| 56 B-prefixed vehicles were added to the leased fleet in 1984/1985, with a further pair added second-hand in 1988. As was normal at the time, the majority of vehicles were supplied by Ford, with Transit and Escort vans being the most numerous. I have already published most of the photos I have of these vehicles, but I did find this one of a former service vehicle which shows a rather unusual feature. Ford Transit Mk2 van B267TKE had been leased by London Transport in September 1984 and given fleetnumber 3220F. It was allocated to the Commercial Advertising department at Jamestown Road in Camden and remained in use until February 1989. It was photographed a few years later while in private use, when it retained its grey livery albeit unlettered and with the addition of foglamps and a thin coachline around the waist. The interesting feature is the hinged side cargo door. Some of LT's long-wheelbase Transit vans had these doors but they were very rare on the smaller variants. Although some other Transits new at the same time were also allocated to the advertising department, most seem to have lacked cargo doors. Indeed the department often specified sliding cab doors which would preclude the fitting of cargo doors. With the advent of the Mk3 Transit a few years later, cargo doors became more common, though they were then sliding doors rather than hinged ones. |
| Photographer: |
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Photo ID: |
7047 |
| Photo date: |
c.1992 |
Size: |
Regular |
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| Date added: |
05/01/2022 |
