Northern Counties Palatine
The Northern Counties Palatine was a step-entrance 2-axle and 3-axle double-decker bus body built by Northern Counties in Wigan, England.
| Northern Counties Palatine | |
|---|---|
 Keighley & District Northern Counties Palatine bodied Leyland Olympian | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Northern Counties |
| Production | 1992 - 1999 |
| Assembly | Wigan |
| Body and chassis | |
| Doors | 1 or 2 |
| Floor type | Step entrance |
| Chassis | DAF DB250 Dennis Arrow Dennis Dominator Leyland Olympian Scania N113 Volvo Citybus Volvo Olympian |
| Chronology | |
| Successor | Plaxton President |
The Palatine was built mainly on Leyland Olympian and Volvo Olympian chassis, although smaller sized orders were also built for customers on DAF DB250, Dennis Arrow, Dennis Dominator, Volvo B10M Citybus and Scania N113DRB chassis.
Two variants existed, the Palatine I (known as "Palatine" before 1992) which had a flatter windscreen, and the Palatine II (launched in 1993) which had a curved windscreen with an arched top resembling that of the single-decker Northern Counties Paladin.[1][2]
MTL were a notable buyer, a batch of high-specification Palatine IIs entered service in 1996 on the 'Cross River' services through the Mersey Tunnels. Another batch of 22, branded as 'The Millennium Fleet' began operating on Merseyside in 1998.
Tri-axle Volvo Olympians with Northern Counties Palatine bodies were exported to Hong Kong. Between 1996 and 1998, Citybus received 55 and Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation received 15.
Some Northern Counties Palatine buses were built as open-top buses for sightseeing purposes. It was superseded by the Plaxton President in 1999.
Variants
A Volvo Olympian with Northern Counties Palatine I bodywork, operated by Go North East.
A Volvo Olympian with Northern Counties Palatine I bodywork, operated by Arriva Southern Counties.
A Volvo Olympian with Northern Counties Palatine II bodywork, operated by Go North East.
A DAF DB250 with Palatine II bodywork, new to Metrobus in 1995, converted to an open top bus for the Cambridge City Sightseeing Tour
References
- Buses named Commercial Motor 5 March 1992
- Spectra rival from Northern Counties Commercial Motor 3 September 1992
External links
