Very tuneful semi-auto Lodekka - EN Bristol FLF6LX coach AVX 975G ride - part 2

Welcome aboard one of the finest and rarest Bristol Lodekkas in preservation! Eastern National's last, of 247 bought, was also the last one built and has been beautifully restored to as-new condition, with full coach seating and luggage racks.
Built to the longer 31ft length, it is fitted with 5-speed semi-automatic gearbox, which gives a very rich aural treat, with high-pitched, very loud whines in each gear ratio.
After a long wait of 32 years since they last ran, it's my great pleasure to share these fabulous sounds with you now - I hope you enjoy them!
In this second part, we take a little faster ride outwards from Southend Seaway terminus to Eastwood, Oakwood, with faster to follow in part 3!
Slight unsteadiness in the view around 2mins30sec was due to my having to open the canopy flap to get some fresh air into the platform area whilst filming - not easy!

[@Grid56]

As a boy in West Yodks, we had to wait for the RELL before we experienced the S.C.G. whine. Our Lodekkas were crash box. Also as I was young, I was so much in awe of these beasts that I never cottoned on to just how painfully slow and under powered they were. Never mind. I practically learned to drive by spending many hours knelt on the bench seat watching the driver and learning engine sympathy. Good (if slow) days.

[@chuckylugs9607]

She sounds sooo majestic, like a finely tuned orchestra 🎼 🥰 Can vaguely remember these as a wee nipper in the late 60’s early 70’s. Very well driven and lovely timing through the gear changes 😌 Thank you for posting 😄 👍

[@johng.lidstone2236]

Thank you for kind comment. I’m sure the owner will be delighted by your comments. The bus is highly authentic and the sounds here are just as they used to be.

[@micswee]

Reminds me of traveling on the 251\151 from Hutton in the 60s, just love those Lodekkas

[@james-ru5oy]

SO DID I CANVEY TO LONDON..........

[@tinkertaylor6965]

Thank you. I haven't heard that whine for 50 years! Coming home from school, we always had a Lodekka. We had to grind through town traffic for the first half. Then a mile before home, we'd be out into the countryside, the driver would put his foot down and we'd be treated to that lovely sound until my stop. Almost a pity to push the bell!

[@joansmith8215]

I used to be a bus mechanic back in the 70’s for London Transport working on RT’s, RM’s and the first Daimler Fleetlines. There’s no doubt by the unmistakeable sound that this is a Gardner 6LXB engine. I never worked on these obviously but I believe the semi autos such as this one had a transfer box fitted between the engine and gearbox which is the famous whine you hear from these old girls. Gerry.

[@robertp.wainman4094]

Thanks for that explanation - as someone who loves that whine it's good to know just where it comes from.

[@flippityfloopityflop]

I believe that transfer box was in fact a fluid drive coupling

[@joansmith8215]

@@flippityfloopityflopYes. They would have been a fluid drive coupling but the drive train had to be dropped because of the low floor design on these so it used a transfer box to achieve this.

[@johncourtneidge]

Probably the most beautiful bus/coach ever made.

[@mekydro]

What a beauty. Those sounds take me back to my youth travelling on H&D Lodekkas from Bournemouth.

[@Harry-me1zq]

This is what actual driving is all about,read the road and take in what your eyes are telling you. Passed my PSV at Chester in 1985 with this was standard fleet apart from Crosville upgrading at the time.

[@adiebarrett]

Thanks for posting this. A wonderful sound, instantly transporting me back to the daily school runs. I was probably the only one on board who actually listened to the bus, rather than my banal mates' comments!

[@robertp.wainman4094]

Just like me too!

[@oldmoley1599]

Same here!

[@jonspivey5627]

Remember catching the 251 service from Rayleigh to Southend on these Lodekkas in the late 1960s.

[@waynetetley584]

Lovely Bristol FLF semi auto sound. So good to hear again

[@seansands424]

We load off them in Stroud in the 70s

[@tummytub1161]

I seriously need to get one of those 😍

[@andrewsnoozy]

Bristol Lodekka with semi-automatic gearbox, Albion Lowlander with semi-automatic gearbox, Bedford OB with its manual straight-cut gearbox, Commer TS3, Napier Deltic Train Locomotive and Detroit diesel Are the greatest noises ever made !!!

[@robertp.wainman4094]

Agree - but would add an AEC RT too.

[@andrewsnoozy]

@@robertp.wainman4094 Yeah, your right and maybe we should also include any of the Foden 2 stroke diesels. It was always great to ride on a vehicle with these sounds. Its all become rather boring nowadays!!!

[@johnshrubb7072]

@@robertp.wainman4094 You forgot the Leyland Leopard with straight through exhaust , Lovely

[@robertp.wainman4094]

@@johnshrubb7072 Let's put an Avro Vulcan in the list too for good measure!

[@stevethomas5849]

There is a Pub on the site where the Lodecka was built and in honour of the bus its called The Lodecka.

[@davidmccready6471]

Used to catch the Western SMT Lodekkas to school back in the 70s but I’m sure they were manual…….it was 50 years ago!

[@Richardsrailway]

Buttttlerrrr!

[@mitchellhurd8958]

Isn't that the coach-seated Lodekka shown on the front of the 2006 'Classic Buses' magazine? What is it about Bristol VR's and RE's (Leyland ones) that make them sing? That's lovely. I'm amazed at the amount of vintage buses I went on before the lockdown that sounded (and looked in) strong condition! The way the first gear almost reminds me of a mini cooper or an old rover metro from the 1980's (I'm 27 but somebody I knew once had a metro rover).

[@johng.lidstone2236]

Yes it has coach seats, a luggage pen area and luggage racks but is otherwise a standard 31ft bus body Lodekka.

[@17Eagle25]

I never heard of a semi automatic Lodekka - I thought they all had a 5 speed crash box!

[@johng.lidstone2236]

Only Crosville, Eastern National, Hants & Dorset, Midland General and Wilts & Dorset had semi-auto FLFs. Nice on the ear, far easier to drive but in some ways the stick box FLF had a better feeling of positive drive than the fluid transmission ‘screaming’ semi-autos.

[@geraldlrstubbs]

@@johng.lidstone2236 It was a nice transmission. Used on the later saloons, the coaches and the VRs. The NBC was way behind London Transport with the pre-selectors, and then the full autos on the Routemasters, which could be shifted up or down manually too.

[@neiljessop5825]

Mansfield District also had semi-auto Lodekka’s, two batches, SRB 59-65F 683-689 and TRB 585-589F 690-694.

[@nigelfoster6151]

@@johng.lidstone2236 I thought a Scottish company (I forget which) had some. I remember reading in Buses that this extended length were unique to Eastern National and that Scottish company. The latter crammed in an extra row of seats, whilst EN gave passengers extra leg room. Beautiful buses, the front top deck was much neater than the older c reg buses. I used them every schooldays between 1969 and 1976 on the 151 and 251, and avidly feast my eyes on them on On The Buses. The 351 used c reg buses from Chelmsford. Less legroom.

[@stevesales4263]

The only versions of these that I drove were crashbox.

[@jacksugden8190]

Out of interest, can anyone please tell what the destination blind details were for this smashing coach please, or some contact details of the owner?.

[@joansmith8215]

You’ll find this exact bus on display at the Castle Point bus museum on Canvey Island. To my knowledge, it is privately owned, the owner spent many thousands on restoration. Interesting day out especially on their rally day which normally takes place late September / early October each year.

[@carolinecleaveley]

ucoc bus for a short period.

[@johng.lidstone2236]

Yes just before it was converted from coach interior to standard bus.

[@cidertom5140]

Engine idle too high

[@GEOFF0906]

This was correct for the semi's. It was done to avoid stalling the engine when selecting gears.