Albion Nimbus
| Albion Nimbus | |
|---|---|
Albion Nimbus
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| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Albion Motors |
| Body and chassis | |
| Doors | 1-2 |
| Floor type | Step entrance |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | Albion EN219 diesel engine Albion EN250 diesel engine |
| Transmission | Albion 4-speed synchromesh (MR9N) David Brown 4-speed constant mesh (NS3N) Albion 5 or 6-speed constant-mesh (NS3AN) |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 23 ft (7.0 m) for 29 to 36 seats |
| Chronology | |
The Albion Nimbus was an underfloor-engined, ultra-lightweight (dry weight 2.4 tonne) midibus or coach chassis, with a four-cylinder horizontal diesel engine and a gross vehicle weight of six tons. It was largely operated on light rural bus duties and private hires. Operators who used it on heavy-duty bus routes found it insufficiently robust. It was the first Albion bus chassis to have a name that did not begin with the letter V. The design was revised twice and was produced from 1955 to 1965.
Albion Motors had been taken over by Leyland Motors in 1951, after the merger Albion were to concentrate on export models and lightweight chassis for the home market. With this in mind Albion developed the EN219 engine, a horizontal four-cylinder unit sharing design and components with the six-cylinder Leyland O350. It was launched in 1953 for the underfloor-engined Albion Claymore delivery truck. During 1954 Scottish Omnibuses (SOL) used Claymore units in an integrally constructed rubber-suspended 32-seater bus, this was announced in May 1955 and the Nimbus was unveiled in the autumn at the 1955 Scottish Motor Show at Kelvin Hall, Glasgow. The vehicle on the show stand had an Alexander body and was an Albion demonstrator in SOL livery, whilst the bus in the demonstration park in Highland Omnibuses livery carried a body by SOL, this is now preserved.
The Nimbus had a similar bolted lightweight steel frame with channel section longitudinals and tubular cross-members to the Claymore featuring a down-sloping front section. During its production life component changes followed those of the Claymore.
The frame was slightly wider than that of the longest MR7L Claymore but the wheelbase was identical and the radiator was mounted in an inclined position above the front axle, to obviate intrusion into the passenger gangway. Wider and longer springs were fitted and the axles were of wider tack, suitable for 8 ft (2.4 m) wide bodies. Like the MR 5 and 7 Claymore the 3.83-litre EN219 developing 60 bhp (45 kW) at 2200 rpm drove through an Albion single-plate hydraulically assisted clutch and Albion four-speed constant-mesh gearbox, with synchromesh on third and top, to an Albion overhead worm rear axle, the Nimbus rear axle was heavier-duty than that of the heaviest Claymore and had larger brakes. Braking was provided by two-leading-shoe drum brakes all round, hydraulically actuated with vacuum assistance from an Albion-patented engine bypass valve. The engine had an oil-bath air-cleaner and a centrifugal oil filter. Automatic chassis lubrication was standard.
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Wikipedia