| In 1938/9 East Kent took delivery of 65 Leyland TD5 double deck buses to
lowbridge design which followed on from two previous series of 70 similar vehicles based
on TD4 chassis. The TD5 order was split between Park Royal (53 bodies JG 9907-18 AJG 1-40)
and Brush (52 bodies JG 9919-31), 
A further 10 were ordered in 1940 based on
TD7 chassis. These buses were finished in East Kent livery before being diverted to
Crosville (ref: Crosville Part 1 by Carroll & Rhodes page 129).
There were very minor differences between
the batches in the placing of drain strips around the rear platform, and the positioning
of the rear number plate. JG 9907-31 painted on the rear window and the rest on the lower
right of the rear panel inset with a slight repositioning of the stop light.
During WW2 many of the fleet ran with other
operators including Southdown, Devon general, Lincolnshire, East Midlands Yorkshire
Woollen and Caledonian.
The buses loaned to Southdown were AJG 21
-40
Numbered 321-30 and 301-10 respectively by
Southdown and carrying an `L` suffix on each side, they were eventually painted in full
mid green and cream livery with lining out and dark green roofs (while still displaying
East Kent Road Car Co. Ltd. as legal owners). Southdown used the standard East Kent
destination boxes ( with a separate route number display). It is recorded that they were
allocated to Portsmouth and Worthing garages.
In November 1940 AJG 31-5 moved on to Devon
General and were repainted in their red and grey livery. In 1943 the vehicles remaining
with Southdown were gradually repainted into all grey with only green below the lower deck
windows.
(Thanks to the Southdown Enthusiasts`Club Fleet History for the above wartime loans
detail.) |
