The
Dennis Dominator was
Dennis'sDennis Specialist Vehicles is a major British coachbuilder and manufacturer of specialised commercial vehicles based in Guildford, England...
first rear-engined
double-decker busA double-decker bus is a bus that has two levels. While double-decker long-distance coaches are in widespread use around the world, double-decker city buses are less common. Double-decker buses are popular in some cities of Europe and in parts of Asia, usually in former British colonies...
chassis, it was launched in 1977. Dennis had been absent from the bus manufacturing market since the last
LolinesThe Dennis Loline is a double-decker bus built by Dennis between 1958 and 1967. It is essentially the same as the Bristol Lodekka but has an upgraded Dennis chassis.Aldershot and District Traction was the largest operator of the Dennis Loline....
were produced in 1967. The Dominator was described as bespoke, with numerous options. To some extent it was considered a successor to the
Daimler/Leyland FleetlineThe Daimler Fleetline was a rear-engined double-decker bus chassis built between 1960 and 1973 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England, and from 1973 until 1980 in Farington, Lancashire, England. However, the last complete vehicle did not enter service until 1982...
.
The Dominator was different from the Daimler/Leyland Fleetline in that the radiator was located at the front instead of the offside of the engine compartment.
It was intended to be sold mainly with the Gardner 6LXB engine coupled up to a Voith DIWA transmission and a drop-centre rear axle, but hub-reduction rear axle and other engine options including the
Rolls-RoyceRolls-Royce Motors was created from the demerger of the Rolls-Royce car business from Rolls-Royce Limited in 1973. The original Rolls-Royce Limited had been nationalised in 1971 due to the financial collapse of the company, caused in part by the development of the RB211 jet engine...
Eagle, the
CumminsCummins Inc. is a corporation of complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute and service diesel and natural gas engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems...
L10, the turbocharged Gardner 6LXCT and
DAFDAF Trucks NV is a Dutch truck manufacturing company and a division of PACCAR. Its headquarters and main plant are in Eindhoven. Cabs and axle assemblies are produced at its Westerlo plant in Belgium...
engines were also available.
The largest British customer of the Dennis Dominator was
South Yorkshire PTEThe South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive is the Passenger Transport Executive for South Yorkshire in England. It is supervised by the South Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority, which consists of representatives from the metropolitan boroughs of Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster, and...
, with a total of 323 buses (including one
trolleybusA trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles...
built in 1985 for test and evaluation) being delivered to the company, many of them had Rolls-Royce Eagle engines and hub-reduction axles.
The
Dennis Dominator was
Dennis'sDennis Specialist Vehicles is a major British coachbuilder and manufacturer of specialised commercial vehicles based in Guildford, England...
first rear-engined
double-decker busA double-decker bus is a bus that has two levels. While double-decker long-distance coaches are in widespread use around the world, double-decker city buses are less common. Double-decker buses are popular in some cities of Europe and in parts of Asia, usually in former British colonies...
chassis, it was launched in 1977. Dennis had been absent from the bus manufacturing market since the last
LolinesThe Dennis Loline is a double-decker bus built by Dennis between 1958 and 1967. It is essentially the same as the Bristol Lodekka but has an upgraded Dennis chassis.Aldershot and District Traction was the largest operator of the Dennis Loline....
were produced in 1967. The Dominator was described as bespoke, with numerous options. To some extent it was considered a successor to the
Daimler/Leyland FleetlineThe Daimler Fleetline was a rear-engined double-decker bus chassis built between 1960 and 1973 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England, and from 1973 until 1980 in Farington, Lancashire, England. However, the last complete vehicle did not enter service until 1982...
.
The Dominator was different from the Daimler/Leyland Fleetline in that the radiator was located at the front instead of the offside of the engine compartment.
It was intended to be sold mainly with the Gardner 6LXB engine coupled up to a Voith DIWA transmission and a drop-centre rear axle, but hub-reduction rear axle and other engine options including the
Rolls-RoyceRolls-Royce Motors was created from the demerger of the Rolls-Royce car business from Rolls-Royce Limited in 1973. The original Rolls-Royce Limited had been nationalised in 1971 due to the financial collapse of the company, caused in part by the development of the RB211 jet engine...
Eagle, the
CumminsCummins Inc. is a corporation of complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute and service diesel and natural gas engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems...
L10, the turbocharged Gardner 6LXCT and
DAFDAF Trucks NV is a Dutch truck manufacturing company and a division of PACCAR. Its headquarters and main plant are in Eindhoven. Cabs and axle assemblies are produced at its Westerlo plant in Belgium...
engines were also available.
United Kingdom
The largest British customer of the Dennis Dominator was
South Yorkshire PTEThe South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive is the Passenger Transport Executive for South Yorkshire in England. It is supervised by the South Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority, which consists of representatives from the metropolitan boroughs of Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster, and...
, with a total of 323 buses (including one
trolleybusA trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles...
built in 1985 for test and evaluation) being delivered to the company, many of them had Rolls-Royce Eagle engines and hub-reduction axles. Most of the SYPTE vehicles had standard-height
AlexanderWalter Alexander Coachbuilders was a Scottish bus coachbuilder based in Falkirk.-History:In 1922, the founder of the company, Walter Alexander, decided that it would be beneficial to make buses for his own bus company , so he, with the help of his son, launched W...
RH-Type bodywork, these being delivered between 1981–1986, though some had
East LancsEast Lancashire Coachbuilders Limited was a manufacturer of bus bodies and carriages founded in Blackburn in 1934.In 1994 the company expanded in to new premises and commenced a programme of development that resulted in a range of single and double deck buses which was the primary source of income...
and
Northern CountiesNorthern Counties Motor and Engineering Company was a manufacturer of bus bodywork located in Wigan Lane, Wigan, in North West England.-Overview:...
bodywork. The last Dominators in
South YorkshireSouth Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and the city of Sheffield...
were withdrawn after service in Doncaster on 6 July 2006; a farewell running day to Sheffield's allocation having taken place on 25 June 2006.
The Dominator also appealed to
municipal operatorsA municipal bus company is an operator of bus services owned by the local government authority. This article lists all current municipal bus companies in the United Kingdom....
such as
Leicester City TransportFirst Leicester is the trading name of Leicester Citybus Ltd., a bus company owned by the First Group. It runs buses in the city of Leicester, England...
who from 1977 bought 143, mainly with
East LancsEast Lancashire Coachbuilders Limited was a manufacturer of bus bodies and carriages founded in Blackburn in 1934.In 1994 the company expanded in to new premises and commenced a programme of development that resulted in a range of single and double deck buses which was the primary source of income...
bodies although seven had Marshall bodies, all of which were withdrawn from public service by 2005. It was also sold in reasonable numbers to
Central ScottishCentral Scottish Omnibuses Ltd was a bus operating subsidiary of the Scottish Transport Group formed in June 1985 from Central SMT Company Ltd, and operated until July 1989 when it was merged with Kelvin Scottish to form Kelvin Central Buses.- Operation :...
from 1981 with
AlexanderWalter Alexander Coachbuilders was a Scottish bus coachbuilder based in Falkirk.-History:In 1922, the founder of the company, Walter Alexander, decided that it would be beneficial to make buses for his own bus company , so he, with the help of his son, launched W...
low-height RL-type bodywork. There were others too, and in 1978–80 it was also sold as a single-decker before the launch of the
Dennis FalconThe Dennis Falcon was a rear-engined bus chassis built by Dennis Specialist Vehicles between 1981 and 1993. It was mostly built as a single-deck bus, although some express coaches and a small number of double-deckers were also produced...
.
Production of the Dominator was less consistent after
bus deregulationBus deregulation in Great Britain came into force on 26 October 1986, as part of the Transport Act 1985.The 'Buses' White Paper was the basis of the Transport Act 1985, which provided for the deregulation of local bus services in the whole of the United Kingdom except for Northern Ireland and...
in 1986 with production being sporadic during the 1992–6 period. Eight were built in 1992; three in 1993; none in 1994 or 1995; and a final four built in 1996.
Export orders
The Dominator was also sold to
Hong KongHong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a highly autonomous territory of the People's Republic of China, facing Guangdong to the north and the South China Sea to the east, west and south...
.
China Motor BusChina Motor Bus Company Ltd. , often abbreviated as CMB, was the first motor bus company in Hong Kong, and was responsible for the introduction of double-decker buses to Hong Kong Island....
put the first Dominator (with
East LancsEast Lancashire Coachbuilders Limited was a manufacturer of bus bodies and carriages founded in Blackburn in 1934.In 1994 the company expanded in to new premises and commenced a programme of development that resulted in a range of single and double deck buses which was the primary source of income...
body) into service in 1979, then CMB bought 6 with
AlexanderWalter Alexander Coachbuilders was a Scottish bus coachbuilder based in Falkirk.-History:In 1922, the founder of the company, Walter Alexander, decided that it would be beneficial to make buses for his own bus company , so he, with the help of his son, launched W...
RL-type body in 1982, primarily for its route 15 (
CentralCentral , the central business district of Hong Kong, was commonly known as part of Victoria City. It is an area on the north shore of Hong Kong Island. It is located across Victoria Harbour from Tsim Sha Tsui, the southernmost point of Kowloon Peninsula...
-
The PeakVictoria Peak is a mountain in Hong Kong. It is also known as Mount Austin, and locally as The Peak. The mountain is located in the western half of Hong Kong Island...
).
Kowloon Motor BusThe Kowloon Motor Bus Company Limited , a company of the Transport International Holdings Limited, is the largest franchised bus operators in Hong Kong, and one of the largest privately owned public bus operators in the world...
bought 40 Dominators (
Duple MetsecDuple Metsec is a former bus bodywork builder based in West Midlands of the United Kingdom, which usually supplied body kits for assembly in the overseas....
body) between 1983 and 1984.
One Dominator with
East LancsEast Lancashire Coachbuilders Limited was a manufacturer of bus bodies and carriages founded in Blackburn in 1934.In 1994 the company expanded in to new premises and commenced a programme of development that resulted in a range of single and double deck buses which was the primary source of income...
body and DAF engine was exported to
SingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island city-state located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, lying north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands. At , Singapore is a microstate and the smallest nation in Southeast...
as demonstrator for Singapore Bus Services in 1982. It was shipped to
Hong KongHong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a highly autonomous territory of the People's Republic of China, facing Guangdong to the north and the South China Sea to the east, west and south...
after the trial and entered
Kowloon Motor BusThe Kowloon Motor Bus Company Limited , a company of the Transport International Holdings Limited, is the largest franchised bus operators in Hong Kong, and one of the largest privately owned public bus operators in the world...
training fleet in 1986.
End of production
The Dominator was replaced by the short-lived longitudinal-engined
ArrowThe Dennis Lance is a single-decker bus built by Dennis between 1991 and 2000, replacing the Dennis Falcon. Its low-floor variant, the Dennis Lance SLF, was built between 1993 and 1996...
in 1996. All in all 1007 Dominators were sold.
The last production vehicle was N716 TPK, bodied by East Lancashire Coachbuilders for Guildford & West Surrey. It subsequently served with
Arriva SouthendArriva Southend is a division of Arriva Southern Counties, a subsidiary of transport group Arriva which operates bus services in and around the Southend-on-Sea, Rochford, Rayleigh, Basildon, and Thurrock areas of Essex...
, before being transferred to Arriva North West and Wales in 2004.
Dominator variants
In 1982, a tri-axle version was developed for the Hong Kong market, known as the
Dennis DragonThe Dennis Dragon is a 3-axle double decker bus built by Dennis of the United Kingdom in the 1980s and 1990s....
which was sold to Kowloon Motor Bus. The same model was sold to China Motor Bus, but was known as the
CondorThe Dennis Dragon is a 3-axle double decker bus built by Dennis of the United Kingdom in the 1980s and 1990s....
. They were usually bodied by
Duple MetsecDuple Metsec is a former bus bodywork builder based in West Midlands of the United Kingdom, which usually supplied body kits for assembly in the overseas....
.
Some of these went back to the UK through dealer
EnsignbusEnsignbus is a Purfleet-based bus and coach dealer, open top bus tour operator and bus service operator. Ensignbus has amassed 20 ex-London vehicles of various ages and conditions in a ....
. They are used for school runs and sightseeing since they have high-capacity.
What might have been
One of the persons behind the development of the Dennis Dominator was one Geoffrey Hilditch, who at the time was Engineering Director of the
West Yorkshire PTEThe West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive is the Passenger Transport Executive for the county of West Yorkshire, England. It is the executive arm of the West Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority and was originally formed on 1 April 1974 as the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport...
. The development bus for Dennis Dominator was an ex-Leeds City Transport
DaimlerThe Daimler Motor Company was a British motor vehicle manufacturing company, founded in 1896, and based in Coventry. The company became a subsidiary of BSA in 1910, and was acquired by Jaguar Cars in 1960....
CV, which was re-engined with a Gardner 6LXB coupled up to a Voith gearbox. Though, by the time this was completed, Hilditch had left the WYPTE and had become General Manager of Leicester City Transport.
The Dennis Dominator was to have been the new standard bus for the WYPTE, but never was. The closest this came to happening was an attempt in 1999, when First Calderline (which WYPTE-Halifax became) received a 1981 Dennis Dominator from First Mainline (which
SYPTEThe South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive is the Passenger Transport Executive for South Yorkshire in England. It is supervised by the South Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority, which consists of representatives from the metropolitan boroughs of Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster, and...
became) as an idea to replace the aging Fleetlines in Halifax, the process was to remove the Rolls-Royce Eagle engine and put in a Gardner 6LXB, but wasn't successful. No more were received, and both Halifax and Huddersfield received ex-London
MCW MetrobusThe MCW Metrobus is a double decker bus model manufactured by MCW from 1977 until 1989, with over 4,000 examples built. The original MkI model was superseded by the MkII model in 1981/1982, although production of the original MkI continued for London Transport until 1985...
es instead. The solitary Dominator in Halifax was withdrawn c. 2003/4.
See also
Competitors:
- Leyland Atlantean
The Leyland Atlantean was a model of double-decker bus built by Leyland in the United Kingdom from 1958 to 1986....
- Leyland Fleetline
- Bristol VRT
- MCW Metrobus
The MCW Metrobus is a double decker bus model manufactured by MCW from 1977 until 1989, with over 4,000 examples built. The original MkI model was superseded by the MkII model in 1981/1982, although production of the original MkI continued for London Transport until 1985...
- Leyland Titan (B15)
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.-Development:...
- Leyland Olympian
The Leyland Olympian was a double-decker bus built by British Leyland/Leyland Bus in the United Kingdom from 1980 to 1993.-Construction:The Olympian was built as a result of the Leyland Titan , an integral double deck bus which was ordered en masse by London Transport...
- Scania N113DRB
Scania N113 is a city bus which was first built in 1988 and superseded the Scania N112, it had an 11-litre engine mounted transversely at the rear....
- Volvo Ailsa B55
The Volvo Ailsa B55 was a front-engined double-decker bus chassis built in Scotland by Ailsa, Volvo's British commercial vehicle agency. It was in production from 1973 to 1985, and was a relatively successful alternative to the ubiquitous rear-engined Bristol VR, Leyland Atlantean and...
- Volvo Citybus
- Volvo Olympian
The Volvo Olympian was a rear-engine double decker bus built by Volvo in Irvine, Scotland, United Kingdom. It was first built in 1992 and entered production in March 1993, replacing the Leyland Olympian and the Volvo Citybus....
- DAF DB250