Albion Lowlander

Albion Lowlander
A 1965 Lowlander LR7, new to Western SMT, preserved in the colours of second owner Highland Omnibuses Ltd.
Overview
Manufacturer	Leyland Motors Albion Motors
Body and chassis
Doors	1 door just aft of front nearside wheel-arch, air operated, either four leaf folding or single piece sliding
Floor type	Step-free entrance, sunken lower-deck gangway
Powertrain
Engine	Leyland O.600 ‘Power Plus’ 9.8-litre 6-cylinder vertical four-stroke direct injection diesel engine
Transmission	Single plate clutch and Leyland part-synchromesh 4-speed (LR3, 7) fluid coupling and Leyland Pneumocyclic semi-automatic 4-speed (LR1)
Dimensions
Length	30ft (9.1m); Sixteen built to shorter 28ft 6in length with reduced rear overhang
Width	8ft
Height	13ft 6in
Chronology

The Albion Lowlander was a Scottish-built low-height double-decker bus.

During 1960 the Scottish Bus Group faced Leyland Motors (who had absorbed Albion Motors in 1951) with a dilemma. They had bought around 180 double-decker buses a year over the past decade, from 1955 onward these had been mainly and then (post-1957) exclusively either Leyland Titans with lowbridge bodies or Bristol Lodekkas. Despite Leyland Motors promoting the Atlantean with very attractive discounts, the SBG refused it outright. They wanted Leyland to build a double-decker bus to an equivalent layout to the Lodekka FLF6G, with a low overall height and central gangways for the length of both decks, a front engine and an entrance just aft of the front wheel arch, Leyland's reported £150 per bus discount on PDR1/1 Atlanteans would have made these chassis £100 cheaper than the bus SBG bought in quantity, but the low-height PDR1/1 had four rows of seats to the rear upstairs in four-in a row seating with a nearside sunken gangway. SBG was yet to work rear-engined buses but were against the idea.

Faced with the prospect of losing the SBG business to competitors AEC, Daimler or Guy, Leyland commissioned Albion Motors to develop a low-height front-engined double-decker bus using Leyland units, most of which already in production, the frame design was new as was the drop-centre rear axle but every other unit was made from production Leyland Motors parts. After the first four chassis were built at Scotstoun and development work was completed, the rest were assembled at Scotstoun from parts produced at Leyland.