AEC Bridgemaster

The AEC Bridgemaster was a front-engined low-height double-decker bus chassis manufactured by AEC from 1956 to 1963.

History

The AEC Bridgemaster was introduced by AEC in 1956 to meet the demand of low-height double-deckers from municipal and independent bus operators across the United Kingdom, which were barred from purchasing the Bristol Lodekka. It was designed as a fully-integral vehicle, utilising two sub frames like the contemporary Routemaster. Four pre-production examples were bodied by Crossley with an aluminium body; production examples bodied by Park Royal were introduced from 1958 with steel body frames at the request of British Electric Traction.
In 1960 a forward-entrance version with slightly different driveline layout was introduced. A total of 180 were produced before it was superseded by the AEC Renown in 1963. East Yorkshire Motor Services were the largest customer, purchasing 50.