EFE E28837 Leyland Titan B15 Kinch Bus KYV371X Route 126 Via Alan Moss Rd

The model featured is a pre-production decorate sample. Colours and details on the final models may vary slightly.

The Leyland B15 project was conceived in 1971 as a modern replacement for aging bus types such as the Bristol VRT and Leyland’s own Atlantean. It was designed to incorporate the standardised and integral construction techniques so successfully employed on the Leyland National.

The design was heavily influenced by London Transport’s requirements, such as the option of dual and single door variants, and two of the five B15 prototypes were extensively tested in London. Production was initially carried out by Park Royal Vehicles, with the first Titan – as the B15 was known – entering service in August 1978. However, production was hampered by delays, including the closure of Park Royal and the transfer of production to Workington, which resulted in a number of Titan orders being cancelled. As a consequence, London Transport became almost the sole customer for the new bus.

The Titan would go on to serve the Capital for the next decade, with withdrawals commencing in 1992. Many were subsequently sold off to second users, with some 400 seeing service on Merseyside, while others ended up in different homes around the country. Many remained in London, although numbers depleted after privatisation, and most had disappeared from the Capital by the early 2000s.

The model depicts registration KYV 371X, formerly LT number T371, which was one of several Titans sold to G K Kinch of Barrow, near Loughborough, following withdrawal from the Capital. The model shows it in its circa 1994 guise, wearing full Kinchbus blue and yellow paintwork, as working service 126 to Leicester, Loughborough and Shepshed via Alan Moss Road.