The London DMS Bus

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Transportation, History
Cover of the book The London DMS Bus by Matthew (Matt) Wharmby, Pen and Sword
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Matthew (Matt) Wharmby ISBN: 9781473869462
Publisher: Pen and Sword Publication: November 30, 2016
Imprint: Pen and Sword Transport Language: English
Author: Matthew (Matt) Wharmby
ISBN: 9781473869462
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Publication: November 30, 2016
Imprint: Pen and Sword Transport
Language: English

Vilified as the great failure of all London Transport bus classes, the DMS family of Daimler Fleetline was more like an unlucky victim of straitened times. Desperate to match staff shortages with falling demand for its services during the late 1960s, London Transport was just one organization to see nationwide possibilities and savings in legislation that was about to permit double-deck one-man-operation and partially fund purpose-built vehicles. However, prohibited by circumstances from developing its own rear-engined Routemaster (FRM) concept, LT instituted comparative trials between contemporary Leyland Atlanteans and Daimler Fleetlines.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-honored 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 After enormous expenditure, the first DMSs began to be withdrawn before the final RTs came out of service, and between 1979 and 1983 all but the B20s were sold – as is widely known, the DMSs proved perfectly adequate with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. OPO was to become fashionable again in the 1980s as the politicians turned on London Transport itself, breaking it into pieces in order to sell it off. Not only did the B20 DMSs 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.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Vilified as the great failure of all London Transport bus classes, the DMS family of Daimler Fleetline was more like an unlucky victim of straitened times. Desperate to match staff shortages with falling demand for its services during the late 1960s, London Transport was just one organization to see nationwide possibilities and savings in legislation that was about to permit double-deck one-man-operation and partially fund purpose-built vehicles. However, prohibited by circumstances from developing its own rear-engined Routemaster (FRM) concept, LT instituted comparative trials between contemporary Leyland Atlanteans and Daimler Fleetlines.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-honored 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. OPO was to become fashionable again in the 1980s as the politicians turned on London Transport itself, breaking it into pieces in order to sell it off. Not only did the B20 DMSs 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.

More books from Pen and Sword

Cover of the book Tracing Your Servant Ancestors by Matthew (Matt) Wharmby
Cover of the book The Centurion Tank by Matthew (Matt) Wharmby
Cover of the book FV430 Series by Matthew (Matt) Wharmby
Cover of the book The Battlefields of England by Matthew (Matt) Wharmby
Cover of the book England Versus Scotland by Matthew (Matt) Wharmby
Cover of the book The US Eighth Air Force in Europe by Matthew (Matt) Wharmby
Cover of the book The First Day of the Somme by Matthew (Matt) Wharmby
Cover of the book Barnsley in the Great War by Matthew (Matt) Wharmby
Cover of the book Cromwell and Centaur Tanks by Matthew (Matt) Wharmby
Cover of the book Malta's Greater Siege & Adrian Warburton DSO* DFC** DFC (USA) by Matthew (Matt) Wharmby
Cover of the book Japan’s Blitzkrieg by Matthew (Matt) Wharmby
Cover of the book Hawker VC- The First RFC Ace by Matthew (Matt) Wharmby
Cover of the book Tales from the Rifle Brigade by Matthew (Matt) Wharmby
Cover of the book Rails Across Europe by Matthew (Matt) Wharmby
Cover of the book Tracing Your Great War Ancestors: The Egypt and Palestine Campaigns by Matthew (Matt) Wharmby
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy