A brief tribute to the Ulsterbus Leyland Tiger / Alexander N-type
For most bus enthusiasts in Northern Ireland the late 1970s was a time of transition, as the last remnants of the old Ulster Transport Authority fleet were swept away, replaced by large deliveries of Bristol RELL and Leyland Leopard buses bodied with the Alexander X-type coachwork. This pattern continued throught the early years of the 1980s, but as always things never remained constant. British Leyland wished to discontinue the RELL and Leopard models and had designed a replacement in the shape of the B43 (or Tiger) which was primarily meant as a premium coach chassis. However in bus form it was slelected by Ulsterbus as the most suitable vehicle for ongoing fleet replacement and in due course an order for 80 vehicles was placed. The first of these arrived in 1984 and represented a considerable step forward in vehicle design, both with the new style of Alexander N-type bodywork but also under the skin mechanically. Strangely whilst many operators had mixed experience with Tigers, and the Leyland TL11 engine in particular, they thrived with Ulsterbus such that a fleet of 460 was built up over the years 1984-1989. Whilst it's fair to say that the Tiger has not been universally liked by the enthusiast community over the years, interest in this type has increased especially as they come to the end of their working lives.By June 2009 only 5 of the model survive in service and it is likely these will disappear rapidly. These pages attempt to give a brief history of the type in Ulsterbus service, a listing of the survivors and some views of them throughout their lives.
History Survivors - May 2009 Listing Gallery
