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Plaxton Premiere

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Plaxton Premiere
Woods of Leicester Plaxton Premiere bodied Volvo B10M at Moreton-in-Marsh in August 2013
Overview
ManufacturerPlaxton
Production1991–2002
Body and chassis
Doors1
Floor typeStep-entrance
ChassisDAF SB3000
Dennis Javelin
Volvo B7R
Volvo B10M
Volvo B12
Scania K93
Scania K113
Powertrain
Engine
  • DAF (DAF SB3000)
  • Scania (Scania K93/K113)
  • Volvo (Volvo B10M)
  • Volvo TD122 (Volvo B12)
  • Volvo D7B260 (Volvo B7R)
Dimensions
Width2.5 m (8 ft 2 in)
Height3.2–3.7 m (10–12 ft)
Chronology
PredecessorPlaxton Paramount
SuccessorPlaxton Panther
Plaxton Paragon
Plaxton Profile

The Plaxton Premiere, Plaxton Excalibur and Plaxton Prima were closely related designs of coach bodywork built by Plaxton.

Variants

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Premiere

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Internally codenamed 'Project X' during its development,[1] the Plaxton Premiere was revealed in August 1991 as the successor to Plaxton's versatile Paramount body,[2] later receiving official launches on the Volvo B12 chassis at the 1991 Bus and Coach Show at both the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham and the 1991 European Bus and Touring Coach Fair in Kortrijk.[3][4] At launch, the Premiere was available for bodying on the Volvo B10M, Volvo B12B, Scania K93 and K113, and Dennis Javelin coach chassis, with all but the then-new Volvo B12 previously offered for the Paramount;[2] Premieres also began to be bodied on the DAF SB3000 chassis in 1995.[5]

The Premiere was built with a welded steel frame, with galvanised steel panels on the top half of the body and lower panels manufactured through resin transfer moulding. A more rounded front end when compared to the Paramount was a notable feature of the new Premiere which, could be bodied at heights of either 3.2 m (10 ft) or 3.5 m (11 ft), had a seating capacity for 53 recliner seats, and was fitted with tinted double-glazed windows, updated heating as well as optional air conditioning, as well as improved plug doors. Plaxton claimed that the Premiere and Excalibur had the lowest drag coefficient of any coach produced in the United Kingdom at the time.[2][6]

Volvo launched an SE variant of its B10M chassis in 1995, featuring a longer wheelbase and shorter rear overhang, changes which were achieved via the installation of a side-mounted radiator and intercooler as well as the relocation of the fuel tank above the rear axle. Plaxton's Premiere 350 was the launch vehicle for this new chassis in the United Kingdom, achieving nearly 5 m3 (180 cu ft) of luggage space in the front luggage lockers while also seeing a 450 mm (18 in) reduction in rear overhang.[7]

Expressliner II

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National Express Plaxton Expressliner II bodied Volvo B10M at Manchester Airport in April 2003

The Expressliner II was launched in August 1992 as a variant of the Premiere 350 built to National Express specification on the Volvo B10M and Dennis Javelin chassis, serving as the second iteration of the Expressliner concept that was first applied to Paramount 350-bodied B10Ms. These coaches were sold or leased through National Expressliners Ltd, a joint venture between Plaxton and National Express that intended to form a uniform fleet of Plaxton-bodied National Express coaches across the United Kingdom.[8][9]

Features adapted for the Expressliner II included flipdot or rollblind destination equipment, a three-piece windscreen and heavy-duty pantograph wipers, while premium 'Rapide' models featured waste disposal bins, a servery area and a chemical toilet. Each coach was also equipped with reclining seats trimmed with the National Express moquette design.[8]

Premiere Interurban

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The Premiere Interurban was a variant of the Premiere 320 designed for medium-distance express coach services.

A handful of Premiere Interurbans were also built as 71-seat articulated coaches on Volvo B10MA chassis, the first such coaches to be built in Britain, with these exclusively received by subsidiaries of the Stagecoach Group on express services.[10]

Excalibur

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Dudley's Plaxton Excalibur bodied Volvo B10M in Sandown on the Isle of Wight in June 2015

The Plaxton Excalibur was launched at the same time as the Premiere in 1991, being marketed as a premium version of the Premiere 350. Although it shared most of the same components and chassis configuration as the Premiere, The design of the Excalibur differed by having a distinctive 'swept-back' fascia featuring a raked windscreen, and internally, the Excalibur featured a plug door as standard,[11] as well as including reclining seats with optional drop-down armrests and luggage hooks, enclosed luggage racks and pull-down sunblinds as standard, as well as a Blaupunkt speaker system.[12]

The Excalibur was also bodied on the long-wheelbase Volvo B10M SE variant, allowing for an underfloor luggage compartment, accessible by lockers on both sides of the coach, to be equipped as standard when compared to conventional B10Ms.[13]

Prestige

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The Plaxton Prestige was a 3.7 m (12 ft) left-hand drive export version of the Excalibur that was built on a tri-axle variant of the Volvo B12 chassis, uniquely utilising a 'lowcab' design that enabled the driver's cab to be 470 mm (19 in) lower than on standard B12s. The body and chassis combination was briefly marketed by Volvo towards French luxury coach operators, competing against established designs by Jonckheere and Van Hool.[14][15] The name was later revived by Plaxton for the Northern Counties Paladin LF low-floor bus when production was moved from Northern Counties' Wigan factory to Plaxton's Scarborough factory. [16]

Prima

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Bus Éireann Plaxton Prima bodied Volvo B7R in 2000

The Plaxton Prima was launched in November 1997 at the Coach & Bus 97 expo on Volvo's new B7R chassis, which intended to serve as a fuel-efficient replacement of the B10M. The Prima was marketed as a budget version of the Premiere for price-conscious operators: although it retained the same design and framework as the Premiere, standard features of the Prima included 57 seatbelted and reclining seats with fixed footrests, ribbed cord interior trim, solid rubber flooring and an overhead luggage rack design reused from the Paramount. As standard, the Prima-bodied B7R was equipped with Volvo's D7B260 engine with the option for either a ZF S6-85 six-speed synchromesh manual or ZF 4HP500 automatic gearbox;[17] the Prima was later offered on both the DAF SB3000 and Dennis Javelin chassis, though the majority of operators took delivery of B7Rs.

Operators

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Premiere

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Wallace Arnold Plaxton Premiere bodied Volvo B10M in Blackpool
Stagecoach in Hull Plaxton Premiere Interurban bodied Volvo B10M in Kingston upon Hull

Early major customers for the Plaxton Premiere upon its 1991 launch were coach holidays operators and popular Paramount customers Wallace Arnold and Shearings. Wallace Arnold ordered 50 Premieres on Volvo B10M chassis, while Shearings ordered 30 Premiere 3200s on Scania K93 chassis as well as ten air-conditioned Premiere 3500s on Volvo B10M chassis for use on coach tours to Continental Europe.[11][6] These operators continued to take delivery of further Premieres throughout its production run.[18]

The Stagecoach Group was a highly popular customer of the Premiere Interurban, choosing to standardise on it as its standard coach body throughout the 1990s; a two-year contract placed in August 1992 worth £7.5 million (equivalent to £19,604,000 in 2023) to supply 150 of the type, 100 on Volvo B10M and the remaining 50 on Dennis Javelin chassis, was Plaxton's biggest ever order during a time of financial difficulties for the manufacturer.[18] Many Premiere Interurbans were delivered to Stagecoach's Scottish subsidiaries, including A1 Service, Bluebird and Western.[19]

Other operators who purchased conventional Premieres for express coach services included Ulsterbus, who took delivery of 80 on Volvo B10M chassis for use on its Goldliner network between 1994 and 1996,[20] Bus Éireann, who purchased 59 on Volvo B10M chassis between 1996 and 1997,[21][5] Cambridge Coach Services,[22] First Eastern Counties,[23] First Kelvin,[24] and City of Oxford Motor Services, who took delivery of six on Dennis Javelin chassis in 1992 for use on the Oxford to London 190 service.[25]

National Express contractors who took delivery of Expressliner II-specification Premieres included East Yorkshire Motor Services,[26] West Midlands Travel's Central Coachways arm,[27] Yorkshire Traction,[28] Premier Travel of Cambridge, Wessex Coaches of Bristol and Selwyns Travel of Runcorn.[20]

Excalibur

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Wallace Arnold and Shearings also took delivery of Plaxton Excaliburs, with Wallace Arnold ordering ten Excalibur 3500s on Volvo B10M chassis prior to launch in 1991; an additional Excalibur 3500 from this order was built to high specification as the team coach for Leeds United F.C., being fitted out leather seating, bunk beds, partitions, tables and a kitchenette.[11]

Prima

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References

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  1. ^ "Plaxton prepares for 'Project X'". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 20 June 1991. p. 22. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Paramount successor revealed". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 22 August 1991. p. 19. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  3. ^ "Putting on a brave face". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 24 October 1991. pp. 22–23. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  4. ^ "British trio's Continental attack". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 31 October 1991. pp. 18–20. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Output reaches 15-year high". Coach & Bus Week. No. 204. Peterborough: Emap. 10 February 1996. p. 9.
  6. ^ a b "Big deals for Plaxton duo". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 10 October 1991. p. 22. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  7. ^ "Volvo launches light B10M". Bus & Coach Buyer. No. 307. Spalding. 19 May 1995. p. 8.
  8. ^ a b Morgan, Mike (4 March 1995). "Automatic choice". Coach & Bus Week. No. 157. Peterborough: Emap. pp. 30–32. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  9. ^ "Expressliner II makes its debut". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 6 August 1992. p. 18. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  10. ^ Williams, Mark (21 October 1995). "First for Plaxton". Coach & Bus Week. No. 190. Peterborough: Emap. pp. 4–5. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  11. ^ a b c "...but new coach picks up £7.5m order". Coachmart. No. 656. Peterborough: Emap. 12 September 1991. p. 5. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  12. ^ "1992 Product Range" (PDF). Scarborough: Plaxton. p. 10. Retrieved 20 November 2024 – via Wikibus.
  13. ^ "Flights orders first Excaliburs on B10M SE". Coach & Bus Week. No. 197. Peterborough: Emap. 9 December 1995. p. 32. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  14. ^ "Volvo joins Plaxton in export". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 19 September 1991. p. 20. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  15. ^ "Lowdown on Volvo B12". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 1 October 1992. p. 16. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  16. ^ Williams, Mark (25 September 1997). "All panelling is Cromweld stainless". Coach & Bus Week. No. 288. Peterborough: Emap. p. 14. Retrieved 21 November 2024. The last of the high-floor Paladins are now being finished, and all lowfloor Paladins - built on DAF SB220L - change name to Prestige.
  17. ^ Morgan, Mike (15 January 1998). "Prima facie case". Coach & Bus Week. No. 303. Peterborough: Emap. pp. 22–25. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  18. ^ a b "Plaxton's £7.5m lifeline". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 13 August 1992. p. 18. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  19. ^ "More Interurbans for Scottish Stagecoach subsidiaries". Bus & Coach Buyer. No. 394. Spalding. 31 January 1997. p. 26.
  20. ^ a b Jones, Stuart (21 October 1994). "Plaxton Coach & Bus: Delivering consistent quality". Bus & Coach Buyer. No. 278. Spalding. pp. 9–12. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  21. ^ Williams, Mark (14 September 1996). "Jewells in Emerald Isle's express fleet". Coach & Bus Week. No. 235. Peterborough: Emap. pp. 30–31. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  22. ^ "New Cambridge Birmingham run". Coach & Bus Week. No. 109. Peterborough: Emap. 26 March 1994. p. 10. Retrieved 20 November 2024. The size of the order has still to be finalised, but the vehicles will be Volvo B10Ms with Plaxton Premiere 350 bodies with maximum luggage space rather than continental doors, as they will be used primarily on the company's Cambridge to Gatwick airport services.
  23. ^ "Eastern Counties: £2 million". Coach & Bus Week. No. 235. Peterborough: Emap. 14 September 1996. p. 5. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  24. ^ "First Express Plaxton Premiere Volvos for faster link". Bus & Coach Buyer. No. 420. Spalding. 1 August 1997. p. 20. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  25. ^ "Javelins for COMS". Coach & Bus Week. No. 30. Peterborough: Emap. 12 September 1992. p. 11. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  26. ^ "East Yorks goes for Expressliner 2s". Coach & Bus Week. No. 77. Peterborough: Emap. 7 August 1993. p. 8. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  27. ^ Williams, Mark (17 April 1993). "Central takes Expressliners". Coach & Bus Week. No. 61. Peterborough: Emap. p. 14. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  28. ^ Simpson, Richard (22 January 1994). "Coach and bus registrations up". Coach & Bus Week. No. 100. Peterborough: Emap. p. 12. Retrieved 20 November 2024. Volvo's B10M consolidated its position as market-leading coach. Yorkshire Traction took two NatEx spec Plaxton Premieres.
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