Oxford NUTxxx Series Guy Arab II Utility Bus |
The utility double decker was a product developed during the Second World War to counter the growing shortage of double deck buses. Most bus production had been halted or highly restricted during the early war years, with bus chassis manufactures and body builders being instead involved in production of essential military equipment. However it soon became clear that the combination of enemy action, aging vehicles, and shortages of parts was affecting operators ability to maintain services. The Ministry of Supply thus allowed selected manufacturers, including Guy, Bristol, Daimler and Leyland to produce new bus chassis, a limited number of bodybuilders were allowed to build bodies to a highly restrictive specification. These bodies were built using un-seasoned timber, limited interior paneling, and the design also omitted any non essential curved sections, allowing a saving in scarce materials and labour time. From the passengers point of view, comfort wasn't a high priority, as most of the vehicles were supplied with rather basic wooden slated seats. The buses were allocated by the Ministry to operators on a need to have bases, with various combinations of body and chassis types appearing in many urban fleets across the country. The poor quality materials used in the utility bodies, meant that most had a short life in their original form. During the 1950's many operators re-bodied or withdraw these vehicles as soon as possible. |
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Thumbnail | Cat No. | Fleet Name (Operator Legal Name) | Fleet No. | Registration | Route No. & Destination | Released |
NSET003 (NUT001) |
Southdown Motor Services Also issued as individual model NUT001 |
411H | GUF 71 | 12 Newhaven Seaford Eastbourne | Oct 2017 | |
NSET004 (NUT002) |
London Transport (Red Central Area) Also issued as individual model NUT002 |
G351 | HGC 130 | 175 Collier Row | Jan 2017 | |
NUT001 | Southdown Motor Services Also issued as part of NSET003 |
411H | GUF 71 | 12 Newhaven Seaford Eastbourne | Oct 2013 | |
NUT002 | London Transport (Red Central Area) Also issued as part of NSET004 |
G351 | HGC 130 | 175 Collier Row | Apr 2014 | |
NUT003 | Midland Red (Incorrect livery application) |
2572 | HHA 24 | 607 Leicester via Houghton | Jul 2014 | |
NUT003/1 | Midland Red (Correct livery application) |
2572 | HHA 24 | 607 Leicester via Houghton | Nov 2014 | |
NUT004 | Birmingham City Transport | 1400 | FOP 400 | 9 Quinton | Sep 2014 | |
NUT005 | Wolverhampton Corporation | 377 | DUK 277 | Wolverhampton | Jul 2016 | |
NUT006 | Ribble Motor Services | 2446 | ACK 873 | 10 Preston | Sep 2016 |
Oxford Double Deck Bus Index |