Bedford JJL

Bedford JJL

Bedford JJL
Overview
Manufacturer Bedford (General Motors)
Body and chassis
Doors 1 door
Floor type Step entrance
Powertrain
Engine Bedford diesel

The Bedford JJL was an innovative but ultimately unsuccessful bus model built by Bedford. The JJL could have been a success, but was ahead of its time in predicting the boom in the midibus market, as seen by the success of the Dennis Dart.[1][2]

Only four JJLs were produced, along with a pre-production prototype, starting in 1979.[3] The production vehicles produced were as follows:[4]

chassis numbernumber platebodywork codeseatingbuilt
IRK0JL9008UKX 335XMarshall 260250B24F1981
IRK0JL9009AVS 903TMarshall 260251B24FNovember 1978
IRK0JL9010EKX 648TMarshall 260252B24F1978
IRK0JL9011HKX 553VMarshall 260253B24FNovember 1979

The build date of the first chassis may indicate that this was the prototype that was converted to a production bus, although the bodywork numbers and build dates conflict with those found in.[2][5][6]

Maidstone Borough Council took delivery of the JJLs in 1981/82.[7] UKK 335X and AVS 903T were sold to Brighton Buses, and then to Northern Bus, Sheffield in 1992.[2][5] EKX 648T also went to Brighton, but was scrapped in 1988 after a collision with a tree.[6] HKX 553V was sold to Bournemouth Transport (trading as Yellow Buses) in 1983, and then onto The Goodman Group,[8] where it saw service with Rambler and Goodmans coaches. It is the last JJL in service,[9] and has been exhibited at rallies.

Tricentrol of Dunstable produced a short version of Bedford's YMQ chassis, the YMQ/S, ten years after the JJL.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Fotopic image of a Bedford YMQS with related development commentary
  2. 1 2 3 Picture and details about Brighton Corporation 37
  3. ↑ Bedford promotional leaflet for the JJL (see image)
  4. ↑ Online database of bus orders Bedford JJL chassis search
  5. 1 2 Picture and details about Brighton Corporation 36
  6. 1 2 Picture and details about Brighton Corporation 38
  7. ↑ Southbus webpage Maidstone Municipal Transport, A brief history
  8. ↑ Colin Parkers Yellow Buses enthusiast site
  9. ↑ Fotopic collection of Goodman Group of Whittlesey
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