10.4m Leyland/Volvo Olympians
Citybus introduced a 10.4m 3-axle Leyland Olympian in 1992 together with the 11m 171-204. This bus has
similar body configurations when compared to the 11m ones, for example, thick horizontal window frames,
screwed body jackets and rectangular front dash lights. This bus is equipped with a ZF4HP500 gearbox and
Cummins LT10 engine. It has high-back seats installed in the compartment first, and unlike all other 11m
and 12m buses from the same batch, this bus, with a fleet number of 205, it is now a member of the
franchised bus department.
Citybus further purchased 33 10.4m Leyland Olympians (206-238) in 1993. They have body configurations similar
to the 12m ones (341-395), and mechanical specifications that are similar to 205, i.e., Cummins engines and
ZF gearboxes. 10 Volvo Olympians of similar configurations (239-248) are purchased and they have been used to
operate some Stanley and mid-levels routes.
These 44 buses have similar configurations when compared to the 2-axle ones in UK, but an extra axle
is added to it because of the extra weight of the air-conditioning unit and the government's
policy to allow franchised bus companies to buy 3-axle double-deckers only. They were first fitted
with standard/classic Citybus configurations, i.e., 3+2 seat configuration in classical colour,
handles yellow in colour, non-continuous lightings and blue floor. Later Citybus found out that
such a small bus was unable to deal with some routes with a lot of passengers, e.g., Route 40 from
Wan Chai to Wah Fu, so 11m Volvo Olympians have been introduced instead of 10.4m ones.
However this did not stop the story of 10.4m Olympians in the Citybus fleet. In order to improve
the quality of Citybus service, a refurbishment project is being carried out on these buses, including 205.
New high-back 2+2 seats are introduced. The floor turns to grey in colour and the handles changes to blue,
making it very similar to the Dennis Darts (1422 to 1436) and Volvo B6LEs(1322 to 1331) which were
introduced in 1997. Continuous lightings and electronic route displays has been installed and the new
Citybus livery was introduced.
This page contains photographs of Citybus' 10.4 metre 3 axle Olympians. Please click the photo
for an enlarged version. More photographs will be added in the future.
| 205
205 is actually a 10.4m Leyland Olympian prototype. Its appearance is quite different from that of the
production types.
Date: 18/01/2002
|
| 210
This bus has got a M&M's all-over advertisement. It is serving route 85.
Date: 18/01/2002
|
| 215
This bus has been refurbished, and the continuous lights make it look very bright in darkness.
Date: 19/01/2002
|
| 230
The bus was wearing a Madame Tussaud's advert, but soon after the photo was taken, the bus had been
repainted.
Date: 20/04/2002
|
| 239
239 is the first 10.4m 3-axle Volvo Olympian in the world. Although it has been repainted to the
new Citybus livery, it has not been refurbished yet.
Date: 22/09/2001
|
| 241
241 is the first refurbished 10.4m Volvo Olympian in the Citybus fleet.
Date: 31/12/2001
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| 248
248 is the last 10.4m 3-axle Volvo Olympian in the world. In fact, Citybus is the only owner of 3-axle
10.4m Volvo Olympians in the world and these ten buses (239-248) remain unique in the world.
Date: 22/09/2001
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