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Plaxton Prestige
Northern Counties Paladin LF
Plaxton Prestige ; Northern Counties Paladin LF
	Arriva North West and Wales Prestige bodied DAF SB220 in Liverpool in 2007
Overview
Manufacturer	Northern Counties (1995–1997); Plaxton (1997–1999)
Production	1995–1999
Assembly	Wigan, Greater Manchester, England (1995–1997); Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England (1997–1999)
Body and chassis
Doors	1 or 2
Floor type	Low floor
Chassis	DAF SB220; Volvo B10BLE
Powertrain
Engine	DAF ATi 8.6L GS160M ; Volvo DH10A-245 9.6L
Capacity	35 to 42 seated
Power output	218bhp (DAF) ; 245bhp (Volvo)
Transmission	ZF 4HP500 (automatic); ZF 5HP500 (automatic)
Dimensions
Length	11.9 m (39 ft)
Width	2.55 m (8 ft 4 in)
Height	3.0 m (9.8 ft)
Curb weight	9,615 kg (21,197 lb)
Chronology
Predecessor	Northern Counties Paladin
Successor	Plaxton Pointer 2

The Plaxton Prestige is a low-floor single-decker bus body built by manufacturers Northern Counties and Plaxton between 1996 and 1999.

Design

Northern Counties, who had then been recently purchased by the Henlys Group, developed a body then known as the Paladin LF to be the low-floor successor to their step-entrance Paladin, with the bus first being unveiled at the Coach & Bus '95 expo by the manufacturer.^[1] Production of the Paladin LF transferred to Plaxton's Scarborough factory during 1997, with the model also renamed to the Prestige, a name that had earlier been briefly used for an export variant of the Plaxton Excalibur.^[2] In Plaxton's body numbering system, the letter H identified the Prestige, although not all Prestiges received a Plaxton body number, with early models being numbered in the Northern Counties series.

Some Plaxton Prestiges on DAF SB220 chassis were powered by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as part of early developments into the manufacture of zero-emissions buses. Storage tanks for the LPG fuel were located on the roof of the Prestige body.^[3] These LPG Prestiges were demonstrated by a number of operators, including Mainline Buses and East Yorkshire Motor Services,^[4]^[5] and though a handful of orders resulted, diesel-powered SB220s would be preferred throughout the Prestige's production run. Production of the Prestige ceased in 1999 in favour of the lighter Super Pointer Dart variant of the Plaxton Pointer 2, with only 150 Prestiges having been built.^[3]

Operators

Two years after the Paladin LF was launched by Northern Counties, the first production models entered service with Stagecoach Manchester in March 1997, with five built on Volvo B10BLE chassis - the only Prestiges built on the chassis - being delivered to the operator.^[6]

The largest operator of Prestiges on DAF SB220 chassis was Arriva, with multiple examples delivered to the group's subsidiaries throughout the Prestige's production run, 54 of which entered service with companies today grouped under the Arriva North East name.^[7] Nine Prestiges equipped with coach seats also entered service with Arriva The Shires on Green Line service 724 in early 1998,^[8] while smaller numbers of Prestige bodied DAF SB200s entered service with Go North East.^[9]^{[better source needed]}

Another large operator of Prestiges on DAF SB220 chassis was the National Express-owned Speedlink Airport Services, taking delivery of 19 dual-doored Prestiges equipped with extra luggage capacity in early 1998 for use on the temporary FastLink shuttle service between Heathrow Airport and the short-lived Heathrow Junction railway station.^[10]^[11]

References

^ Cole, Martin (6 October 1995). "Coach & Bus '95 Stand Guide". Bus & Coach Buyer. No. 327. Spalding. p. 16. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
^ Williams, Mark (25 September 1997). "All panelling is Cromweld stainless". Coach & Bus Week. No. 288. Peterborough: Emap. p. 14. Retrieved 21 November 2024. The last of the high-floor Paladins are now being finished, and all lowfloor Paladins - built on DAF SB220L - change name to Prestige.
^ ^a ^b Brown, Stewart J. (2007). Plaxton: a century of innovation. Hersham: Ian Allan Publishing. pp. 118–120. ISBN 978-0-7110-3209-5. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
^ "DAF's LPG bus on trial for Quality Partnership". Coach & Bus Week. No. 285. Peterborough: Emap. 4 September 1997. p. 4. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
^ Start, Hannah (23 February 1998). "Green bus takes to the road". Hull Daily Mail. p. 10. Retrieved 27 April 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Stagecoach take first Volvo B10BLE Northern Counties". Bus & Coach Buyer. No. 400. Spalding: Glen-Holland Ltd. 14 March 1997. p. 4.
^ Lidstone, John G. (February 1999). "Fleet News England & Wales". Buses. No. 527. Hersham: Ian Allan Publishing. p. 41. Retrieved 27 April 2024. New are DAF SB220/Northern Counties Prestige B39F 702-7 (S702-7 KFT) at Jesmond for service M55 and the 42-group of services to Cramlington.
^ "Green Line to continue". Buses. No. 514. Hersham: Ian Allan Publishing. January 1998. p. 9. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
^ "Window of opportunity". Coach & Bus Week. No. 271. Peterborough: Emap. 31 May 1997. p. 24. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
^ Izatt, Andy (30 January 1998). "BAA Heathrow: investing in public transport". Bus & Coach Buyer. No. 444. Spalding: Glen-Holland Ltd. pp. 14–17. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
^ "DAF lowfloors are high-fliers". Coach & Bus Week. No. 282. Peterborough: Emap. 14 August 1997. p. 26. Retrieved 5 October 2024.