Development

The Titan was first conceptualised in 1973 as project B15, and was intended as a replacement for the Leyland Atlantean, Daimler Fleetline and Bristol VRT. Following the success of the single-deck Leyland National, it was decided from the outset that the vehicle would be very standardised, and of integral construction. This allowed more flexibility in the location of mechanical components, and allowed a reduced step height. The move away from body on chassis construction caused concern for the bodybuilders who had already lost market to the Leyland National. Talks regarding licensing agreements were held with Alexander and Northern Counties, both major suppliers to their respective local markets, but no agreements were reached. This, in combination with other factors, led Northern Counties to develop the Foden-NC, and Alexander to develop a close working relationship with Volvo with the Volvo Ailsa B55.

London Transport was seen as a major market, and so the specification was heavily influenced by London preferences. London Transport was suffering problems with its DMS class of Daimler/Leyland Fleetline one-man-operated double-deckers and wanted rather more input into the design than they had had with the DMS. Leyland too wanted to gain more operator input than had been the case with the Leyland National.

Five prototypes (B15.01-B15.05) were constructed in 1975-1977, two of which were evaluated in London.

Specification

The Titan was offered as one size - 9.56 m long by 2.50 m wide by 4.4 m high. The main body structure was aluminium, and the body was assembled using 'Avdelok' rivets similar to the Leyland National. Single-door or dual-door layouts were offered, with a number of options for the location of the staircase. Mechanically, independent front suspension and a drop centre rear axle were used, with air suspension and power hydraulic brakes as standard. The prototype engine was a turbocharged version of the Leyland 500 series, although this was changed to Gardner 6LXB for production as a result of customer preference, and concerns over fuel economy and reliability of the 500 series. The Leyland TL11 engine was available for later production versions. The engine was mounted vertically at the rear, with the radiator located separately in a compartment above the engine. This led to an unusual off-centre square rear window. The overall design was advanced for the time, and exceeded noise and emission requirements by a considerable margin.

Production

The Titan name, steeped with considerable history, was revived for production in June 1977. It was intended that the first one hundred vehicles would be built at Park Royal Vehicles, with production switching to AEC in Southall. This caused industrial relations difficulties at Park Royal, and some 200 skilled craftspeople left. Production was very slow, and the first vehicle was not delivered until August 1978. In October 1978 Leyland announced the AEC factory would close, with the intent of keeping Titan production at Park Royal. The very slow production rate continued, causing cancellation of a number of existing orders. The industrial relations problems continued as Leyland sought to replace the skilled staff who had left with semi-skilled workers. Finally Leyland announced in October 1979 that Park Royal would close in May 1980. Once this decision had been made, and a productivity-related redundancy package negotiated, production increased dramatically. The final 150 Park Royal vehicles were built in seven months, while the first 100 vehicles had taken fourteen months. After initial efforts to transfer production to ECW in Lowestoft failed, again due to industrial relations problems, it was finally decided that production would recommence at an expanded facility in Workington, which also built the Leyland National. It took almost a year to expand the facility, transfer the jigs and tooling from Park Royal, and recommence production. The continued delays caused the loss of further orders.

Besides the production difficulties, other aspects of the Titan specification, which was strongly influenced by London Transport, were unpopular. Power hydraulic brakes, a fixed height of 14 ft 5 in and an inability to specify local bodywork all limited Titan's appeal. Outside of London, fifteen were purchased by Greater Manchester PTE (against an original order of 190), and five by West Midlands PTE (against an original order of 80). The 1978 British Motor Show at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham featured the first vehicles for both operators. Reading Transport took two Park Royal Titans to full London specification, and a further ten from Workington, five of which featured high ratio rear axles and coach seats for express services into London. One vehicle was exported to Hong Kong and became China Motor Bus's TC1 (CD1213). A 36ft long version of the Titan had been planned for this operator, but that too was cancelled as a result of the difficulties at Park Royal. A demonstrator built in 1982 failed to secure any further orders, operators preferring the flexibility and lower cost of the Leyland Olympian.

London's orders were being split between the Titan and the MCW Metrobus, but production of Titan for London only was proving uneconomic. Strong pressure was brought to bear to increase the Titan share of the London orders. As a result, Leyland received the entire order for 275 vehicles in 1982. This led to layoffs at MCW. The 1983 order also favored Leyland, with 210 Titan and 150 Metrobus. The decision was made to end production upon completion of a final batch of 240 ordered in 1984. The final Titan, London Transport T1096 entered service in October 1984.

The Titan today

The only Titans remaining available for service in London (though only as a very last resort) are owned by Blue Triangle. A fleet of three Titans is used for school bus services in the Aylesbury area by Z&S coaches, but these retain their previous liveries. Sullivan Buses operate a fleet of eleven Titans, most painted in a version of London Transport 1970's corporate colours. These are used mostly for school contracts but are often seen on various rail replacement work, their last public service route work with SB being occasional turn on Hertfordshire Route 398 in 2005. Outside London, many remain in service, particularly with independents - MASS Engineering in South Yorkshire and Nu-Venture in Kent have substantial fleets. The last Titan in service in London, T1018, can now be found with its new owners Blackburn Transport in Lancashire. As of March 2007 Blackburn Transport have put this bus up for sale.

Leyland Titan (B15). (2007, August 14). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.