Maidstone and District Leyland Titan Service Vehicle

Operators recycling old buses into fleet support vehicles, such as towing tenders, was a regular practice for many years.

CKO 988 was new in March 1936 as a lowbridge double-deck bus with 48 seats, the original bodywork having been built by Weymann. Meanwhile, also in 1936, a withdrawn 1929 Leyland Titan TD1 chassis had been fitted with a Harrington lorry body. In 1950, the lorry body was fitted onto the chassis of CKO 988, thus creating a 'new' recovery vehicle. This combination remained in use through to the end of the 1960s.

Preservation:
CKO 988 was acquired for preservation in the Maidstone area in February 1970. It was then purchased by an individual member of the Museum's predecessor organisation, and arrived in the Birmingham area in January 1976. It was soon put to use as a support vehicle, transporting large quantities of spare parts - including collecting two complete engines from London - and towing vehicles, sometimes over considerable distances, during the next couple of years. However, it saw less use once the Museum was established.

Since 1988, it has been owned by another individual Museum member, who now has a collection of recovery vehicles, and its restoration is progressing in between other projects.

Photograph courtesy of Maurice Collignon