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MWY112 was the third Bristol Lodekka for the West Yorkshire fleet. Numbered DX3, it was delivered in February 1954 and, with sister DX4, entered service at Harrogate in May 1954.
These were the only two Lodekkas to be delivered to West Yorkshire with Gardner engines, being LD6Gs with ECW H33/25RD bodies. For a time DX3 was fitted experimentally with a supercharged Gardner 5LW engine, but reverted to 6LW for the remainder of its life. Perhaps not surprisingly, the two buses stayed together, moving to Ilkley in May 1957 and on to Bradford in October 1958, where they remained for the rest of their lives and where their extra power was probably most appreciated.
In this official view, DX3 is on the steam cleaning ramp at the side of Grove Park depot, Harrogate, perhaps in readiness for first overhaul in May 1956. Features to note are the front wing vents, added to assist brake cooling - were these unique to West Yorkshire or a Bristol modification pending the final solution of shortening the front wings?
Also notable is the painting over of the third route number track, which was a heavy handed way of persuading crews to use the first two tracks. At this time West Yorkshire routes had only two digits and there were few with "A" variations (e.g. 12A). Like all West Yorkshire Lodekkas without, this vehicle eventually had the long apron radiator grille replaced with a short version, the destination display altered to a "T" layout with 41" rather than 48" destination display and was fitted with flashing trafficators.
Photo taken by West Yorkshire Road Car/WYIS Collection, c.May 1956, West Yorkshire Grove Park Depot, Harrogate
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