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AEC Mercury

AEC Mercury (1965): Aldridge Transport Museum

Delivered to Malta in 1965 as a CKD AEC Mercury lorry chassis, SXS 327 took a very different path from its original intention. Instead of becoming a goods vehicle, it was transformed into a 34-seat bus by the local coachbuilder Michael Barbara of Luqa, whose styling gave Malta’s buses a character all of their own.

Linking Valletta with Buġibba, it worked within Malta’s unique, family-run bus system where vehicles were identified by route numbers and liveries rather than company names. Like many Maltese buses, it enjoyed a long working life marked by rebuilding and re-engining, reflecting an island tradition of keeping vehicles in service for decades rather than years.

SXS327_AEC_Mercury_leftside_(1965)

AEC Mercury (1965): Aldridge Transport Museum
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SXS327_AEC_Mercury_DriverCab_(1965)

AEC Mercury (1965): Aldridge Transport Museu
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SXS327_AEC_Mercury_interior_a_(1965)

AEC Mercury (1965): Aldridge Transport Museum
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SXS327_AEC_Mercury_interior_b_(1965)

AEC Mercury (1965): Aldridge Transport Museum
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SXS327_AEC_Mercury_rear_(1965)

AEC Mercury (1965): Aldridge Transport Museum
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SXS327_AEC_Mercury_info)

Text © Aldridge Transport Museum
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37AD03_1963_AEC_Mercury_Mk5_4x2_Fueller

A 1963 AEC Mercury lorry: kitmasterbloke, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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