1805 (RRN405) is the last surviving Ribble lowbridge Atlantean. First
licensed in July 1962, 1805 features the unusual semi-lowbridge
layout which featured on early Atlanteans. On the upper deck the rear
half had the seats in in rows of four (actually two twin seats the
nearside one slightly set back) with a nearside aisle, though the
seats in the front half were standard high bridge layout. Downstairs
the reason for this became clear, the wheelarch and engine intrusion
prevented reducing the ceiling height. It is presumed that the rather
unusual layout helped prompt the adoption of the Daimler rear axle
for later low height buses which allowed highbridge a seating layout.

Anyway, 1805 started its career at Blackburn and will doubtlessly
have appeared on the 232 to Clitheroe and Grindleton which passed
under the low railway bridge at Langho. 1805's record show the
following milestones:

1965 - accident damage to cab area repaired
April 1967 - body overhaul - saw removal of rear number blinds
1971 - converted to One Man Operation and moved to Penrith
(conversion included periscope, new cab door and ticket machine stand
& driver control of blinds)
5 Dec 1972 - blown off road at Thiefside between Penrith and Carlisle
1973 - Repainted in NBC red
1978 - final repaint
1980 - reallocated to Lancaster, though generally operated from
Morecambe depot
March 1982 - withdrawn and purchased by Lancastrian Transport Group
(forerunner of LTT)

On withdrawal 1805 retained its offside Illuminated advert panel,
though this had been disconnected after just a few years of use. In
its early years of preservation 1805 was based at Burtonwood and
received a repaint into original livery at Chester City Transport in
1984. The vehicle has been preserved in 1971 condition - ie old
livery with OMO equipment and rear blinds removed - the only
concession being the display of the underlined Ribble name rather
than the lower case version.

In 1986, 1805 moved to St. Helens Transport Museum but by 1990 was
often based at Blackpool Transport's depot. 1805 was regularly
rallied and from 1996 has featured on several of the Trust's Antiques
Roadshow events including trips on former routes in Preston, West
Lancashire, Blackpool, Fleetwood, Blackburn and Lancaster/Morecambe.
It is a regular attendee at the Stagecoach NW open days.

The bus is quite nice to drive, though the steering is heavy with a
full load on and top speed is about 42mph, which made last year's
journey to the Carlisle open day rather slow! It was interesting to
eat our tea at Shap Summit on the A6, watching the Barrow lads pass
on their PD!