Western National Willowbrook 003 Leyland Leopard FDV 821V

            Western National Willowbrook 003 (49F) Leyland Leopard PSU3E/4R FDV 821V fleet number 3530 (new February 1980). This view dates from 1985, notice the South Devon Express livery based on the National Bus Company's  venetian blind livery, the grey bellow the windscreen was applied to most Willowbrook 003 coaches.

Many words have been written about the saga of the Willowbrook 003 body built for the NBC. So here is a different side to the saga. Towards the end of the seventies, the NBC made it known to the two bodybuilders Duple and Plaxton who built coaches for the NBC, that they wanted a dual purpose coach  and would not pay a penny more than £25,000 per body! Wisely these two bodybuilders declined the offer, then Willowbrook stepped forward, with some help from the MP for Loughborough, the NBC placed an order with Willowbrook, following them building a prototype 003 coach. NBC asked that the front and rear screens be the same as used on the original  Duple Dominant, to make replacement easy. 

With little or no profit per body, Willowbrook tried complete the order, which the NBC increased, putting more pressure on Willowbrook, who cut corners by missing out ever other rivet. 003 coaches delivered to NBC subsidiaries suffered from water leakage, and appalling build quality, to the point that the NBC were forced to send some of their engineers to Willowbrook to oversee production. The NBC even had to remove some Leopard chassis from Willowbrook's chassis storage facility and have Duple and Plaxton body them. Some 003 bodied Leopards delivered to NBC subsidiaries the chassis were two years old! The NBC tried to take Willowbrook to court, but they had closed down by that stage. 

The moral of this story, you only get what you pay for! £25,000 per body, the Leopard chassis would cost £25,000 before discount, then the 50% Bus Grant, a very cheap coach indeed!

Taken on: March 7, 2013

Tags:

Plymouth

Willowbrook 003

PSU3E/4R

FDV821V

NBC

National Bus Company

Western

National « less

Sets appears in: • Western National and Royal Blue • Leyland Leopard more » • The National Bus Company « less

Groups appears in: • Leyland-Bus • Bus UK NBC Time Machine

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