East Lancs Lolyne | |
Manufacturer: | East Lancashire Coachbuilders |
Production: | 1999-2006 |
Length: | 10m (30feet) to 11.5m (37.7feet) |
Height: | to |
Capacity: | 76 to 94 seated |
Floortype: | Low floor |
Doors: | 1 or 2 |
Chassis: | Dennis Trident 2 |
Related: | East Lancs Vyking |
Predecessor: | East Lancs Pyoneer |
Successor: | East Lancs Olympus |
The East Lancs Lolyne is a type of low-floor double-decker bus body built by East Lancs. Launched in 1999, the Lolyne was the double-decker version of the Spryte, built on the Dennis Trident 2 twin-axle low-floor chassis. The body could be built as either a closed top bus or an open-top bus, and the Lolyne name continued the long line of 'misspelt' names which continued until the Scania OmniDekka.[1]
The facelifted East Lancs Myllennium Lolyne superseded the original Lolyne in 2002.
The structure of the Myllennium Lolyne was built using the Alusuisse "System M5438" system. Glazing was with laminated glass, and gasket glazing came with the bus as standard - with bonded glazing available - and had hopper opening windows. The heating was thermostatically controlled and windows and air vents provided ventilation.
The seating was trimmed in customer's required moquette. The floor had a 12mm Xyligen Basileum treated Finnish Birch combi plywood floor on the lower deck and both decks a non-slip flooring.
Electrical features were the fluorescent light on the bus' ceilings, and twin circular halogen headlights. Also, CCTV was available. Destination displays only came as manual as standard, doors were air operated and were made of toughened glass. A simple driver's compartment was designed, to make the driver's job easier. Two pack acrylic paint was available for the exterior.[2]
The first Lolynes were delivered to Nottingham City Transport in early 1999 as part of an order of 12 of the type, these being among the first Trident 2s produced. Nottingham City Transport would eventually become a major operator of pre-facelift Lolynes, taking a total of 54 between 1999 and 2001 as the company's standard low-floor double-decker bus.[3]
Subsequent operators following the Lolyne's launch included Brighton & Hove, who ordered 20 Lolynes, some with convertible open-top roofs, in 1999 before taking delivery of a further 20 during 2000, Yellow Buses of Bournemouth, who took delivery of nine during 1999, and Maynes Buses of Manchester, who took delivery of five during 1999. Preston Bus took delivery of its first seven Lolynes with funding from Lancashire County Council in late 1999 as part of a 'Quality Bus' scheme to improve services running from Preston bus station to Tanterton,[4] [5] subsequently taking delivery of a further ten Lolynes during 2000.[6]
The only export operators of East Lancs Lolynes in Continental Europe were two sightseeing operators in Spain, with these buses being built to open-top configuration; 25 Lolynes were delivered to Madrid Vision between 2001 and early 2002,[7] with an additional 18 delivered to Barcelona Tours during 2002.
Isle of Man Transport was also an export operator of both variants of the Lolyne, taking delivery of eleven original Lolynes between 2000 and 2001.[8]