| Wright Renown | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Wrightbus |
| Production | 1997 - 2002 |
| Assembly | Ballymena, Northern Ireland |
| Designer | Trevor Erskine[1] |
| Body and chassis | |
| Doors | 1 or 2 |
| Floor type | Low floor |
| Chassis | Volvo B10BLE |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | Volvo DH10A-245 |
| Capacity | 44 seated |
| Transmission | ZF Ecomat 5HP500 Voith DIWA D851.3 |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 11.8m (38 ft 9 in) |
| Width | 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) |
| Height | 3 m (9 ft 10 in) |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Wright Liberator |
| Successor | Wright Eclipse |
TheWright Renown is alow floorsingle-decker bus body built onVolvo B10BLE chassis byWrightbus inBallymena, Northern Ireland.
Launched as the successor to theWright Liberator body on theVolvo B10L chassis in 1997, the Wright Renown was the first bus in the Wright range to debut the company's 'Floline' low-floor system. Compared to previous Wrightlow-entry buses which had multiple steps in the interior separating the entrance door from the back of the bus, the Renown had only one step along a gently sloped floor in the middle of the bus, with a manual wheelchair ramp at the entrance door also provided as standard. This system in both single and dual-door format was tested extensively at theMotor Industry Research Association'sWarwickshire proving grounds before its official launch with the Renown.[2][3]
Built with anAlusuisse bolted aluminium frame as standard among other Wright products at the time, the Renown was also the first 12 metres (39 ft) low-floor bus in Europe to feature gasket glazed windows as a result of the extra body strength from the Floline design; previous low-floor buses had featured bonded glazed windows, which took longer to replace and compromised the structural integrity of the body when broken.[4][3]
The Renown, as well as the overall Floline concept, were replaced by the 'Millennium Design'Eclipse (later Eclipse Metro) on theVolvo B7L chassis.[1] Due to the unpopularity of the longitudinal chassis, Wright developed theEclipse Urban on theVolvo B7RLE chassis in 2003, which became the true successor of the Renown.[5]
_1998_Volvo_B10BLE_Wrightbus_Renown%2c_Bristol%2c_25_June_2011.jpg)
Upon its launch, theFirstGroup placed an initial order for 112 Renowns for delivery to itsManchester,Bristol,West Yorkshire andNorthampton operations,[6][7] with the first nine production Renowns delivered as 'GOLDService' buses to First Manchester in late 1997;[8] the group ordered further Renowns until 2001 for itsSouth Yorkshire,[9]: 207–208 Hampshire,Glasgow,Eastern Scotland andAberdeen operations.[citation needed] These Renowns were among the first in the group's fleet to be delivered with a new low-floor interior design featuring purple, grey and aquamarine fittings and seat cushions as well as wider seat spacing and hard-wearing non-slip flooring.[10]
The Renown was also highly popular with theBlazefield Group, with a total of 125 delivered to itsHarrogate,Keighley,Yorkshire Coastliner,Lancashire United andBurnley operations throughout the type's production run.[3][11][12][13] Among these, Blazefield took delivery of both the last Renowns built and the last Volvo B10BLEs for the UK market, consisting of an order for 41 examples that were delivered mainly to Lancashire United between late 2001 and early 2002.[14]
Ninety Renowns were delivered toTranslink of Northern Ireland between late 1999 and early 2000, with 45 each entering service withCitybus ofBelfast andUlsterbus respectively.[15][16] Twenty Renowns were also delivered toBus Éireann in 2000 for service inCork.[17]
The Wright Renown was also popular with someGo-Ahead Group companies.Go North East took delivery of 38 Renowns across four batches between 1998 and 2000,[18] while 21 Renowns were delivered toBrighton & Hove in 1998.[19] TheOxford Bus Company also took delivery of Renowns specified in dual-door arrangement to deal with heavy passenger crowding in the tourist city between 1999 and 2000.[20]
Thirty Renowns were delivered toArriva operations inNorthumbria,[21]West Scotland andThe Shires during 1999, twenty-five Renowns were delivered toTravel Dundee between 1997 and 1999,[3] while ten were delivered toMainline Buses in December 1997 for service inSheffield, with a further 20 ordered for delivery in 1998 prior to the company being acquired by the FirstGroup.[9]: 196–197 Liverpool-based independentCMT Buses took delivery of eighteen Renowns beteween 1999 and 2000,[22][23] while the Renown was also popular with some independently-run bus companies in Scotland, with examples delivered to Hutchinson's ofOvertown as well as White ofWalls, Shetland.[24][25]
The low floor revolution reached Belfast in 1996 when the first of 50 Volvo B10Ls, with Alexander 'Ultra' bodies hit the streets. Forty-five Volvo B10BLE/Wright Renown arrived in 1999-2000, as did six Mercedes-Benz O405N and four O405GN bendybuses.
The age profile of this fleet continues to drop; the latest additions are 10 Wright Renown B44F-bodied Volvo B10BLEs, S447-56 KCW. These are additional to the existing fleet, which now stands at 72, of which 32 are low-floor.
Media related toWright Renown at Wikimedia Commons
