Ex British buses in Split, Croatia (by Dick Gilbert)

Last updated 6 November 2023

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This Leyland PD1 Titan had formerly been London Transport STD127 (HLW 56) new in 1946. It is shown here as Promet no. 52 (ST-25-19) at the north end of the Riva at Split, about to operate on the five mile route 22 between Split and Stobrec. The picture was probably taken around 1963 - photographer unknown.

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In July 2016 Norman (who is lucky enough to live in Hvar, Croatia) kindly sent me some photographs of buses drawn from a huge collection of railway images belonging to his friend and fellow train enthusiast Željko Halambek. These former British buses are seen in use by local company Promet operating from Split, Croatia (part of the former Yugoslavia).

Norman says "Željko does not think that any still exist. At that time Yugoslavia was under communist rule, so things like conservation movements did not really exist. But at least there are some photos. He did tell me that they were popular in a number of Balkan cities - Zagreb, Pula, Sarajevo, Mostar and others all bought ex British buses. Apparently they loaded and unloaded from the middle of the road - people queued there. There was much less traffic in those days."

Several hundred British buses were exported to Yugoslavia in the 1950s, of which probably the largest individual batch was all 65 of the 1946 London Transport STD class Leyland PD1 Titans (STD 112-176) and some came to Split. They were joined by a selection of other British buses and coaches including some pre-war London T-class AEC Regals, double deckers from Wallasey, Northern General, Ribble, Crosville and Bury, some Standerwick 1948 Leyland PS1 Tigers with Burlingham coach bodies which may have arived around 1958, and a batch of pre-war Ribble Tiger TS8 coaches.

Registration numbers in Croatia (and Dalmatia, the coastal region of Croatia) began with the letter H in the 1950s, but this changed to ST for Split in 1961. In May 2017 I was lucky enough to visit Split and see at first hand the exact locations where these historic photos were taken. So I have added my own images to accompany some of the originals, to show what the glorious city of Split (and Trogir) looks like today, some 60 years later.

Marin Pazanin in Split kindly sent me a great deal of useful information. For one thing he pointed out that all the images on this page can be found on the autobusi.org website, of which he is a moderator. Marin's comments and advice have been vitally important to the captions of the photographs and the details of the various sections. My thanks to him.

Marin says "This is the link to a forum topic where I've compiled info about every fleet number Promet used which are known to us. The British buses are in the third post, whose title translates to buses of the first numeration as Promet restarted its numbering after 1990. The British buses are at the beginning as they were bought during Promet's first 15 years (of course, some Yugoslav buses are mixed in there as they were also present in the 1950s)."

Here are the details of the buses as far we know, arranged in the order they arrived in Split. Information is incomplete and it's a work in progress, so I would welcome any additional details that you can supply. Please email me here.

Here's a quick index with links to the major sections:

1953: AEC REGAL 10T10 from LONDON TRANSPORT

This splendid picture of eight of the Ts was probably taken between 1953 and 1955. It came from Povijest pisana svjetlom, a book by Goran Borcic. We're not sure what the bus in the middle is - any suggestions?

It is thought that twelve ex London Transport / Green Line 1938 T-class AEC Regals (10T10) were delivered to Split in August 1953, but probably only ten of them were operated by Promet. It is likely that the other two went to the nearby island of Brac (operating for Kotarsko auto poduzece, Supetar), returning in 1956 when they were replaced by three Fiats. Possibly the two from Brac then joined the rest of the Promet fleet in Split, being numbered 53 and 54. It seems that all of them had a new offside passenger door added behind the cab.

Marin's records suggest that the total of twelve former London 10T10 Regals (of which only ten were initially used by Promet) may have been:

It's likely that the Promet fleet numbers for these buses were between 28 and 36, plus one other. One of them became Promet no. 31 (regn. H-5940) and another was no. 32 (H-5929), but we don't yet know which was which. Also the two which are believed to have gone to Brac probably returned to Promet as no. 53 (H-6631, which was rebodied) and no. 54 (H-6632). Numbers 28 and 32 were also given replacement bodies, as shown below:

This picture shows no. 28 after it had been rebodied. It was taken by Autokaroserija after they had completed the new body, probably in 1956. The picture was saved by an old worker.

And here is no. 32 (H-5929), again taken by Autokaroserija after the bus had been rebodied, probably in 1956. The picture was scanned by Marin from his own collection.

Of course the total of fleet numbers 28-36 is only nine buses, so what was the 10th? Maybe it was 27 or maybe 37. We really don't know the answer to that at the moment, or that the information in the list above is correct, or if it is complete.

1955: LEYLAND TITAN PD1 "STD" from LONDON TRANSPORT

This former-London Transport STD is parked on Split seafront promenade (known as the Riva) overlooking the bay. It is working for Promet on their 5-mile route north east to Solin. Marin Pazanin says that the picture was taken in 1958 and was featured in Slobodna Dalmacija, Split's daily paper.

The same location today.

There is evidence of six STDs coming to Split in 1955-56, they would seem to be:

Numbers 45, 49 and 50 were not used for STDs and numbers 47 and 48 were London T-class Regals (see below). One of the Titans was probably formerly STD140 (HLW 69).

When they were retired by London Transport in 1955, all 65 of the 1946 STD class Leyland PD1 Titans (STD112-176, registered HGF 990-999 and HLW 51-105) went to various Yugoslavian cities, including some to Split where they were used by Promet.

Another unidentified ex-London Transport Leyland STD at the western end of Split promenade. The buildings in the background are virtually unchanged today - the one on the left is now the Hotel Bellevue. This picture was probably taken in 1957, or maybe earlier.

The same location today.

Looking west along the sea front at Split, this is a pair of ex London Transport STD Leyland PD1 Titans. The one in the foreground (Promet fleet number 42, registered ST-24-62) has had new doors fitted by Promet behind the driver's cab. The bus stop sign says that it will go to Omis and the photo was taken in June 1963. Behind it is similar no. 43 which didn't have its doors altered.

Another unidentified former London Transport STD at the east end of Split harbour promenade (the Riva) in front of a tower forming one corner of Diocletian's Palace.

The same location today. Even the palm tree looks to be the same, although it's grown a bit!

This is Promet no. 51 (H 5999). It is seen here working the 17 mile route from Split to Trogir, along the coast to the west, and is pictured in front of what is now a cocktail bar alongside the North Town Gate in Trogir. I believe that this photo was taken by D. W. K. Jones in August 1959. If that's correct, my thanks to Mr. Jones.

The same location today.

These days Promet buses (now very yellow) still operate to Trogir but now they stop at a bus station on the far side of the bridge to the island, although some still cross to the city like the STD shown above. Here we see Iveco Daily no. 280 and (on the right) Mercedes-Benz O345 Conecto no. 201.

1955: AEC REGAL 14T12 from LONDON TRANSPORT

Two 1946 Weymann bodied T-class Regals also joined the Promet fleet from London Transport in 1955. This picture shows them arriving in Split by train, as they were part of a large delivery of about 100 buses which had been bought for various parts of the country. T736 (HGF 826) is in the foreground. The picture is by kind permission of www.autobusi.org and was posted to their forum by the son of the Promet's driver on the left of the photo.

One was numbered 47 (registered H-5968) and the other was no. 48 which was rebodied by Autokaroserija. This picture is an enlargement from a photo supplied by Maurice Bateman to the autobusi.org forum, who kindly agreed to let me use it here.

1956: AEC REGAL 10T10 from LONDON TRANSPORT

As explained at the top of this list, it is thought that twelve ex London Transport / Green Line 1938 T-class AEC Regals (10T10) were delivered to Split in August 1953, but probably only ten of them were operated by Promet. It is likely that the other two went to the nearby island of Brac (operating for Kotarsko auto poduzece, Supetar), returning in 1956 when they were replaced by three Fiats. Possibly the two from Brac then joined the rest of the Promet fleet in Split, being numbered 53 (H-6631, which was rebodied) and no. 54 (H-6632).

The bus above is no. 54 (H-6632) presumably after it returned from Brac. In the background of this 1957 picture is the pier of Split's Gat Svetog Duje where international ferries now depart. Marin says that the copyright holder of this picture is Marijan Žuvic but the photographer is unknown.

The same location today.

1957: AEC REGENT II from NORTHERN GENERAL

This 1950s photo (from Promet's monography) taken on Split's Riva promenade appears to show three identical AEC Regents. These are all 1946 ex-Northern General Regent II buses with Northern Coachbuilders bodies.

Marin has seen a better version of the picture above in which the fleet numbers are visible, the one at the front is no. 63 and the one behind is no. 66. All the Regents seem to have been given fleet numbers from 63 to 68, including no. 63 (regn. H-5960 - seen above), no.64 (H-11691), No.65 (ST-24-74), 66 (see above), 68 (H-9859 with doors fitted to the right hand side). Another one was H-11703 and this may have been the early registration of no. 65 which was rebuilt by Autokaroserija to a single decker after a serious accident.

The original Northern General batch of 10 buses was numbered 1167-1176 and historian John Bennett tells me that the six which came to Split (via a dealer) were:

1959: SIX ASSORTED BRITISH BUSES

Almost certainly six British buses (often described locally as London buses, although this was a term used for anything originating in the U. K.) were delived to Split in 1955. They would have been numbered by Split between 83 and 88, and possibly included the following

East Yorkshire 1947 Leyland PD1 Titan 427 (HAT 643), Roe lowbridge body, withdrawn by East Yorkshire in 1958. A bus registered H-16063 had an accident, and this may have been the East Yorkshire PD1 mentioned above. A Leyland Olympic EL40 (chassis number 521027) Metro-Cammell B??D body bought new in Sept 1952 by BSE Co, Zagreb and possibly used as a test bus before arrival in Split 7 years later.

Note that all this information is very speculative.

1959: LEYLAND TITAN PD1 from WALLASEY

Apologies for the reflections on this picture (it may have been behind glass) but the content is interesting. This seems to be one of 24 Leyland PD1 Titans supplied to Wallasey Corporation in 1946. They were numbered 78 to 101 (HF 9574-9620), had MCCW bodies, and were withdrawn from 1957 onwards. John Bennett tells me that Wallasey nos. 87 (HF 9592), 92 (HF 9602), 93 (HF 9604), 98 (HF 9614) and 99 (HF 9616) were sold via a couple of dealers to Sarajevo in March 1960. Based on the Promet fleet number of 89 (regn. ST-24-79) this bus seems to have arrived in Split somewhat earlier, almost certainly 1959. It's also not known if Promet acquired any more buses from Wallasey apart from this one. It seems to be parked on the Obala Kneza Domagoja alongside Split's main commercial docks.

Norman tells me that the inscription on the left at the bottom of the photo says "Promet driver Mimica Vicko around 1959". In fact the format of the licence plate suggests 1961 or later. About half way down this Autobusi.org page you can see two more pictures of driver Mimica Vicko - one with a single decker and one with an ex-London STL. Meanwhile Allan Haynes says he thinks the inscription at lower right says "This was released from London" in Serbo-Croat. In fact the bus didn't come from London, but I guess nobody would have known the difference.

Marin says "Allan is close, but not exactly right. Ca je pusta Londra kontra Splitu gradu, is a very old saying which says something along the lines of, what do you need London for, when you have everything in Split?, or more closely, what does London have better than Split?. It is, according to legend, a response to George Bernard Shaw's claim that he lives in a replica of Split's palace in London."

"As a sidenote, these buses are collectively referred to as Londonci here, meaning Londoners. Nobody here really did know the difference, and the distinctions have long been lost to history." Marin adds "The bus with registration plates ST-24-79 is the same bus as the one on the photo below it. This escaped my attention as well at first. The first one was taken behind glass and unfortunately I can't get in contact with the person who uploaded it to the forum. Also the driver's name was in fact Vicko Mimica - it is written in the reverse order on the pic."

This is the same bus as shown in the picture above, i.e. ex-Wallasey Leyand PD1 Titan, Promet no. 89 (ST-24-79). The registration number dates the picture to 1961 or later. The double decker in the background looks like one of six lowbridge ECW-bodied Leyland PD1A Titans acquired by Promet from Crosville in 1959.

The location is on the Poljana Kneza Trpimira in central Split, looking north up Zagrebacka Ul. It was taken from an upper window in the headquarters of the Split-Makarska Nadbisupija Roman Catholic Archdiocese and the photo was taken by Andro Damjanic, a photo-journalist from Slobodna Dalmacija.

1959: LEYLAND TITAN PD1 from BURY

This looks like hard work. You would have thought that the passengers would at least have the decency to get off the bus. In the background is the Church of St Francis at the west end of the Riva promenade in Split.

David Beilby kindly emailed in October 2016 to explain "This will be one of three Titans new to Bury Corporation as their 110/111/116 (EN 8544/45/50). They were 1946 PD1s with Roe H31/25R bodies, withdrawn by Bury in 1959 and sold through North's in Leeds to Split, the last three of the batch to stay in service with Bury, the rest of the batch having being sold the previous year." They were numbered 90 to 92 by Promet and the one in the picture above is no. 90 (H-16071). The photo was taken by Andro Damjanic, a photo-journalist from Slobodna Dalmacija.

The same location today.

1959: LEYLAND TIGER TS8 from RIBBLE

It is thought that six Ribble Tiger TS8s were acquired by Promet around June 1959. They probably came from the 1938 batch with Ribble fleet numbers in the 700 series and registered RN 83xx. Promet gave them fleet numbers from 93 to 98. In this great panoramic view of Split harbour we can see two of them (at the front and back of the line) with a London Regal 14T12 second in the queue. Marin tells me that the third bus in the queue is an AEC Regal 10T10 rebodied by Autokaroserija Split around 1956, possibly no. 32. He says "By the background it seems the Tigers were caught just on arriving at Split in 1959!" Here is an enlarged view

1959: LEYLAND TITAN PD1A from CROSVILLE

Six PD1A Titans with ECW lowbridge bodies arrived from Crosville in December 1959 and Promet numbered them 99 to 104. As for their identities. certainly 1947 Titan M523 (formerly GFM 908) came to Split and was registered H-18518, Titan M525 (GFM 910) became no. 102, registered H-18534 and later ST-24.84, and 1948 Crosville M543 (HFM 65) was numbered 99 with registration ST-24-83. Here's an enlargement from the picture of the Wallasey PD1, seen further up this page.

And here's another one down by the harbour. Thanks to Marin for the picture.

Also from Marin is this image of one of the Crosville PD1s passing through Krilo Jesenice on the coast road from Omis to Split. The date and photographer are unknown.

1958: LEYLAND TIGER PS1 from STANDERWICK

It was reported that in 1958 a number (possibly as many as thirteen) of former 1947 Standerwick PS1 Tiger / Burlingham C31F coaches arrived in Split, from the batch registered between ARN 204 and ARN 220. A correspondent named Wilf Dodds wrote to Classic Bus magazine in early 1996 to say that Standerwick PS1 Tigers 62, 63, 66, 67, 68, 69, 71, 72, 73, 74, 76, 77 and 78 (ARN 204, 205, 208 etc) - i.e. a total of thirteen - passed via Millburn Motors and Haulgo Ltd of Havant to Split, Jugoslavia in July 1958 (or September 1958 in the case of nos. 73 and 78). He doesn't say where he got the information from.

However Marin suspects that these buses may not have been used in Split at all (or at least not all of them), but were in transit to other places - perhaps Dubrovnik or somewhere in Montenegro. He says "the reason I believe they were never used in Split is that there is simply not enough room between Promet's known garage numbers to fit them." He also said "something would have come up by now - a sighting, a photo, an article." So let's assume that the Standerwick Tigers were just in transit to somewhere else.

1960: LEYLAND TITAN PD1 from RIBBLE

In April 2023 Marin sent the above photo to ask what type of bus it was. Well, there were only 50 buses built to this design (all for Ribble), the first 30 being Burlingham bodied Leyland PD1s in 1948/49, followed by 20 East Lancs bodied PD2s in 1950/51. At that stage it wasn't clear which of the 50 it was....

.....but then John Kaye emailed to say: "Whilst I cannot say exactly which is the one in the photograph, I can narrow it down to one of two, thanks to the P. S. V. Circle Fleet History 2PC14 - Ribble 1935-1950. 2528 (BRN 271) and 2539 (BRN 280) were Leyland PD1/3 Titans with Burlingham FCL27/26RD bodies new in 1948. In 1951 they were renumbered to 1211 and 1220 respectively, and were both withdrawn in 1960. They passed to C. D. S. Trading Company Ltd., Wallington in August 1960 and then to Bosna Auto, Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, also in August 1960. Nothing further is recorded about them. None of the East Lancs bodied PD2/3s are recorded as going to Yugoslavia, all finding new homes in the U. K."

These two buses, along with an ex London STD class bus and a PD1A possibly ex Wigan, were owned by GSP in Tusla. Perhaps they had more buses too, but this is unclear.

Thanks very much to Norman, Željko and Marin for giving me access to this interesting collection of images, and especially to Marin for all his help with the research. Finally (with no apologies!) I'm going to add a few pictures from my visit to the area in 2017.

I did like these cute little TAM trucks, which reminded me of the Russian UAZ 452s, known as the pill (ambulance), loaf (van) or tadpole (pick-up). TAM stands for Tovarna Avtomobilov Maribor (Maribor Automobile Factory), a commercial vehicle producer based in the city of Maribor. Created in 1946 from a wartime aircraft parts factory, it became Yugoslavia's largest truck manufacturer but eventually closed down in 1996. Back in the 1960s Promet was using red TAM buses in Split for out-of-town services.

Seen in the village of Dol on Brac island, this model is the 80T35. 80 refers to the horse power, T means truck and 35 represents 3.5 tons capacity. Marin tells me that the truck is known locally as the Tamic (little TAM) and that this example was built in 1986.

The same truck seen in Dol a bit later and, as you can see, it is a tough machine for its size and is quite capable of carrying a digger up a hill.

Here's another one, in this case an 80T50 (5-tonner) seen in Supetar on the island of Brac. It was built in 1989.

These classic bikes were always parked outside a quayside cafe at Supetar harbour on Brac island. The big one in the foreground is an ancient German DKW probably from the 1950s, and the moped behind it is a ROG Pony Express with a 50 cc Puch engine, manufactured by the ROG bicycle factory in Slovenia from the 1960s to the 1980s.

Finally a mystery picture. A trailer with a seat on the front? I really wished I could have seen this in action...

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