Bus Model numbers

[Alex on the Bus]

I'll have a crack at amending and annotating Windy's valuable list.

VOLVO:

The following are model types, which were desginated by numbers.

B55 Ailsa = Front engined double deck chassis
B57 = Front engined
B58 = Mid-mounted underfloor engine
B59 = Rear mounted underfloor engine

These numbers have a "B" prefix, I assume it stands for "bus", but I'm not entirely sure on that.

10 = "10 litre" motor (effectively 9.6L)
12 = 12 litre motor
7 = 7 litre motor
6 = 6 litre motor

These suffixes signify details as to where the engine is located, and other extra details.

M = Mid mounted underfloor engine (B6M)
R/B = Rear mounted underfloor engine (B10B, B10R)
L = rear underfloor engine vertically mounted, low floor chassis (B7L, B10L)
LE = low entry (up to rear axle, or thereabout) (eg. B10BLE, B6LE, B7RLE)
A = articulated (eg. B10MA, B7LA)
SE = special edition (?) (eg. B10MSE)
TL = double deck, vertically mounted rear engine (B10TL, B7TL)
FA = not sure (eg. B6FA)
FA (UF) = mid mounted engine (eg. B6FA (UF))

TL = transverse low-floor (Volvo's original DD offering was a short-wheelbase B7L, whose overhang and minimum length were too long for most UK operators)

SCANIA:

Note: MOST Scania chassii have rear mounted engines, there are very few mid mounted underfloor examples)

The prefix applies to how the engine is mounted.

L = Vertically mounted engine, tilted 30 degrees to the left (not sure how it is tilted as such)
K = Vertically mounted engine
N = vertically mounted engine, horizontally opposed (east-west mounted)

I'm sure there are others, so please help.

F = Front-engined (the 'third-world' option, popular in Brazil)

These are the digits which signify the engine capacity, and follow immediately after the prefix.

9 = 9 litre engine (from 1st to 4th series)
11 = 11 litre engine (from 1st to 3rd series)
12 = 12 litre engine (from 4th series)

The following digits, which follow the engine capacity indicate the series

1 = 1st series
2 = 2nd series
3 = 3rd series
4 = 4th series

The suffixes inidicate the chassis type, and other extra details.

CRB = standard/city floor height with stepped entry (1st to 3rd series)
CRL = low floor chassis (1st to 3rd series)
ARB = standard floor height articulated chassis (1st to 3rd series)
ARL = low floor articulated chassis (1st to 3rd series)
TRB = extended chassis (1st to 3rd series)
UB = low floor chassis (4th series)
UA = low floor articulated (4th series)
IB = "intercity" height chassis with stepped entry (4th series)
EB = touring chassis? (4th series)

Ok, now the examples.

K94IB = vertically mounted, 9 litre motor, 4th series chassis, intercity floor chassis
N113ARB = horizontally opposed vertically mounted 11 litre motor, articulated standard/city floor chassis
L113TRBL = vertically mounted 11 litre motor tilted 30 degrees to the left on an extended chassis

UA is the articulated front end, the 'marriage point' being just fore of the rear axle (in the UA, that includes the entire tractor, articulation and the front half of the tail).

MERCEDES:

Most of the prefixes and suffixes are in German, which make it a bit tough, but I'll take a stab.

Suffix:

O = Omnibussen (Bus) (Yet it doesn't explain why the coaches also had an "O" prefix, so maybe I'm wrong)

In minibus chassii, it signifies that it has airbag suspension. This could possibly be the same for the heavy duty chassii.

Pre O.500 chassis:
OH = rear engined Brazilian built chassis
OC = mid engined Brazilian built chassis
OF = front engined Brazilian built chassis

Numerical:

Most of the numbers are model numbers which were designated to a chassis, with no real meaning.

305 = Early cityfloor chassis
405 = successor to the 305
400 = Brazilian built chassis
500 = successor to the 405
309 = front engined minibus (like an 814D)
302 = early coach
303 = successor to the 302
404 = successor to the 303


Brazilian chassii:

The first two digits refer to the Gross Vehicle Mass.

The last two digits of the 4 digit number refer to the brake horsepower, divided by 10.

1316 = 160 bhp, 13 tonnes, GVM
1622 = 220 bhp, 16 tonnes, GVM

Suffixes:

N = Niederflurbusse ("Low floor bus" with a vertically mounted engine and stepped entry)
N^2 (N-squared) = Niederflurbusse ("Low floor bus" with a vertically mounted engine, and stepless entry all the way)
NH = Niederflurbus-Hybrid (Front section of an "N" chassis mated with a non low floor chassis with a horizontally mounted engine for a low entry chassis, but not low floor)
G = Glenkebusse ("Bending bus"/Articulated chassis).

LE = Low entry chassis with a horizontally mounted motor (O.500 chassis only)
LF = Low floor chassis with a vertically mounted motor (O.500 chassis only)

OK, now for some examples.

OF1417 = front engined bus with a 170bhp motor.
OC1621 = mid-engined bus with a 210bhp motor.
OH1622 = rear engined bus with a 220bhp motor.
O.405NH = front section of an O.405N^2 chassis mated to the rear section of an O.405 chassis.
O.305G = articulated O.305.

I'll be picky and fix a bit of spelling - G = Gelenkenbusse (and, it has been suggested, explains why the sandgropers call their bendies 'linc' buses).

M.A.N:

I do not know what the numbers mean for the SL and NL series chassii are, but the translation of the SL and NL are as follows:

SL = Stadtlinenbusse ("City-line bus")
NL = Niederflulinenbusse ("Low floor bus")

The three digit numbers in the SL/NL series are as follows:
12- = Nominal engine power in horsepower, divided by 10 (e.g. NL232 is supposed to have a 230hp donk)
--3 = Series number.
Mind you, the above is all up the spout: series numbers were only formally introduced for Series 3 (late 1990s), while power ratings were (until Series 3) only nominal, with some models having more than one power option.
In addition, other prefixes are:
SG = Stadtlinen Gelenkenbusse (City Line Articulated Bus)
NG = Niederflur Gelenkenbusse (Low-floor Articulated Bus)
NM = Niederflur Midibusse (Low-floor Midibus - Europe only)
SGG = Stadtlinen Doppelgelenkenbusse (Double-articulated Bus - Europe only)
NGG = Niederflur Doppelgelenkenbusse (Low-floor Double-articulated Bus - Europe only)

For the "numbers only" (for want of a better description), they are as follows:

Before the decimal point = the gross vehicle mass in tonnes
After the decimal point = ideally, the output of the motor in bhp.

UOCL = Underfloor chassis
HOCL = rear engined chassis

So, a 16.240 UOCL is a heavy duty chassis of 16 tonnes GVM and of an output of 240bhp.

See previous post re FOCL (front-engined bus).

Feel free to comment, or to castigate my butchering of the German language.

[PT]

On chassis, both MB and MAN use gross weight/horsepower:

Therefore the O500 we get here is actually an 18-320 in two axle form.

A MAN 16-232 is 16 tonnes chassis capacity and 232 hp.

The MAN 'integral' chassis platforms use a model type and hp.

An MB o302 is a fully built integral omnibus, series 3, model 2, then there was the o303, o404, o405, o309 etc.

In Australia some of the fully built model numbers were given to imported platforms (not chassis) with Australian bodies built on.

Cobb&Co (Qld) o302's had bodies by Denning, Athol Hedges and GBW.

o303s were only available as fully built initially with a modified Mannheim body. Weight reduced for Australia.

So allowing for sales oriented changes, the MB and MAN system are almost the same, except for fully built buses where MB uses the 'o' prefix.

Scania use chassis type/engine displacement/series in all vehicles of recent time.

Volvo use 'B' for bus and then a factory build number (B57, B58, B59) or engine capacity and chassis layout (B12BLE, B7R)

Renault is French and will use what they want when they want, comme ca.

The Italians tended to use chassis numbers for capacity and hp, but now use names.

In the US they will use whatever will confuse the opposition and in Japan they have many more models to confuse the buyer as well.

PT

[Windy]

Thanks for all the kind words... I actually thought it didn't send because it wouldn't actually post, and I nearly had a heart attack, but when I hit the "back" button, to my surprise the whole message was still there! It would have been lost if it was on either of the old boards.

I simply try to share what I know with others, on the premise that others don't hide information from me, or others. If we all did that, then everyone should get along just fine, and the enthusiast movement will be the better for it.

[mjja]

Thanks all! Lots of very useful info here!

[Windy]

Ok, I have amended the whole thing again, including the information given, as well as some additions such as the "R" in "CRL" for Scanias, and some other stuff for Leylands.

Any help on the Leylands and other chassii like for Nationals and Titans and others would be appreciated, and I can add them to the list as it comes.

[MAN_LOVER]

I don't look at the oversea's based web pages often, I do know of http://www.leylandleopard.co.uk/

[boronia]

LEYLAND/ALBION:

Leyland used abbrieviations for their chassis designations over time, and these are the following:

PSU = Post-war Single-deck Underfloor engine (Leopards)
PSUR = Post-war Single-deck Underfloor Rear mounted engine (Panthers)
PDR = Post-war Double-deck Rear mounted engine (Atlantean)
VK = Viking
TRC = Tiger
ON = Olympian
AN = Atlantean

There was a mix of numbers after the abbreviations, some denoted suspension or other mechanical differences, others included the motor used.

For example:

VK41 = Front engined Viking
VK45 = Rear engined Viking
ONTL11/2R = Olympian with a TL11 motor
TRCLXB/2R = Tiger with a Gardner 6LXB motor

There are all sorts of combinations as well, such as for Leopards, where there is the PSU1A/2R, and all sorts or A/R combinations.

T

Leyland kept changing their system obviously to confuse the gunzels.

The post war vehicles used
O: overseas (export version for 8 ft wide body)
P: passenger
S: single deck; D: double deck
U: underfloor, R: rear engine, blank for front engine

so the first Royal Tigers in Sydney were OPSU1,
but the second batch were coded ERT
E: export
RT: Royal Tiger

The Tiger Cub was coded PSUC
C: Cub
then later RTC

The early Leopards in the UK were simply L, but later became PSU3.

There was also a Panther Cub, PSURC. and the Lion, PSR

The Atlanteans used the PDR coding for the early versions (they were all 8 ft wide so no special export version any more), but later changed to the "first and last" system to become AN.

I have an article on decoding Leylands, and it runs to nearly 2 A4 pages, so not really easy to explain here. especially when you take into account all the other suffixes and prefixes not included above!!!

[Busman]

Perhaps the Administrators could re-code this post as a "sticky" (or whatever), so its excellent information isn't eventually lost to the board?

[Windy]

Perhaps the Administrators could re-code this post as a "sticky" (or whatever), so its excellent information isn't eventually lost to the board?

Yeah, I agree! I can't make up a website for it as yet, but in due course it will happen. I have also added some extra info on Leopard classifications and specs related to the suffixes in each variant. It was copied from the leylandleopard.co.uk site, but duly cited.

[Captain Eagle]

Geez,I was told K113 was 11 litre 3 axle,K92 was 9 litre 2 axle! now I`m really confused.

[mjja]

I don't know about the Ks, but I know the Ventura buses badged "Scania 113" have only two axles.

[Andrew]

Yes, the last number in the Scania model doesn't have anything to do with the number of axles. There are 2 axle K93s and L94s. As Windy says, the last number refers to the 'series' number. Currently Scania is up to 4. They have just updated their truck line up, but have not changed to series 5 so it's not likely that 5 series buses are close either.

[Tom_G]

Does anybody know any details for Hino Buses, such as RG230s etc.

And Mercedes Benz LO812

[Desto Dave]

Important not to forget that Volvo wisely designated the B6 Volvos as B6FA, the FA standing for (i'm being nice here) FLAMMIN' AWFUL!

[Ken]

A start with Hino codings. Generally:

The first letter refers to the engine position:
R refers to rear engine.
F refers to front engine.
C refers to centre-mounted (underfloor) engine.

The 2nd letter refers to the type of suspension:
G - spring suspension.
M - air suspension.

The number refers to the number of horsepower.

Hence RG197 is rear engine spring suspension 197hp, CM277 is centre-mound air suspension 277hp.

The correct codings for the two chassis mentioned are actually RG197K and CM277K - not sure what the K suffix stands for.

Other (older) chassis may not follow this coding - e.g. AM140/AC140 (minibuses), BG100P/BG300P etc.

Open to corrections.

[Windy]

A start with Hino codings. Generally:

The first letter refers to the engine position:
R refers to rear engine.
F refers to front engine.
C refers to centre-mounted (underfloor) engine.

The 2nd letter refers to the type of suspension:
G - spring suspension.
M - air suspension.

The number refers to the number of horsepower.

Hence RG197 is rear engine spring suspension 197hp, CM277 is centre-mound air suspension 277hp.

The correct codings for the two chassis mentioned are actually RG197K and CM277K - not sure what the K suffix stands for.

Other (older) chassis may not follow this coding - e.g. AM140/AC140 (minibuses), BG100P/BG300P etc.

Open to corrections.

The first letter generally refers to the engine, and the second letter refers to the suspension setting. Australia seem to get the trashier Hinos, while other SE Asian cities are receiving low floor and city-floor Hino chassii. A cityfloor chassis by Hino includes the HS 3KRKA, and earlier cityfloor models are the HT228K and 238K. Meanwhile, the AK176 is the front engined version of the RK176. It is very odd, and I have not been able to gain any further insights into these classifications.

[Andrew]

Where does the RB hino fit into this?

[mjja]

Important not to forget that Volvo wisely designated the B6 Volvos as B6FA, the FA standing for (i'm being nice here) FLAMMIN' AWFUL!

Not Freight Australia?

[Windy]

Where does the RB hino fit into this?

The Hino RB, aka Hino Rainbow, is a rear engined midi Hino. I think it has leaf spring suspension, or "B-type" suspension. Other chassii that were exported to Australia included the RC420P chassis which was used for both coach and route bus work, and the front engined BX chassis.

[boronia]

Where does the RB hino fit into this?

The Hino RB, aka Hino Rainbow, is a rear engined midi Hino. I think it has leaf spring suspension, or "B-type" suspension. Other chassii that were exported to Australia included the RC420P chassis which was used for both coach and route bus work, and the front engined BX chassis.

There are some oversized Rainbow 7 models now operating in Sydney (2nd hand imports). I'm not sure of the coding but I think they have air suspension.

[Windy]

The Hino RB, aka Hino Rainbow, is a rear engined midi Hino. I think it has leaf spring suspension, or "B-type" suspension. Other chassii that were exported to Australia included the RC420P chassis which was used for both coach and route bus work, and the front engined BX chassis.

There are some oversized Rainbow 7 models now operating in Sydney (2nd hand imports). I'm not sure of the coding but I think they have air suspension.

They may have a "P" added on as a suffix. Similar to a BG300P which is a variant of the BG300, but with the addition of air-bag suspension. Some of Koala Tour's fleet of Hino BG300s were BG300Ps. Although the Shorelink fleetlist doesn't list the newer PMC bodied BG300s with airbags (and ZF gearbox) as such, I think they may also be BG300Ps. Perhaps Transbov could have a poke around and check that up if he has time?

[Derek]

The first letter generally refers to the engine, and the second letter refers to the suspension setting. Australia seem to get the trashier Hinos, while other SE Asian cities are receiving low floor and city-floor Hino chassii. A cityfloor chassis by Hino includes the HS 3KRKA, and earlier cityfloor models are the HT228K and 238K. Meanwhile, the AK176 is the front engined version of the RK176. It is very odd, and I have not been able to gain any further insights into these classifications.

H might stand for 'horizontal' engine I think.

I have noted many ex-Japanese Hino codes in New Zealand:
RB115
RB145
RR170
RR171
RK172
RR172
HT235
CN275
HT2MMA
HU2MLA
RJ3HJA

[Windy]

Ok, courtesy of the Hino Malaysia website, the Hino RK and AK chassis is still under production! I believe it was first introduced in the late 1970s, and it is still produced in Malaysia, under licence. Perhaps this might make it the longest time a chassis has been produced? Originally, the AK176 and RK176 were used on buses and coaches, and alot of them still run around in Malaysia. But nowadays they are the AK1JRKA and RK1JSKA and RM2KSKA. The RM, a somewhat more refined version of the RM176Ks like the examples at Punchbowl with about 260hp and 883Nm of torque, while the AK and RK are 210hp and 554Nm. For further specs, check out the site at: http://www.hino.com.my A google search on other chassii might assist in gaining specs on Hinos, for those who are really interested.

[mrobsessed]

According to the Oxford Dictionary the plural of chassis is chassis (same), not chassii.

[Windy]

According to the Oxford Dictionary the plural of chassis is chassis (same), not chassii.

Well! There's something new you learn everyday! Thanks, Mr Obsessed.