Created 8-Jan-22
Modified 8-Mar-24
Fifty-seven vehicles had been ordered from English Electric in 1937 but at the request of the General Manager, Mr. Tattam, the order was split with 42 being on AEC chassis (635-676) and fifteen (677-691) on Karrier E4 chassis. The Karriers were all fitted with English Electric electrical equipment and Weymann H30/26R bodywork. They were initially based at Bolton depot, modernising its allocation significantly.
In 1940 a Karrier demonstrator, which proved to be the last E4 built and also with Weymann H30/26R bodywork, entered service in Bradford and was quickly purchased to become 692 (DKU 692) - there is no evidence that this vehicle ran anywhere else, the onset of war making its role as a demonstrator rather irrelevant. It was readily distinguished by a different destination display layout (ironically very similar to that later adopted by Bradford) and typical Weymann outswept skirt panels.
The war had taken its toll on the fleet and therefore four of the batch (679, 681, 687 and 689) were refurbished by Salmesbury Engineering in 1950 which resulted in a subtle change in their appearance as they now had sliding ventilators and had lost the valances over the windows. More drastic change was to come for 677, 678, 682, 684, 685, 688, 691 and unique 692, as during 1952 they, along with some of the AECs, were fitted with new Crossley H33/26R bodies.
The four unmodified examples were withdrawn in 1953-1955, whilst the four Salmesbury rebuilds ran until 1960-62. Those with Crossley bodies fared little better with some going in 1962 and the last ones being withdrawn at the end of October 1963 with the abandonment of the Crossflatts route.
687 sprung to prominence in 1961 when it was restored to its original Prussian Blue livery for the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, which it carried until its withdrawal the following year.
© David Beilby
