95-550: The Plaxton Paramount was a design of coach bodywork built by Plaxton . It first appeared at the 1982 British Motor Show and was built until 1992. In its more common single deck form it replaced the Supreme V and Viewmaster IV , and was replaced by the Premiere and Excalibur . Structurally the new Paramount was similar its predecessor the Supreme, utilising 25mm square tubing to form
190-415: A Plaxtons advert of the time "Progress is Paramount". It had bonded glazing as standard and also featured some more obvious changes to the design, notably the replacement of the original sloping and small "feature windows" with one small pentagonal window immediately behind the cab or door, with Plaxton's "castle" logo being engraved on it (though this was omitted on the shortest 8.5 metre bodies). Changes to
285-470: A better view ahead, the headlights being closer to the road than usual. The Paramount 3200 LS used the two-piece 3500 windscreen , whereas the 3500 LS had a deeper two-piece windscreen unique to the type. Also new in 1985 was the Paramount 4000 RS, on mid-engined Volvo B10MT chassis. This was a 1½-deck version of the 4000, with a small lower deck saloon at the rear. In 1986 the Paramount was made available on
380-419: A body to be added. A few coaches are built with monocoque bodies without a chassis frame. Integrated manufacturers (most of whom also supply chassis) include Autosan , Scania , Fuso , and Alexander Dennis . Major coachwork providers (some of whom can build their own chassis) include Van Hool , Neoplan , Marcopolo , Irizar , MCI , Prevost , Volvo and Designline . In some European countries following
475-468: 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
570-424: 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
665-551: 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
760-399: A large part of the racks. Some important options were introduced, most notably bonded glazing, alongside the gasket glazing. Some non-standard Paramount 3200 I bodies built on Quest 80 VM chassis had featured a low driving position, and with the launch of the mk.II this became more generally available as the Paramount 3200 LS and 3500 LS. The driver sat lower in the body so that passengers had
855-556: 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
950-494: 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
1045-456: 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
SECTION 10
#17328696090731140-583: 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
1235-648: 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
1330-462: 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
1425-546: A sleeker finish. The front and rear panels used GRP as did many previous Plaxton coach ranges. According to Plaxton brochures the roof was one piece GRP and therefore unlikely to leak, unlike some of the Paramount's competitors. Initially the Paramount was available in single-deck form only, in two heights, the Paramount 3200 (initially available in 8, 10, 11 and 12-metre lengths) and the high-floor Paramount 3500 (available in 11 and 12-metre lengths, although only three eleven-metre 3500s were built). The figures 3200 and 3500 refer to
1520-550: A specific category/type of RVs . Deriving the name from horse-drawn carriages and stagecoaches that carried passengers, luggage, and mail, modern motor coaches are almost always high-floor buses, with separate luggage hold mounted below the passenger compartment. In contrast to transit buses, motor coaches typically feature forward-facing seating, with no provision for standing. Other accommodations may include onboard restrooms, televisions, and overhead luggage space. Horse-drawn chariots and carriages ("coaches") were used by
1615-544: A standard Mercedes-Benz van bonnet, Supreme IV headlamps and a Mini Supreme windscreen. Only one was built, as the Beaver minibus body made by Plaxton's Reeve Burgess subsidiary could be sold at a more competitive price. Sales of Paramount bodies reflected changes in the UK coach market during the 1980s-90s, which was moving away from lightweight chassis to higher-specification heavyweight coaches. Whereas only around 30% of Paramount Is were
1710-515: A standard Paramount rear end when the coach was no longer used for National Express services. A solitary Mini Paramount was built on a Mercedes-Benz 811D van chassis in 1988. Like its predecessor the Mini Supreme it was built at Plaxton's southern service centre at Ware rather than the main Scarborough factory. The sides and rear of the body of similar styling to the larger Paramounts, but it had
1805-549: 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
1900-541: 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
1995-593: 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
SECTION 20
#17328696090732090-400: 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
2185-566: The 1958 type certification treaty, coach (that is vehicle of type M2 or M3) type certification is regulated by regulation number 107 from the UNECE. In the U.S., commercial drivers of motorcoaches are regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). A representative selection of vehicles currently (or recently) in use in different parts of the world. A selection of vehicles in use in different parts of
2280-496: The 1982 to 1988 build seasons, Plaxton's body numbering system used three character codes to identify the body style. The following codes were used for the Paramount: The "Express" suffix identifies the variant with a wider entrance and two-piece door. Examples of H1X, H2X and P3X are rare. Since the 1989 build season, Plaxton's body numbering system has used a letter to identify the body style. The following letters were used for
2375-496: The Bedford VAS5 midicoach, finally allowing the Supreme range to be retired. However shortly afterwards Bedford withdrew from the bus market and only eleven VAS5 Paramounts were built. Although sometimes referred to as Paramount 3200s these bodies were lower in height, as was a one-off body on the unique ACE Puma III. The Paramount III was launched late in 1986. It introduced still stronger body structures than before and to quote
2470-515: 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
2565-457: 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
2660-564: 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
2755-461: 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
2850-458: 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
2945-463: 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
Plaxton Paramount - Misplaced Pages Continue
3040-499: The Paramount III: Coach (bus) A coach (also known as a coach bus , motorcoach or parlor coach ) is a type of bus built for longer-distance service, in contrast to transit buses that are typically used within a single metropolitan region. Often used for touring , intercity , and international bus service, coaches are also used for private charter for various purposes. Coaches are also related and fall under
3135-664: 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
3230-488: The actual structure of the coach as the panelling was individual aluminium which can be easily shaped and formed, and easy to replace and featured the Plaxton special flush finish, but aluminium suffers in hot weather from a rippling effect. The Paramount however utilised a continuous steel panel below the windows that was Zintec-coated for corrosion protection, requiring fewer side mountings having been stretched into place and gave
3325-420: 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
3420-422: The bare essentials such as storage and restrooms. Coaches typically have only a single, narrow door, but some can have two doors, as an increased loading time is acceptable due to infrequent stops. Some characteristics include: Coaches, like buses, may be fully built by integrated manufacturers, or a separate chassis consisting of only an engine, wheels and basic frame may be delivered to a coachwork factory for
3515-447: 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
3610-527: 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
3705-504: 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
3800-553: The early years of the 20th century. The first "motor coaches" were purchased by operators of those horse-drawn vehicles in the early 20th century by operators such as Royal Blue Coach Services , who purchased their first charabanc in 1913 and were running 72 coaches by 1926. As they hold passengers for significant periods of time on long journeys, coaches are designed for comfort. They can vary considerably in quality: some higher-specification coaches feature luxury seats, air conditioning , and refreshments, while others may only have
3895-465: 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
Plaxton Paramount - Misplaced Pages Continue
3990-420: 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
4085-530: 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
4180-400: 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
4275-550: The first horse-drawn mail coaches in Europe since Roman times in 1650, and as they started in the town of Kocs, the use of these mail coaches gave rise to the term "coach". Stagecoaches (drawn by horses) were used for transport between cities from about 1500 in Great Britain until displaced by the arrival of the railways. One of the earliest motorized vehicles was the charabanc , which was used for short journeys and excursions until
4370-434: 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
4465-411: 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
4560-422: 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
4655-406: 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
4750-407: 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
4845-410: The frame. The rear end was similar to that used on the Supreme V and VI, but otherwise the styling was entirely new. The Paramount had a squarer profile than the Supreme, with cleaner lines, a flatter roof line and square-cornered side windows. The window line at the bottom of the foremost passenger windows (over the front wheelarch) sloped down to meet the deeper windscreen, and immediately aft of this
SECTION 50
#17328696090734940-463: 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
5035-468: The front end consisted of a new grille and bumper, and changes to the shape and angle of the windscreen. The rear window contained a blind like decal at the base with a castle badge in the centre. The dashboard consisted of a moulded cabinet; gone was the Formica and wood of the earlier versions. In the centre of the black finished cabinet was a large "castle" logo. Airline style locker doors were now available on
5130-582: 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
5225-439: The height in millimetres. In 1984 the design was adapted to create the Paramount 4000 double-decker coach , initially built on Neoplan underframes. Neoplan's Skyliner coach had popularised the use of the double-decker coach layout, often with a galley, toilet and other amenities on the lower deck. By comparison the Plaxton design was somewhat more utilitarian, usually more focused on higher capacity than on luxury. Later it
5320-419: The high-floor 3500 version, this rose to 34% of Paramount IIs and 55% of Paramount IIIs. The proportion of bodies built to the maximum permitted length of 12 metres also climbed steadily, from 66% of Paramount Is to 74% of Paramount IIs and 91% of Paramount IIIs. Lightweight Ford and Bedford chassis accounted for 23% of Paramount Is, but these were discontinued in 1985 and 1987 respectively leaving this segment to
5415-451: 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
5510-570: 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
5605-403: The mediumweight Dennis Javelin which accounted for only 11% of Paramounts from the 1988 season onwards. Rear-engined chassis were always greatly outsold by the mid-engined types, but slowly increased as a proportion of Paramount chassis from just 2% of 1983 season bodies to over 12% of the 1991 season output. The Paramount was built on the following chassis types, listed by quantity built: From
5700-421: 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
5795-409: The mk.I frontal treatment as the large grille was needed to ventilate the radiator. The chrome strip immediately below the side windows was also made continuous, rather than having a gap to accentuate the small feature window as on the mk.I. Internal modifications included deeper parcel racks that were capable of supporting air conditioning. A tweed like material was used to cover the interior skirt and
SECTION 60
#17328696090735890-405: 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
5985-464: 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
6080-474: 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,
6175-437: 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
6270-408: 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
6365-464: 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
6460-412: 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
6555-566: The parcel racks to further give a sleek appearance like a 747. The Paramount 4000 mk.II double decker remained in production with no external changes, although in 1989 these did receive a mk.III type frontal treatment. A variant of the Plaxton Paramount III 3500 built to National Express specification on Volvo B10M chassis was named Expressliner. It was fitted with a windowless, moulded plastic rear end featuring an embossed National Express double-N logo. The rear end could be replaced by
6650-518: 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
6745-433: 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
6840-544: 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
6935-451: 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
7030-477: 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
7125-404: 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
7220-452: 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
7315-473: The wealthy and powerful where the roads were of a high enough standard from possibly 3000 BC. In Hungary , during the reign of King Matthias Corvinus in the 15th century, the wheelwrights of Kocs began to build a horse-drawn vehicle with steel-spring suspension. This "cart of Kocs" as the Hungarians called it ( Hungarian : kocsi szekér ) soon became popular all over Europe. The imperial post service employed
7410-403: 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
7505-489: 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
7600-554: The world in the past. 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 was founded as a joinery workshop, and expanded into building contracting. As
7695-402: 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
7790-580: 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
7885-443: Was a small "feature window" (with white screen printing lines) on most bodies. The feature window was omitted on bodies shorter than 10 metres, and some operators (notably Excelsior of Bournemouth) specified non-standard window spacing without the feature window on longer bodies as well. The whole structure was treated inside and out to resist rusting. Although the previous Supreme was of all steel construction, that applied mainly to
7980-474: 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
8075-486: Was also offered on Scania and DAF chassis. The Paramount II , the first update to the original single-deck design, was launched in late 1984 for the 1985 season. Externally the mk.II incorporated only minor visual changes; gone was the black full width grille moulding above the headlights , while the small grille between the headlights and the trim around the headlights themselves changed from black to silver. Mk.II bodies on front-engined Ford R-series chassis retained
8170-402: 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
8265-420: 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
8360-409: 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
8455-439: 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
8550-408: 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
8645-432: 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
8740-499: 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
8835-513: 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
8930-547: 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
9025-517: 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,
#72927