The Bristol Lodekka was a low-height double-decker bus

Double-decker bus

A double-decker bus is a bus that has two storeys or 'decks'. Global usage of this type of bus is more common in outer touring than in its intra-urban transportion role. Double-decker buses are also commonly found in certain parts of Europe, Asia, and former British colonies and protectorates...

 built by Bristol Commercial Vehicles

Bristol Commercial Vehicles

Bristol Commercial Vehicles was a vehicle manufacturer of in Bristol, England. Most production was of buses but trucks and railbus chassis were also built....

 in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

Bristol manufactured over 5,200 Lodekkas from 1949 to 1968, as a standard double-deck vehicle for the UK state-owned bus sector. With all examples bodied by Eastern Coach Works

Eastern Coach Works

Eastern Coach Works Ltd was a bus and railbus body building company based in Lowestoft, England.-History:The company can trace its roots back to 1912, when United Automobile Services was founded in the town to run bus services. United began a coach building business at the Lowestoft site in 1920...

 in Lowestoft

Lowestoft

Lowestoft is a town in the English county of Suffolk. The town is on the North Sea coast and is the most easterly point of the United Kingdom. It is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and south-east of Norwich...

, they have a traditional half-cab design and a lower floor level allowing a low overall height. The earlier LD-series and the later FL and FS had a rear platform, but the FSF and FLF had a front entrance. Most were powered by 5 or 6-cylinder Gardner engines, with fewer having a Bristol or Leyland power unit. With the arrival of more modern "OMO" or one person operated buses, such as the Leyland Atlantean

Leyland Atlantean

The Leyland Atlantean is a model of double-decker bus built by Leyland in the United Kingdom from 1958 to 1986....

 and Bristol VRT (the Lodekka's successor), many Lodekkas found themselves relegated to driver training duties.

Lodekka users in the UK included: Brighton Hove & District, Bristol Omnibus, Crosville, Cumberland, Eastern Counties, Eastern National, Hants & Dorset, Lincolnshire Road Car, Scottish Omnibuses, Southern Vectis, Luton & District, Thames Valley & Aldershot, United, United Counties, West Yorkshire Roadcar Co, Western National, Central SMT and Wilts & Dorset. Whilst no Lodekkas were bought by any London based companies, they often worked into the capital on services operated by Thames Valley and Eastern National.

West Yorkshire Road Car Company

West Yorkshire Road Car Company

The West Yorkshire Road Car Company Ltd was a major bus operator covering North and West Yorkshire. The company was generally referred to as West Yorkshire...

 had an early Lodekka, originally fleet number 822 but renumbered DX1 under the April 1954 renumbering scheme, which operated in the Harrogate area and lacked the distinctively stylish fairing of the production models. This was displayed at the Festival of Britain (South Bank Exhibition) in 1951.

The Bristol Lodekka was also manufactured by Dennis

Dennis Specialist Vehicles

Dennis Specialist Vehicles is a major British coachbuilder and manufacturer of specialised commercial vehicles based in Guildford, England...

 under licence, and was sold as the Dennis Loline

Dennis Loline

The Dennis Loline is a double-decker bus built by Dennis between 1958 and 1967. It is essentially the same as the Bristol Lodekka but has an upgraded Dennis chassis.Aldershot and District Traction was the largest operator of the Dennis Loline....

.

Chassis codes

In accordance with Bristol Commercial Vehicles practice, chassis were designated by a two or three letter code, followed by the number of engine cylinders and engine manufacturer.

LDX: Low 'Decker, Experimental (the first two LD vehicles)

LD: Low 'Decker

LDL: Low 'Decker, Long (Essentially pre-production FL models)

LDS: Low 'Decker, Short (Essentially pre-production FS models)

FS: Flat-floor, Short length

FSF: Flat-floor, Short length, Forward entrance

FL: Flat-floor, Long

FLF: Flat-floor, Long, Forward entrance

Example engine classifications

FS5G: FS with Gardner 5LW engine

FL6B: FL with Bristol BVW engine (AVW type in Bristol LD6B)

FLF6G: FLF with Gardner 6LW or 6LX engine

FLF6L: FLF with Leyland O.600 or O.680 engine

Further use

Surrey-based Top Deck Travel converted approximately 100 to "decker home" caravan standard between 1973 and 1997, and used these buses on extended tours to Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

 and North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

.

In the early 1990s, Surrey based "Leisurelink" used a former Southern Vectis example (MDL 954) on a weekend-only tourist service, linking Gatwick Zoo (now closed), Gatwick Airport and the Bluebell Railway

Bluebell Railway

The Bluebell Railway is a heritage line running for nine miles along the border between East and West Sussex, England. Steam trains are operated between and , with an intermediate station at .The railway is managed and run largely by volunteers...

.

Some overseas operators acquired second-hand Bristol Lodekkas from the UK for further service. For example, Fok Lei Autocarro S.A

Transmac

Transportes Urbanos de Macau S.A.R.L. , operates public transit buses in Macau SAR.In Mainland China, Transmac was known as Xinfuli, and it is operating in Xinhui and Wuhu now...

 of Macau

Macau

Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...

 operated a small number of Lodekkas between the 1970s and late 1980s. http://www.ssfoto.net/mob.html Citybus of Hong Kong

Citybus (Hong Kong)

Citybus Limited is one of the three major bus operators in Hong Kong. It provides both franchised and non-franchised bus service. The franchised route network serves mainly Hong Kong Island, cross-harbour routes , Ocean Park, North Lantau and Hong Kong International Airport...

 operated one example in 1980s.

Popular culture

In popular culture, Bristol Lodekkas featured extensively in the early-1970s London Weekend Television

London Weekend Television

London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...

 series On the Buses

On The Buses

On the Buses was a British situation comedy created by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney which was broadcast in the UK from 1969 to 1973. The writers' previous successes with The Rag Trade and Meet the Wife were for the BBC, but the Corporation rejected On the Buses, not seeing much comedy potential...

, with actor Reg Varney

Reg Varney

Reginald Alfred "Reg" Varney was an English actor, most notable for his role as Stan Butler in 1970s TV sitcom On the Buses.-Early life:...

 driving and Bob Grant

Bob Grant (actor)

Robert St Clair Grant , usually known as Bob Grant, was an English actor, best known for playing Jack Harper in On the Buses....

his conductor. One of these Lodekkas has been preserved.