Created 18-May-19
Modified 8-Mar-24
In 1953 AEC built a special demonstration vehicle which was a lighter weight chassis incorporating the 7.7 litre engine and the fairly new synchromesh gearbox. Registered 7194 H and fitted with a Park Royal body this bus carried out demonstration work before being sold to Mayne's of Manchester. This vehicle had an experimental chassis designation but was a prototype for the 6813S variant.
As things turned out, with the transition to the Regent V model, Rhondda ended up being the only buyer of the 6813S Regent. 288-297 (PNY 390-399) entered service at the beginning of 1955 and had Weymann Orion bodies similar to the previous purchase (282-287) but with a higher seating capacity.
All were withdrawn in 1966, 288 having lost its roof in an accident. Whilst quite a few went on to further users, none lasted very long although the reasons for their unpopularity are not very clear.
© David Beilby
