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The Leyland Titan was a model of double-decker bus produced by the Leyland Truck & Bus division of British Leyland from 1977 until 1984, almost exclusively for London Transport. The Titan was first conceptualised in 1973 as project B15, and was intended as a replacement for the Leyland Atlantean, Daimler Fleetline and Bristol VRT. Following the success of the single-deck Leyland National, it was decided from the outset that the vehicle would be very standardised, and of integral construction. This allowed more flexibility in the location of mechanical components, and allowed a reduced step height. The move away from body on chassis construction caused concern for the bodybuilders who had already lost market to the Leyland National. Talks regarding licensing agreements were held with Alexander and Northern Counties, both major suppliers to their respective local markets, but no agreements were reached. This, in combination with other factors, led Northern Counties to develop the Foden-NC, and Alexander to develop a close working relationship with Volvo with the Volvo Ailsa B55.
The Titan entered service in 1978 with London Transport, which ordered a total of 1,425 of the model up until 1984. Titan buses operated mainly in the east and south-east of the capital. The model was withdrawn in stages from 1992 with the final bus being taken out of service in 2003. (Full article...)
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Selected biography
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Stanley Heaps was an English architect responsible for the design of a number of stations on the London Underground system as well as the design of train depots and bus and trolleybus garages for London Transport.
In 1903 Heaps became assistant to Leslie Green the architect for the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL) and aided him in the design of the station buildings for the Baker Street & Waterloo Railway, the Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway (CCE&HR) and the Great Northern, Piccadilly & Brompton Railway; all distinctive with their striking red glazed terra cotta façades and semi-circular windows at first floor. Following the early death of Green in 1908, Heaps became the UERL's architect. His first independent station designs were for the four new stations on the Bakerloo line extension from Edgware Road Underground station opened in 1913 and 1915; the first stations on the system designed specifically to use escalators rather than lifts.
After World War I, Heaps designed the stations for the 1923-4 extension of the CCE&HR from Golders Green to Edgware, giving them a suburban style in keeping with the new housing developments that were expected to grow around them. After the Edgware extension stations, Heaps concentrated on the design depot buildings, although he designed new stations at Osterley, Boston Manor and St. John's Wood. (Full article...)
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Did you know...
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- ...that Sir Jacob Epstein's statute Day on the Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway caused controversy when it was unveiled due to the length of the penis on one of the figures? Epstein later reduced the length.
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Image 2Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
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Image 3Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
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Image 4Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
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Image 5Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
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Image 6Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
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Image 8A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
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Image 9Arguably the best-preserved disused station building in London, this is the former Alexandra Palace station on the GNR Highgate branch (closed in 1954). It is now in use as a community centre (CUFOS).
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Image 10Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
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Image 11The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
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Image 12The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
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Image 13Sailing ships at West India Docks on the Isle of Dogs in 1810. The docks opened in 1802 and closed in 1980 and have since been redeveloped as the Canary Wharf development.
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Image 14The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
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Image 16Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
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Image 17The newly constructed junction of the Westway ( A40) and the West Cross Route ( A3220) at White City, circa 1970. Continuation of the West Cross Route northwards under the roundabout was cancelled leaving two short unused stubs for the slip roads that would have been provided for traffic joining or leaving the northern section.
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Image 18Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
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Image 19TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
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Image 20"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
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Image 23London Underground A60 Stock (left) and 1938 Stock (right) trains showing the difference in the sizes of the two types of rolling stock operated on the system. A60 stock trains operated on the surface and sub-surface sections of the Metropolitan line from 1961 to 2012 and 1938 Stock operated on various deep level tube lines from 1938 to 1988.
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Image 24The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
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Image 25Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
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Image 28London General Omnibus Company B-type bus B340 built in 1911 by AEC. One of a number of London buses purchased by the British military during World War I, this vehicle was operated on the Western Front.
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Image 2955 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
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Image 30Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
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Image 31Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
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Image 32Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
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Image 33Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
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Image 37Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
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Image 38Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
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Image 39London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
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Image 40Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
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Image 41View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
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Image 42Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
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Image 43The multi-level junction between the M23 and M25 motorways near Merstham in Surrey. The M23 passes over the M25 with bridges carrying interchange slip roads for the two motorways in between.
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Image 45Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
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Image 47Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
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Image 48Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
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Image 49The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
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