Grand National – 4

Happy birthday Leyland National 1972-1985

Grand National 1 | 2 | 3

It might seem strange to start a post on the Leyland National by referring to the VR but bear with me.

The Bristol VR could be a cold bus in winter. I guess that’s always going to be the case in a large, two-storey metal and glass structure with the opportunity for condensation. The Leyland National that often sat along side was a lot warmer.

“Warmer”, that is, but not “warmest”. It’s easy to criticise Leyland engineers who apparently didn’t seem to realise that hot air rises and that any system that heated from the top down might be doomed from the start. Or should that be “domed”? Yes, the reason for the pod at the rear was to house a heat distribution system, ducted via roof vents.

From the passenger perspective, this actually kept a relatively even temperature. It even did a reasonable job. Extra heat ducted to the doors tried to minimise heat loss, for example. It’s interesting that in spite of early claims, Leyland reverted to the more conventional ground level heaters on the National 2.

The driver suffered most (on earlier Nationals). It was often the case, on a dark and frosty morning, that the driver’s torso was warm while his feet were cold to the point of being polar. This led to a number of in-house modifications throughout National Bus, certainly on Hants & Dorset machines, in order to keep the driver as happy as possible.

Not that the National was a problem to drive. With power steering, a smaller than usual steering wheel at a good angle, and easily operated buttons & switchgear within reach, Leyland’s designers had done much to transform the harsh driver’s environment more familiar at the time.