Guy (Leyland) Victory 2, series I and II

Photographs are sorted into the following sub-entries:
China Motor Bus Victory 2s (1 page)
New World First Bus Victory 2s (3 pages)
NWFB Guy Victory 2s on Aberdeen Reservoir Road (1 page)
Withdrawal of NWFB Victory 2s (1 page)
Citybus and Kowloon Motor Bus Victory 2s (1 page)
The last days of LV142 (1 page)
Details of a Duple Metsec bodied Victory 2 (1 page)
Citybus Recovery Vehicles (1 page)
Citybus Tree Trimming Vehicle (1 page)
Interior Details of an ex-CMB Alexander-bodied Victory 2 (2 pages)
Victory 2s in South Africa (1 page)
Victory 2 Chassis (1 page)

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Before describing Victory 2, series IIs, we first look at her sibling - Victory 2, series I.

The Victory 2 was first designed for the Cape Tramways of South Africa. It was built to a South African specification with 20ft. 6in. wheelbase, Leyland 0.680 engine and five-speed pneumo-cyclic gearbox. Based on years of experience of operating Victory-Js, Leyland made several improvements on the model. The suspension was strengthened to cope with off-highway operation at up to 19,000kg gross vehicle weight. The braking system was modified to incorporate a hold facility in the main circuit, so that the bus could be held at stops without continuously resorting to, and exhausting, the parking brake. In 1976, The Kowloon Motor Bus Company bought 4 of these buses with Busaf bodywork (H57/43D+19) in 3+2 layout. Busaf was the successor of Bus Bodies (South Africa) of Port Elizaberth. However, because of the tilt test regulations in Hong Kong, which is the same as Britain and more stringent than that in South Africa, heavier duty suspensions, heavy rating Aeon buffers and a device which would restrict the angle tilt from the centreline have been provided, so that they have overall heights of a little less than 15 feet and could pass the test successfully. Unlike the series II, the staircase of the Busaf bodied buses were situated at the rear axle, the seat just in front of the exit was facing the bonnet. The KMB designated them G1-4 and registered BJ9266-69 respectively on 28 January 1976. They had been deployed in Routes 33, 40, 102 and 112. After the introduction of the series II, they were converted to training buses in early 1982.

After the successful trials of 4 BUSAF bodied Victory 2s, KMB liked the front-engined layout and persuaded Leyland to offer such a bus. At first, Leyland was reluctant to introduce another model to rationalise the range, owing to much effort had to be made. But Dennis, a competitor was willing to, and introduced the Jubilant, Leyland had to offer it or risk the loss of this high-valued customer. The layout and the running units were incorporated with a new frame derived from the CRT-type Worldmaster and identified by the 'kick-up' of the frame over the rear axle. The frame height was, as a result, lowered by about 4 inches, thus reducing overall height and lowering the entrance steps. The front entrance of the series II was only single width, so that passengers could pass the fare box in single file, later leaving by the double-width centre exit. This version was called the Victory 2, series II, an inconsistent Leyland designation.

KMB ordered 152 series II buses in 1978. The first of these buses was exhibited by Walter Alexander at the 1978 Commercial Motor Show. It was registered as BY8415 in May 1979 and allocated the fleet number G5. After that, KMB endorsed two orders, one of 125 and the other of 65, for delivery in 1980, followed by another 200 for the 1981 intake. The last batch arrived Hong Kong in 1983. All but one were shipped to Hong Kong by ckd, and the odd one out (G544, CM 3879) was built complete by Alexanders in Falkirk and fitted with air conditioning, for assessment by KMB. The air-conditioning plant was behind the rear axle, but the original sliding windows were retained for non-airconditioned service. Since there was an air-conditioner, the last three windows at the lower deck were shallower than the others. The air-conditioner also moved the tank inlet amidships. This bus had high backed seats with 2+2 layout, like those in KMB's EVK55 coaches. Before it was exported to the territory in 1981, Alexanders exhibited it at the 1978 Commercial Motor Show and it was displayed at the Hong Kong Festival in London, 1980. Since the air-conditioning system was not cool enough when the bus was crowded, and had to rely on the Gardner 6LXB engine, KMB regarded it a failure, converted the bus into a non-airconditioned model in 1983 and did not apply this feature to other buses.

Apart from the air-conditioned bus, 6 non-airconditioned Victory 2s of KMB (G498, G505, G526, G527, G542, G543) were re-sold to New Lantao Bus Company on Lantau Island, Hong Kong between March 1983 and January 1991. They had been operated on Lantao Route 2, 4 and 7 before they were withdrawn recently. Some of these buses had a small 'L' badge in the middle of the bonnet.

A point to note is the windscreens of older batches in KMB were shallower than the newer ones. A deeper windscreen could be fitted because the radiator filter-cap was removed from outside to the inside of the bonnet. G543, the last Victory 2 joined the KMB fleet, beared the 'L' badge and 'Victory 2' at the rear bumper. The last Victory 2s were withdrawn from service on 31 March, 1998. Some of them had been converted to Training Buses and the others were either dismantled or resold. Tsing Ma Management, management firm of the Tsing Ma Bridge in Hong Kong, bought one of them in 1997 to train staff how to handle serious traffic accident on the bridge.

Citybus of Hong Kong bought 10 ex-NLB Alexander-bodied Victory 2s in early 1990s for their franchised routes established in September 1992. They had already been converted to different types of vehicles, including training buses and recovery vehicles. More interestingly, one of them was converted to a half open-top tree-trimming vehicle. The roof at the front part of the upper deck was retained to check for the clearance.

Another major operator in Hong Kong, the China Motor Bus Company, also bought a total of 167 in 1979. The first bus, CA9169, was registered on October 3, 1979. It was allocated LV1 as the fleet number and fitted with an Alexander body. Like other early Victory 2s in KMB, it adapted a relatively shallow windscreen. The other 166 vehicles, including the last batch of 20 Duple Metsec Bodied Victories, started to enter service in mid-1980.After New World First Bus replaced CMB as the main operator on Hong Kong Island on 1 September, 1998. These Victory 2s were retained and NWFB has proposed to withdraw them by the end of 1999. One of them, the LV36 (CH9399, 800377), was sent to a bus museum in Scotland in December 1998.

The major difference between the Victory 2s in KMB fleet and CMB fleet was its rear bumper. KMB's Victory 2s had very big bumpers, but the Alexander-Victory 2s in CMB did not carry any bumper at the back. In early 1990s, the interior engine covers of KMB's Victory 2s were mounted with a lining. However, CMB did not do so. There is an exception. The G544, the air-conditioned bus mentioned before, had a relatively small bumper at its back.

The last Victory 2s, LV12, LV24, LV30 and LV33, were withdrawn on 31 August 2000. In order to commorate the withdrawal, New World First Bus painted LV30 into the livery as shown on the top of this page, and organised a bus tour on that day.

The tragic history of Victory 2

Although the layout of Victory 2 was loved by bus operators in Hong Kong, the vehicle was criticised by drivers and passengers in several aspects. The wheelbase was short and the centre of gravity was higher than other buses, it was more prone to overturn than other buses when it made a turn at high speed. The following is a list of overturns.

On 1 December, 1980, a KMB Route 70 bus (G217, CH2048, JVTB-800273) overturned at the junction of Nathan Road and Waterloo Road, killing one and injured 55. The accident happened not more than 3 months after the bus was first registered.

On 14 November 1982, another KMB Victory 2 (G440, CV4933, JVTB-810291) overturned after bumping into the hillside and spinning for two loops, resulting in one death and 109 injuries. The 60M bus was going downhill on Tuen Mun road to On Ting Estate. The accident happened not more than 6 months after the bus was first registered. This bus was withdrawn on 20 June, 1983.

On 5 November 1986, KMB Victory 2 G470 (CW4123, JVTB-810940), with 118 passengers on board, overturned and slid into a bus stop on Shek Pai Tau Road, Tuen Mun. 5 persons, including some waiting for the bus, were killed and 58 were injured. The 61A bus was operating from Butterfly Estate, Tuen Mun to Yuen Long when the accident happened. Several days after the accident, the Transport Department carried out a test on the spot with another Victory 2, fitted with a special marker at the right side of the vehicle. A chalk mark had been made on the ground when the driver applied the brake. Sandbags equivalent to the weight of 118 passengers were placed on the seats and the floor. The drivers, including officials from the KMB and the Transport Department, had to make turns from Ming Kum Road to Shek Pai Tau Road at 20mph. The bus did not overturn in any of the tests.

On 19 March, 1990, LV21 (CG5740, JVTB-970666) overturned at Ap Lei Chau Bridge when it was on route 94.

This is not the end of the sequence of overturns. On 25 July 1993, 40 passengers of a KMB 69M bus were injured after the G305 (CM2157, JVTB-800805) overturned after turning from Hung Tin Road to Ping Ha Road.

Apart from its high centre of gravity, the Victory 2 was criticised for its poor performance when going uphill. Since most of the roads in Hong Kong are hilly, Victories climbed very slowly and usually blocked other vehicles behind. I used to take KMB Route 45 to Kowloon City Ferry Pier in the early 1990s. These Victory IIs climbed very slowly when it was travelling uphill on Sheung Shing Street. From the speedometer, it showed they were moving at about 15km/h when half-loaded.

Other major accidents incorporated with Victory 2s are as follows:

On 23 August, 1981, four persons were killed and 29 injured when an ambulance crashed with a KMB Victory II (G94, CC5478, JVTB-970289) on Tuen Mun Road. The ambulance overturned, an oxygen bottle in the ambulance exploded and set the two vehicles on fire. All the deaths were in the ambulance but the bus driver only suffered minor injuries. The bus was serving route 66M running from Mong Kok MTR Station to Tai Hing Estate, Tuen Mun. It was withdrawn on 8 June, 1982.

On 28 February, 1998, a Victory 2 (LV35, CH8791, JVTB-800374) collided head-on with a green public light bus on Chong Hom Kok Road when the CMB 66 bus was heading Ma Hang Prison from Central. Two were killed and 16 were hurt. Except the injured bus driver, all the casualties were in the public light bus and the only passenger on the bus was not injured.

Additional Information

The chassis layout of Victory 2 was called "Trambus". The main characteristic was the front axle was set back far enough to permit an extreme front entrance and the engine was mounted above the front axle. It was first used in Guy Warrior, a medium weight single-decker. It was then used in Victory J bus chassis. Since Victory 2 was derived from Victory J, this layout was adopted.

Specification
Type : Victory 2 series II
Chassis configuration: Front engine conventional drive line
Tyre sizes: 12R22.5: 11R22.5
Braking system: Dual line split air system
Handbrake: Spring
Interior lighting: Fluorescent
Axle type & ratio: Crown & Pinion with reduction 6.352:1
Suspension type: Leaf spring
Engine type: Gardner 6LXB, Gardner 6LX for series I
Engine position: Front Vertical
Cylinder capacity: 10.45 litres
Number of cylinders: 6
Power: 125kW, 111.9kW for series I
Torque: 720Nm
Transmission type: Voith DIWA 851.3 three button automatic transmission (Before 1993, LV138 was fitted with Leyland SCG350 semi-automatic transmission.), Leyland SCG350 4-speed semi-automatic transmission for series I
Means of operation: Electro-hydraulic
Maximum input torque [Nm]: 1100
Maximum input speed [min-1]: 2800
Dry transmission mass (including retarder): 275kg
Steering system: Power
Maximum speed (km/h): 62-65
Body make: Alexander CB except LV148-LV163 (Duple Metsec) and G1-4 (Busaf)

General Specification

Photographs

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Page created: 13 January 1999

Last updated: 7 June 2009