Regal IV Bus

AEC Regal IV bus with 1 1/2 deck coachwork, 1953, chassis no. 9822E 1495; registration no. NLP 645. It has a 9.6 litre AEC 6-cylinder oil engine driving through a four-speed pre-selector gearbox.

BEA, British European Airways, ran a fleet of 65 of these 1 ½ deck coaches to take passengers to Heathrow Airport from the West London Air Terminal. Based on an AEC Regal IV chassis, the special body was designed by London Transport and Park Royal and featured a rear passenger deck raised over a large luggage compartment. The 37-seat coaches entered service in 1952-1953, replacing smaller, 20-seat Commer Commandos which were becoming too small to handle the number of passengers carried by the larger aircraft coming into service. Although owned by BEA, they were operated on their behalf by London Transport.