- Leyland Lynx
The Leyland Lynx is a
single-decker bus built by Leyland between 1984 and 1992. It was designed to replace the agingLeyland National .The type saw service all over the UK, with the largest fleet being based in the West Midlands, owned by West Midlands Travel (now
National Express West Midlands ), however only 3 remain in active passenger service at the company.Production vehicles began to enter service in 1986. From 1990 to 1992 the updated Lynx II version was produced. It could be recognised easily by its protruding front dash/grille panel, which on the original design was flat. The last two Lynxes entered service with
Halton Transport (Widnes ) in 1992.Although the large majority of Lynxes carried the Leyland body, seven underframes were bodied by Alexander with N-type bodywork for Citybus (Belfast), including the first prototype. A small number of other underframes for export were bodied by other coachbuilders, including an Alexander PS type for Singapore and 2 PMC Metro 90 (Galvastress MKV) bodied ones for Sydney, Australia.
Following the takeover of Leyland by
Volvo , the Lynx was superseded by theVolvo B10B . Total production of Lynxes was approximately 1060 vehicles, including six prototypes (one of which was not bodied) and several development vehicles. About 140 of the total were Lynx II.Preservation
Several Mk1 and Mk2 Lynxes have now gone into preservation, with some requiring extensive rebuilds to bring them back to original condition due to body corrosion, as well as reversing modifications made by companies during their history. One such example is the removal of all of the patterned body skirts, combined with the replacement of the square wheel arches with non-patterned round ones. Both of these modifications were made to make it easier to replace such parts in the event of an accident.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
