Motor vehicle
| Dennis Loline | |
|---|---|
 Preserved Aldershot & District Traction East Lancashire Coachbuilders bodied Dennis Loline I in Alton in July 2024 | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Dennis |
| Production | 1958–66 |
| Assembly | Guildford, England |
| Body and chassis | |
| Doors | 1 |
| Floor type | Step entrance |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | AEC AV470 Leyland O.600 Gardner 6LW Gardner 6LX |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 8.5 m (27 ft 11 in) to 9.4 m (30 ft 10 in) |
| Width | 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) |
| Height | 4.12 m (13 ft 6 in) |
The Dennis Loline was a low-height double-decker bus manufactured by Dennis between 1958 and 1966.
History
The Dennis Loline was basically a license-built Bristol Lodekka, being primarily supplied to municipal, private sector British Electric Traction fleets and independent bus companies in the United Kingdom, during a period when Bristol's sales were restricted to state-owned bus companies.
Production was to cease in 1962, however this was quickly reversed and it continued to be made until 1966.
Three versions of the Dennis Loline were built: the Loline with rear entrance, Loline II with front entrance and the later Loline III with a revised front grille in front of the radiator and a different clutch and constant mesh gearbox.
In 1961, Barton Transport commissioned No. 861, which had lowbridge bodywork on a Loline chassis, and was the lowest ever roofed British double-decker. It was specially designed to pass under an ultra low railway bridge at Sawley Junction, now Long Eaton, station.
Aldershot & District Traction operated the largest number of Dennis Loline buses.
China Motor Bus in Hong Kong put one Dennis Loline into service in 1963. It was the first double-decker bus on Hong Kong Island.
References
- Four New Dennis Three Lorries and a Bus Commercial Motor 24 August 1956
- A Lower Loline Commercial Motor 29 August 1958
- Loline output to end Commercial Motor 8 December 1961
- Loline Back on the Market Commercial Motor 7 December 1962
- A double-decker comeback by Dennis Commercial Motor 19 March 1976
- Townsin, AA (1965). British Double Deckers Since 1942. Ian Allan Publishing.
- Dennis Loline Bus Lists on the Web
- Dennis Loline II Bus Lists on the Web
- Dennis Loline III Bus Lists on the Web
- "Barton Transport – Dennis Loline – 861 HAL – 861". Old Bus Photos. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
Further reading
- Brown, S. (2013). The Lodekka Alternatives. Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7110-3535-5