In the quest for maximising the number of passengers who could be seated on a vehicle of current maximum dimensions, the Leyland company produced in the 1950s a chassis for a double decker which created more passenger space by having a vertical engine mounted transversely at the rear of the chassis and driving the back axle through a remotely controlled epicyclic gearbox (automatic gearboxes for buses were in the future). A change in Construction & Use Regulations in 1956 saw the maximum length for a double deck chassis extended to 30’0” and Leyland’s new chassis, the “Atlantean”, could take bodywork with up to 78 seats; it was on sale from 1958 and it sold well. With the engine at the back, the passenger entrance was now at the very front where the driver could observe the coming and going of passengers. The entrance now having doors which were under the control of the driver, the expectation was that platform accidents would be reduced, always a matter of concern to managements. There was no thought at this time of drivers of such vehicles having any involvement with fares or tickets.
Aberdeen Corporation bought only one batch of the earlier PDR design of Atlanteans and these entered service in 1967. An upgraded version which was designed for driver only operation, Leyland type AN68, was on sale from 1972 until 1984 and Aberdeen Corporation and its successor became regular customers. With the exception of 1975 when the Corporation Transport gave way to Grampian Regional Transport, there were orders for AN68s every year from 1973 to 1983 with a total of 189 such vehicles taken into stock. All had a semi-automatic gearbox, air brakes and power steering as standard. All had the same basic design of 74 seat dual door Alexander of Falkirk ‘AL’ bodywork which has aluminium framework. Saloon heating was by warm air derived from waste engine heat blown into both decks. This type of vehicle became the typical Aberdeen bus for much of the later 1970s through to the 1990s, the last coming out of service in the city in 2002.
The Trust has examples of a number of these vehicles, viz, ACT 154, GRT 209, 318 and 345.
• ACT 154 was new in 1973 and was in the last batch of double decker’s bought by Aberdeen Corporation before the formation of Grampian Regional Transport. It came out of passenger service in 1983 when it became GRT’s driver training vehicle. Minus its engine and gearbox, it became the property of Grampian Transport Museum, Alford, in 1989, and was transferred to the care of the Trust in 2017.
• GRT 209 was new in 1979 and was transferred for further service in 1993 to a Grampian Transport Holdings group company Midland Bluebird Ltd, Falkirk. 209 was finally withdrawn from passenger service and came straight into preservation in 1999.
• GRT 318 was new in 1982 and was one of five ex GRT Atlantean AN68s converted to partial open top in 1997. 318 subsequently passed to the care of FirstGroup Heritage Trust. Following a major engine failure in 2018, 318 is presently out of service.
• GRT 345 was the last Leyland AN68 delivered to Grampian Regional Transport in March 1983 and was in “Grampian Scottish” branding when new. 345 came into preservation when it was withdrawn from service in April 2001.
“Grampian Scottish” was the fleet name used from January 1983 to October 1986 on GRT and some W Alexander (Northern) buses deployed on certain routes in the city; this cooperation followed a major exchange of routes between the two operators in the city and suburbs. Each participant had its own routes but offered a common (Aberdeen) green and cream livery with the “Grampian Scottish” fleet name. The joint venture ceased as a consequence of bus deregulation when operators were expected to adopt a competitive attitude to each other.