recall them being very noisy at the rear (where the hard guys were!), so you had to shout. We lived near a steep hill, I went to bed to the sound of the LN screeching up there.
My favourite bus without a doubt. Drove many for Lincolnshire Road Car in the 70s & 80s
Thank you doe documentary near-perfection - much appreciated. The distinctive whine and rattle of the TL510 was part of childhood. Happy memories - school days in Hampshire and DP versions running along the Hogs Back to my university (Sunday nights via a half-hour freeze in Aldershot Bus Station). Yes please to "the variants".
Thanks for your kind words. Glad you enjoyed it.
That was fascinating. Did the bodywork design, influence the later Titan Buses?
Yes it did. And the cab layout too.
Giovanni Michelotti. Both the double "n" and double "t" are actually pronounced as long consonants, so with a very brief pause, and the "ch" is pronounced as a "k" sound. That's what the "h" is for. Without it, it would be a "ch" sound (as in "Cheshire").
A very good overview. I liked these buses and was sad to see them phased out. Talking to the CEO of an ex-NBC company though, he said it messed up their financial planning as they were too thirsty on fuel and too big for many rural routes with low passenger demand. He had wanted to stick with lower spec Bristols but was over-ruled by NBC.
@@philevans9980 Thanks Phil. Glad to enjoyed it.
Very interesting what you say, I think the NBC era was the start of the accountants running the bus industry to be honest.
i have been on leyland nationals with different operators in the past i do remember going a lot on the hartlepool transport ones
Very well done summary of (as you say) a Marmite bus. Eons ago I lived in Worthing (Southdown territory) and Mk1s were every other bus so the clatter and whine of the 0.510 is still familiar. I'm glad you mentioned the 10.9m version exported to Oz (where I now live) - they were few and far between in Sydney but the ACT (Canberra) had them and AFAIK Brisbane had a few. NZ (another established export market for British buses) wasn't on the export list because they wanted Leyland to supply the RE chassis which they had terrific service from - Leyland, of course, refused, so NZ came up with some hybrid buses like the Hess-bodied RE with the 0.510 engine. I'll shut up now. Cheers 👍
I'm glad you liked the video. It's a shame that the National killed off the RE as it had great potential to be even better than it already was.
@@JakeSCOC Thank you for the replies. You could (with a following wind) argue that the National 2 was essentially an updated RE ;)
@@taxus750 I could see that. Bit like had Leyland designed the RE from the outset...
Say what you like about the Leyland National it was a nice bus to drive. I have been working on the buses since 1974.
Dear Jake you did miss out 2 or more bus companies, you mist out Alder Valley, Guildford & West Surrey, and London & Country but perhaps you could mention them some other time. Despite i really enjoyed the clip. ( you also missed Reading/Newbury buses . Regards Barry
Hi Barry. I made up for it not mentioning Alder Valley in this video by mentioning them a lot in this one!
ruclips.net/video/ZYREHcztn_s/видео.htmlsi=UrV2hPoBWkUSEZ6x
Excellent video Jake, comprehensive and detailed. I went up to the Workington plant a few times, it really was an excellent facility with state of the art equipment for bus manufacture and an excellent workforce. However it was not a good decision commercially to build the plant in Workington, we had to ship engines, gearboxes and axles up there, a two hour minimum drive. Plant should have been built in Leyland adjacent to the LAP (new truck plant). Also it did not help sales because of Leyland's reluctance to specify Gardner engines. I understand wanting to be all Leyland but obviously Gardner was generally the preferred engine for bus operators no operators really wanted the Leyland 500 engines, neither did truck operators either.
@@WaterlooBlue Thanks George. I'd have loved to have had a wander around the Leyland National plant.
More about the National variants please. SYPTE had an easy access one, marketed as ‘The Kneeling National’ and also one with wheelchair ramp access via the rear door.
Is it true that Southern Vectis didn’t want the National but NBC forced them on them?
Excellent video again - really liking this series.
Thanks, I'm glad you liked the video. Yes I think a lot of companies, given the choice would have stuck with the Bristol RE.
Great informative video! As a bus driver in the '70s, I drove mainly RE's and Mk1 Nationals, and the odd VR. I found that the Nationals were terrible in the wet, and the non self-centering steering had no feel, so the RE was a better bus to drive in my opinion!
Glad you liked it. Yes I must admit I prefer the RE too. The one I drove had much more power than a National.
I am into old cars. Am just getting into old motorcycles. I am seriously considering an old tractor. I have occasionally thought about an old bus. But now, no bus without it's own hovercraft will ever do!
It's so very James Bond isn't it?
Great video as always. Very interesting.
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.
I drove the first and last Nationals registered in Scotland. They were in the AA Buses fleet in Ayrshire. The first National was XSD789L, and the last was C112GSJ, both sadly scrapped. The biggest improvement must've been around 75 or 76 when they were fitted with anti roll bars. It transformed the handling completely. The AA Buses fleet was known as the Green Buses. I loved driving them, but later drove Leopards which were brilliant to drive, but not so good for passengers due to the high steps. Very interesting video though.
Nice memories. Glad you liked the video.
Watch the tail swing! Many a driver used to a decker then was given a National to drive forgot that there was a large bit of bus hanging out past the rear wheels...
The embarrassing moment you have to walk back to pick up the bumper and then take the bus out of service....
Ah, the good old "Clack-Clacks" as I called them! Who remembers that "Clack...Clack...Clack..Clack..Clack.Clack.Clack Clack" on starting?
Then everything disappeared into a cloud of smoke!
Nothing beats a bunch of these on a cold start in a yard on a cold winters morning, producing Leyland Fog.... I prefer the 680 engine, however the 510 is pretty dam good.
Hi Jake, great videos and just about to sub….yes please for a variants video, all top stuff. Cheers and keep em coming 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Glad you're enjoying the videos. Stay tuned for more of the same...
I rather enjoyed this video The Leyland National is one of my all time favorite buses Both our local companies operated them Northampton Transport ran the 2 door model while United Counties ran the single door model
Glad you liked it Keith.
Good history, good remember ❤😂😅.
Started by hating these Nationals, they replaced the Marshall bodied AEC Reliances on the 7 route from Herne Bay garage at East Kent., Now, some 50 years later I have warmed to them, often trying get a ride on one at bus events, but I still prefer AEC Regents and Leyland PD’s. Great video.👍
Thanks Michael
Great video, very good series, can't wait for the next one!
The National was overall a very solid bus, many happy memories. Must have had hundreds of journey's in London and then Eastern Counties when I moved to Cambs. The doors on the mark 1s never seemed to work though! :D
The Greenway though is further proof that East Lancs designers must have been blind, all their designs fell out of the ugly tree and hit all the branches on the way down.
Thanks Darren. Glad you liked it. Yes I remember the Mk1 doors getting easily blown open. Seemed very temperamental.
@@JakeSCOC Yes they had to replace the doors on the Class 142 Pacer railcars based on the Leyland National...
Southern Vectis service 38 saved my little legs many a time getting from the beach at Shanklin back into town. Sometimes the driver would let me off at Fiveways when the lights were red.
Us Vectis drivers are a friendly bunch 😉
fantastic video I was eagerly awaiting when the National would be the topic of a video. As a child of the 80s these were my childhood into my mid teen years. I've always loved the National mk1 with the 510 engine 👌 I loved the sound of the engines and the ride.. stood out from other buses on the roads back then.
With regards to the roof pods, not only were they for heating etc buf if i remember correctly passengers could smoke in the rear, past the step and glass partition windows.
In the early 90s my home town Milton Keynes was the adopted home of out of town company R&I buses under the franchise name Inter MK. I believe (may be wrong) was when NBC went into privatisation which meant out of town companies would compete against the other offering cheaper fares etc.. R&I ran a batch of Mk 1s with a smart paint scheme and were named after western movie characters. One mk1 I remember was fully automatic and thus was much quieter, another had semi coach seating, They also had some ex/leased West Midlands Travel National mk2.
As mentioned in the video I'd be very interested to hear more about the Nationals with regards to the use of Gardner and Volvo engines.
Keep up the good work with the very interesting and informative classic bus videos 👏🖒
Thanks, I'm glad you liked the video. Yes you're right about the smoking. If I remember rightly, the air recirculated via the back of the saloon and pumped all the cigarette smoke around the interior!
Awesome video and channel Jake very informative thank you and who can forget how these went on to become basis of famous pacer train 😂 keep up awesome work ❤
@@LadySophieofHougunManor7325 Glad you liked it 👍🏼
Great Video. Lots on the Wirral in their day run by Crossville. Very futuristic for their time. Great lean on the bends and the dentist drip like sound that comes raterearly on in the rev range. Keep up the good word sir!
Thanks Russell, glad you liked it.
My favourite bus
the mid-late 90s Lothian regional transport had acquired most national buses for the incoming bus fare war with first bus.
first are no longer around in Edinburgh and LRT now Lothian buses who put profit back into the business and training are huge, going strong and expanded when first pulled out
Great video, I really appreciate all the tech stats and detail, very well researched! Many thanks. ❤👍P.s Giovani Micholotti,( I know I've not spelt his name correctly), also worked for Standard Triumph, and was responsible for styling the Triumph Herald and pretty much the rest of the range too.
Thanks David.
We had Mk 1s at Catford bus garage in London all ways having trouble with cold cab heating
The first production National 2 was LAG 188V new to East Yorkshire
It later ran with East Midland and is now preserved.
Excellent presentation, I really enjoyed it.
How about one on the Metropolitan?
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it. Now that's a very good choice, Metropolitan is a great bus.
They certainly are.😊
Very nice Video as I got to User this type of bus as a tourist in London. According to ny memory, they
were in service between Paddington and Victoria, or was it Euston ...anyway between Londonrailwaystations, being called RedArrows
Yes that's right regarding the Red Arrows. Glad you liked the video.
The Class 141 used bus width roof panels whilst the Class 142 needed wider roof panels.
although i passed my test in a vrt i did a couple of days on a national.and unlike the vrt i did manage to drive one in service.i still have an original brochure featuring a pic of a yorkshire woollen one
Maybe check out the very varied and wonderfully colourful, full bus advert Nationals that ran on the Isle of Man, for Manx National Transport , as it was back then….👍👌🇮🇲
A couple of questions regarding the National. Firstly did any independent UK operators (ie not NBC or municipal) buy them new? Also why was the National 2 not called National 3 given there had been a phase 2 National?
I could be wrong here but the only independents I can think of are the Scottish Bus co-operatives (I'm sure they bought new Nationals), AERE at Harwell and British Airways. I do stand to be corrected if I'm wrong though.
There was in fact a Mk3 National, normally a Mk1 that had been rebuilt with a new interior, new engine and sometimes a face-lifted front end.
Please do one on the production of the Vanhool Aitzee coach (the 1980s-1990s)
Now that was a comfortable coach.
What about a vid on the leyland lynx??
National Greenways also had Volvo engines fitted as well as Gardners
P.S. If you've got the time and inclination, I'd like to see a potted history of one of the National's predecessors, the Bristol RE. Please 🙏
I'm definitely going to do one on the RE later on 👍🏼
You ask if there's interest in more in depth videos on the many variants.
There's a bear in the woods question.
The ACTION example with the long pod 22:37 was one of the early batch from 1974, the majority being with the short pod delivered during 1975. 20 or so of the 50 short pods recieved 11.4 litre MAN/Voith DIWA transplants in the late 1980s.
I loathed the London Greenways when I saw them but now think they're quite a good looking bus and am glad at least one has been preserved.
A MAN Voith National must be an interesting and smooth version? We had MAN single deckers at Stagecoach about 10 years ago and they were quite nice. Almost like a single deck Metrobus!
@@JakeSCOC I imagine so. 20 years ago I drove MAN Sl202s with 3 speed Voith DIWA 851.2 gearboxes and D2566UH engines which were a reworked version of the engines the ACTION Nationals got and were very smooth with a very nice note. Nice hub reduction axles. The MAN in the AEC Swift I mentioned before (mo5013) was from the same engine family. That had a Renk Doromat gearbox. A three speed that sounds like a two speed and with a different retarder whine to the Voith.
Really enjoying the series. Top stuff!
Glad to hear you're enjoying it.
cracking video please can you help me how many did mansfield district traction have of the leyland national in service i would be greatful if you would help please many thanks chris hales from mansfield
It would be good to see history of operatora etc, my local fleets were wmpte, midland red west, ludlows and birmingham coach company, ludlows reengined theirs for sure
blackpool transport had 4 leyland nationals but they never get mentioned in its history and non are preserved but may still exist somewhere
Great video jake, another video on them would be great
Thanks for your kind words. Glad you liked it.
The Nationals were effortless to drive, especially liked driving the D/P Nationals which had semi coach seats and a higher speed axle. The B series short Nationals didn't have the same character IMO.
yes a part 2 please!
I drove Nationals. I hated the fully automatic gearboxes they had a rough change. Favourite was the TL11 engine ones they were great.
Russians only don’t like your government, but we like British people and of course British engineering - not only buses and coaches but cars also)
@@digitalvintage2416 All the Russians I have met have been lovely. In fact, many years ago, I went out with a Russian lady!
@@JakeSCOC Russians mostly lovely with lovely people :) Funny, my granny went out with Scottish guy called Nick, so he become my grandpa)))
Would you know if any of the buses was sent to northern ireland or ireland, i think NIR over here had a rail bus build on a national body work would love to see the video of all different types of nationals,
I think one demonstrator was sent over but it didn't catch on.
Not no issues with these, they did their job etc (Though I preferred the Plaxton's Barton Transport had), that was until British Rail decided to turn these into the much hated Pacer!
Big user of these in my area, was Nottingham City Transport (NCTX), whom also did a number of unique things, especially with their Leyland Atlantean's.
I'd like as many vids on the National as possible, and the re-engine one would be good, especially the pros and cons of each engine and why if the 510 engine was so bad why didn't London Transport change the engines
I guess the poor fuel economy of the 510 engine as mentioned by a guy who got to drive the Super National on his channel @ 9MPG 😲 plus the fixed head caused issues regarding maintenance etc
The Leyland National did not do it for me. Seen everywhere, they proved popular with operators.
London Transport chose to bring in the Leyland National to remove mainly the Swift SM family single decker types. They also replaced DMSs on some routes.
The Nationals served their purpose getting customers from A to B more reliably than the Swift vehicle types they replaced.
The MK1 LSs were noisy vehicles.
I don't hold these vehicles with much affection. The LS was functional.
It proved fit for purpose. And that's it. London Transport saw the type as a necessity. As already stated they were there to rid the Swifts from the streets and of course onto routes with physical restrictions. The Leyland Nationals cannot be denied as being part of bus history but I did not see them as nice vehicles.
Is it me or do "podless Nationals" Not quite Look right? (From East Kent all we had was National's with Pods
We did Ed and at first they do take a bit of getting used to.
@@JakeSCOC however after the takeover by a certain "Stripey" Liveried company East Kent gained a B Series and a National 2 the "2" was a "JCK"
@@edbridges1164 I was living away at this time Ed. I remember the EAP Bristol VRs which were around the same time I believe.
@@edbridges1164 plus there was the Q reg on the port contract too!
@@JakeSCOC we also got a Centre staircase Bristol VR ex Southdown AAP
Nice
I thought the Leyland National (and Pacer train) was built at Whitehaven and not Workington.
I’ve actually been round the factory and it is just outside Whitehaven
No, they were built at Lillyhall Workington, the Building is still there.
@@paulnolan1352 Well what’s that factory near Whitehaven then ?
I was at LN51 at Whitehaven and there were trips to the factory. I’m sure it was just outside Whitehaven.
Thanks for the correction tho. That’s opened up a bit of a mystery now.
Between the two, but much closer to Workington (about 2.5 miles) than Whitehaven (5.5 miles). Factory became an Eddie Stobart depot but I believe it now stands empty.
Where they pre select gears? Sorry if daft question only just got into buses
@@vincitveritas3872 No such thing as a daft question if you don't know the answer. No, Nationals were either semi auto (which on some types of buses can look like a preselect control) or fully automatic. Semi auto you change gears like a car but there's no clutch.
@@JakeSCOC thank you 👍
When did they change the corrosion protection?
I believe from the Phase 2...
Feeder bus from Sandwich - was the pun intended?
Can't avoid a good pub... Depends which pub? The Red Cow?
@@JakeSCOC bloody autocorrupt....now corrected
@@neiloflongbeck5705 Damn. I was just getting me coat on ready for a pint.
As a retired SBG driver of 35 years I didn’t have much experience of the National but I must admit of the few I did drive I was not all that impressed with them preferring the Alexander Y Type. The only National we had that I did k
Like was retrofitted with a 680 engine and the difference was like night and day.