Northern Counties Palatine
| Northern Counties Palatine | |
|---|---|
 A Warrington Borough Transport bus with Northern Counties Palatine bodywork. | |
|
Lower Saloon of a Northern Counties Palatine Leyland Olympian | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Northern Counties |
| Body and chassis | |
| Doors | 1 or 2 doors |
| Floor type | Step entrance |
| Chassis | Leyland Olympian, Volvo Citybus, Volvo Olympian, DAF DB250, Scania N113 |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine |
Cummins & Gardner (Leyland Olympian) Volvo (Volvo Citybus and Volvo Olympian) DAF (DAF DB250) Scania (Scania N113) |
| Transmission | Voith or ZF |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | Varies |
| Width | Varies |
| Height | Varies |
| Chronology | |
The Northern Counties Palatine is a step-entrance 2-axle and 3-axle double-decker bus body built by Northern Counties of Wigan, UK. It was built mainly on Leyland Olympian and Volvo Olympian chassis, although some were also built on DAF, Volvo B10M Citybus and Scania chassis. Two variants existed, the Palatine I (known as "Palatine" before 1992) which had a flatter windscreen, and the Palatine II (launched in 1993) which had a curved windscreen with an arched top resembling that of the single-decker Northern Counties Paladin.
MTL were a notable buyer, a batch of high-specification Palatine IIs entered service in 1996 on the 'Cross River' services through the Mersey Tunnels. Another batch of 22, branded as 'The Millennium Fleet' began operating on Merseyside in 1998.
Tri-axle Volvo Olympians with Northern Counties Palatine bodies were exported to Hong Kong. Between 1996 and 1998, Citybus received 55 and Kowloon and Canton Railway Corporation received 15.
Some Northern Counties Palatine buses were built as open-top buses for sightseeing purposes.
It was superseded by the Plaxton President body.
Variants
A Volvo Olympian with Northern Counties Palatine I bodywork, operated by Go North East.
A Volvo Olympian with Northern Counties Palatine I bodywork, operated by Arriva Southern Counties.
A Volvo Olympian with Northern Counties Palatine II bodywork, operated by Go North East.
A DAF DB250 with Palatine II bodywork, new to Metrobus in 1995, converted to an open top bus for the Cambridge City Sightseeing Tour
See also
External links
Media related to Northern Counties Palatine at Wikimedia Commons