Author: Martin S. Curtis
Publisher: Ian Allan Publishing
Format: Hardback
Pages: 112
The Leyland Olympian was probably the last mass-market double-deck bus produced in the UK with several thousand constructed both for the domestic and export market. Apart from the UK, significant sales for the type occurred in, for example, Hong Kong, where a three-axle version was hugely successful.
The Olympian's origins date back to the 1970s with Leyland looking to build upon the earlier B15 (the integrated Titan bought in large numbers by London Transport) and the B45 project (effectively the replacement for the Bristol VR). The first of the Olympians was constructed in 1980, with 350 supplied to London Transport, with customers ranging from many of the PTEs through to municipal operators and constituents of the National Bus Company.
Under Leyland, the bulk of the production was handled at the company's Workington factory but, in 1988, Leyland Bus was acquired by Volvo and production was subsequently shifted to Volvo's factory at Irvine in Scotland. Production of the type ceased in 2000 although many, including some in London, remain in service.