Bristol MW
The Bristol MW was built by Bristol Commercial Vehicles in England chassis for buses. The model was built 1957-1967. The type designation stood for medium -weight ( medium- heavy). It was the successor to the Bristol LS. Starting in 1962, replaced by starting the Bristol RE, the chassis was produced until 1967.
On supplied by Bristol chassis assemblies of different body corporate are set. This construction was at that time common, since the superstructure to the wishes and ideas of the various bus routes, operators could be better adapted. The bus was Karosseriert as Coach ( English: coach ) with 30 to 41 seats, as a city bus (English: bus ) with 30 to 45 seats and a multi-purpose bus with 39 to 43 seats. These so-called dual purpose in England multipurpose buses were relatively common at that time, they could be used in excursion service but during the work week in the line of traffic and off-peak periods. The bodies were mostly from the Eastern Coach Works ( ECW), which were connected with Bristol Commercial on the common holding company Transport Holding Company. A few buses that were destined for Scottish operators were also granted constructions of Walter Alexander Coachbuilders.
Was equipped with engines from the Bristol MW Gardner. For use five- or six-cylinder diesel engines were of the type 5HLW and 6HLW, the buses were logically the type designation MW5G or MW6G. While the smaller engine had a displacement of 7, 0 liters, the larger motor came to 8.4 l displacement. Although Bristol Commercial Vehicles was a major manufacturer of commercial vehicle engines themselves, only one bus was tentatively fitted with a Bristol BHW engine and called MW6B. The bus was later converted to a six cylinder engine from Gardner. The engine was placed lying underfloor between the axles. This creates a smooth floor of the structure was achieved. More importantly, however, was that the front door could be placed in the front overhang. This allowed the cost-saving one-man operation, since the driver as well as the Abkassieren the passengers could take over when boarding. The relatively high be built motors required steps in the front door. As a synchronized gearbox five-speed transmission of Bristol Commercial was used, however, the Synchronization worked in practice not always satisfactory. The rear axle was available with three different ratios of 5:1, 5.5:1 and 6:1. The chassis was designed for the then in force in the UK size restriction for buses with 8 feet wide and 30 feet in length. Following the lifting of these restrictions Bristol Commercial unmodified chassis, but developed the rear-drive successor Bristol RE. In 1962, however, major changes to the chassis were necessary, was offered as an optional air suspension. In addition to increased convenience for the passengers, especially the strain on the chassis and construction were lower, resulting in a longer service life of components and thus to lower maintenance costs. However, this was offset by a higher purchase price. The air suspension was offered only for coaches and was commercially not very successful, only Bristol Omnibus procured a large number of these buses. During the production period, the equipment of the buses was modified several times, in particular, the cooling was constantly improved. In addition to a thermostatically controlled electric cooling fan in the front of the bus later, a system is used, the cooling water heated up by the exhaust gases. This allows the motor should quickly reach its operating temperature. Overall, these measures were used to minimize fuel consumption and wear of the engines.
A total of 1965 buses were built, of which 741 MW5G 1224 MW6G. Largest operator was United Automobile with 262 buses. More than 200 MW Bristol also had Bristol Omnibus, Crosville and Red & White in operation. Today, there are still a few buses in public transport in Malta in use.
Bristol MW6G with bus configuration of ECW
Bristol MW6G with bus configuration of ECW
Bristol MW6G with construction of ECW
Bristol MW6G with construction of ECW