Aye, Pod

Aye, the one with the pod. 2005 cannot slip by without reference to the Leyland National, which ceased production exactly 20 years ago.

The very last was delivered in November 1985 to Halton Borough Transport, preceeded by the last for an independent, AA Motors. The final LN for National Bus was to Southdown, and the last substantial order was Nottingham City Transport’s 12.

The National was Britain’s robust, most successful and one of its most innovative single decks.

Robust? One of the National’s greatest strengths was… its strength. Some would argue that it was built like Mecanno, all rivetted and bolted together. But it was solid and durable.

Most successful? Certainly, even if it failed to achieve its full production potential, by a considerable margin. Then again, as an enterprise 50 per cent owned by the National Bus Company, it could hardly flop.

Innovative? It introduced British operators to the concept of the standardised, mass-produced bus, the turbocharged engine, and the concept of an integral design. Not everyone was ready for such standards, but politics effectively killed off most British competition in any case. Exports were far fewer than expected because countries wished to retain at least some local labour content in manufacturing or assembling. And, of course, the 500-series engine was, well, troublesome at best. And who can forget drivers having to rev hard to build up air? Or the rear panel dents caused by drivers laying in the boot to activate the dodgy microswitch on a stalled engine?

Reduced overall orders for new buses because of an economic downturn at the time, and a post MAP resurgence in double decks put paid to the National.

But the podded Leyland National remained as much an icon to the bus industry as the iPod does today, to youth culture. Well, almost.