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The 45th anniversary of CIE's C class Leyland Leopards -- a photo tribute
Page last updated on July 25th 2010
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45 years ago, in April 1965, CIE put the first of their C class Leyland Leopards into service. Unlike previous designs of Irish single deck buses, these vehicles featured air suspension, semi-automatic transmission and forced air ventilation. Whereas older buses had been designed and built by the company in Spa Road works, the C class bodyframes were supplied in kit form by Metal Sections Ltd. of Oldbury, and then assembled and completed by CIE. By the end of 1965 a total of 146 of them had entered service, to be followed by a further 114 in 1966. The first 182 were completed as 45 seat buses, followed by eight 41 seat express coaches, after which the length was increased to 11 metres for a batch of 70 vehicles. 20 of these were fitted out as 40 seat touring coaches, 42 as 53 seater buses, and eight 45 seater express coaches. Later on five of the buses were redone for express work, and the tour coaches were converted to 53 seater buses in the early 1970s. In 1968 a further 20 tour coaches were planned, but only ten were built, bringing the final total to 270. A further six examples were placed in service during 1965 with the Ulster Transport Authority. The CIE buses were originally painted in red and cream (buses) or brown and cream (coaches), but later upwards of 80 of the short buses were in the tan livery used on Dublin City buses from 1974 to 1988. A change of front and rear roof domes, plus a lack of replacement fibreglass panels and curved rear corner windows increased the many variations in this class of buses during the 1970s. By the mid 1980s, a need for replacement school buses for rural services meant that several dozen of these Leopards were repainted yellow and white for this work. Others were added to the Dublin Bus driver training school. September 1997, when CS168 became the last known working example in Bus Eireann service, brought to an end over 32 years of continous service of the type. A large number of them were acquired by various preservationists, thus ensuring their memory lives on. To mark 45 years since their introduction, Classic Irish Buses website is running a year long photo feature on these buses, with a different photo appearing each Sunday.
January 3rd: Photo number 1 shows C188 parked on Lower Gardiner Street, Dublin in the late 1970s, by then a city vehicle but still in red and cream. Behind is what I think is ex Airport coach C71 in tan, and one of the 1959 Leyland PD3s (RA34) taking up the rear.
January 10th: Photo number 2 shows preserved C160 parked on the Seafront in Bray on April 1st 2002, while taking part in a commemorative run to mark 65 years of Dublin's double decker buses. C160 was subsequently fitted with leaf springs on its back axle, replacing the original air suspension. It was one of many C class with the revised aluminium front, but seems to be the only example with the grille upside down, all others having the grille with a curved base line. During the 1970s and 1980s there were around 80 C class painted in this livery, along with almost 800 Atlanteans, but today just one example of each survives in preservation. Photo copyright David O'Connor.`
January 17th: Photo number 3 shows express coach C260 at Limerick railway station while working the Cork to Galway service in the late 1960s. At the time it was one of a few C class to be allocated to Donegal, as evidenced by the garage name below the CIE logo on the front. Although it was reseated into B53F layout in the early 1970s and re-allocated to Sligo, it uniquely retained its brown and cream livery, right up until it was withdrawn from service in 1985. Following withdrawal, it was acquired by a preservation group to provide spare parts for sister bus C258.
January 24th: Photo number 4 shows former express coach C235 in its later guise of Lough Swilly's 138 at rest in that operator's premises in Pennyburn, Derry. It was one of two of its type (along with C259) with Lough Swilly, and they were later joined by three of the ex Ulsterbus version. These two C types were the only examples of the express version to retain their coach seats until withdrawal, and co-incidentally the two buses immediately preceeding these two (C234 and C258) both went into preservation.
January 31st: Photo number 5 shows brand new C58 on tour duties in Busaras in 1965, alongside two of the mid 1950s U class Leyland Royal Tigers. C58 was one of those buses cascaded to city routes in Dublin in the early 1970s following the introduction of the M class Leopards. It became a Clontarf bus, and as such was to see service on routes passing Busaras, such as the 27 group to Coolock/Artane and the 53 to North Wall. Royal Tiger ZO 6881 (U10) still exists, with the Transport Museum in Howth. Photo copyright David O'Connor.
February 7th: Photo number 6 shows C90 outside Busaras while working the Airport service. Donnybrook based C class buses had replaced blue and cream painted U class coaches on this route in 1965, the only regular working by D C S (now Dublin Bus) vehicles from Busaras. Subsequently C71 to C76 were fitted with coach seats for the Airport run, the route transferred to Summerhill garage, and continued as such until about 1980 when Plaxton Elite bodied Leopards took over these duties. C90 was one of 29 C class (C71 to C99) which were new to Dublin City routes, although some of them became rural schoolbuses in the 1980s. Photo copyright David O'Connor.
February 14th: Photo number 7 shows CS115 in Dundalk garage on 23rd May 1987. New in November 1965, it became a school bus 20 years later, and passed to Bus Eireann in February 1987. Withdrawn from service in March 1992, it was sold for scrap in December 1994. It was one of 14 C class buses to retain the original style roof domes, but has had its rear corner windows panelled over and the boot doors sealed shut with strips of aluminium. Earlier such conversions had the doors removed and replaced with sheet aluminium. Note that traces of red paint are visible on the rear where the tail lights have been replaced. Photo copyright Shane Conway.
February 21st: Photo number 8 shows Dublin Bus driver trainer C97 on a visit to Drogheda on 12th October 1989, at the ripe old age (for a working bus anyway) of 24. In 1968 a photo of this bus was included in the book "Dublin's Buses" while on a school run in the Dartry area of south Dublin. It was converted to a driver trainer in May 1984 and was to see almost ten years service in this role. It then passed to Bus Eireann in February 1994 and was repainted into its new owner's red and white livery. From 1996 to the present it has been in the hands of preservationists, although changing owners every few years, it has retained its final, unique, livery. Note the additional rear view mirrors fitted behind the cab/entrance area. Photo copyright Shane Conway.
February 28th: Photo number 9 shows C258 on Dublin's O'Connell Street on June 30th 1990, while taking part in the Dublin Bay rally. C258 was acquired for preservation by the West of Ireland Steam Railway Association's bus group in November 1985, making it the second of its type (after C17) to be preserved. In this view it is passing Dublin Bus Atlantean D667 (on route 16) and being followed by three Northern Ireland vehicles, Leyland PD3 815 EZ, Tiger GZ 7628 and AEC Reliance 6234 EZ. Most of C258's working life was in the Sligo and Ballina areas (although it has a destination blind from a Dundalk C in this shot), so visits of it to Dublin in the red and cream livery would have been rare in CIE days. A month after it was acquired by WISRA, sister bus C260 (already featured in this series) was bought as a source of spare parts. Subsequently C258 was sold on to a preservationist in Waterford, and later to its fourth owner in Co. Kildare. Photo copyright Shane Conway.
March 7th: Photo number 10 shows C159 in its original operating territory of Ballina garage in County Mayo, during the late 1960s. Also in the picture is another C class, and one of the U class Royal Tiger coaches. The 1970s saw this bus being modified with the later style roof domes and being transferred to Conyngham Road garage in Dublin, where it worked until the early 1980s in the tan livery. It was then one of three buses (along with C157 and C180) which were repainted red and cream and transferred to Limerick as short term replacements for lower numbered C class, before the KR class GAC rural buses began entering service in 1985. Photo copyright R.H.G. Simpson.
March 14th: Photo number 11 shows a second view of C159, this time in Limerick in 1984. Its re-incarnation as a red and cream bus was to be shortlived as it was destroyed by fire in August 1984. Other C class had also been similarly destroyed during the 1970s, mainly around the border area between the Republic and Ulster. C159 was the final example of the C class to be burnt out, and was scrapped in 1985. Visible on the roof is an aerial which was fitted to all buses which were used on Dublin City bus services. Photo copyright Shane Conway.
March 21st: Photo number 12 shows C155, captured at the Cavan and Leitrim Railway in Dromod in March 2010. Owned by a preservationist, it has been converted to a mobile workshop, with all the side windows panelled over. New in January 1966, it spent much of its working life in Ballina and Sligo garages, working rural routes in the west of Ireland until August 1985. It then spent a further 11 years as a school bus, until being finally withdrawn in November 1996 and sold for conversion to its present role. Photo copyright Kevin Horgan.
March 28th: Photo number 13 shows C5, which spent much of its working life in Waterford, although it was initially allocated to Broadstone garage in Dublin. It was one of 14 of the type which retained its original style domes throughout, and in this view still has its rear corner windows. Unusually for a CIE single decker, it has two lines of text on its destination blind, not unique, but certainly rare. It is seen at the former Waterford bus terminus on the Quay in its native city. Photo copyright Dave Spencer.
April 4th: Photo number 14 shows C213, which was one of a batch of 20 40 seater touring coaches (C201 - 220) new in 1966. The standard bus body received different style domes without a destination screen, a larger luggage compartment at the rear, and the distinctive chrome grille. A further 10 (C261 - 270) in 1968 would complete the class of 270 vehicles. With the downturn in Ireland's tourist trade in the early 1970s, 28 of the 30 coaches (C268 was written off in 1971 after a crash) were converted to standard service buses in red and cream, while C270 was reseated as a 45 seater express coach similar to C231 - 235 and C253 - 260. As can be seen in the photo, the single piece coach door was hinged to open outwards, although all were altered to the two leaf air doors on conversion. Photo copyright R.H.G Simpson.
April 11th: Photo number 15 shows Clontarf bus C65, unusually working on route 30 to Dollymount. As this route had been exclusively a double deck operation since it was converted from tram to bus in the late 1930s, single decks didn't have destination blinds for the service, hence the large "30" sticker on the front of the bus. This is believed to be in 1979, when severe weather conditions resulted in some buses being off service due to frozen diesel tanks. Apart from Clontarf's own C class, some of the longer 53 seaters were also borrowed from Broadstone to work the service. Clontarf C class buses were more typically to be found on routes 27, 53 and 88. Photo copyright Bob Laird collection.
April 18th: Photo number 16 shows Waterford's C203 in its final guise as a transfer bus at Rosslare Harbour. CIE had provided a bus for this working since 1974, the first being Bedford VAS5 SS56, later replaced by Leopard E96. Finally two C class (the other being C254) were rebuilt as dual door vehicles with perimeter seating for the service and used until the port was redeveloped with new terminal buildings. It is believed the centre door parts were those of a D class Atlantean, which were then in the process of being withdrawn. Seating capacity is unclear, but is thought to have been 38, with a large standee area. Photo copyright Shane Conway.
April 25th: Photo number 17 shows former tour coach C204 after being demoted to service bus work in the early 1970s. As can be seen the first part of the process was a repaint into red and cream, with the roof domes being changed AFTER that. The vehicle is also devoid of seats, and had yet to receive the screen behind the driver's seat. Originally all red and cream C class had a cream roof with the rest of the bus in red, but these former coaches received a variation of the livery with more cream. This was also subsequently applied to some of the short C class in Drogheda and Galway. The large chrome grille was also replaced later on, with Cork's C220 thought to have been the last bus to be altered in this way. Photo copyright Bob Laird collection.
May 2nd: Photo number 18, taken in Drogheda bus station in the early 1980s shows two of the short C class in contrasting styles. C110 nearest the camera retains its original style roof domes while C181 alongside is one of the 256 buses which were changed. C110 also has non standard headlights with raised glass, and C181 has lost its foglamp in favour of a plain light. Both buses have non-smoking stickers on the windows towards the rear, a practice of CIE around this time. Photo copyright Bob Laird collection.
May 9th: Photo number 19, taken in Limerick city centre in the early 1980s shows local bus C128 with windscreen labels for the city service from Caherdavin to O'Malley Park. Behind the Leopard is one of Limerick's seven Van Hool McArdle bodied D class Atlanteans, but it is unclear which one it is. Bus Eireann today operate route 302 to Caherdavin, and the 306 to O'Malley Park, although this photo suggests that it was then just one route. Note that the CIE logo on the side of the bus is in a different position to that of C110 above. Photo copyright Bob Laird collection.
May 16th: Photo number 20, taken in Broadstone garage, Dublin in the early 1970s shows C123 about to set off for Busaras to do a service run to Granard, Co. Longford. At that time buses in Busaras reversed into parking bays, hence the destination label on the back window. In the background can be seen at least five of the then new M class buses, including one in the brown and cream coach livery. These buses were subsequently to oust several of the C class to Dublin city garages, including C123 which went to Conyngham Road, where it was to spend the rest of its working life. Photo copyright Bob Laird collection.
May 23rd: Photo number 21, taken in Drogheda in the early 1980s shows C199 at rest with an M class alongside. For upwards of ten years the Drogheda allocation had remained constant (apart from one M class replacement after a fire), since the 1972 replacement of six R class Titans with four new M class Leopards. The rest of the local fleet comprised 10 C class and 6 E class, and it was only in 1982 that a further half dozen Cs arrived to replace the Es, these having been replaced by new KE class Bombardiers in Broadstone. One of these was C199, the others being C181, 191, 195, 197 and 255. I'm at a loss to explain the odd orange stripes along the side of the roof though, does anyone know? Photo copyright Bob Laird collection.
May 30th: Photo number 22, taken at an unknown location in the late 1960s shows Ulsterbus 486 working on the Derry Express. In 1965 the Ulster Transport Authority placed six of these vehicles in service, 481 - 486 (2481 - 86 OZ). Apart from the obvious visual differences to the CIE buses, these six also featured manual gearboxes and some of them had toilets fitted. 486 was to be the last one with Ulsterbus, as a towbus in Armagh until March 1982. Ulsterbus subsequently settled on an Alexander designed body for its new bus orders, but it would have been interesting if this design had been chosen instead and fitted to Leopards, Bedfords, Bristols and perhaps even the Education Board Albion Vikings!!! Three of the batch (481, 482 and 483) joined the Lough Swilly fleet, where they worked alongside ex CIE C235 and C259. Photo copyright R.H.G. Simpson.
June 6th: Photo number 23, taken in Cork bus station about 1982 shows an interesting line-up. C247 (on the left) and C47 (on the right) were always allocated to Cork, but C147 in the centre was originally a Ballina vehicle, later spending a few years in Broadstone depot in Dublin, before transfer to Cork around 1980/81. This unusual combination of three C class buses with fleet numbers and regs exactly 100 apart and allocated to one garage was not to be found anywhere else in the C I E network. Photo copyright Eamon McArthur.
June 13th: Photo number 24, taken in Howth, Co. Dublin in the early 1980s depicts Clontarf bus C64 working on route 88. This route was introduced in 1959 following the closure of the former Great Northern Railway tram service from Howth to Sutton via the Hill of Howth. In tram days ten double deck cars were used on the line, a contrast to the load being carried on this particular working!!! In Dublin City Service terms this was the most easterly route on the network, although buses on the provincial service to Wicklow terminated further east than Howth. Photo copyright Paul Savage.
June 20th: Photo number 25, taken at Sligo railway station around 1984 depicts ex Clontarf bus C63, which was one of a number of tan painted buses transferred to provincial garages for further service. While most of the re-homed buses were deployed on school services and repainted yellow and white, the few sent to Stranorlar (including C63) were used to replace older E class buses on stage services. The replacements for these buses on Dublin City routes were the KC class GAC citybuses, while it took the later KR class to finally oust the C class from rural stage services. Photo copyright Bob Laird collection.
June 27th: Photo number 26, taken on College Street, Dublin about 1971 or 1972 shows Donnybrook bus C82 at rest, along with an RA and a U class bus. The only single deck services from this location were routes 46 and 63, along with the double deck 46A (typically operated by the RA141 to 152 batch). It is probable that the three buses shown here represent each of the three routes, although it isn't clear which service C82 is actually on. Photo copyright Bob Laird collection.
July 4th: Photo number 27, taken in Sligo in the late 1970s or early 1980s, depicts C151 as these buses looked in their later lives, such as faded paintwork, a few dents here and there, and even the roof advert having been subjected to the effects of several trips through a mechanical vehicle wash. C151 was new in January 1966, became a school bus 20 years later, passed to Bus Eireann in February 1987 and continued in service until November 1994, almost 29 years. Photo copyright Bob Laird collection.
July 11th: Photo number 28, taken in Dun Laoghaire in April 1971, shows C71 (the first of the batch used on Dublin City routes from new) in Dun Laoghaire on route 59 to Killiney, while an R or RA class Leyland Titan speeds past in the other direction. Double deck operated routes in the area would have included the 7, 8, 45, 45A, 46, 46A and 58, while AEC diesel railcar sets provided the suburban train services on the coastal line to Bray. Photo copyright David O'Connor.
July 18th: Photo number 29, taken in the grounds of Malahide Castle on 26th August 1995, shows CS234 which had then been newly acquired for preservation, having been withdrawn from service in January of that year. A full set of coach type seats were also acquired and stored inside the bus as can be seen here. Restoration of CS234 to its 1968 format of express coach commenced shortly afterwards. Photo copyright Shane Conway.
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