Terror to buses

in service change was given but thereafter it went to exact fare.” So why the nickname Jumbo? Derek said: “Prior to 1964 the maximum seating capacity of a Dundee bus was 56 seats.

“However, with the advent of new front entrance, rear-engine buses, the capacity jumped to 78.

“This remained the maximum until 1972 when this new group of Fleetlines arrived that could carry 83 passengers, which was a far cry from the old standard capacity.”

Gang warfare still ruled the streets and one of the 25 new buses was subject to a serious arson attack while relatively new and on service to Charleston on July 10 1973.

The driver unwittingly drove the bus into the Shore Terrace bus stance in the city centre unaware that the top deck of the bus was actually alight.

Fortunately, the bus was constructed with fire retardant deck tread between the floor.

However, such was the fire damage that the bus actually received a new body before re-entering service after being out of action for two years.

A further 15 Jumbos would join the fleet in 1975.

These were the last buses to be bought by Dundee Corporation.

They were also the last Daimler Fleetlines to be bought by either Dundee or its successor, Tayside Regional Council, which took over in 1975.

Derek is a volunteer at the Dundee Museum of Transport and his latest book follows the success of Dundee Buses – From Green to Blue, which was released in 2020.

Copies of Dundee Buses – Going Back to our Routes, priced £19.95, are available now from the Dundee Museum of Transport website. Both books can also be bought together for £35 in a special deal.

A bus left burned out after a fire was started on board the Charleston service in 1973.

Jumbo buses, with the colour changing from green to blue when the regional council took over in 1975. Below, Kirkton shops hit by vandals in 1969.