Dennis Falcon
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The Dennis Falcon was a rear-engined bus chassis built by Dennis Specialist Vehicles between 1981 and 1993. It was mostly built as a single-deck bus, although some express coaches and a small number of double-deckers were also produced. The total number built was 139, plus one development chassis.
The Falcon had a longitudinally-mounted engine, in contrast to the transverse-engined Dominator. Three variants existed, the vertical-engined (V engine) Falcon V and the horizontal-engined Falcon H or HC. The difference between the H and HC was whether the gearbox was mounted separately from the engine, or close coupled to it.
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[edit] Single deck buses
Single deck buses were based on the Falcon H and HC chassis. Six English municipal operators bought Dennis Falcon single-deckers between 1981 and 1993:
| Operator | Bodywork | Number of Vehicles | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ipswich Buses | East Lancs (18), Northern Counties (7) | 25 | 1983-1989 |
| Leicester CityBus | Duple (7), East Lancs (9), Northern Counties (7) | 23 | 1981-1993 |
| Hartlepool | Wadham Stringer (6), Northern Counties (6) | 12 | 1983-1985 |
| Chesterfield Transport | East Lancs (4), Marshall (5) | 9 | 1983-1984 |
| Grimsby-Cleethorpes | Wadham Stringer | 4 | 1983 |
| Hyndburn | East Lancs | 2 | 1984-1985 |
Leicester bought the first Falcon in 1981, with Duple Dominant Bus bodywork, and added six more between 1983-1984. Despite selling these to Thamesdown (Swindon) in 1987, Leicester later purchased sixteen more Falcons between 1991-1993, including the last Falcon built.
National Bus Company subsidiary Alder Valley added one Dennis Falcon HC to its fleet in 1983, with Wadham Stringer bodywork of semi-coach specification.
In 1990 and 1993, three British Bus Group subsidiaries purchased Falcon single-deck buses:
| Company | Bodywork | Number of Vehicles | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| London & Country | East Lancs | 10 | 1990 |
| North Western | East Lancs | 8 | 1990 |
| Midland Red North | East Lancs | 9 | 1992-1993 |
[edit] Coaches
In 1982, the National Bus Company bought 10 express coaches with Duple Goldliner IV bodywork to National Express Rapide specification. These were based on the Falcon V chassis. They were split between Western National (5), Yorkshire Traction (2), National Travel (West) (2) and West Yorkshire RCC (1). Unfortunately they proved unreliable and did not last very long in National Express service.
Kowloon Motor Bus purchased 20 coaches based on the Falcon HC chassis in 1985-1986 for airport express services in Hong Kong. They had air conditioned bodywork by Duple Metsec. The last of them was withdrawn in 2001.
[edit] Double-deckers
Only six Falcon V double-deckers were built. The first was used as a demonstrator. Two examples with East Lancs bodywork went to Nottingham in 1982 as part of their evaluation of the various new generation double-deckers then available. High noise levels were one criticism made against them. The final three, with Northern Counties bodywork, went to Greater Manchester PTE in 1984.
[edit] Successor
The Falcon was replaced by the Dennis Lance.
