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Coras Iompair Eireann 1962 to 1966 (by Shane Conway)

Page last updated on 26th October 2023

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Having placed 380 double deckers in service from 1956 to 1961, CIE's bus building works were to return to producing single deck buses and coaches for the first half of the 1960s. 32 Leyland Leopard L2 chassis had already been bodied as 45 seater buses and placed in service from August 1961 onwards. At the beginning of 1962, the total single deck fleet stood at 564, of which just the 32 Leopards were suitable for the incoming concept of one man operation. Apart from the E class, the newest single deck bus dated from 1956, and the oldest one from 1941. There was also, at this time, increasing pressure being placed on the rural bus fleet due to the number of uneconomic railway branch lines being closed, and the need to provide replacement road transport services. Clearly therefore a programme of fleet renewal was needed for the single deckers, and a further 138 L2s were bodied at Spa Road works in 1962, 1963 and 1964.

As with all earlier CIE s/d buses built since 1948, roof mounted luggage carriers and rear access ladders were fitted. An unusual modification had to be made to the design from E51 onwards, when it was realised that the ladder caused the bus to exceed the legal length in Northern Ireland by a few inches. The nearside rear window was reduced in width and the ladder could then be recessed into the bodywork slightly. However, this alteration is also attributed to conductors accidentally kicking, and breaking, the window while climbing up or down the ladder. Another change was to the emergency exit, which originally was hinged to the back pillar of the bus and opened rearwards. Possibly on safety grounds or (more likely) for structural reasons, these were all changed to open in the opposite direction in later years. Finally with the advent of one man operation the manually operated folding doors on the early buses were later replaced by the air operated two leaf doors which became standard on front entrance buses.

Interspersed with these were 36 luxury 40 seater touring coaches, to replace the ten year old Royal Tigers of the mid 1950s. These new coaches comprised 13 Leopards of the PSU3/4R variety, and 23 Leyland Worldmasters. The unique bodywork on them was designed by David Ogle and Associates and the first one entered service in 1962. A further dozen were available for the 1963 season, and the rest appeared in early 1964. Unfortunately the bodies were all steel framed and panelled, and the extra weight that this imposed was to be their downfall. During 1970 and 1971 all 36 were scrapped, and the chassis sent to Van Hool in Belgium for rebodying.

The increasing numbers of E class buses entering service allowed the company to scrap many of the P class Leyland Tigers dating from 1948 to 1953, none of which were suitable for driver only operation. A shortage of double deckers was relieved by using mechanical components from these vehicles as part of new Leyland Titans, for which the bodywork was supplied in kit form from Park Royal, and was assembled in the former G. N. R. works in Dundalk. These 26 buses were designated Leyland PD3A/6, the only such examples ever made, although it should be noted that an Isle of Man PD3A/3 of 1964 had its chassis plate incorrectly stamped as PD3A/6. The only other Park Royal bodied PD3s were a fleet of 29 for Leicester Corporation. The fleet pressure was eased further by converting the six airport coaches into (almost) standard rear platform buses, their role being taken over by six U class coaches.

Three further interesting buses saw CIE service during 1964, when Bolton, Liverpool and Glasgow Corporation's transport departments loaned one bus each to CIE for six months for service trials in Dublin and Cork. In each case the chassis was the Leyland Atlantean, but each with different body designs. Leyland Motors had quickly arranged these loan vehicles when it became known that MH Cars in Belfast had bodied two Daimler Fleetlines with a view to C. I. E. taking them for demonstration purposes. After this plan fell through the two buses were sold to Bournemouth Corporation and one of them is now preserved as the sole survivor of this design of bodywork. Experience from the three Atlanteans was assessed in detail prior to the building of the next generation of Irish double deckers, from late 1966 onwards. In the meantime, Spa Road readied itself by starting to produce the second large group of Leopards, the C class, from 1965 onwards. For these the bodies were supplied in kit form by Metal Sections of Oldbury, and were assembled and furnished in Dublin. The same technique would be used up to the mid 1970s.

A total of 143 C class buses entered service in 1965, and a further 117 arrived in 1966. Some of these were fitted out as 40 seater tour coaches, others as 45 seater express coaches, with the majority being either 45 seat or 53 seat service buses. C71 to C99 were originally allocated to the Dublin City Services fleet, with all others going to the provincial service fleet. November 1966 saw the entry into service of C. I. E.'s first D class Atlantean, when D4 slipped into service on Dublin's route 19 on 29th November. A further seven examples were in service by Christmas.

1962

E64, from the second batch of E class buses, was new in June 1962 and became a driver trainer in May 1978, lasting in that role until October 1993. As a service bus it worked from five different garages in three of Ireland's four provinces.

WT1 was photographed in the grounds of Powerscourt House in Co. Wicklow when new. The photo shows the classic Mercedes-esqe styling of the upper body, but by 1970 all of these coaches were rebodied by Van Hool. Thereafter most lasted until well into the 1980s, and were the only underfloor engined Van Hools in the CIE fleet.

1963

1964

E162 spent most of it service life allocated to Broadstone, and after withdrawal was converted to a towing vehicle in 1981, spending eight more years on these duties before being scrapped.

R902 and R904 are seen in Broadstone yard when newly delivered, in autumn 1964, and both remained in service for seventeen years. Lorry AM188 (IY 8270) was an AEC Mammoth Major taken over from the Great Northern Railway in 1958.

1965

C72 seen at Busaras after its repaint to brown and cream and fitting of the revised roof ends and coach seats, for the Dublin Airport service. It was one of nine (C71 to 79) altered this way in 1971, all then based in Donnybrook garage. Subsequently they were transferred to Summerhill in January 1973 and soon repainted tan. The coach seats were replaced by bus seats later on.

R921 in the Fairview area in its later years working on route 31 to Howth. It has been fitted with a radiator cap from an earlier RA class PD3 as well as getting a yellow fog lamp.

1966

C224 seen at Busaras during the late 1960s, about to depart for Wicklow. At this stage it was allocated to Broadstone garage, later moving in 1971 to Drogheda along with sister C226 and four M class to replace Leyland Titans. New in April 1966, it remained in service until October 1985 and was sold for scrap in 1987.

D4 entered service on Dublin's route 19 on 29th November 1966, as the first of its type. Sixteen years later it was withdrawn from service, a few months after the above photo was taken.

Total fleet = 477 (474 new vehicles and 3 demonstrators) with 33 survivors (C17, C26, C42, C45, C64, C83, C97, C144, C145, C149, C154, C155, C160, C168, C170, C173, C176, C177, C205, C215, C231, C234, C258, E58, E93, E106, E140, E152, E170, R911, R920, WVH13 and WVH22).

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