A strange bus from far, far away!

This is a ride on a Leyland Victory, ESF 647W, riding from its present home, the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum, at Lathalmond, Fife in Scotland, to the local town of Kelty. It was new in 1980 to China Motor bus and shipped back over to the UK in 1998 for preservation - well worth saving. It has a FRONT mounted Gardner 6LXB engine and a Voith D851.3 gearbox. Not too dissimilar to an Ailsa with a Voith gearbox and Alexander bodywork, although on this bus, the front platform is much tighter, the floorline is higher to make room for the large Gardner engine and because it has a Gardner, the bus is much slower than your average Ailsa, with a top speed of just 35 mph! The suspension and seat padding is virtually non-existent, so it is a very uncomfortable ride.

This film was taken on Sunday, 17/05/09.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• bus
• leyland
• victory
• china
• motor
• lathalmond
• 17
• may
• 2009
• gardner
• 6LXB
• voith
• d851

[winelight1]

I found that the original register number of this bus in hong kong is CH9399 - LV39

[lec0roh]

@winelight1 Thanks :-)

[lec0roh]

Yes, that's because it has both a Voith gearbox and a Gardner engine, the standard driveline for a Metrobus. However, the engine is of course at the front on this!

[jaggass]

was it built in britain?

[lec0roh]

Hmm...I'm not sure to be honest. Some buses, like the tri-axle Ailsas for CMB were completely built in the UK and then shipped out whole but I'm not sure about the Victories.

[keithkyli]

Nice! I miss them......

Bumpy it may seem to a British, but this kind of ride (together with Dennis Jubilant, an almost identical model) was like CRADLE for almost every 20-to-30-year-old in HK.

From the pier to the border,

From the busiest street to the quietest village,

716 Victory IIs criss-crossed 1000 sq km with 394 Jubilants, roaming and roaring for 20 years, reaching every extremity of Hong Kong where a bus can go.

Thank you Victory II!

[lec0roh]

Thanks for your comment. :-)

Richard.

[winelight1]

I realize there are 2 version of Guy victory

Engine: for those CMB and KMB are the same: Gardner 6LXB with Voith DIWA851 transmittion

Body: CMB is Alexander CB while KMB is KB (to recognize them you may see that CB has a little square window on the emergency door

Speed: CMB has 60 km/h while KMB was 65 km/h because those for CMB were put to run hilly road on Hong Kong Island.

This is what I know. If there's something have to be added, welcome!

[winelight1]

@lec0roh yea i watched those vid of Volvo Ailsa and they are nice too!!

[RJFSHADOWSMUSIC]

Sounds a tad like a Metrobus :)

[LX319]

@lec0roh this body of this bus was assembled inside the bus depot in north point, hong kong

[scyonion]

@lec0roh

All of 167 CMB's Victories were shipped to Hong Kong by CKD,

& completely built in North Point Depot in 1980-1982.



[scyonion]

@lec0roh

All 167 LVs were built in Hong Kong, CMB North Point Depot.