BUSWORLD PHOTOGRAPHY

I AM CHRISTOPHER LEACH THE ARTIST. I started this blog so that I can share with everyone my vast collection of transport photographs showing a personal and nostalgic view of the industry with images that span some 45 years taking in the U.K and some of Europe. I have no darkroom and so rather than being the perfectionist after tidying them up I upload the images warts and all, and even those that won't scan squarely or are scratched. In a way it adds age and character. You are all free to download these for your personal use but please remember I still own them and you are not just free to use them without prior permission for any knd of publishing. Click on images to enlarge them and if you want to see more leave your comments or visit my website for the mother-site with galleries including those Buses & Girls: PICTUREWORLD

Thursday 13 November 2008

Lothians Prototype Olympians


Lothian the bus company of Edinburgh got into a political row with local Scottish residents when it ordered it's first large series of Leyland Olympians with Eastern Coach Works bodies from Lowestoft in Suffolk rather than the home grown product from W. Alexander and Son of Falkirk nearby. However before the large order was placed the undertaking took two of these buses with Alexander R-Series bodywork and if good looks alone were to be taken as the criteria I think the more elegant ECW design would have won the show of hands over this box. Still it was not too surprising for even though the city had standardised on Alexander bodied Leyland Atlanteans in the past, numerous lightweight Birmingham built MCW Orion's had graced the PD2 and MCW-Weymann of Addlestone had bodied 100 Tiger Cubs. Some time after I took this view in the Eighties these two interesting buses were whittled down to just one when this particular bus was destroyed by fire. After the ECW bodied were all delivered Lothian turned to Alexander again and future generations of these buses did arrive allbeit with a more attractive front.

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