Reeve Burgess was a bus body manufacturer based in Pilsley, North East Derbyshire in the United Kingdom . It was a subsidiary of Plaxton from 1980 until its closure in 1991.
61-477: The original company known as Harry Reeve was founded in Bridge Street, Pilsley, Derbyshire in 1888, initially carrying out work as the local wheelwright and blacksmith. Harry Reeve progressed to building a wide variety of horse-drawn vehicles, including pony traps for milk delivery vehicles, and horse-drawn ambulances for local collieries. After World War I, the founder was joined by his son John (Jack) Reeve who
122-499: A vertical fire-tube boiler . By 1905 they had also begun to build petrol-engined wagons. The Lancashire Steam Motor Company was renamed Leyland Motors in 1907 when it took over Coulthards of Preston , who had been making steam wagons since 1897. They also built a second factory in the neighbouring town of Chorley which still remains today as the headquarters of the Lex Autolease and parts company. In 1920, Leyland Motors produced
183-514: A 5.9 L Cummins was introduced. It was notable at the time for its low-level passenger side windscreen, featured as a safety aid to enable the driver to see the kerb, although this was removed on later models. The basic cab had a long service life, being used later on the Leyland DAF 45. The Leyland Constructor was a 6x4, three axle wagon with gross weight up to 24 tonnes used as a tipper or on short haul distribution duties. The Leyland Roadtrain
244-425: A complete new vehicle at the time, so designers were instructed to utilise as many existing in-house components as possible. It was perceived at the time that the resulting model would be a stopgap until the new T45 range was ready for production toward the latter half of the 1970s. The cab was a re-worked version of the "Ergomatic" tilt cab of 1965, heavily modified with different lower panels, raised height etc., and
305-802: A day's production through industrial action. During World War II , Leyland Motors, along with most vehicle manufacturers, was involved in war production. Leyland built the Cromwell tank at its works from 1943 as well as medium/large trucks such as the Hippo and Retriever . After the war, Leyland Motors continued military manufacture with the Centurion tank . In 1946, AEC and Leyland Motors formed British United Traction to build trolleybuses. In 1955, through an equity agreement, manufacture of commercial vehicles under licence from Leyland Motors commenced in Madras , India at
366-516: A number of customers who had traditionally purchased other marques from within the Leyland empire—Albion, AEC, Scammell, etcetera – who were now left with no alternative but to have a Leyland-branded vehicle or purchase from elsewhere. Some Constructors, with their Scammell-based chassis, were built with Scammell badging as well. Throughout its production run, engine choices included the AEC-based TL12,
427-405: A number of roadtrains in its fleet which enjoyed a comparatively long service life (until the late 1990s) before being replaced by the newer DAF 85. Sales were never quite satisfactory, however, with the vacation closure extended in 1986 to reduce unsold stock. Production ended in 1990, a few years after the sale of Leyland Trucks to Dutch firm DAF in 1987, although as a postscript DAF relaunched
488-454: A public company. George Kenning was very active in public life. He served on the now defunct Clay Cross Urban District council as well as being a councillor and alderman on Derbyshire County Council . Kenning could have stood for election as a Liberal member of parliament but he refused to be nominated. As a Justice of the Peace , he served on the bench of the local magistrates court and he
549-467: A straight carry over from the preceding "stopgap" model Marathon range, The Rolls-Royce Eagle 265/300 and the Cummins 290 L10 and 14-litre 350 coupled to a Spicer or Eaton transmission, although all versions produced a distinctive whine from the propshaft knuckle joint when approaching 60 mph (97 km/h). The TL12 engine was dropped early on in the production run, with most large fleet buyers choosing
610-586: A subsidiary of Paccar . Leyland Motors has a long history dating from 1896, when the Sumner and Spurrier families founded the Lancashire Steam Motor Company in the town of Leyland in North West England. Their first products included steam powered lawn mowers . The company's first vehicle was a 1.5-ton-capacity steam powered van. This was followed by a number of undertype steam wagons using
671-597: Is at the junction of King Street with the southern end of High Street. The car service building is on a road named Kenning Street. There is also an Art Deco style office building (now the Tower Business Park) towards the northern end of High Street. George lived in a variety of houses during his lifetime, starting in Clay Cross and died at Stumperlowe Hall in Sheffield in 1956. Prior to that he lived at Baslow Hall in
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#1733084850666732-564: Is entering the European truck market directly. With its purchase of a 26% stake in UK-based bus manufacturer Optare in 2010, Ashok Leyland has taken a step closer to reconnecting with its British heritage, as Optare is a direct descendant of Leyland's UK bus-making division. On 21 December 2011, Ashok Leyland bought an additional 49% stake in Optare, bringing its total to 75%. Historically, Leyland Motors
793-600: Is now termed "contract hire". This hire business continued to grow until, in 1970, the Kennings Group had a hire fleet of 5,000 vehicles. In 1910, Kenning started his first motor sales agency, for BSA Royal Enfield motorcycles. His first motor car agency was with Ford in 1916. Three years later Kenning became the sole agency for Morris Motors in Derbyshire. He became a long-term business associate and friend of another pioneer of widespread car ownership, Lord Nuffield ,
854-653: Is still in service, but has now been replaced by the MAN version. In this format the British Army purchased 1,440 vehicles plus a significant number of spare Roadtrain cabs, to allow for accident damage The Leyland Landtrain was produced between 1980 and 1987, specifically for export markets. A bonneted design, it was built in the UK and exported in completed and kit form, the latter for local construction in Kenya and Nigeria. The Leyland Comet
915-634: The Derbyshire Times . His widow bought Stumperlowe Hall in Sheffield the following year and this house would become a family residence. The petrol forecourt business started by Kenning was expanded by his successors; Kenning Motor Group built the Motorway Service sites at Strensham M5 and Anderton M61 . As at 2015, the Kenning family's interests in the motor trade has spanned 4 generations, starting with Sir George's father, Frank. Note that all but
976-557: The Art Deco architecture style that was prevalent at the time of building. The premises in Queen Street, Derby were the subject of a special ceremony when they opened in 1930. Kenning had his first branch in Derby in 1926, but spent £20,000 on building "Morris House" on a more prestigious site. As well as a car showroom for Morris cars, the depot incorporated garages, repair shops and stores. It
1037-679: The British Leyland Motor Corporation , formed when it merged with British Motor Holdings in 1968, to become British Leyland after being nationalised . British Leyland later changed its name to simply BL, then in 1986 to Rover Group . After the various vehicle manufacturing businesses of BL and its successors went defunct or were divested, the following marques survived: Jaguar and Land Rover , now built by Jaguar Land Rover owned by TATA Motors ; MG , now built by MG Motor , and Mini , now built by BMW . The truck building operation survived largely intact as Leyland Trucks ,
1098-536: The Kingston upon Thames factory at Ham from 1922 to 1928. Three generations of Spurriers controlled Leyland Motors from its foundation until the retirement of Henry Spurrier in 1964. Spurrier inherited control of Leyland Motors from his father in 1942, and successfully guided its growth during the postwar years. Whilst the Spurrier family were in control the company enjoyed excellent labour relations—reputedly never losing
1159-536: The Leyland Eight luxury touring car, a development of which was driven by J.G. Parry-Thomas at Brooklands . Parry-Thomas was later killed in an attempt on the land speed record when the car overturned. Rumours that a chain drive broke were found to be incorrect when the car was disinterred late in the 20th century as the chains were intact. At the other extreme, they also produced the Trojan Utility Car in
1220-650: The Pointer on Dennis Dart chassis. Reeve Burgess started building Fibreglass bodied ambulances following the Plaxtons takeover and closure of Hanlon ambulance in Ireland, opening a further factory in Tibshelf, Derbyshire with a small group of ex-Hanlon employees relocating from Ireland. Despite a healthy order book and good range of vehicles the factory was closed in 1991 with loss of all jobs, all orders and manufacturing were moved to
1281-506: The Rover brand that Leyland had bought in the 1960s, and would eventually gain prominence as BL gradually retired most of its marques. The equity stake in Ashok Leyland was controlled by Land Rover Leyland International Holdings, and sold in 1987. At this point, while building about 10,000 trucks per annum, Leyland was more and more depending on outside engines as production of their own 98-series
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#17330848506661342-483: The Beaver minibus on (usually) Mercedes-Benz chassis. Both of these were badged as Reeve Burgess products until their demise, whereafter they were badged as Plaxton products. This process resulted in some Dennis Dart/Plaxton Pointers receiving both Plaxton and Reeve Burgess body numbers, in a similar manner to some Northern Counties vehicles. Sir George Kenning Sir George Kenning (21 May 1880 – 6 February 1956)
1403-657: The Bedford CF chassis and later on the Ford Transit chassis, and the company had considerable success with this vehicle during the next few years. Around 1979 the company started to convert Mercedes vans into luxury mini-coaches. In 1980 the company became part of the Plaxtons Group p.l.c. , the leading United Kingdom producers of large luxury coaches based in Scarborough. Following the deregulation of local bus services in 1984,
1464-606: The Kenning empire, producing milk floats in Shrewsbury and road tankers in Ossett . Another subsidiary business was car valeting and in 1939, sophisticated valeting equipment was installed at both the London and Sheffield sites. Kenning became the first agents in the UK for Lucas electrical components and the first for the Tyresoles system of remoulding tyres for longer life. He also set up
1525-530: The Midlands Counties Motor Finance Company. The subsidiary businesses around tyres started by Kenning were subsequently developed and became one of the largest suppliers of car, commercial and earth mover tyres in the country. Kennings also operated three tyre remoulding factories and marketed their own label, Fisk and John Bull, tyres. Kennings was registered as a private company with a capital of £100,000 in 1930; in 1939 it converted to
1586-912: The National Bus Company purchased large numbers of mini buses, and additional premises were acquired in Stonebroom Derbyshire, at this point the number of people employed was in the region of 260. A new paint shop was also needed in order to meet production requirements, and this was expanded again in 1986 in order that the company could carry out the maximum amount of painting on its own premises, and over 600 vehicle were built and sold. REEBUR 17s were built on Bedford CF and Ford Transit chassis. Mercedes 207 and 307 vans were converted into 12 seater mini coaches. Mercedes 508 and 608 vans were converted into 19, 21 and 25 seater mini coaches. A few Iveco Dailys and VW LT vans were also converted into mini-coaches. The highly successful Beaver range of minibuses
1647-610: The Peak District. The Kenning family is also associated with Eastwood Grange in Ashover and Great Longstone Hall. By the time of his death in 1956, Kenning had the largest set of car dealerships in Derbyshire and he had 80 dealerships spread over 18 counties. The business employed 2,000 people. At the time of Kenning's death, the firm had a turnover of £20m. 500 people attended Kenning's funeral. Obituaries appeared in The Times , and
1708-525: The Plaxtons' Scarborough site who was struggling with a downturn in the large coach industry. Harry Reeve great-grandson of the original founder remained at the company after the 1980 Plaxtons takeover as Sales Director until its closure. Reeve Burgess bodied some Leyland chassis including the Cub , Swift and four rare short wheelbase Tigers , but is probably best known for the Pointer body on Dennis Dart chassis, and
1769-477: The Rolls-Royce engine. The Roadtrain was available in day- and sleeper-cabbed form, in high and low datum versions—this refers to the cab height—high datum versions were intended as long haul vehicles with higher mounted cabs and more internal space. 6x2 versions were built in high cab form only on a chassis that was basically that of the ageing Scammell trunker. The Constructor's chassis was entirely Routeman behind
1830-461: The TL12. Other engine options included a 200 bhp Leyland L11, as well as Cummins 10- and 14-litre engines at 250 and 330 bhp, respectively. Production began in 1973, and various shortcomings were noted, including below-par heating and ventilation, and pronounced cab roll. However, road testers of the time were very impressed by the truck's power and performance. In 1977, the redesigned "Marathon 2"
1891-525: The Titan and Tiger ranges in 1927 that revolutionised bus design. After 1945, Leyland created another milestone with the trend-setting Atlantean rear-engined double-decker bus design produced between 1956 and 1986. See List of Leyland buses for the list of bus products. The G-series cab was built in Bathgate and was available with several different names, such as Terrier, Clydesdale, and Reiver. After this cab
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1952-577: The admittedly short life of commercial vehicles, any Roadtrain in commercial operation is now a very rare sight indeed. However, a small number remain in use throughout the country as towing-and-recovery vehicles. The army made use of an 8x6 version of the Roadtrain as a hook loader until recently. This is known to the British Army as Medium Mobility Load System (MMLS) Demountable Rack Offload and Pickup System (DROPS), which has seen action in Iraq and Afghanistan and
2013-617: The bus and truck production becoming the Leyland Truck & Bus division within the Land Rover Leyland Group . This division was split into Leyland Bus and Leyland Trucks in 1981. Leyland Trucks depended on British sales as well as export markets, mainly Commonwealth and ex-Commonwealth markets. The early 1980s were very hard, with export sales drying up in many places such as oil-dependent Nigeria . In 1986, BL changed its name to Rover Group , with its name being derived from
2074-570: The cab, albeit with altered suspension and with the front chassis rails splayed wider apart to fit the new C40 cab. In 1986, the high roofed Roadtrain interstate was introduced, a top of the range long distance truck with standing room inside. The Roadtrain was a common sight throughout most of the 1980s, with a great many of the major fleet users in the UK such as Tesco , Blue Circle Industries (unusually with high datum day cabs) and BRS running them. The firm of Swain's based in Rochester , Kent had
2135-638: The first generation had a family member named George. Subsequent to his death, George Kenning commissioned two official biographies. The National Portrait Gallery, London has portraits of George Kenning from July 1943 and December 1947. Leyland Motors Leyland Motors Limited (later known as the Leyland Motor Corporation ) was an English vehicle manufacturer of lorries , buses and trolleybuses . The company diversified into car manufacturing with its acquisitions of Triumph and Rover in 1960 and 1967, respectively. It gave its name to
2196-468: The first named Volvo Bus model, the Volvo Olympian , and aside from minor frame changes the major alterations were the fitment of Volvo axles, braking system, and controls. Both were the best selling double-deck bus chassis of their time. The Leyland name and logo continues as a recognised and respected marque across India, the wider subcontinent and parts of Africa in the form of Ashok Leyland . Part of
2257-638: The giant Hinduja Group , Ashok Leyland manufactures buses, trucks, defence vehicles and engines. The company is a leader in the heavy transportation sector within India and has an aggressive expansionary policy. In 1987 the London based Hinduja Group bought the Indian-based Ashok Leyland company. Today, Ashok-Leyland is pursuing a joint venture with Nissan , and through its acquisition of the Czech truck maker, Avia,
2318-419: The manufacturer of Morris cars. Alongside car agencies, he set up supporting businesses like forecourt petrol sales car servicing and car spares sales. Soon after that, he won the first agency granted by the truck-making firm Dennis . In 1925, he began an association with Reeve Burgess , a firm that made truck and bus bodies for mounting on lorry frames. Vehicle-building became another subsidiary business of
2379-465: The model in low-datum form (it was already manufacturing the large DAF 95) as the DAF 80, using the Roadtrain cab with the 11.6-litre (710 cu in) DAF 330 ATi engine (quite ironic, given that this engine had its roots in the Leyland O.680 ). This model was produced for a relatively short time until 1993 with the launch of the brand new cabbed DAF 85. Due partly to the cab's propensity to rust and also to
2440-481: The new Ashok factory. The products were branded as Ashok Leyland . Leyland Motors acquired other companies in the post war years: Donald Stokes , previously Sales Director, was appointed managing director of Leyland Motors Limited in September 1962. Originally a Leyland student apprentice he had grown up with the company. He became chairman in 1966. Chronologically, the 1960s growth of Leyland Motor Corporation (LMC)
2501-520: The seating capacity up to 32 at which point it gained a redesigned front end and was renamed the Riviera. Four 35 seat Rivieras were built on shortened wheelbase Leyland Tiger chassis for Tayside Public Transport, Dundee, and one Riviera was built on the unusual rear-engined Quest 80 chassis for Telford Development Corporation where Quest 80 were based. Towards the final years Reeve Burgess developed an aluminium framed bus that went on to be built by Plaxtons as
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2562-409: The timber was cut, the blacksmiths shop where the ironwork was shaped, the panel shop for panel beating, the body shop for the actual building of the vehicle and the paint and signwriting shops for the completion of the vehicle. It was a major employer for the area, offering apprenticeships for all these trades. In 1958 the company became Reeve (Coachbuilders) Limited after the Kenning family interest
2623-640: Was a major manufacturer of buses used in the United Kingdom and worldwide. It achieved a number of firsts or milestones that set trends for the bus industry. It was one of the first manufacturers to devise chassis designs for buses that were different from trucks, with a lower chassis level to help passengers board more easily. Its chief designer, John George Rackham, who had experience at the Yellow Coach Company in Chicago before returning to England, created
2684-725: Was a max weight model with distance work in mind. The T45's cab is called the C40 and its design was a joint effort between Leyland, BRS and Ogle Design and was seen as the height of modernity when compared with its predecessors, the idea being to have one basic design to replace the various outgoing models (for example, the Bathgate built the G cab on the Terrier, the Ergomatic cabbed the Lynx, Beaver etc.). This did indeed make good economic sense; however, there has been speculation that Leyland did in fact alienate
2745-552: Was a member of the Chesterfield Hospital Board of Management. He was an active member of the Methodist Church in Clay Cross as well as being a member of the freemasons . Kenning provided a recreation ground for use by the people of Clay Cross. This was named "Kenning Park" and is located on Holmgate Road to the west of the town. As a result of his contribution to public life, the-then Alderman George Kenning, JP,
2806-461: Was a range of heavy goods vehicle tractor units manufactured by Leyland Trucks between 1980 and 1990. The nomenclature "T45" refers to the truck range as a whole and encompasses models such as the lightweight 7.5-ton Roadrunner, Freighter (fourwheel rigid truck), Constructor (multi-axle rigid tipper or mixer chassis – its chassis owing much to the outgoing Scammell 8-wheeler Routeman ), and Cruiser (basic spec low weight tractor unit). The Roadtrain itself
2867-450: Was also produced during the mid 1960s. Following the sale of the company in 1974 to T.H. Burgess Holdings of Worcester, the name was changed to Reeve Burgess Ltd . A rationalisation of the company's products took place and a far greater degree of specialisation was introduced. In 1976 the first venture was made into the small coach market with the introduction of the REEBUR 17 based mainly on
2928-408: Was an English entrepreneur who grew the family business from a corner shop to a nationwide car dealership that employed around 2,000 people. Kenning became one of the early pioneers in selling, servicing and financing the use of motor vehicles by industry, commerce and individuals. At the time of his death, the firm had a turnover of £20m. Kenning was also active as a local councillor and benefactor. He
2989-660: Was as follows: In 1968 Leyland Motors merged with British Motor Holdings (BMH) to form the British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC). BMH, which was the product of an earlier merger between the British Motor Corporation , the Pressed Steel Company and Jaguar , brought with it more marques , including Daimler , Guy , BMC , Austin , MG and Morris . Leyland diesel engines were used in Finnish Sisu and Vanaja lorries and buses in 1960s. The BLMC group
3050-467: Was available in day and sleeper cab form. Engines were decided from the outset to be in the higher power category to be competitive with rival vehicles. The only existing engine within the Leyland empire suitable for such an application (following the demise of the ill-fated fixed-head 500 series and AEC's underdeveloped and unreliable V8) was the AEC AV760 straight-six, which was turbocharged and designated as
3111-525: Was awarded a knighthood (" Knight Bachelor ") in the 1943 New Year Honours "for public services in Derbyshire". Kenning had a large number of business premises. They ranged from car showrooms in city centres to tyre factories and office blocks on the outskirts of towns. The showrooms in Leadmill Road, Sheffield and Queen Street, Derby occupied what would now be called "prime retail" sites in city-centre locations. They were architect-designed and followed
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#17330848506663172-530: Was bought by the Reeve family, thereby reverting to the original founding company. The managing director was Jack Reeve, who by this time had been joined by his son Harry Reeve. During the 1960s and early 1970s, a number of developments took place, in particular the manufacture of demountable box van bodies, and Robinsons of Chesterfield was the first operator to place a large order for this particular type of product. Derbyshire County Council's first mobile library fleet
3233-527: Was developed during the 1980s, with hundreds produced seating from 21 to 33 passengers on three different chassis, Mercedes 609/709 , Dodge 50 and the Iveco Daily . The Riviera was the largest coach produced by Reeve Burgess with over 50 being built on MAN VW 8.136 chassis in the mid 1980s. Although it started life called the RB26 with only 26 seats, it quickly gained an extra two seats and then another four bringing
3294-575: Was difficult to manage because of the many companies under its control, often making similar products. This, and other reasons, led to financial difficulties and in December 1974 British Leyland had to receive a guarantee from the British government. In 1975, after the publication of the Ryder Report and the company's bankruptcy, BLMC was nationalised as British Leyland (BL) and split into four divisions with
3355-548: Was introduced in 1986, also designed for export markets mainly in the developing world. As such, it was a no-frills vehicle of a simple and sturdy design, with five- or six-speed transmissions rather than the multi-speed units used on European models. The cabin was a simplified all-steel version of that used by the Roadrunner, designed to enable local assembly. The three-axle version is called the Super Comet. Leyland Motors produced
3416-422: Was involved in the business for over 50 years. In 1925 after the death of his father, the company was formed into a limited company partnership with George Kenning of Clay Cross and became Reeve and Kenning Ltd . A wide variety of vehicles were then produced including brewery trucks, and the first buses and coaches. The factory produced the complete vehicle, from the design department to the machine shop, where
3477-599: Was knighted in 1943. Kenning was born in 1880. His father Frank had started a door-to-door hardware retail business two years before. By 1891, he was helping his father in his business which was now based at a hardware shop on the high street in Clay Cross , but also had a stall at Chesterfield market. Kenning started his own paraffin distribution business in 1901, distributing with a horse-drawn cart. In 1908, he launched two new businesses: hiring bicycles to Shell-Mex & BP travelling salesmen and hiring horses to pull BP wagons. These were pioneering examples of what
3538-434: Was launched, an updated and revised vehicle that attempted to address some of the previous criticisms of the earlier vehicle. Relatively few Marathons of all types were sold before production ended in 1979 with the introduction of the T45 "roadtrain" range of vehicles. This was Leyland's answer to the Ford cargo in the non-HGV 7.5-ton truck sector. Launched in 1984, it utilised a Leyland 698 straight-six engine until 1986, when
3599-466: Was opened by George's business associate and friend, Sir William Morris (later Lord Nuffield), who built cars that were affordable to the middle classes at his works in Cowley, Oxford . The offices in Clay Cross and the HQ Manor Office building on Old Road in Chesterfield were also notable for their architecture. Mention also needs to be made of the premises in Clay Cross where the Kenning empire first started. Frank Kenning's first shop (selling hardware)
3660-511: Was replaced the tooling was shipped to Turkey, where BMC's Turkish subsidiary built it as the "BMC Yavuz" and then as the "Fatih" (with Cummins engines) from 1986 until 1996. The Marathon was Leyland's answer to the booming "max cap" truck fad at the start of the 1970s. Imports such as the Volvo F88 and Scania 110/140 were selling very well in the UK thanks to the previously unheard of levels of driver comfort, reliability, quality and performance. Leyland had insufficient money for development of
3721-444: Was steadily declining. The 1986 closure of Bedford Vehicles ' heavy truck plant further harmed Leyland, as they had been planning on selling axles and other components to the General Motors subsidiary. The bus operations was sold in a management buyout to form Leyland Bus , and was subsequently bought by Volvo in 1988, which then discontinued most of its product range but kept the Olympian . Volvo reengineered and renamed it as
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