As the refurbishments have now finished, after much consideration i have decided to start an occasional series on the types of bus that made a difference, first up is the Bristol RELL developed in the early part of the 1960's with an horizontal engine behind the rear axle, it was usually offered with 2 engine options a Gardner 6HLW or a 6HLX with the Leyland engine added in the 1970's. From the outset it offered Air Suspension which though expensive to maintain offered a remarkably comfortable ride, later on in some companies with the later series 2 type the option of conventional leaf springs was added. Series one as seen above on a Eastern Counties in the shorter form of the RS model is RS 653 KVF 653E which featured the curved front with split windscreen, by 1967 that had been replaced by a more squarer profile with a peaked dome, series 3 added a new curved profile with a BET style front profile and new radiator grill and five inches longer at 36ft 5 inches than the original, production continued until 1974 when NBC decided to buy just the Leyland National although production continued until 1983 for the major operators with the Alexander body. Other companies bodied the RE including Pennine, Strachan,East Lancs, Park Royal and Marshall.
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