History: Leyland Lynx

The Leyland Lynx was bus manufactured by Leyland Bus in Workington between 1986 and 1992. Designed in 1984 this stepped-entrance single-decker bus was a successor to the ageing Leyland National. After Volvo took over Leyland Bus, the Leyland Lynx was succeeded by the Volvo B10M.

Background

The Leyland Lynx (B60) was unveiled at the 1985 International Bus & Coach Exhibition at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre. It was intended to replace the ageing Leyland National. Although the B60 was the first bus to carry the Lynx brand, Leyland had previously used it on truck chassis between 1936 and 1940, and again between 1968 and 1979. Since then the Lynx name has been revived by Ashok Leyland and it is used for a midibus.

History

Most of the Leyland Lynx buses were bodied by Leyland's Workington factory where the underframe was produced. Initial production vehicles started to enter service in 1986. These all had a step entrance but Leyland offered the option of a floor with a step in the middle or one that gently ramped from aft of the front platform to the rear.

Lynx Mk II

In 1990, the updated Lynx Mark II version was introduced. This version could be easily recognised by its protruding front dash/grille panel, whilst the original design was flat. About 140 of the Mark II vehicles produced featured Volvo engines, this drastically reduced their performance in pursuit of more environmentally friendly engines.

The Lynx Mark II was also available as a bus underframe for other coachbuilders to body. Although the vast majority of the Lynxes carried the Leyland body, there were seven chassis bodied by Alexander with N-type bodywork for Citybus (Belfast, including the first prototype. Northern Counties also catalogued bodies for the Lynx but none were built.

Service history

The Lynx saw service all over the United Kingdom, with the largest fleet owned by West Midlands Travel. A total of 256 were purchased, including six demonstrators, delivered early in 1986 equipped with Gardner engines and semi-automatic Leyland Hydracyclic gearboxes (which were later converted to ZF automatic). They were gradually withdrawn from 2000 onwards, with the last three withdrawn from passenger service in March 2009, although 10 remained in the driver training fleet until March 2010.

The last two Lynxes to roll off the production line entered service with Halton Transport in August 1992. The Lynx was the core of Halton Transport's fleet for over 10 years. In later life at Halton, they were used on a number of school contracts and the occasional regular service. In October 2010, all of Halton's remaining Lynxes were sold, the last Lynx produced going into preservation, with the penultimate Lynx used to donate spares.

Following the takeover of Leyland by Volvo in March 1988, the Lynx was superseded by the Volvo B10B in 1992. Total production of Lynxes was approximately 1,060 vehicles, including six prototypes (one of which was not bodied) and several development vehicles. About 140 of the total were Lynx Mark IIs.

Design

A common feature of the Leyland Lynx is that there are two separate windscreens on the bus, the driver's windscreen is raked back, resembling 1950s single-decker buses and the Wright Handybus. A plan for offering this bus with a single-piece flat windscreen was considered, but was not carried out.

Engine versions

The Leyland Lynx was offered with multiple engine variants: Leyland TL11, Gardner 6HLXCT or Cummins L10, while the Lynx Mk II was also available with the Volvo THD102KF.

Exports

Leyland exported a small number of Lynxes as demonstrators, however no sales resulted.

In 1984, a framed chassis was sent to Australia. This bus was completed by JW Bolton in Perth and it operated for ACTION, Transperth and Hornibrook Bus Lines before being sold to Lever Coachlines in 1987. Later in 1989, two buses were completed by Pressed Metal Corporation as demonstrators for the State Transit Authority. However the the trial never occurred so they were sold to John J Hill, Wollongong.

In 1988, Singapore Bus Service took delivery of an Alexander PS type bodied Leyland Lynx. This unit was involved in an accident in August 2001 and later was scrapped.

Another conversion was carried out on a Leyland Tiger which received a Lynx-style Leyland body for export to New Zealand. This bus initially was operated by Newmans Coach Lines and later by Go Bus Transport.

In 1990, three units from the order being built for West Midlands Travel were sent to Australia as demonstrators. Two of them operated with ACTION, while the third was demonstrated to the State Transport Authority, before all three were sold to Southtrans.

Preservation

Several Leyland Lynxes are now preserved, however they required very extensive rebuilding to bring them back to their original condition. Some of them suffered from body corrosion, but others also required reversing the modifications made by the operators during their history. Such an example is the removal of all of the patterned body skirts, combined with the replacement of the square wheel arches with non-patterned round ones. Both of these modifications were made to make it easier to replace such parts in the event of an accident.

In Australia, the JW Bolton bodied demonstrator has been preserved by the Sydney Bus Museum.

Further reading

Leyland Bus
Volvo Buses
Bus