PRV - Body Frames

PARK ROYAL BODY FRAMES FOR OTHER BODYBUILDERS
By Basil Hancock

It may not be widely known that Park Royal built body frames for other builders to complete. Notable examples included bodies built by:

Brockhouse in Clydebank, Glasgow;
The Great Northern Railway of Ireland (GNRI) for bus bodies assembled at their Dundalk Works, including some on the legendary GNRI Gardner chassis;
Guy Motors on their own Arab chassis, which looked very much like genuine Park Royal bodies. Both single-deck and double-deck bodies were built;
Harkness on Daimler and other chassis for Belfast Corporation (and maybe a prototype Bridgemaster too, although it could also have been Crossley-framed);

Utility body frames for Northern Coachbuilders to complete on Guy Arab chassis for London Transport.

There may have been others too, and it is almost certain that some of the parts for the first two Routemaster prototypes would have been supplied to London Transport for assembly at Chiswick Works.

In the reverse direction, the prototype AEC Bridgemasters, although designed by AEC/PRV and marketed as an AEC-Park Royal joint product, the final design and construction was by Crossley that also built the 40 Class 103 Diesel Multiple Unit railcars for British Railways in 1957, although they were always known as Park Royal cars.

In addition Park Royal body frame designs were used in many bodies built by its Leeds subsidiary Charles H Roe, on front-engined chassis such as the AEC Regent, Daimler CVG, Guy Arab and Leyland Titan, and on early rear-engined chassis such as the Leyland Atlantean.

Park Royal frame designs were also used in Roe bodies on the Guy Wulfrunian chassis, and of the 137 Wulfrunians built Roe bodied 131.

These first six images are of an Accrington Guy Arab III single-decker 10 sporting a Guy-built body on Park Royal frames at the Hyndburn depot (Accrington); in use as a snow-plough/breakdown tender.

Pictured; 15 June 1982.
Pictured; 30 August 1982.

These Gosport & Fareham Guy Arab III's were pictured at Gosport Bus Station on the 14 June 1970. Left is #19 (ex-Southampton #141) that has a genuine Park Royal body; whilst #22 (just a glimpse of the front) has a Guy-built body on a Park Royal frame. Yet the bodies are virtually indistinguishable.

The following Gosport & Fareham Guy Arab III's (excepting #3 & #7) all have genuine Park Royal bodies.

Pictured at Gosport Bus Station on 27 June 1971, #63 (is ex-Southampton 109).
Pictured at Hoeford depot on 14 June 1970, #64 (is ex-Southampton 110).
Again pictured at Hoeford depot on 14 June 1970, here #3, #7, that have Guy-built bodies on Park Royal frames are shown with #49 (ex-Southampton 146) that has a genuine Park Royal body. The bodies are virtually indistinguishable.

This former Southampton (#222) Guy Arab III, with its genuine Park Royal body, is pictured in a rather sorry state, near Sheffield Park, Uckfield on 25 April 1987.

Pictured at Wolverhampton depot on 11 August 1969 are these two Guy Arab III's (#540 & #545) with their genuine Park Royal bodies.

Again at Wolverhampton depot on 11 August 1969, this Guy Arab III single-decker #561 with its Guy-built body on Park Royal frames is in use as a snow-plough.