88-503: The Plaxton Panorama is a double decker coach bodywork, produced by Plaxton 's Scarborough factory on the newly built Volvo B11RLE chassis. The Panorama was launched in 2018, and in standard configuration seats 87 with a toilet, or 91 without. The majority of Panoramas purchased have to gone to Stagecoach Group operators, with the Oxford Tube ordering 34, Stagecoach's largest single order of coaches. This bus-related article
176-543: A distinct business model that can be significantly profitable and sustainable . There is a spectrum with overlap from with the efforts of amateur gardeners who sometimes sell from home or at markets, as an extension of their pastime, to fully commercial market gardening as the main or sole income stream. The latter requires the most discipline and business sense. Successful practitioners who have written books about it include Eliot Coleman and Jean-Martin Fortier . An example of
264-424: A fact supported by the 1977 Supreme brochure and the 1982 centenary book Plaxtons The Great British Coachbuilders. There was to be six marks of Supreme (Seven including Mini Supreme). Development was protracted as the builder was careful not to compromise their market leading position. Supreme I was a 29-seat coach on a Bedford VAS chassis with a standard Plaxton in-swing door located behind the front axle. Supreme II
352-551: A large new manufacturing facility in Seamer Road, Scarborough. This allowed increased production, and Plaxtons became popular with many independent operators throughout Northern England . Many of these operators purchased their vehicles through independent dealers, rather than directly from the factory. In this regard, Plaxton's sales were through Lancashire Motor Traders Ltd of Manchester and Arlington Motor Co Ltd of London . The company became known as FW Plaxton & Son by 1937, as
440-604: A market garden operation in North America might involve one farmer working full-time on two acres (0.81 ha; 8,100 m ). Most work is done with hand and light power tools, and perhaps a small tractor . Some 20 different crops are planted throughout the season. Hardier plants , like peas , spinach , radish , carrots and lettuce are seeded first, in earlier spring, followed by main season crops, like tomatoes , potatoes , corn , beans , cucumber , onions , and summer squash . A further planting timed for harvest in
528-606: A new look for their coach products. The result was the Plaxton Paramount, which appeared at the 1982 British Motor Show. The Paramount was a squarer design than the Supreme, with cleaner lines, a flatter roof line and a distinctive "feature window" just behind the front wheelarch. The use of the "feature window" was a return to a trump card played by the Ogle-inspired Panorama/Panorama I first seen in 1964. From there
616-494: A new rear window interchangeable with the windscreen, and a reduction in the number of window pillars on 36-foot versions. Because of the adverse reaction to the "multi-windowed" Embassy, from 1963 all 36-foot Plaxton coach bodies used the new Panorama shell, with windows of large size whether fixed or opening, although, as previously, the Panorama name was restricted to underfloor-engined coaches with fixed glazing and entrance ahead of
704-456: A panel that contained ventilation louvres at the top with the lower part being the actual grill that spanned the width of the vehicle. This grill was to become standard with little change until the Supreme IV of 1978. Again a bit of a Plaxton that was instantly recognisable and a familiar sight throughout Britain. The rear featured two large 9" circular rear lights each side arranged vertically, and
792-521: A range of vegetables from a single supplier, their freshness allowing for a premium over the revenue from the supermarkets and frequently other local suppliers. A larger market garden can by mixed crop production maintain a sales alternative to the wholesale commodity -style channels often used by farms that specialize in high volumes of a limited number of crops. Relying on cities for markets, however, can have drawbacks. For example, in England , south Sussex
880-583: A rather more raked frontal appearance. By the time the Mark II version appeared at the 1952 show, the Venturer was Plaxton's standard model. The Venturer II had a common front profile for all models, together with a standard dash panel featuring a four-part radiator grille with a central cross within an oval outline which also embraced the headlamps. A rear-end revision marked the launch of the Venturer III in 1954, and
968-648: A requirement for a new crisper design of coach body. The result was the first Panorama body. The main feature of the Panorama design was the large, fixed rectangular side windows. A vertical front from the contemporary Consort II design was used, with the door ahead of the front axle. The 1958 Panorama was entered into the British and the Nice coach rallies, winning top awards at both events. The first six Panoramas, designated "Panorama Pioneer" by SUT, were built on AEC Reliance chassis and seated 36 passengers. The production version of
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#17328770118291056-462: A result, there was a move away from light-weight chassis by Bedford and Ford to heavier-duty chassis from Leyland and Volvo , and an emphasis on improved comfort and amenities. There was also a growing interest from operators in imports from Europe due to their stylish eye-catching designs that attracted passengers. In particular, designs from Neoplan and Van Hool received much attention. In response, Plaxton returned to Ogle Design to create
1144-549: A two-piece curved glass window that wrapped around to meet the rearmost side pillars, and the lights were contained in a single unit with a fin-like top rather like the rear of the Ford Anglia 105E saloon. 36-foot (11 m) versions of both models were introduced, on Leyland Leopard and AEC Reliance chassis, as soon as legislation allowed, and were 8 feet 2.5 inches (2.502 m) wide. The first 36-foot coach in Britain
1232-416: A viable market (in microeconomics, basic or staple foods are considered as necessities and have highly inelastic demand curves, meaning that consumers will buy them in relatively constant quantities even if prices or incomes vary), especially with the recent popularity of organic and local food . It is in some instances considered hobby farming , although market gardening is a recognized type of farming with
1320-508: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Plaxton Plaxton is an English builder of bus and coach vehicle bodies based in Eastfield, North Yorkshire , England. Founded in 1907 by Frederick William Plaxton, it became a subsidiary of Alexander Dennis in May 2007. In 2019, the maker was acquired by Canadian bus manufacturer New Flyer which then became NFI Group . The business
1408-474: Is marginalization of the succeeding generation where they are relied upon as the fittest and strongest to succeed in continuing the farm rather than pursue other ambitions and opportunities. Market gardening has in recent decades become an alternative business and lifestyle choice for individuals who wish to " return to the land ", because the business model and niche allow a smaller start-up investment than conventional commercial farming, and generally offers
1496-450: Is relied upon for many tasks, and manual labor requirements, particularly for setting transplants and harvesting, are often significant, with crews of 10, 20 or more people employed seasonally. This has led in the U.S. to groups of "transient" or "migrant" workers who follow the harvest seasons to different farms across the country. In cooler climates, greenhouses are generally used to produce transplants, and sometimes greenhouse production
1584-706: Is sometimes called a truck farm in the US. A market garden is a business that provides a wide range and steady supply of fresh produce through the local growing season . Unlike large, industrial farms, which practice monoculture and mechanization, many different crops and varieties are grown and more manual labour and gardening techniques are used. The small output requires selling through such local fresh produce outlets as on-farm stands, farmers' markets , community-supported agriculture subscriptions, restaurants and independent produce stores. Market gardening and orchard farming are closely related to horticulture , which concerns
1672-487: Is typically relatively cheap and allows immigrants to purchase land, often with an accompanying residence, far more readily than in urban settings. However, like all agriculture it risks crop failure, market collapse and competition from industrialized broad-acre farming and 'fresh-frozen' imported produce. Other risks are from hazards such as pesticide use, especially where the market gardeners are not trained in their use or able to read product information. Another consequence
1760-541: The Leyland Tiger and AEC Regal . On the outbreak of World War II in 1939, coach production halted and the factory was turned into a munitions factory under the control of the Ministry of Aircraft Production . Many records from the early years were lost when an incendiary bomb set fire to the Seamer Road factory in 1943, causing much damage. As the factory was under control of the Ministry of Works , production continued in
1848-593: The Wallace Arnold Group), and for 30-foot (9.1 m) and shorter front-engined chassis the original short-windowed body was updated with a pronounced reverse-rake peak over the windscreen as the Embassy II. For the 1964 season the latter was substantially redesigned as the Embassy III, catching up in several respects with the development of the Panorama, but introducing a new near-rectangular grill which signalled
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#17328770118291936-493: The hoe is customarily called "gardening" and husbandry done by the plough as "farming" regardless of the scale of either. A "market garden" was simply a vegetable plot, the produce of which the farmer used to sell as opposed to use to feed his or her family. Market gardens are necessarily close to the markets, i.e. cities, that they serve. Truck farms produce vegetables for market. The word 'truck' in Truck farms does not refer to
2024-454: The 1920s, but the depression of 1929–1933 created difficulties for manufacture of luxury automobiles. As a result, the manufacture of charabanc , and later coach bodies became more important through the late 1920s and early 1930s. Customers during this time tended to be local to the Scarborough area, Scarborough being a popular seaside resort. By 1936 the company felt justified in constructing
2112-515: The Elite range were available with bus grant specification front doors and interiors, although this option was late for Panorama Elite and only a few built. It was however a very popular option for the Mark II and Mark III. To complement this destination blinds were also available in both the front grille and on the roof or front dome for front radiator chassis. This became known as "the Bristol Dome" due to
2200-457: The Mark III the racks had flatter sides that had no connection to the cant rail. The demisters were located on the edge of the rack within a laminate strip. The PVC or maybe ABS material that coated the underneath of the rack was usually black. This was the final design of rack and saw Supreme through to the end of the series. Those racks used flatter service units with eyeball vents and a flat lens on
2288-564: The Panorama Elite III was built around 6,000 of the Elite series bodies had been produced. Development of a new coach range to supersede the Panorama Elite commenced in 1974 and was to be called Panorama Supreme, however the Panorama part was dropped in favour of simple Supreme. This series of bodies was to have a long development process as both the factory and work force wasn't equipped for all-steel production at this stage. At first
2376-461: The Panorama I and Panorama Elite were simply a success from the outset winning many orders from small, national, and some international operators. It entered most fleets in large multiples. The export market was addressed with left hand drive versions, some modified for the Dutch market and at least one was built on Deutz chassis. The dynamic approach of Plaxtons relationship with their customers requirements
2464-458: The Panorama was renamed Panorama I for the 1967 season, the less expensive "bread and butter" models became available on all chassis types as the Panorama II. The Panorama I in particular sold extremely well. The Panorama cab was used in 1967 on a government commission of seven Bedford SB3 chassis mobile cinema units. With the height of these units being nearly 13 ft (4.0 m) the roof of
2552-463: The Panorama, with 41 seats as standard, was introduced at the 1958 Commercial Motor Show, as an addition to the existing range, available in one form only – on underfloor-engined chassis with the entrance ahead of the front axle. In common with the new Consort III and IV, it had a new silver-effect dished oval grill with a chrome flash through the middle, and a curved windscreen with a central division. The original Panorama's short window immediately behind
2640-664: The Supreme was designed to replace the ageing Panorama IV that was produced on the Bedford VAS and SB chassis for up to 41 passengers. The design for that coach went back to the Embassy body developed in the early 1960s. It had been re-vamped in the early 1970s and given an upright front and rear like the Elite III. Being front engined it had a centre door and still retained the Panorama I–style square cornered flat glass windows. The Supreme
2728-598: The US$ 2 to US$ 5/m (US$ 8,100 to US$ 20,200 per acre; US$ 20,000 to US$ 50,000 per hectare) range, or even higher. However, the size of a market garden has a practical upper bound, while with conventional farming, a farmer can farm vast areas because access to a direct market is not a requirement. Larger market gardens often sell to such local food outlets as supermarkets , food cooperatives , community-supported agriculture programs, farmers' markets , fresh food wholesalers , and any other higher-volume channels that benefit from buying
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2816-420: The badging. As styling development commenced it was realised that to design another coach to match the success of the Panorama Elite series was to be a challenge. Looking at the existing range of Panorama Elite III it was decided to use the Elite's most striking feature, notably the size of the windows and the curves that departed in every direction. The front of the coach was to follow closely with Elite by using
2904-447: The beginning of the end for the familiar Plaxton oval. The Plaxton coach range which appeared at the 1964 Commercial Motor Show had been extensively revised with assistance from the Ogle design consultancy . Waistrails were virtually straight, and rooflines distinctly shallower. On the new Panorama (later to become Panorama I ), a wide chrome trim band wrapped around the front and encompassed
2992-527: The body. Opening the side lockers luggage could be piled in one side and extracted from the other as nothing was in the way so it was very cutting-edge technology. It is said that 2 of these survive today. The bulk of the 20 were exported, mainly to the Netherlands, the left hand drive version had a tapered front to meet Dutch swept turning-circle requirements. Final Supreme offering was the Supreme VI. This model
3080-504: The cab opens up into a very unusual looking perspex dome extension, somewhat altering the usual sleek lines of Plaxton's Panorama. One of the seven units still remains in preservation, having been restored as a vintage mobile cinema . Plaxton launched a new design – the Panorama Elite – at the 1968 Commercial Motor Show in London. This essentially set the basic design of British coaches for
3168-452: The cooler fall conditions might include more spinach and carrots, winter squash , cabbage , and rutabaga . Harvesting is done at least weekly, by hand, sometimes with part-time help, and produce is sorted, washed and sold fresh at the local farmers' market, and from an on-farm stand. A pick-up truck is used for short-distance transport of crops and other farm materials. The workflow is a steady cycle of planting and harvesting right through
3256-465: The entrance door was now the forward in-swinging type. For the first time the Panorama was offered on all chassis types, including Ford R226 and Bedford VAL, looking particularly well-suited to the latter, where the chrome trim on the first window bay harmonised with the twin steering axles below. There was even a Panorama for the Bedford SB and Ford Thames 570E, although here the thickened window pillar
3344-420: The entrance door was removed and encapsulated into the first bay, and the difference in level between the waistline and the rear window was accommodated by a stylish "kick-up" at the rear. The design then received minor modifications over the next two years. Consort IV variants with the entrance further back, together with the smaller Consort III, were able to use a windscreen with even greater curvature, but it
3432-530: The entrance position. However, because the standard offering in the underfloor-engined sector was now the Panorama, most Embassy bodies were built on lightweight front-engined chassis – particularly the Thames 570E and Bedford SB . In this form, with the entrance behind the front axle, the Embassy retained the dished oval grill and wrap-around windscreen of the Consort IV. The rear of both Panorama and Embassy comprised
3520-400: The exception of the shallow rear window. The Supreme was also manufactured as a semi-integral on a DAF chassis. Around 20 were built. They were rear engined and the rear panel design was different from the Supreme V as it has vents and had odd shaped moulding around the rear window. As a semi-integral the body was required to support the full weight as there were no chassis members to support
3608-434: The first time. The Envoy was for traditional front-engined chassis, and featured a full-front cab with a vee-pattern windscreen, and aluminium trim across the lower part of the radiator grill extending around squared-off front corners to the wheel arches. The Crusader, which could be built on the traditional front-engined chassis or the new underfloor-engined chassis, had a more upright front profile, with curved glass panels at
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3696-411: The first window bay on either side. The trim then swept upwards to the roof line and neatly terminated on the air scoop at the roof line. The window pillar on the first bay was noticeably thicker than the others and gave the impression of size that managed to enhance the appearance of the whole vehicle. The front grill was revised and basically split in two horizontally. Twin headlights were on each side of
3784-422: The following year a version was produced for underfloor-engined chassis with the entrance ahead of the front axle. This required a return to a more vertical front profile, and meant that there were now three variants of the Venturer – front engined, underfloor-engined with a centre entrance and underfloor-engined with a front entrance. This three-variant approach, established with the Venturer, continued throughout
3872-406: The form of black PVC squares filled with padding. The dashboard was again improved as was the front cabinet. The rear of the vehicle still used the soup plates from the previous range. The Panorama Elite III was the last in the Elite series. Improvements continued to the basic Elite design; this included rear lighting, rear emergency door and subtle changes to the front grill. The rear emergency door
3960-407: The founder's son, also named Frederick William joined the company at the age of 18. FW Plaxton junior was to be known as Eric to avoid confusion with his father. Plaxtons built a number of different coach designs through the 1930s, until settling on a distinctive house style. The style typically consisted of a very rounded front profile at the windscreen area with side windows that sloped backwards at
4048-463: The front axle. Of the non-Panoramas, by far the most popular model was the new production body on the Bedford VAL chassis, which retained the large oval grill because of the front-mounted radiator, and was simply named Val. The Embassy name was now being used for what were effectively two separate models. For underfloor-engined chassis there was a 36-foot body using the Panorama shell (built mainly for
4136-582: The front, were upright at the centre, and sloped forward at the back. Bodywork for the Bedford WTB chassis was particularly distinctive, sloping steeply from the bottom of the front wheel arch to the roofline, leaving the "bullnose" radiator grille protruding. The rear also sloped prominently. The WTB chassis was very popular choice for operators at that time, together with the Dodge RBF and SBF. Leyland and AEC chassis were also popular for larger coaches, notably
4224-700: The growing of fruits and vegetables. Traditionally, "market garden" was used to contrast farms devoted to raising vegetables and berries , a specialized type of farming, with the larger branches of grain, dairy, and orchard fruit farming; agricultural historians continue to thus use the term. Such operations were not necessarily small-scale. Indeed, many were very large, commercial farms that were called "gardens" not because of size, but because English-speaking farmers traditionally referred to their vegetable plots as "gardens": in English whether in common parlance or in anthropological or historical scholarship, husbandry done by
4312-433: The growing season, and usually comes to an end in the cold winter months. A somewhat larger market garden operation, ranging from 10 to 100 acres (4.0 to 40.5 ha; 40,000 to 405,000 m ), may be referred to as intensive mixed vegetable production, although the essential business and farming tasks are the same. Such operations are often run by a full-time farmer or farm family, and a few full-time employees. The tractor
4400-451: The life of the succeeding Consort model and into the Embassy era, although the relative importance of the three versions varied significantly over the years. The Consort was first shown at the 1956 Commercial Motor Show. It was a development of the Venturer, but in place of the previous oval the four-part grill was now enclosed by a near-trapezoidal outline (though actually hexagonal), wider at
4488-570: The managing director at that time was an ex Plaxton employee. The Dominant sold well but never caught up with the Elite. The mere fact that at the 1972 Commercial Motor Show only one Dominant was available due to a long strike at the Blackpool factory couldn't have helped much. The launch of the Dominant was at Lake Garda in Italy and was Duple's most important launch for years. By the time the final version of
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#17328770118294576-439: The market economy. Benefits are that it does not rely on education or language, it adapts well to providing work for extended family groups, and in large market growing regions even wider community support networks. Sharing of knowledge and experience within communities reduces risks, and supports a network of other trades such as carriers, market agents, and heavy machinery contractors, and contract farm labour. Market-gardening land
4664-421: The middle – while the trim lines so recently squared up were softened once again. The evident popularity of the oval- shaped grill then ensured its survival as a Plaxton hallmark for many years to come. In 1957 the founder of the company, FW Plaxton Senior, died, and was succeeded as chairman by his son Frederick Junior, though known as Eric. In 1958, Plaxtons were approached by Sheffield United Tours (SUT) with
4752-405: The near side was tidied up so the top of the window was in line with all the other side windows. Parcel racks were redesigned so the supply of fresh air and light output was more readily available. The service units were now mounted front to back instead of side to side and were much slimmer to maximise on headroom when leaving the seats. Crash padding was provided along the inner side of the racks in
4840-464: The new Panorama Elite was to the usual high standard that everyone had come to expect from a leading coachbuilder like Plaxton. It made more use of laminate than before but this was tastefully specified & well balanced. The interior skirt panels, racks and front cabinet made extensive use of this easily worked & easy to maintain material. The analogue clock in the front dome was flanked either side by small square controllable air vents. The dashboard
4928-524: The newly introduced Bedford VAL 36-foot chassis at the 1962 Commercial Motor Show, the reaction was so negative than no more of this type were built. Alongside the Bloomfields VAL on the Plaxton stand was a further revised Panorama. This was an altogether much larger looking vehicle than before, with deeper windows all round, the waistline curvature radically reduced to a point where it was almost straight,
5016-437: The next 14 years. The design was stylish, with long sleek lines and gentle curve in the vertical plane. The windows were gasket glazed and the glass gently curved in the vertical plane to suit the body curve. The rear again used the large soup plate lights of the Panorama I, and the front grill was also from the Panorama I. The Panorama II was still available until 1970 with a large batch built for Midland Red . The interior of
5104-408: The next range that was probably under development. Tall heavily featured light clusters that were tinted to look dark were fitted vertically between the boot lid. The rear window was a one piece design. The seat backs were no longer visible from outside the coach. The rear nearside had been tidied by removing the smaller windows. The improvements were also copied onto the high floor Viewmaster model with
5192-464: The obsolescence of most of the chassis types for which it was intended, while the Crusader was rapidly overtaken by a further new underfloor-engined model – the Venturer. The Venturer combined the front of the Crusader with more restrained and conservative styling, and proved so popular that it was not long before a version was produced for front-engined chassis (mostly lightweight Bedfords and Commers) with
5280-412: The open air whilst a replacement was constructed. Some adjacent land was loaned by a market gardener who subsequently joined the board years later. Production restarted at the end of 1945, and in 1951 the business was registered for the first time as a private company, Plaxtons (Scarborough) Limited. Two new models were exhibited at the 1950 Commercial Motor Show, with names instead of model codes for
5368-518: The popularity of orders from the National Bus Company for coaches on Bristol RE LH and REMH chassis. The major competitor for the Panorama Elite III was the Duple Dominant launched at the 1972 Commercial Motor Show in London. The Duple was of all steel design and built at Duple's Blackpool factory. The Dominant had many of the design cues of the Panorama Elite and that could be because
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#17328770118295456-433: The previous design. The first major update of the Panorama Elite was unveiled at the 1970 Commercial Motor Show in London. The changes though relatively subtle were very relevant to a product that had so far enjoyed wide acclaim and sale. The Panorama Elite II range built on the success of the Panorama I and Panorama Elite. The front grill was squared up although it still used the same twin headlight layout. The first bay on
5544-544: The reading light. The Supreme Mark IV was introduced to the market at the International Motor Show at the National Exhibition Centre , Birmingham in 1978. The main update was that construction was now all steel, frontal design was completely different from the past 14 years. The headlights were now rectangular and mounted above each other with side lights and indicators in the same cluster. The grill
5632-623: The rights to develop farmland from the farmers solved this problem in Suffolk County, New York . In some more affluent countries, including Australia and the United States , market gardening is rated as a high social utility occupation. It is typically taken up by recent immigrant groups for one or two generations, until they can accumulate capital, language and trade skills. The succession of dominant market garden groups in Australia, for example,
5720-451: The same double headlights with a panel between them (although the centre panel depended on the chassis requirements). The slats again horizontal but were fewer in number and thicker. The sides of the grill were squared up and were of stainless steel and not aluminium. A chrome bumper with 5 mph (8.0 km/h) over-riders at the bottom with two steps to allow access to the windscreen. Pantograph wipers with speed control were added. The dome
5808-477: The top than the bottom, with the headlamps outside. Trim was revised to be much squarer in outline, featuring ribbed brightwork, and the curved rear quarter lights, first standardised on the Venturer III, were now incorporated into the main window line. However, a year later the Consort II was announced, re-introducing the oval grill outline of the Venturer – but now surrounding a plainer grill with chrome flash across
5896-552: The transportation truck, which is derived from Greek for "wheel", but rather from the old north French word troquer , which means "barter" or "exchange". The use for vegetables raised for market can be traced back to 1784 and truck farms to 1866. Selling to the wholesale market usually earns 10–20% of the retail price, but direct-to-consumer selling earns 100%. Although highly variable, a conventional farm may return US$ 0.03 to US$ 0.30/m (US$ 120 to US$ 1,210 per acre; US$ 300 to US$ 3,000 per hectare) but an efficient market garden can earn in
5984-404: The units themselves were slightly bigger, squared, more definite. The interior had been updated with a new dashboard and a driver's locker, non-reflective laminates and a re-designed front cabinet. The lift up roof vents and light clusters containing the speakers were almost like those of the final Panorama Elite III. Some very early Supremes had wood interior domes like Panorama Elite however this
6072-504: The waistline sloped down to meet the deeper windscreen. Initially there were two versions, the Paramount 3200 (available in 8, 10, 11 and 12-metre lengths) and the high-floor Paramount 3500 (available in 11 and 12 metre lengths) to replace the successful Viewmaster. Around 30% of Mark I Paramounts were the 3500 high-floor option, a greater proportion than had been anticipated. The rear of both versions were similar to Supreme V and VI but all else
6160-403: The window edge to the rack. On Supreme the first versions used the same technique but the racks were swaddled in crash protection on each side of the passenger service unit that was fitted front to back. The service unit used were the same as the Panorama Elite, two controllable vents and a reading light with a rocker switch. The cushioning had a four pointed star engraved into it at intervals. From
6248-489: The windscreen corners, and in most cases an enlarged side window with sloping pillars between this and the entrance. With the front-engined chassis, the Crusader employed the Envoy's front trim. Both the Envoy and Crusader were produced to the new maximum dimensions of 30 ft (9.1 m) by 8 ft (2.4 m), and many examples were originally fitted with rear wheel spats. The Envoy was short-lived, perhaps partly because of
6336-402: Was a Panorama delivered to SUT in 1961. However, while the extra length gave a real boost to the Panorama's appearance – with the falling roofline making the vehicle look even longer than it actually was – the extension of the Embassy by two additional window bays was less satisfactory. So much so that when a "multi-windowed" Embassy II, in the livery of Bloomfields Coaches of London, appeared on
6424-580: Was a huge factor in the success of the Supreme. By the end of the 1970s, the British coach scene was dominated by two similar vehicles – the Plaxton Supreme and the Duple Dominant. In the early 1980s coach services over 30 miles were deregulated by the Transport Act 1980 and there was an increasing attempt by some operators to compete with the railways and airlines for express and intercity travel. As
6512-474: Was absent, and the chrome trim did not extend across the front of the vehicle. In addition to the Panoramas, a more basic series of models was offered, with windows of similar size, but with simpler trim and top sliding vent windows instead of forced air vents. Initially these were built on Bedford and Ford chassis only and named variously as Val, Vam (on the new Bedford VAM chassis) or Embassy IV. However, when
6600-402: Was brought about by changes in legislation and did improve the offside appearance of the Elite, however some early Mark IIIs were completed with front emergency doors. The rear lights abandoned the soup plates in favour of tall lozenge shaped lights and the name badges were re-located from between the side bright metal strips at the back to the front just behind the front door. All three marks of
6688-420: Was changed from wood surrounding the clock to having ABS mouldings in black. The ceiling was of laminate that was bordered by chrome trim. The racks though went through several important stages before the final design that would see Supreme through to the series. Rack design on Panorama Elite, II and III contained window demisters. Those racks were joined to the cant rail and laminate was used as trim to connect
6776-409: Was created, using the same shell as the Embassy but with fewer window pillars. The new Panorama boasted a completely new front, featuring a slight peak overhang above the windscreen (which was now optionally undivided), a small grill at the bottom of the front panel, and for the first time double headlights. Embassy bodies on underfloor-engined chassis shared some or all of these features, depending on
6864-459: Was famous for growing tomatoes for the London market that were delivered by train . The arrival of railways in the 19th century at first stimulated growth of market gardens in certain areas by providing quick access to the city, but it eventually allowed commuting residents to move there and turn many market garden areas into suburbs . Urban sprawl still eats up farmland in urban regions. Buying
6952-546: Was founded as a joinery workshop, and expanded into building contracting. As a building contractor, Plaxtons built a number of notable buildings in Scarborough . Soon after World War I Plaxtons diversified and began to build charabanc bodies on Ford Model T chassis. Of more importance at the time was the construction of automobile bodywork. This included bodywork for Rolls-Royce , Sunbeam and Daimler , but principally for Crossley car chassis. This activity continued through
7040-439: Was improved and made use of a panel of rocker switches in front of the driver with each switch designation lighting for night time operation. Previous dashboards hid the switches in places inaccessible whilst moving. Ventilation was again improved though using the same design of moulded air output & light assembly as the final version of the Panorama I. The racks were trimmed with laminate instead of using vinyl like material from
7128-455: Was new. Market garden A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits , vegetables and flowers as cash crops , frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants . The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under 0.40 hectares (4,000 m ; 1 acre ) to some hectares (a few acres), or sometimes in greenhouses , distinguishes it from other types of farming. A market garden
7216-408: Was not so prominent and various options were available as a package. So now the range consisted of Supreme IV, Supreme IV Express and Supreme IV GT. The GT option ushered in a distinctive grill design with a smart dual chrome flash, tinted windows and better sound system and soft trim to the ceiling to name a few "standard" extras. Supreme V had a completely different rear design showing the styling of
7304-432: Was on the 35 seat Bristol LHS chassis powered by a Leyland 400 series engine. The door located forward of the front axle in the usual place. Supreme III was the first full size coach although there seemed to be some development confusion and the actual mark of the initial standard length coaches is not clear however most of the late P and earlier R-reg bodies seemed to be the Mark III. There were no identifying numbers added to
7392-499: Was slatted on the early models but was not popular so was removed and simplified from Supreme IV. The side profile again had angles going in all directions although the main change to the side was that the windows curved into the cant rail almost like the Mercedes-Benz O302 bodies. The effect was to catch the light and highlighted the whole coach at roof level. The rear was like Panorama Elite with vertical lozenge shaped lights but
7480-513: Was the Panorama which was the trend-setter, becoming a strong influence on the development of British coach styling for years to come. Plaxton became a public company in January 1961. For the 1961 coaching season the Consort IV evolved into the Embassy, the main change being that the windows now tapered inwards towards the roof rather than being vertical. At the same time a new version of the Panorama
7568-547: Was the least successful Supreme being an option for one season alongside the Supreme V. The panoramic windows had been replaced by a higher window line that was better suited to the long-distance market. Around 100 were built. The actual idea of the high window design was possibly in reaction to the Duple Dominant III that had shallow trapezoidal windows like an Austin Princess headlight of the mid-1970s. The Supreme series like
7656-517: Was to herald (nearly) all-steel construction. Wood fillets still held the panels in place and in some areas wood was sandwiched in U-shaped steel. It would be 1978 before true all-steel construction was achieved. Some early Mark III Supremes were all-metal. The body number of the all-metal versions had the final letters AM standing for "all-metal". Many of the AM bodies were exported to the Netherlands and Denmark,
7744-627: Was – from the early 19th century Anglo-Celtic, people from German-speaking countries, Chinese (after the peak of the gold rushes in mid-late 19th century), then southern European migrants from Italy, Malta and Yugoslavia (before it disintegrated), then southeast Asian migrant and refugee communities following the Vietnam War, such as the Vietnamese and Cambodians. Involvement in a market garden lets immigrant groups who otherwise have few marketable skills apart from their labour, become actively involved in
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