The model - details
of this new casting were received on 4th November 2016.
Two versions are initially planned from this
manufacturer,
renowned for its range of resin models. Both were released on 11th November 2016.
The bus
- the Daimler DMS was designed and developed for London Transport as
the
first purpose built one man operated double deck bus. After the trials
in London of the Park Royal bodied XA Atlanteans and XF Fleetlines, it
was the Daimler Fleetlines that were preferred. Over 2,600 of these
vehicles
were built, mostly with MCW bodies, but they were subject to many
problems
in service. The stop-start driving conditions in London made them
unreliable
and this, combined with driver stress, made the vehicles unpopular.
Within
2 years of entering service , London Transport started to sell off
these
buses, and being still very new, they were in great demand. They soon
began
to appear all over the UK, in colourful liveries, and many went
overseas.
China Motor Bus were quick to take advantage of the situation and
purchased
a total of 207, which were painted into their blue and cream livery.
DM940
was new to London Transport in December 1974. Upon its withdrawal it
was acquired by China Motor Bus in 1982 and allocated the fleet no.
XF123, being registered CW2833 on 19th July 1982 - it
had
been retired by 30th November 1993.
Manufacturer
of model |
P&T Diecast |
Scale |
1:76 |
Prototype chassis |
Daimler
Fleetline |
Prototype bodywork |
Park
Royal |
Prototype length |
9.4
metre |
Fleet number |
XF123
(Ex DM 940) |
Registration
number |
CW 2833 (Ex SMU 940N) |
Route number |
65 |
Destination |
Stanley Village |
Quantity |
600 |
Date released - Hong Kong |
11th November 2016 |
The DMS by Keith Wood
I thought you might like a bit more background information on these
buses which have divided opinion for decades. Its a bus that I have a
particular interest and like for (unlike many) culminating in me
swapping a Metrobus for a DMS for my PCV driver training!. The
bodywork order was split relatively evenly between Park Royal (PRV) and MCW,
however PRV actually bodied more vehicles than MCW (approx 1600 PRV
versus approx 1000 MCW). China Motor Bus only bought Park Royal bodied
buses whilst the other HK operators (Argos, KMB and Citybus) took a mix
of PRV and MCW vehicles.
The maintenance issues
that are always trawled out on a regular basis had more to do with LT's
maintenance set up of the time rather than inherent unreliability of
the bus itself (although they were never that great to be fair). LT had
been geared up to maintain the very simple RM, RT and RF classes with
numbers of engineers in garages trimmed to reflect the relative ease in
which units could be changed (engines, gearboxes etc). You could change
an engine on an RM and RT between the peaks whilst a DMS would take at
least a whole day. The DMS was a much more
complex vehicle and there just wasn't the numbers of engineers with the
requisite skills required to maintain them effectively. This is borne
out by the successful operation of the Fleetline just about everywhere
else they operated including in HK where they had a relatively long life
(at least with CMB) and where operating conditions were just as tough
as in London. Once the engineers got to grips with them and the
secondary operators removed some of the "quirky" add-ons that LT
insisted upon they were a reasonably good bus.
There
are detail differences between the two different bodybuilders and I am
keen to see a picture of the offside of the P&T models as that is
where it is easiest to spot whether they have modelled the PRV or MCW
body. EFE did the MCW version and many of their models were incorrect
for the liveries represented; however I will concede that the
differences are relatively minor but I attach a couple of pics which
show the differences.
The three obvious differences are:
Offside
emergency exit and the biggest difference between the two manufacturers
products - door is taller on the MCW version compared to the PRV
version
Upper deck drainage holes are rectangular on the PRV and round on the MCW.
Finally the beading around the upper deck windows continues around the front and rear of the bus on MCW examples.
The CMB pictures are of PRV bodies whilst the red bus are MCW examples.
|
Photograph courtesy and
copyright of Keith Wood
|
Photograph courtesy and
copyright of Keith Wood
|
Photograph courtesy and
copyright of Keith Wood
|
Photograph courtesy and
copyright of Keith Wood
My thanks to Keith for the above, which he realises might raise a few eyebrows! |
|