Northern Counties Palatine

The Northern Counties Palatine was a step-entrance 2-axle and 3-axle double-decker bus body built by Northern Counties from 1988 to 1999 in Wigan, England.

Northern Counties Palatine
Keighley & District Northern Counties Palatine bodied Leyland Olympian
Overview
ManufacturerNorthern Counties
Production1988 - 1999
AssemblyWigan
Body and chassis
Doors1 or 2
Floor typeStep entrance
ChassisDAF DB250
Dennis Arrow
Dennis Dominator
Leyland Olympian
Scania N113
Volvo Citybus
Volvo Olympian
Chronology
SuccessorPlaxton President

The Palatine was built mainly on Leyland Olympian and Volvo Olympian chassis, although smaller sized orders were also built for customers on DAF DB250, Dennis Arrow, Dennis Dominator, Volvo B10M Citybus and Scania N113DRB chassis.

Northern Counties were acquired by Plaxton in 1995, who eventually discontinued the Northern Counties name and replaced the step-entrance Palatine range with the low-floor Plaxton President in 1999.

Northern Counties Palatine/Countybus

The Northern Counties Palatine was launched in 1988, initially badged as the Countybus in line with other Northern Counties bus bodies at the time.[1]

Arriva Southern Counties Northern Counties Palatine 1 bodied Volvo Olympian in 2009
Southern Vectis Island Breezers Northern Counties Palatine 1 bodied Volvo Olympian in 2008

The Palatine proved popular in London, with the biggest operators of the body type being Go-Ahead Group subsidiaries London General and London Central who purchased a total of 159 Palatines on the Volvo Olympian chassis, as well as 38 built on the Volvo Citybus chassis.[2][3] Capital Citybus, and their predecessor Ensignbus, also operated Palatines, of which were built on both the Dennis Dominator and Volvo Olympian chassis.[4][5]

Outside London, the Palatine proved popular with former PTE operations Yorkshire Rider, Busways Travel, Merseybus and GM Buses, who each purchased Palatines on both Leyland and Volvo Olympian chassis, as well as some on the Scania N113 chassis;[6][7][8] two of GM Buses' Palatines were uniquely built with wheelchair lifts on the Volvo D10M chassis.[9] The British Bus group also purchased a significant amount of Palatines on Leyland and Volvo Olympian chassis, with subsidiaries Maidstone & District, Kentish Bus, Southend Transport and West Riding Buses making up the majority of orders.[8][10] Five Palatine-bodied Volvo Olympians built to Stagecoach specification were delivered to Cleveland Transit in 1994, with three more also delivered to their subsidiary Kingston upon Hull City Transport.[11][12]

Badgerline Group subsidiary Bristol Cityline took on 30 Leyland Olympians with Palatine I bodies in 1992,[13] while East Yorkshire Motor Services took on a large number Leyland and Volvo Olympians with Palatine I bodies between 1990 and 1998 to replace former National Bus Company buses.[14] Five were also delivered to their Finglands Coachways subsidiary in Manchester.[15] Thirteen Leyland Olympians with Palatine I bodies were delivered to Isle of Man Transport between 1989 and early 1990,[16] while Blazefield Holdings subsidiaries Keighley & District and Yorkshire Coastliner also purchased Palatines on Volvo Olympian chassis.[17]

Northern Counties Palatine II
A Volvo Olympian with Northern Counties Palatine II bodywork, operated by First Bristol.

The second-generation Northern Counties Palatine II was launched in 1993. Visually similar in design to its competitor, the Optare Spectra, the Palatine II had a revised front fascia which also featured a curved windscreen and a rounded roofline, sharing similar design cues with the single-decker Northern Counties Paladin; wider and deeper windows and more interior headroom. The first-generation 'Countybus' was subsequently renamed the 'Palatine' and continued to be sold alongside the Palatine II as a low-cost alternative.[1][18]

A DAF DB250 with Palatine 2 bodywork, new to Metrobus in 1995, converted to an open top bus for the Cambridge City Sightseeing Tour

MTL Trust Holdings were a notable operator, purchasing an initial batch of 36 high-specification Palatine IIs in 1996 for both the 'Silver Service' through the Mersey Tunnels and for the Southport operation.[19] Another batch of 22, branded as 'The Millennium Fleet', entered service in Merseyside in 1998.[20]

In London, the Palatine II proved less popular than the Palatine I. However, Capital Citybus were early adopters of the Palatine II, ordering the only Leyland Olympian to receive a Palatine II body, as well as further examples on the Volvo Olympian and Dennis Arrow chassis.[21] CentreWest Buses purchased 15 Palatine IIs on Volvo Olympian chassis for the 607 Express in 1996,[22] while the Cowie Group purchased 13 Palatines IIs on the DAF DB250 chassis in January 1996,[23] with an additional two being acquired from dealer stock in 1999, by which point Cowie London had become Arriva London. Additional Palatine IIs were purchased by London General, who purchased only 27 of the type,[2] Armchair Passenger Transport,[24] Harris Bus[25] and London Suburban.

Other operators of the Palatine II on the Volvo Olympian chassis include Go North East, who purchased a total of 23 in 1997; Northumbria Motor Services, who took eight in 1994;[26] East Yorkshire Motor Services, who took six in 1995,[27] and Eastbourne Buses, who purchased the first Palatine II bodied on the DAF chassis.[28]

References
  1. "Buses named". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 5 March 1992. p. 16. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  2. Smith, Ian (18 November 2006). "London Central, London General Volvo Olympians". Archived from the original on 1 February 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  3. "Fleet Additions". Bus & Coach Buyer. No. 69. Spalding: Glen-Holland Limited. 24 August 1990. p. 12.
  4. "Road Test". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 15 October 1992. p. 36. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  5. "Ensign flies the flag with Dennis". Coachmart. No. 581. Peterborough: Emap. 29 March 1990. p. 7.
  6. "Full-height buses for Yorkshire". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 22 March 1990. p. 17. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  7. "Busways buys ten doubles". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 10 January 1991. p. 18. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  8. "Brighton doubles up". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 26 November 1987. p. 24. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  9. "GMB's wheelchair initiative welcomed". Coach & Bus Week. No. 32. Peterborough: Emap. 26 September 1992. p. 13.
  10. "Kentish invests in new routes". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 21 September 1989. p. 22. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  11. "Olympian goes back to original". Coach & Bus Week. Peterborough: Emap. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2022.(subscription required)
  12. "Important role for CT's deckers". Coach & Bus Week. Peterborough: Emap. 15 July 1995. p. 6.
  13. "Cityline orders deckers". Coach & Bus Week. No. 27. Peterborough: Emap. 22 August 1992. p. 5.
  14. "Scarborough feels chill". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 13 September 1990. p. 20. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  15. "Five again for Finglands". Coach & Bus Week. No. 209. Peterborough: Emap. 16 March 1996. p. 28.
  16. Morris, Stephen (October 1993). "Isle of Man Transport". Buses. Shepperton: Ian Allan Publishing. pp. 13–17.
  17. "Blazefield's first deckers". Coach & Bus Week. Peterborough: Emap. 10 October 1992. p. 12.
  18. Spectra rival from Northern Counties Commercial Motor 3 September 1992
  19. "First 16 of 36 MTL deckers join Silver Service route". Coach & Bus Week. No. 201. Peterborough: Emap. 20 January 1996. p. 28.
  20. "Palatines at MTL". Bus & Coach Preservation. Vol. 24, no. 9. Meteor Books. February 2022. pp. 2–3.
  21. "Hopes rise for bodybuilder". Coach & Bus Week. No. 19. Peterborough: Emap. 27 June 1992. p. 10.
  22. "CentreWest invests in 15 more NC Olympians". Coach & Bus Week. No. 208. Peterborough: Emap. 9 March 1996. p. 8.
  23. "New look for new year". Coach & Bus Week. No. 199. Peterborough: Emap. 6 January 1996. p. 9.
  24. "Armchair take Palatine IIs". Bus & Coach Buyer. No. 444. Spalding: Glen-Holland Limited. 30 January 1998. p. 46.
  25. "Deckers upgrade Harris fleet". Bus & Coach Buyer. No. 381. Spalding: Glen-Holland Limited. 25 October 1996. p. 22.
  26. "New Olympians serve Metro Centre". Bus & Coach Buyer. No. 277. Spalding: Glen-Holland Limited. 14 October 1994. p. 8.
  27. "Fleet Additions". Bus & Coach Buyer. No. 328. Spalding: Glen-Holland Limited. 13 October 1995. p. 25.
  28. Jones, Stuart (14 October 1994). "Hughes DAF unveil the DAF DB250 - Northern Counties Palatine II". Bus & Coach Buyer. No. 277. Spalding: Glen-Holland Limited. pp. 15–18.

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