Armchair of Brentford was already a substantial operator of Leyland Olympians when in 1997 they won a renewal of their contract to operate the 65 (Kingston - Ealing Broadway Stn). This required an update of buses, and seven new Volvo Olympians were bought to work alongside existing Leyland Olympians, four in December 1997 and three more in March 1998. They replaced six Leyland Atlanteans.

They were single-entrance Palatine IIs, dressed in Armchair's vivid orange and white with black skirts.

They worked the 65 until June 2002, when Armchair lost the route. Then they shifted to the 237 (Hounslow Heath - Shepherds Bush Green), displacing Leyland Olympians. They also received fleet numbers as the registration system changed.

They were in turn displaced by low-floor Tridents in January 2003, and were sold to East Yorkshire Motor Services. They kept the youngest and passed the other six on to Finglands in Manchester (a subsidiary).

780 heads towards Kew from Richmond in March 2000
Right: rear and nearside views are speculative

Bus Stop

Volvos

Sovereign

bus histories

photo refs

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