On the subject of the AEC Regents, I agree as a person of some experience in driving the London RT class with the Wilson Preselect box. Wonderful idea, BUT remember to keep one's ankle out of the way as the pedal suddnely came up after a bit. I drove RT 3148 and was privilaged in driving RT1 also at times. In addition I operated the RF single decker version. Wonderful buses but I loved to wrestle with the gearshift of the R class CIE. I spent eighteen months caring for R 788 while it was in England from Mar 1988 to Oct 1989 and we covered some 9,000 miles with the old girl. Heaven's, that was almost twenty years ago !!!!

Interesting story of the 100 proposed AEC buses for the new CIW in 1946. While working in the Leyland organisation in the early 1970s I was told a story that AEC had offered to run a factory building buses for CIE early postwar (presumably Spa Rd) but a deal was done with Leyland to supply the bus chassis at cost to CIE and that Leyland Motors would recover the profits on the spare parts and stock supplied on a rolling basis.

Finally it is hoped to see in the not too distant future a model of the AEC Regent in GNR colours based on the five bay window and not as 438, which I think is a 4 bay... more on this soon

Don E.Brook