Kinda weird to drive though , with their floaty suspension and that steering , after passing my test in early 1980 the first bus we had to familiarize on was the national , that's because it handled and steered like no other bus, the steering isn't self centering , and that mated with the somewhat abrupt acceleration coming out of a junction you had to learn to quickly take off the steering that you had put on , having said that I did like them very much because they're fast and good to drive once you got used to them.
@@joebutlersnr7017 interesting I was only 1 year old in 1980 but I did go 2 school in 90s on Leyland Nationals & Leyland Olympians they make a great sound aswell
@@ussvoyager8650 yea Olympians were very good buses to drive , very good handling and acceleration , not a high top speed ,about 45 ish for the semi automatics , but the fully auto voith push buttons were very fast for town buses some could touch 80 mph , they felt heavier than the semi,s and not as wieldy either but still good though , all driver's loved the Olympians.
I remember driving buses like this in service, although we mainly had Leyland Atlantean double deckers, I remember the smell and smoke in the bus yard at 5am with about 200 of these getting started up in the morning!!! You then had to hold the throttle down to fill the air tanks before you could even move the bus. Ah, memories!!!
HUM HUM,!!! what drug are you on, it is a Leyland National not a Dyson Vacuum Cleaner, they whine clatter and knock filling the air with their aroma of badly burnt diesel. One thing a MK 1 National does not doe not do ,is HUM!!.
@@basiltaylor8910 Maybe not the best choice of word, but I hear a hum or a whine. Correct, it's not like a vacuum cleaner. And people get far too worked up over trivial things online.
@@josephd.2725 That is maybe so, as a teenager in the late,70,s early 80,s I rode these beasts when thrashed to an inch of their lives fully loaded on Stroud Depots many steep twisty routes .Standing in Stroud Bus Station in midwinter you could choke on the 510,s fumes and see a cloud of oily blue smoke spew forth from the arse end of a Mk1 National waddling out of Stroud Bus Station Station fully loaded with kids and disgruntled shoppers. That is why I got up so much steam, saying a 510 hums , er keep taking the medication,. To me Boy George,s Culture Club Spandau Ballet and a screaming 510 brings back memories of a world before it went mad!!!
I stand by what I say regarding the 510 ,it clatters, screams and howls filling the air with its perfume of hot metal@@skylined5534,oil, and diesel. Have you ridden a Tesco Margarine Tub ?,yes an Enviro 200, a strimmer engine with a bus body attached, f-----g awful things.
i used to have a old di transit van. it was horrendous to start from cold. smoke all owa. i put a shot of 2 stroke in with the diesel and it totally cured the smokey start up
yep all the ones we had in western australia started up the same,we used to have to ad "no smoke' oil additive to get them over registration pits EVERY year LOL
didn't they have glow plugs for cold starting? always thought be dam near impossible to get a diesel started on a good frosty morning without glow plugs
@@MattWillisVideoProductions2023valid point you make lol. I must have been having a brain glitch day, of course it's a national, no idea why I said Atlantean. Thanks for correcting me. 😊.
There used to be a Green Leyland National parked in the Coach Park in Ludlow a few years ago, it was used for music practice, I'm sure it was that one. Before I drove coaches, I cut my teeth on Leyland vehicles, including Mk1 and Mk2 Nationals. So I was interested in the one in Ludlow.
My early days were mainly Leyland leopard manual 4 speed + Eton rear axle, manual constant mesh 5 speed Bristol RE, Leyland PD3 (Queen Mary) and Bristol VR. Occasionally Leyland Atlantean, and normally at Epson races time, a 6 speed Ford coach, (caused a few heads shut in doors because the doors shut when the clutch was depressed).
Fantastic - Though the job isn't complete! You have to get the air pressure up - Flooring the engine was the preferred method IIRC :) She's in great shape!
We're these layland engines based on the same principle as ee locomotive engines loadsnof fuel to aid compression rather than heat and fire one cylinder at a time?
Says please that the buses pull out I have no problem with this but they always go half the speed limit when they can go the speed limit just done to annoy people and they wonder why people don't let them out and when they do pull out it's right in front of you it's dangerous
I rode on these as a kid in the late 80s and early 90s, absolutely loved them and still do 😆
The Leyland National is my favourite Bus ever & makes an amazing sound
Kinda weird to drive though , with their floaty suspension and that steering , after passing my test in early 1980 the first bus we had to familiarize on was the national , that's because it handled and steered like no other bus, the steering isn't self centering , and that mated with the somewhat abrupt acceleration coming out of a junction you had to learn to quickly take off the steering that you had put on , having said that I did like them very much because they're fast and good to drive once you got used to them.
@@joebutlersnr7017 interesting I was only 1 year old in 1980 but I did go 2 school in 90s on Leyland Nationals & Leyland Olympians they make a great sound aswell
@@ussvoyager8650 yea Olympians were very good buses to drive , very good handling and acceleration , not a high top speed ,about 45 ish for the semi automatics , but the fully auto voith push buttons were very fast for town buses some could touch 80 mph , they felt heavier than the semi,s and not as wieldy either but still good though , all driver's loved the Olympians.
@@joebutlersnr7017 that's cool
Meanwhile back at VW, that would be another emissions pass! :-)
Absolutely it would. Greta won't be happy with this......
That sound brings back a few memories.
Brings back happy memories from my childhood when Crosville Wales had a fleet of these old Leylands.
Yes me too, there was a big crosville depot in Wrexham.
Gareth Coppell There was in Bangor, Gwynedd too, they generally served around the town and Caernarfon.
I remember getting the Crosville bus home from school in one of these when I was a kid, listening to the engine I can almost smell them too
I remember driving buses like this in service, although we mainly had Leyland Atlantean double deckers, I remember the smell and smoke in the bus yard at 5am with about 200 of these getting started up in the morning!!! You then had to hold the throttle down to fill the air tanks before you could even move the bus. Ah, memories!!!
I can almost smell the exhaust fumes.. takes me back
emissions what emissions? lol, magical soundtrack, and a timeless noise! miss seeing a good old national on the road 😣
That classic signature hum from these buses... still miss it. These rides seemed very futuristic back in the day.
HUM HUM,!!! what drug are you on, it is a Leyland National not a Dyson Vacuum Cleaner, they whine clatter and knock filling the air with their aroma of badly burnt diesel. One thing a MK 1 National does not doe not do ,is HUM!!.
@@basiltaylor8910 Maybe not the best choice of word, but I hear a hum or a whine. Correct, it's not like a vacuum cleaner. And people get far too worked up over trivial things online.
@@josephd.2725 That is maybe so, as a teenager in the late,70,s early 80,s I rode these beasts when thrashed to an inch of their lives fully loaded on Stroud Depots many steep twisty routes .Standing in Stroud Bus Station in midwinter you could choke on the 510,s fumes and see a cloud of oily blue smoke spew forth from the arse end of a Mk1 National waddling out of Stroud Bus Station Station fully loaded with kids and disgruntled shoppers. That is why I got up so much steam, saying a 510 hums , er keep taking the medication,. To me Boy George,s Culture Club Spandau Ballet and a screaming 510 brings back memories of a world before it went mad!!!
@@basiltaylor8910
Say what you like, the 510 sounds good, Baz.
I stand by what I say regarding the 510 ,it clatters, screams and howls filling the air with its perfume of hot metal@@skylined5534,oil, and diesel. Have you ridden a Tesco Margarine Tub ?,yes an Enviro 200, a strimmer engine with a bus body attached, f-----g awful things.
That sound towards the end of the video in idle. Lovely notes being sung!
Excellent video a classic childhood bus for me that’s how I remember them 👍🏾
I was fortunate enough to drive these beautiful buses in service for many years.
So you remember the inefficient roof heating and the stupidly placed thermostat in the drivers cab. Hot head and cold feet guaranteed.
@@stevesales4263
I was a passenger on these quite a lot. I don't recall heating issues in winter.
Windscreen reflecting at night.
It's still a thoroughly beautiful sound! I could still listen to a Leyland 510 singing all day long, and the 680/L11 too :)
She can still hold a F sharp :) Unmistakable sound!
I like the 510 tickover best.
Oh man! I used to ride this bus to school in the mornings! Takes me back...
Great video i love the sound of the Leyland National Great sound
That sounds so beautiful!
Good old British engineering
i used to have a old di transit van. it was horrendous to start from cold. smoke all owa. i put a shot of 2 stroke in with the diesel and it totally cured the smokey start up
It was all about knowing when you could let go of the key !!!!
yep all the ones we had in western australia started up the same,we used to have to ad "no smoke' oil additive to get them over registration pits EVERY year LOL
Thats the way to start a Leyland 510. Gently wake them up.
Absolutely. Give it 90 seconds and it'll run like a dream 👍
Let it clear it's throat. It'll be fantastic after that. Love the noise of a national starting
Gently wake them up ? He didn't have a choice. Lol
No Euro 6 nonsense here
UA what u know about buses
"C'mon girl...c'mon... ... c'mon .... almost there"
The good old days of eastern national
Relies on nothing but pure compression. Its a first time starter but a very slow one.
didn't they have glow plugs for cold starting? always thought be dam near impossible to get a diesel started on a good frosty morning without glow plugs
@@david197407 Some had a cold start device.
Wish i smell those smokes..smells amazing
Not only a beautiful Atlantean, a very talented one at that blowing smoke rings! We Brits built such brilliant buses.
Apart from its a National…
@@MattWillisVideoProductions2023valid point you make lol. I must have been having a brain glitch day, of course it's a national, no idea why I said Atlantean. Thanks for correcting me. 😊.
@@jimmyvlogit1899 anytime haha!!
510 powered Bristol VR is the closest thing.
There used to be a Green Leyland National parked in the Coach Park in Ludlow a few years ago, it was used for music practice, I'm sure it was that one.
Before I drove coaches, I cut my teeth on Leyland vehicles, including Mk1 and Mk2 Nationals. So I was interested in the one in Ludlow.
My early days were mainly Leyland leopard manual 4 speed + Eton rear axle, manual constant mesh 5 speed Bristol RE, Leyland PD3 (Queen Mary) and Bristol VR. Occasionally Leyland Atlantean, and normally at Epson races time, a 6 speed Ford coach, (caused a few heads shut in doors because the doors shut when the clutch was depressed).
Fantastic - Though the job isn't complete! You have to get the air pressure up - Flooring the engine was the preferred method IIRC :) She's in great shape!
Hence why so many engines failed in service.
Should let it idle and heat up before doing any acceleration. Just buggers them up with not waiting .
Lovely video Rob, thank you!
Reminded me of Yorkshire traction buses around 25 to 30 years ago running from Barnsley to huddersfield.
Great bus, Dog of an engine. I used to drive them.
Holy shit dude, you're on a right mission!
I suggest therapy!
beautiful sounding Leyland best buses ever old Leyland's
"Start, Start.... No c'mon Start, C'mon Eleanor I need you, I need you"
Awesome! Off to swimming lessons then 👍🏼
Love it ❤️❤️❤️❤️
CLAG? I like it, a new word on me!!
Another brilliant video Rob. ♥️👍
Lovely sound !
Who says diesels are dirty smelly things?
I’ve never seen anything get air pressure up just on the starter before. Impressive!
Lol!!
Leatherhead back in the 80's.......about 06:20 on a cold January morning !!!!!!!! I remember it well
Get a O.H.S. to stand there and get high off the fumes while us viewers get high off the noise lolz!!! Wonderful.
many a happy hour spent in the snow starting these machines with a flare with an overnight frost as well .......happy days lol
At least the exhaust pipe does it's job.
I wouldn't like to stand near it when its started from cold and revving up.
I actually stood behind a Leyland National starting from cold and it left me coughing for about 10mins and stinging eyes.
Maybe Natters should have come with a vertical exhaust. That would get it to the ozone layer more expediently.
I remember these in Jamaica!
...and you'd just polished it too! ;-)
Remember riding on them as a lad in the 70s in huddersfield metro bus back then and atlantean d Deckers.
leyland 510 engine ?
Yes.
LMAO... where there's smoke there's 🔥🔥
Worked on these from 1980/1988. Could change an engine in 2 hours etc. Pig to start up.
We're these layland engines based on the same principle as ee locomotive engines loadsnof fuel to aid compression rather than heat and fire one cylinder at a time?
Much like a class 142 pacer
Sod the polar bears let it smoke
Says please that the buses pull out I have no problem with this but they always go half the speed limit when they can go the speed limit just done to annoy people and they wonder why people don't let them out and when they do pull out it's right in front of you it's dangerous
that engine could start in hell the day it froze over.
Euro 6 specification
I bet they got thro cases of easy start back in the day. Cheaper than starter motors & batteries.
They didn't need Easystart, just patience.
Tonight Matthew I’m gonna be....
Cant beat a claggy pacer
How many Leyland nationals do you
Cold start ? From which Ice Age.....
Winter is RUF R than the summer
And everyone inside that shed now has lung cancer.
And everyone now has emphysema
Ya.y I. Got. The. Ley. Lend. Bus. To. Start. Ok. Let. Me try. A. Third one. Kasey Leigh kelley
Greta Thunburg would love this😂
Blimey, talk about pollution problems !
Nou
Poor starter motor! That’s too long to run it in one go!
No, that was fine. Excellent starter motors