At nearly 90 years old, this beautifully renovated 1933 Leyland Club can be found at the Beamish Museum in the North East of England. Having spent seven years lovingly bringing this vintage bus back to life, Gardiners Coach Repairs not only made it work like clockwork but also made it wheelchair accessible. So that everyone who visited Beamish could enjoy the museum to its fullest, the bus was fitted with a PLS wheelchair access lift.
Paul Jarmen, Beamish Museum’s Assistant Director for Design, Transport & Industry said: “We have been delighted to put Crosville 716 into service, not only returning a vehicle to operation that probably stood little chance of ever being restored but also because its new role is so essential to the provision of access for all visitors at Beamish.
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“The bus had deteriorated to such an extent that much of the body had to be made from scratch, grafting in original wood wherever possible. This has meant that we have been able to adapt an original vehicle, complete with its petrol engine, for the new role as a wheelchair accessible vehicle at the museum, when otherwise we would probably have had to construct a replica, with all the compromises this entails when using a modern chassis, as we have had to do in the past. It is much better for the observer and the passenger to feel, hear (and smell!) a real bus, doing real work, even at one year short of its 90th birthday.”
The PLS wheelchair access lift with its modern design and technology fitted onto the classic vehicle to bring new and old together. Paul added: “The PLS lift is reliable, easy to operate, and works well with the vehicle adapted to carry it. It is also compact and therefore easy to hide beneath the coachwork of the restored bus.”
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