Leyland Olympian 12m
Photographs are sorted into the following sub-entries:
Hong Kong
Citybus Alexander-bodied
dual-doored Olympians (2 pages)
Citybus Alexander-bodied
single-doored Olympians (2 pages)
Citybus Olympian in
City University (1 page)
Eastern Coach Works bodied
Citybus Leyland Olympians (1 page)
Engine failure of Citybus
Olympian 371 (FR4546) (1 page)
CLP Power Leyland
Olympians (1 page)
Kowloon Motor Bus Leyland
Olympian training buses (1 page)
KMB non-airconditioned
Alexander R type bodied Olympians of the first batch
(3 pages)
Interior details of KMB
non-airconditioned Alexander R type bodied Olympians of the first batch
(1 page)
KMB non-airconditioned
Alexander R type bodied Olympians of the second batch
(3 pages)
KMB non-airconditioned
Alexander R type bodied Olympians of the third batch
(2 pages)
KMB non-airconditioned
Alexander R type bodied Olympians of the fourth batch
(20 pages)
Singapore
Singapore Bus Services
Olympians (20 pages)
United Kingdom
Ex-Kowloon Motor Bus Olympians in Britain
(1 page)
United States
Gray Line Olympians
(2 pages)
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Being the first three-axled variant in the Olympian family, the 12m model has gained acceptance in various parts of the world.
ONTL11.3R
It can be traced back to 1981 when Leyland delivered its first 12m Olympian to Kowloon Motor Bus. That bus was tailor-made for Hong Kong's great demand for buses with high capacity. It was bodied by Eastern Coach Works, a subsidiary of British Leyland Motors Corporation. It was built to Kowloon Motor Bus Configuration of 3+2 layout. It has one single width entrance in the front and two exits amidships. Between the exits is a compartment without seats, resulting to a H73/31D+53 capacity. When it arrived the colony, it became one of the biggest bus in KMB fleet. KMB registered it as CV184 and allocated fleet number 3BL1. The TL11 engine generated 163kW and was first assigned to Cross Harbour Route 112. It was scrapped in July 1997.
ONLXCT.3R
After the successful trials of the first 12m Olympian in Kowloon Motor Bus, the operator placed orders for a total of 162 similar buses with Alexander R type bodies. The passenger capacity ranges from 148 to 164. They have been deployed to busiest routes in the territory. The choice of engine has been switched to Gardner engine.
During 1986 and 1987, 10 Eastern Coach Works bodied Olympians have been sent to Gray Line of San Francisco as their dual door coaches. They have Stone air-conditioning units. Some of them have been converted to open-top buses. 4 similar buses with single door have been bought by Citybus of Hong Kong for their cross-border buses. Some of them have been converted to training buses. Now, 105 was rebodied and serves non-franchised routes, 103 and 104 have been scrapped and 102 has been preserved in England in original Citybus livery.
In 1990, the second batch of air-conditioned 12m Olympians came to Hong Kong. They belong to China Light and Power and Citybus. China Light and Power used them to commute workers to and fro various Power Stations and Citybus used these single-doored buses to serve non-franchised routes. In late 1990s, some CLP Power buses were resold to Citybus. The powerplant for these buses is Cummins LT10.
In 1993, when Citybus obtained 26 franchised routes from China Motor Bus, they bought 50 12m long Olympians fitted with LT10 engine. Same as the earlier batch, they have Nippondenso air-conditioning units. They have two double width doors and a passenger capacity of 146. They have been deployed to various trunk routes. Now, some of them have been refurbished to 2+2 seating, with a reduction of total capacity by 11.
Before the Leyland plant in Workington was closed by Volvo in June 1993, 200 12m long buses were built for Singapore Bus Services. They are the last Olympians with Leyland brand name and the last buses built in Workington. They can carry 131 passengers. The air-conditioning systems were provided by Sutrak and Nippondenso.
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Page created: 30 June 1999
Last updated: 29 April 2012