Grand National – 6

Happy Birthday Leyland National 1972-1985

We found this picture recently on a well-known transport web site. Is the bus a Leyland National operated by Chase of Chasetown, now part of Arriva Midlands; or is it the front end of a Leyland DAB articulated bus making a comeback from 1979?

In the Leyland National’s 35th year since full production began, the passing of Chase Bus Services to Arriva Midlands sees the withdrawal of what amounts to England’s largest fleet of remaining Leyland Nationals.

Chase’s Nationals were all Mark 1 stock. This means they must be at least 27 years old, 1980 being the year when Leyland brought out the National 2.

Chase’s Nationals were in reasonable condition for their age, too, though we’d suppose that they swallowed considerable engineering overheads. As someone commented on the London Bus Pages in Exile, why did the industry go through the process of refurbishing Nationals under the Greenway project when they needn’t’ve bothered? They would’ve lasted anyway.

A good point. But no matter how well maintained Chase's Natioanls are, it’s difficult to see how a 30 year old bus can get anywhere near presenting the sort of image passengers expect and the industry deserves.

And while there will be those who will lament the passing of yet another colourful operator (literally & metaphorically) hiding beneath the livery of an all-embracing, all-encompassing group, twenty years after deregulation we are seeing significant improvements in quality. A legend the Leyland National may have been, but does it really have a place in the 21st century?

What Arriva will do in replacing its inherited Nationals is anyone’s guess. Initially, we suspect the replacements will be nothing more than slightly less old hand-me-downs. And it will seem odd to see Arriva buses in such numbers in Walsall.