Leyland Titan TD1 from 1928
I was fortunate to have photographed this bus at the Bridgeton bus garage in Glasgow in November 2024 before it set off on its travels around the country.
The very first in the Leyland Titan TD range of buses
Like most transport museums, the Bridgeton garage in Glasgow allows visitors to take photographs and I am very grateful for the staff’s knowledge, helpfulnes and generosity. Visitors are always made welcome. I recommend booking a Guided Tour, where you will discover more about these vintage buses.
This magnificient vintage bus is owned by Sir Brian Souter and is part of his Collection. Sir Brian had loaned the Leyland Titan to the Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust at the Bridgeton bus garage in 2024 to help the Trust celebrate 100 years of Glasgow Corporation motorbuses.
Leyland Titan TD1 from 1928
Visitors were allowed full access to the Leyland TD1. It is unusual and very generous of the Sir Brian and the GVVT to allow access to the lower and upper decks. In my travels to museums, it is very rare to be able to go inside a vintage vehicle. These vehicles have been lovingly restored and you can understand why the private owners are reluctant to allow unsupervised access.
The Leyland Titan TD1 (1928)
Leyland Titan TD1 from 1928
Specifications
- Chassis: Leyland Titan TD1
- Year of Manufacture: 1928
- Registration Number: GE 2446
- Fleet Number: 111 (Glasgow Corporation)
- Coachbuilder: Leyland Motors
- Body Type: Lowbridge double-deck with side gangway design
- Seating Capacity: 51 passengers
- Engine: Originally equipped with a 6.8-litre, six-cylinder overhead-camshaft petrol engine producing between 90–98 bhp at up to 2,200 rpm . It has since been retrofitted with a diesel engine during preservation
- Transmission: Four-speed sliding-mesh gearbox
- Brakes: Vacuum-servo brakes on all four wheels
- Dimensions: Approximately 25 feet in length; height: just over 13 feet
- Weight: Unladen weight of less than 5 tonnes, allowing for the use of pneumatic tyres
The ceiling is slightly lower on the right of the lower deck - and on the upper deck, the passageway is lowered.
This was to keep the vehicle height at about 13 feet to be able to pass under low bridges.
Leyland Titan 1928
Notice that there is no long vertical handrail on the edge of the platform, but there is a handrail on both sides.
The distinctive rearview of the bus. Not ideal for the Scottish weather.
Two views of the driver’s cab. This bus is fully operational.
Glasgow Corporation Livery
The Leyland Titan registration number GE 3446 was withdrawn from service in 1940. Glasgow Corporation’s livery in that period would have been cream with hints of green. Although our bus is painted in the familiar cream, yellow and orange colours, these were not adopted until the 1950s.
I instructed AI to repaint our bus to show how it would have looked in 1940:
An AI rendition of how this bus might have looked like in 1940.
I will update this post if it is possible to check the authenticity of this livery from 1940.
At first glance you’d think AI has done a good job, but there is no longer an open staircase and a vertical rail has appeared. The buses in the background have gone slightly askew. Looking at it again, it appears that AI has created a completely different bus with the wrong registration, which is not on record. so I removed all the markings and asked AI to identify it.
The result:
The bus in the image you’ve uploaded appears to be a Leyland Titan, a classic double-decker bus manufactured by Leyland Motors in the United Kingdom. Specifically, it looks like a Leyland Titan PD2 or PD3 variant, which were common from the late 1940s through the 1960s.
Well off the mark, 0ur bus is a Leyland Titan PD1, from 1928.
AI is fine for general imaging, but not for detailed work, but I suppose it all depends on how precise you can make the script (the instsructions) that you give it.
Exclusive First Editions 1:76 scale model #27204
This is an excellent model of this bus and has the same registration number (GE 2446) as real bus. The only slight differences are 1: the oil filter box located just above the left mudguard, which is black. On the real bus the box is painted to match the livery. 2: the destination board is slightly different. The finish on this model is excellent, even recreating the sunken footwell on both decks.
Gilbow (Holdings) Limited, who owned the Exclusive First Editions range of models were acquired by Bachmann Europe plc in October 2016. Model #27204 does not appear on their website, but it is possible to find this model on eBay, as I did.
Photo Montage
Script provided by the Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust’s information sheet
There are other Leyland Titan TD1’s out there
Links are in red
- Bolton 54 WH1553 1929 Leyland Titan TD1
- Brush Body UF4813 Preserved 813 Southdown Motor Services Livery
- 1929 Leyland Titan TD1 - Science Museum Group
- Be a passenger on our Leyland Titan TD1
