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Welcome to the AEC Regal!
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An early Regal of 1929. See the photos page for more information.
This site is intended to become a celebration of the AEC Regal, a marque which flourished in various forms for about 30 years starting in 1929. I believe there are about 60 survivors of the vertical-engined version in the UK and I am endeavouring to display recent photos of all of them. There are also a handful of survivors in Australia and South America. If you know of any not listed in these pages, please let me know. I do not yet have a guesstimate of the number of underfloor-engined versions surviving. |
The classification of the Regal is confusing! The vertical-engine models were Regal, Regal "4", Regal Mark II, Regal Mark III and Regal Mark V. See the "Marks and Engines" section on this page. The Regal IV was an underfloor-engined version, and included the very popular RF class for London Transport.
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Books
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Alan Townsin's book "The Best of British Buses - No. 6 AEC Regals" is out of print, but it is worth looking out for a used copy.
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Marks and Engines...
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Neil Fraser kindly sent this summary of a complex subject:
Excluding the horizontal engined Regal IV, there were six categories of Regal chassis with vertical engines. Note the original Regal did not have a "mark" and was just plain REGAL. The Mk I came after the Mk II, and the Regal 4 was not the same as the Regal IV. That said, the rest should be self-explanatory!
REGAL
Dates: 1929-47
Chassis types: 662, 0662, 662/19, 0662/19
Engines used: 6-cyl petrol 6.1L, 6-cyl petrol 7.4L, 6-cyl oil 8.1L, 6-cyl oil 8.8L, 6-cyl oil 7.7L
REGAL "4"
Dates: 1930-37
Chassis types: 642, 0642
Engines used: 4-cyl petrol 5.1L, 4-cyl oil 5.3L, 4-cyl oil 6.6L
REGAL "MK.II"
Dates: 1935-39
Chassis types: 862; 0862
Engines used: 6-cyl oil 6.6L, 6 cyl petrol 6.6L
REGAL "MK.I"
Dates: 1945-48
Chassis type: 0662/20
Engine used: 6-cyl oil 7.7L
(This version was originally going to be "MK.II" but it was realised "MK.II" had already been used for the 862/0862 type before the war so it was reclassified "MK.I" instead. This version differed from the prewar 0662/19 in having triple servo brakes).
REGAL "MK.III"
Dates: 1947-57
Chassis types: 0962, 9621, 0963, 9631
Engine used: 6-cyl oil 9.6L
Chassis types: 0682, 6821
Engine used: 6-cyl oil 7.7L
REGAL "MK.V"
Date: 1955
Chassis types: S2RA, S2LA
Engine used: 6-cyl oil 11.3L
Chassis type: MS3RV
Engine used: AV470 7.75L diesel
There was also a REGAL "MK VI" (export only) of which I have no details. There is a photo of an Australian survivor on the "Regals Abroad" page. Does anyone know the specification of the Mark VI?
The various marks don't differentiate between wheelbase lengths or gearbox, so a 17'6" 0662/20 crash is a Regal Mk I, and a 19' 0662/20 pre-select is a Regal Mk I.
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Early Regals
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According to the Regal "Bible", Alan Townsin's book in the "Best of British Buses" series, the first 12 Regal chassis were delivered to Plymouth, where they were bodied by a local AEC distributor, W.Mumford Ltd. The model number was 662, so the early chassis numbers were 662001 to 662012. They were powered by a 6-cylinder petrol engine designed by AEC's chief engineer G.J. Rackham.
The wheelbase was set at 17' to support an expected body length of 26'. Later, when the permitted length was increased, the wheelbase was set at 17' 6" to support a body length of 26' 6".
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AEC was at this time a subsidiary of London General Omnibus Company Ltd, and so it was to be expcted that LGOC should place a substantial order. Indeed they ordered 50 chassis early on, and these (chassis numbers 662028-77) became T1 to T50. They had 30-seater bodies with a rear entrance. By the end of 1931 some 1100 Regals had been produced, of which LGOC (later London Passenger Transport Board, LPTB) had taken about 35%. |
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LT T31, now at Cobham museum.
Photo: Dick Gilbert |
The 6-cylinder engine had gained more power by being increased to 7.4 litres, and apparently in conjunction with a higher geared rear axle, allowed a top speed of about 60mph to be obtained, proving popular for coach services (even though the speed limit for buses and coaches was 30mph!). But for those operators who did not need this power, a 4-cylinder 5.1 litre engine was introduced in August 1930, and this was known as the Regal 4.
Also in 1930 AEC announced an 8.1 litre 6-cylinder diesel engine, later superseded by an 8.8 litre version, so buyers had the choice of 3 power variants: 6-cylinder petrol, 4-cylinder petrol or 6-cylinder diesel.
| Surely one of the most handsome Regal I bodies to survive, this is a splendid 1931 example. (See Photos! page for another 3 great photos of this coach) |
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Aston Manor Transport Museum |
When production of the 662 and O662 models finally ended in 1949, over 5,200 chassis had been manufactured. |
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The Regal Mark II
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Sales of the original Regal had slowed down by 1935 and AEC produced the Mark II as a light-weight model, having a chassis about half a ton lighter than the standard Regal. The model number was 862. Those supplied with petrol engines were numbered 862xxx whereas the oil (diesel) engined versions were numbered O862xxx. The price was also reduced.
Sales of the new version must have proved disappointing however, since production of the Regal II ended in 1939, whereas the original Regal continued to be produced with small modifications right up to 1947, a total of 18 years, and a considerable tribute to the soundness of the original design.
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The Regal Mark III
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After the war there was an urgent need to recover lost ground and rebuild passenger fleets. AEC had already been working on an advanced version of the Regent double-decker since before the war, and in 1946 the Regal Mark III was announced. The chassis was given the model number O962. From the start export markets were targeted with a left-hand drive version, with model number O963.
The engine used was the 9.6 litre direct-injection version and this was coupled with a fluid flywheel and a pre-select gearbox. In contrast to the earlier marques, the engine was flexibly mounted.
In the UK the maximum legal length for buses and coaches was now 27' 6" so a 17' 6" wheelbase was used, but the overseas chassis was available with a 20' wheelbase.
Variations were soon introduced. A crash-gearbox version with the 9.6 litre engine was a variety of the O962 model, whereas a version supplied with a 7.7 litre engine was given a new model number of O682.
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News!
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10th March 2007. See "Regals Abroad" page for a photo of a Regal VI (first photo I have seen). Also see "Photos!" page for new photos of magnificent 1931 Regal 1 JF 3278 at Aston Manor Transport Museum.
15th June 2006. See Brochures page with full details of 1946 brochure showing AEC's attempts to capture some of the post-war boom in bus and coach building.
10th June 2006. New photos added to photo gallery (see "Photos!" page), including great photo of 1931 Regal JF 2378, seen at Leicester in 1998.
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Recent additions
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(April 2007)
See the Photos page for a larger view of LT T792, seen at Cobham Open Day, 1st April 2007 |
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(October 2006)
Click on the picture for details of this fascinating Regal horse box |
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(May 2006)
Click on the picture for pictures of Crosville TA5, emerging resplendent from a total restoration after being rescued from a Welsh farm. |
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Links
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Feedback
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How many were there?
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These numbers were mostly gleaned from Alan Townsin's book on the Regal (see the Books section). Of course if anyone has other information...
REGAL: 5,286
REGAL "4": 177
REGAL MARK II: 109
REGAL MARK III: 4,094
REGAL IV: 2,675 (figure supplied from PSV circle figures by Neil Fraser, and including 4 prototypes and 8 "Maudslay" chassis)
REGAL MARK V: ??? (very few, did not sell in the UK)
Does anyone have numbers for the MARK V?
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The Regal Mark V
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The Mark V was announced in 1955 and had an 11.3 litre engine (although a 7.5 litre version was also apparently offered). It appears to have had very limited sales, although a few left-hand drive versions were built for export markets. I believe there were no UK deliveries.
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