Bristol Commercial Vehicles / Eastern Coach Works Railbus

Introduced: 1958
Body: 42ft 7in
Engine: Gardner 112hp
Transmission: Mechanical
Lot Number: 30483
Diagram: BR 610
Seating: 56

These two vehicles Sc79958/9 were built jointly between the Bristol Commercial Vehicles Ltd (chassis) and Eastern Coach Works Limited (body), two undertakings that were owned by the British Transport Commission having acquired them with the Tilling Group at Nationalisation.

Each car had seating for 56 passengers, and in keeping with the other railbuses there was a central entrance forming two saloons and luggage space. The design & construction was based on principles used in the manufacture of Bristol-Eastern Coach Works passenger road vehicles and both the upholstery and decoration of the saloon conformed generally to Eastern Coach Works standard bus practice.

The floor was lower than other railbuses, being only about seven inches above the platform when the vehicle was laden. This dispensed with the need for a footstep, making loading and unloading easier. The wheels were unique to this country, being a resilient type made by Svenska Aktibolaget Bromsregulator (SAB) of Sweden, and the braking system, also unique to Britain, successfully obviated the tendency for wheel locking on wet or dry rail while maintaining the optimum braking. Developed by the Dunlop Company, it was known as the Dunlop Monitor Brake System. The braking effort was achieved by a monitor brake shoe which initiated and controlled the main braking effort through disc-type brakes.

The vehicles worked exclusively on the ScR and were thought of as the worst of the five railbus types. They were withdrawn in '66.