Bristol RE

Bristol RE
Preserved North Western Road Car Bristol RE with ECW bodywork.
Overview
Manufacturer	Bristol Commercial Vehicles
Assembly	Brislington, Bristol
Body and chassis
Doors	1 or 2 doors
Floor type	Step entrance
Chassis	upswept sidemember ladder type (bus) straight ladder type (coach)
Powertrain
Engine	Gardner 6HLW, 6HLX, 6HLXB; Leyland O600, O680, 510
Capacity	up to 54 seats
Power output	120-184bhp
Transmission	Bristol 5-speed Synchromesh, Bristol Self-Changing Gears 4 or 5 speed semi-automatic.
Dimensions
Length	10.0m to 12.0m
Width	2.5m
Height	3.0 to 3.3m
Curb weight	up to 10 tonnes unladen, 14 tonne GVW
Chronology

The Bristol RE was a rear-engined single-decker bus or single-decker coach chassis built by Bristol Commercial Vehicles from 1962 until 1982. It is widely considered the most successful of the first generation of rear-engined single-decker buses.

Initially, the RE was only supplied to subsidiaries of the nationalised Transport Holding Company (THC), by which Bristol was wholly owned. From 1965, when Leyland purchased a 25% shareholding in Bristol and the company's products became available to non state-owned bus operator customers, the RE also gained popularity with companies in other sectors, including the British Electric Traction (BET) Group and many municipal operators.

From 1972, sales to the National Bus Company (NBC), which had taken over the operations of both THC and BET) began to dry up, due to the introduction of the Leyland National. From 1976 the RE remained in production only for the Northern Irish state-owned bus companies Ulsterbus and Citybus, and for export to Christchurch Transport Board, New Zealand.

In Great Britain, the RE was most commonly fitted with bodywork by ECW, but several other manufacturers also built bodywork on the chassis. Some coaches were fitted with Duple Commander, Plaxton Panorama Elite or Alexander M Type bodywork. In Northern Ireland, the RE was bodied by Alexander (Belfast), with the X Type bodywork.