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OM45201 - MAN 24.310/Berkhof
Kowloon Motor Bus
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The model - This new casting from Corgi was first announced on this site in November 2001 and released in Hong Kong on 13th December 2001. A superb model, which was voted runner-up in the '2002 Best New Casting' poll. Being a Corgi model, surplus models were shipped to the UK and these became readily available in February 2003. To-date, this is the only model produced from this casting.

The bus - Fleet No. AMN7 (JM3098) is one of the 30 Berkhof bodied MAN 24.310 double deckers bought by KMB during early 2000. Most of them were allocated as scheduled buses on routes 60X (Jordan Road Ferry to Tuen Mun Town Centre) and 260X (Po Tin to Kowloon MTR Station), with AMN28(JV2129) being an exceptional case, as it has been allocated as a scheduled bus on route 67M (Siu Hong Court to Kwai Fong MTR Station).

These buses were initially ordered by Citybus, as a part of their proposed fleet expansion programme in the late 1990s. However, around September 1999, Hong Kong's Transport Department imposed a fleet quota on all franchised bus operators in Hong Kong, which seriously affected Citybus's fleet expansion proposal. Therefore, Citybus was forced to cancel the order for these new double deckers (together with at least two Volgren bodied MAN 24.310 double deckers), when in fact Berkhof has already built 32 of them! Meanwhile, Citybus has also gave up two 'optional orders' for 20 Duple Metsec bodied Dennis Tridents and 20 Volvo B6LEs at the same time.

As a result, MAN's dealer in Hong Kong had to find a new buyer for these newly built buses. After a number of negotiations, KMB decided to buy 30 of them. Of the two remaining buses, one went to Kwoon Chung Motors, (registered as JN4886 in 2000, but was not put into service until September 2001!) whilst the other was kept by Berkhof as a demonstrator.

Interestingly, some of these buses still had CTB's livery and interior specifications when they were bought by KMB. KMB therefore had to make a number of modifications (including the addition of headrests on almost all of the seats, a replacement of the seat cover, and of course a repaint!) before they were put into service from 25th April 2000 onwards. 

(This information has kindly been provided by Dennis Law).

  
 Manufacturer of model  Corgi
 Scale  1:76
 Prototype chassis  MAN 24.310
 Prototype bodywork  Berkhof
 Prototype length  12 metre
 Fleet number  AMN7
 Registration number  JM3098
 Route number  60X
 Destination  Tuen Mun Town Ctr.
 Commissioned by  Kowloon Motor Bus
 Quantity (total)  5,000
 
Hong Kong 
UK
 Quantities (if known)
not known
not known
 Date released
13th Dec 2001
Feb 2003 
    
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Photograph courtesy of 80M Bus Model Shop
 
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Photograph of AMN12
courtesy of Dennis Law
 

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This page last updated Wednesday, 23rd June 2004
 
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