Bedford VAL
Encyclopedia
Coach (vehicle)
A coach is a large motor vehicle, a type of bus, used for conveying passengers on excursions and on longer distance express coach scheduled transport between cities - or even between countries...
chassis built by Bedford Vehicles
Bedford Vehicles
Bedford Vehicles, usually shortened to just Bedford, was a subsidiary of Vauxhall Motors, itself the British subsidiary of General Motors , established in 1930; and constructing commercial vehicles. Bedford Vehicles was a leading international truck manufacturer, with substantial export sales of...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s. It was unusual at the time for its multi-axle
Multi-axle bus
A multi-axle bus is a bus or coach that has more than the conventional two axles, usually three , or more rarely, four...
design, in a "chinese six" wheelplan, i.e. with two front steering axles.
Originally it was fitted with the Leyland O.400 straight six diesel engine
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
. With this engine, the chassis was designated VAL14.
Over 900 VAL14s were built, from 1963 to 1966, with the largest orders coming from Wallace Arnold
Wallace Arnold
Wallace Arnold was one of the UK's largest holiday motorcoach tour operators. It was founded in 1912 and was named after its founders Wallace Cunningham and Arnold Crowe. By 1980 it operated 290 coaches from its headquarters in Leeds, and owned a subsidiary based in Devon...
of Leeds, Seamarks of Westoning, Everall of Wolverhampton, and Bartons
Barton Transport
Barton Transport plc was a British bus and coach operator based in Chilwell, Nottinghamshire. It commenced its first service in 1908. Its fleet and operations were sold to Wellglade in 1989, and the combined operations later became Trent Barton...
.
From 1967, the VAL70, with the slightly larger 466 cubic inches (7.64 l) engine of Bedford's own manufacture, quickly superseded the VAL14.
Bodywork
The VAL was built with a number of bodies from different coachbuilderCoachbuilder
A coachbuilder is a manufacturer of bodies for carriages or automobiles.The trade dates back several centuries. Rippon was active in the time of Queen Elizabeth I, Barker founded in 1710 by an officer in Queen Anne's Guards, Brewster a relative newcomer , formed in 1810. Others in Britain included...
s. The majority of VAL14s were of Duple
Duple Coachbuilders
Duple was best known as a British manufacturer of coach and bus bodywork from 1919 until 1989.-History:Duple Bodies & Motors Ltd was formed in 1919 by Herbert White in Hornsey, London...
or Plaxton
Plaxton
Plaxton is a builder of bus and coach vehicle bodies based in Scarborough, England.-History:The Plaxton of today is the successor to a business founded in Scarborough in 1907 by Frederick William Plaxton.-Beginnings:...
origin, although VAL14s were also bodied by several other manufacturers, including Harrington (Harrington Legionnaire
Harrington Legionnaire
The Harrington Legionnaire was an passenger coach body built by Thomas Harrington Ltd in Hove, Sussex between 1963 and 1965. It was built on three-axle Bedford VAL, two-axle Ford Thames 570E and two specials on Guy Victory trambus chassis....
bodywork was adopted) and Yeates.
Some VAL14s were given bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
bodywork, including 10 by Marshall
Marshall Bus
Marshall Bus was a British bus manufacturer between 1992 and 2002. The company's most popular product was the Marshall Capital, which was a single-decker bus body built between 1997 and 2003...
for British European Airways
British European Airways
British European Airways or British European Airways Corporation was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974. The airline operated European and North African routes from airports around the United Kingdom...
, and 10 by Strachan for North Western.
In popular culture
The Bedford VAL gained widespread recognition through its use in the film The Italian JobThe Italian Job
The Italian Job is a 1969 British caper film, written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley and directed by Peter Collinson. Subsequent television showings and releases on video have established it as an institution in the United Kingdom....
. This vehicle was a Harrington Legionnaire
Harrington Legionnaire
The Harrington Legionnaire was an passenger coach body built by Thomas Harrington Ltd in Hove, Sussex between 1963 and 1965. It was built on three-axle Bedford VAL, two-axle Ford Thames 570E and two specials on Guy Victory trambus chassis....
, 'ALR 453B', new in April 1964 to Batten. After modification for the film, the coach went back into coaching, being scrapped in the 1990s.
A Plaxton bodied example, 'URO 913E' featured in the 1967 Beatles film Magical Mystery Tour
Magical Mystery Tour (film)
Magical Mystery Tour is an hour-long British television film starring The Beatles that originally aired on BBC1 on 26 December 1967...
. This coach was new to Fox, Hayes, in 1967.
Until recently, another Bedford VAL 'SCK 56K' was being used on The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour in Liverpool. Since then, it has been bought by the Running Footman of Suffolk and re-registered as VAL466G. This vehicle has recently been offered for sale on eBay (October 2011)