East Lancashire Coachbuilders

Bus bodywork manufacturer based in Blackburn, England

East Lancashire Coachbuilders Limited was a builder of bus bodies founded in 1934 in Blackburn, Lancashire, England.

East Lancashire Coachbuilders Ltd.
Company typePrivate
IndustryBus building
Founded27 October 1934; 89 years ago (1934-10-27)[1]
FounderWalter Smith
DefunctMarch 1, 2010 (2010-03-01)
FateDissolved after parent company Darwen Group performed a reverse takeover
SuccessorOptare
HeadquartersBlackburn, Lancashire, England
ProductsBus bodies
Websitewww.elcb.co.uk
East Lancs Olympus, one of the last East Lancs badged products, this one run by Metroline
1987 East Lancs body on Scania K92 chassis
Lolyne run by Transdev Yellow Buses
Myllennium Vyking owned by Wilts & Dorset
Scania OmniDekka in London, run by Transdev London
The only Kinetec+ built, run by Reading Buses

History change

On 17 August 2007, the company went into administration, but was saved and bought out by the Darwen Group. The new company was called Darwen East Lancs.

In 2008, Darwen East Lancs was purchased by Optare.

East Lancs bodies stopped being built and the factory in Blackburn closed in 2012.

Products change

Past change

East Lancs had many different types of bodywork. They deliberately misspelled names, replacing the letter i with a letter y.

East Lancs (1934–2007) change

Single-decker
Double-decker
Single-decker

Darwen Darwen East Lancs (2007–2008) change

Single-decker
Double-decker

Optare (2008–2012) change

Single-decker
Double-decker

Kinetec series change

The Kinetec was made in 2006. They are low-floor bodies for MAN chassis. They have the Esteem/Olympus body but with MAN's own Lion's City design front and rear.

References change

  1. "EAST LANCASHIRE COACHBUILDERS LIMITED - Overview (free company information from Companies House)". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk.

Other websites change