Liverpool Corporation A36

A36 seen in service at Pier Head

HISTORY

After a turbulent period of ordering which ensued after WWII, Liverpool Corporation finally executed its plans to bring standardisation to its fleets. Delivered in November 1953, A36 was part of a batch of 100 AEC Regent IIIs, numbered A1- A100, that were delivered in 1953/54. They all had the AEC A218 9.6 litre engine but unlike earlier deliveries these buses were fitted with synchromesh gearboxes which had only recently been introduced by AEC.

With the exceptions of A39 & A40, (please see A40s details for further information), this batch of Regents were bodied by Crossley. The chassis had been delivered from AEC to Crossley without AECs standard radiator shells, bonnets or mudguards.

Crossley designed and fitted the wide new look bonnet and grille assembly in accordance with Liverpool's own specifications. The body was also of four-bay construction, which had become the standard design for Liverpool Corporation. 60 of the bodies were delivered to Edge Lane in shell form only to be finished of by the Corporations own work force, as the tramway repair program was now complete, and the additional work avoided the need to make any staff redundant.

A36 seen at Mann Island in the '60s

A36 was allocated to Prince Alfred Road (PAR) garage on delivery and it remained at this depot right up to when it was withdrawn from passenger service in February 1969.

In May 1969, it was resurrected as a driving school vehicle and it passed to the Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive (MPTE) on its formation in December 1969. It was eventually withdrawn in September 1971.

A member of the Mersey & Calder BPG acquired it for preservation in October 1971, thus becoming the first ex Liverpool bus to be purchased for preservation by a private owner. Unfortunately, its early days in preservation were not happy ones with the engine suffering from a major seizure in the mid 1970s. With the non availability of funds, and later the non- availability of a replacement AEC 9.6 litre, many a good bus would have been sent for scrap. Fortunately the owner of A36 decided to keep the bus until the money became available. Restoration concentrated mainly on the body and its interior.

In 1997 a reconditioned AEC 11.3 litre engine was acquired from a Ministry of Defence surplus dealer and this engine was later modified and fitted so that the vehicle ran under its own power again after some 25 yrs! Over the coming months a full mechanical overhaul will take place on the bus’s brakes and suspension following which it will be re-painted back into its original green livery with two cream bands.

Work is continuing on the interior and exterior at present.

A36 undergoing the initial stages of restoration.