Leyland Titan B15 London Forest T82 Docklands Express D1 Waterloo Station

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.

Here we have registration A827 SUL, fleet number T827, which was built in 1983, although the model shows it as running a decade later with London Forest, and carrying full Route D1 Docklands Express branding. Waterloo Station destination blinds are carried – Route D1 linking Waterloo with the Isle of Dogs.