New To: Nottingham City Transport

Chassis: AEC Renown 3B3RA125

Body: Weymann M1487 H40/30F

Status: Awaiting Restoration

History

366 was delivered new to Nottingham City Transport in April 1965 as part of a batch of 35 similar vehicles. It has an AEC Renown chassis which was a lower height chassis intended to reduce the overall height of the vehicle and it is also fitted with air suspension on the rear axle. It is fitted with Weymann Double Deck bodywork, seating 40 passengers upstairs and 30 downstairs.

366 was withdrawn from service in 1976, its relatively short life with Nottingham being due to the advancement of one man operation. It was sold to Ensigns of Grays (a bus and coach dealer) who sold it onto Kirkbys Coaches of Bexleyheath. They used it until 1980, when 366 was intended to go to the Greenwich Bus Museum but this never came to fruition and the museum was never built.

366 then found its way to the yard of Denyer Brothers of Stondon Massey, Essex. Although 366 was never operated by them, it was kept in their yard with its engine earmarked for a sale to a fellow operator. Thankfully this engine removal never took place.

The bus then spent the next 36 years sitting in the one before it was acquired by us in June 2016 and transported back to Hucknall. As you can see 366 will require an enormous amount of time and money to get it back to its former glory.

Relevance To The Collection

The AEC renowns were an unusual purchase for Nottingham, given that for a few years previous they had bought rear engined buses which were suitable for one man operation. The Renown was a rare chassis in itself with only 250 being built of which NCT bought 42 in total. 366 is one of only three known Nottingham Renowns left.