Leyland Royal Tiger Worldmaster
| Leyland Royal Tiger Worldmaster | |
|---|---|
Dutch Worldmaster with Belgian Jonckheere bodywork
|
|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Leyland |
| Production | 1954–1979 |
| Assembly | Farington, England |
| Body and chassis | |
| Doors | 1, 2 or 3 |
| Floor type | Step entrance |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine |
Leyland 0.600H 9.8 litres (600 cu in) Leyland 0.680H 11.1 litres (680 cu in) |
| Capacity | 9.8 to 11.1 litres |
| Power output | 125–200 bhp (93–149 kW) |
| Transmission | Leyland Self-Changing Gears pneumocyclic direct-acting semi-automatic, 4 or 5 speeds |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 9.1–12.0 metres (29 ft 10 1⁄4 in–39 ft 4 1⁄2 in) |
| Width | 2.5m |
| Height | 3.0m |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Leyland Royal Tiger |
| Successor | Leyland Leopard |
The Leyland Royal Tiger Worldmaster, sometimes simply known as the Leyland Worldmaster, was a mid-underfloor-engined single-decker bus or single-decker coach chassis manufactured by Leyland between 1954 and 1979.
Succeeding the Leyland Royal Tiger underfoor-engined heavyweight single-decker bus or single-decker coach chassis which sold more than 6,000 from 1950 to 1956 was a difficult call, but Leyland answered it with the Royal Tiger Worldmaster, it retained a substantial steel ladder-frame chassis dropped in the wheelbase and overhangs and arched over the axles to which operators could fit a body of their choice. A Leyland O680H horizontal engine (the smaller-volume 0.600H was optional but rarely chosen) was mounted at the middle of the chassis frame, driving back through a pneumocyclic semi-automatic gearbox to an overhead-worm rear axle, steering was via a worm and nut mechanism.
Sales ran from 1954 to 1979 by which time more than 20,000 had been built making it Leyland's most successful bus. In comparison, by 1985 approximately 17,000 Leyland Atlanteans had been built, Leyland Leopard sales terminated in 1983 after deliveries totalled over 12,000.
In global terms only the Ikarus 260 and 280, Bedford SB (45,000 over thirty-eight years) ‘Old Look’ and "fishbowl" GMC single-deckers (around 40,000 each), and the Mercedes-Benz O303 (38,018 over 18 years) beat the Worldmaster for overall sales. The Worldmaster was an unequivocal success for Leyland and an aptly named model.
Leyland coded the Worldmaster RT, export versions were prefixed E, unless they had the low ground-clearance frame, prefixed C, designed for paved-road markets which required lower step heights, this had a different method of spring attachment to give the lower height. Left-hand drive Worldmasters were either LERT or LCRT, to tabulate the basic range:
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Wikipedia