Albion Aberdonian
| Albion Aberdonian | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Albion |
| Production | 1957-60 |
| Body and chassis | |
| Doors | 1-2 |
| Floor type | Step entrance |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine |
Leyland O350H diesel engine Leyland O375H diesel engine |
| Power output | 97-107bhp |
| Transmission | Albion 5 or 6 speed constant-mesh |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 30 ft (9.1 m) |
The Albion Aberdonian was an underfloor-engined bus designed and manufactured by Albion Motors between 1957 and 1960, it was introduced as a longer derivative of the Albion Nimbus.
The Aberdonian, development code "Nimbus-Six", was designed to be the lightest full-size underfloor-engined bus available. Bodied examples would weigh half a ton less than the similarly powered Leyland Tiger Cub. Launch was at the 1957 Scottish Motor Show at the Kelvin Hall where an Alexander bodied coach demonstrator in Edinburgh Corporation livery weighing less than five tons unladen was shown. It was the fourth Albion bus designed with an underfloor engine, the third type manufactured, the second after the Leyland takeover and the second named Albion bus chassis not to have a name beginning with V.
An Aberdonian is a native of Aberdeen and within Scotland Aberdonians are traditionally considered miserly. As the current editor of Buses put it this was a bus designed to sip rather than gulp fuel.
The frame comprised lightweight longitudinal channel and tubular cross-members. It was straight over the axles with a dropped section forward of the front axle to provide a lower entrance. A drop frame for a luggage boot was optional at the rear. Special steels were used to keep weight down.
The power unit on launch was a Leyland O350H 97 bhp 5.76-litre four-stroke direct-injection six-cylinder diesel, mounted horizontally in mid-wheelbase driving through a unit-mounted Albion clutch and constant mesh gearbox to an overhead-worm rear axle derived from that fitted to the FT and PF series lorries. The radiator was mounted behind the front axle and was inclined to allow a larger surface area without intrusion into the saloon. Braking was vacuum-assisted hydraulic with an engine-driven vacuum exhauster. The fuel tank was a 35 gallon cylindrical unit transversely mounted between the frame members aft of the rear axle. The engine was fitted with an oil-bath air cleaner and a centrifugal oil filter.
In the manufacturer's brochure the Aberdonian was quoted as only a 42 seater bus and 39 seater coach when practical UK maxima for 30 ft (9.1 m) & 8 ft (2.4 m) bodies were 45 and 43 respectively. This must have been because of the chassis 8.5 ton GVW although the chassis had a meagre dry weight of 2,934 kg (6,468 lb) and with lightweight bodies 45 bus seats or 41 coach seats were fitted to most UK examples and the Ceylon examples sat as many as 54, probably through use of 3+2 seating.
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