Buses ECW Eastern Coach Works Lowestoft England UK

ECW Eastern Coach Works Lowestoft England

Eastern Coach Works

A preserved Bristol RE with ECW bodywork.

A Leyland Atlantean AN68/1R with ECW bodywork, built in 1978 (YNO 77S) for Colchester Borough Transport, later converted to an open top bus for City Sightseeing operation in Colchester.

A Bristol Lodekka with ECW bodywork

Eastern Coach Works Ltd was a bus and railbus body building company based in Lowestoft, England.

The company can trace its roots back to 1912, when United Automobile Services was founded in the town to run bus services. United began a coach building business at the Lowestoft site in 1920. In 1931, the East Anglian operations of United were hived off into a new company, Eastern Counties Omnibus Company, and Eastern Counties inherited the coach works – now concentrating on building bus bodies, with a workforce of over 600 people. In July 1936, the coach works were separated into a new company, Eastern Coach Works, which developed into the largest full-time employer in Lowestoft.

History

In May 1940, the factory received orders from the military authorities to cease production. It was thought that, following the outbreak of World War II, the East Coast would be the first target for an invading German army, so all wheeled vehicles were moved away from the site so that they did not fall into enemy hands. As a result of this, 950 staff were laid off. By 1947, though, production was back to pre-war levels.

ECW was nationalised in 1947. For the next 18 years, its business consisted mainly of building bus bodies, which were mounted on Bristol chassis, for state-owned bus operators. In 1965, the state-owned Transport Holding Company sold a 25% share in ECW to Leyland Motors, which enabled ECW to sell to the private sector. During the 1960s, it was common to see a bare bus chassis being driven through town by a goggle-wearing driver, delivering the chassis for a body. In 1969, ECW became part of a 50/50 joint venture between the National Bus Company (successor to the Transport Holding Company) and British Leyland (successor to Leyland Motors).

The materials to build the buses came into the Coachworks via Essex Road at the back of the factory, but the newly built buses were driven out of the big doors at the front. They drove down the short, narrow lane, with no pavements called Eastern Way, on their way to their new depot. Eastern Way used to be called Laundry Lane, but the name was changed to Eastern Way following the opening of Eastern Coachworks.

The joint venture came to an end in 1982, when British Leyland took complete control, and ECW closed in 1987. The site was subsequently demolished to make way for the North Quay Retail Park, which opened in 1990. ECW was one of Lowestoft’s largest employers, with around 1200 staff at its peak.

Products

ECW was probably best known for its close association with Bristol Commercial Vehicles. Amongst the Bristol buses most frequently bodied at Lowestoft were the:

Bristol LH – a small, single deck bus (1970s)

Bristol Lodekka – a front-engined double deck bus (1950s and 1960s)

Bristol RE – a single deck bus (1960s and 1970s)

Bristol VRT – a rear-engined double deck bus (1970s), successor to the Lodekka

1921 ECW 123 United Lowestoft

1927 Dodson ECW

1937 Bristol GO5G ECW H54R W-WY-GO5G

1937 Bristol JO5G ECW B32F BWT-765

1938 Bristol L5G ECW B32F CWT-859

1938 Bristol L5G ECW B32F

1939 1955 Bristol K59 ECW H30 Rebodied in 1955 OWT-201

1939 ECW UK

1941 Bristol ECW UK

1945 Bristol K6A ECW 27-36R GHN840

1945 Bristol ECW UK

1947 Leyland PD1a ECW H30-26R LAE-13

1948 Albion CX19 Venturer + Eastern Coachworks L27-28R body

1948 Albion CX19 Venturer with E.C.W. L27-28R body

1949 Albion 70, right and E.C.W. bodied Bristol NHY939 on the left. The Albion was a CX19 Venturer

1949 Bristol ECW UK

1950 Albion Valiant CX39N Roe South Yorkshire Motors 81 ECW

1950 Bristol ECW UK

1950 Bristol K Lowbridge ECW

1950 Bristol KS5G ECW L27-28R LTA-813

1950 Bristol 2467 ECW UK

1950 Bristol 309 ECW UK

1951 A Royal Blue, Bristol L6G ECW, coach

1951 Bristol LL5G ECW 39seat body

1951 Bristol LL5G V108831 ©buspics.net

1951 ECW Bristol LHT 911

1951 Bristol ECW UK

1952 AEC Matador ECW body V108839 ©buspics.net

1952 Bristol KSW6B ECW H32-28R PHN-809

1952 Bristol LL6B ECW B39RD NFM-46

1952 Bristol ECW UK

1952 Bristol ECW UK MXX 317

1953 GUY GS ECW B26 F MXXX-XXX

1953 GUY GS ECW B26F MXX-343

1953 GUY GS ECW B26F MXX-560

1953, ECW 1299 (OTT 98) Bristol LS6G ©Richard Field

1954 Bristol Lodekka LD6G ECW LD57R KDL-414

1954 Bristol LS68 ECW 39F PNN774

1954 Bristol LWL59 ECW FB39F LAM-107

1954 GUY ECW UK

1954 Red & White ECW, Bristol MW6G DS 758 (SWO 986). ©Richard Field

1955 Bristol ECW UK

1956 ECW Bristol 201 United Countries

1957 Bristol SC4LK ECW B35F 612-JPU

1957 Leyland PD 2-20 ECW H31-28R YWB-294

1958 Bristol SC4LK ECW DP 33F 803-FFM

1959 Bristol ECW UK

1960 Bristol Lodekka FLF6G ECW bodywork

1961 Bristol ECW UK

1961 Bristol ECW UK

1961 Bristol ECW Royal Blue 1299

1961 Bristol Leyland Leopard L1 ECW C41F 1881-WA

1962 Bristol MW6G ECW 39F 7123-LJ

1962 Bristol MW69 ECW C39F

1963 Bristol ECW UK

1964 Bristol RELH69 ECW DP47F AWR-405B

1964 ECW Bristol MW6G CMG 561 (HFM 561D) © Richard Field

1964-Preserved-ECW-Red-White-Bristol-RELH

1965 ECW Bristol RELH6G CRG 106 (AFM 106G) © Richard Field

1965 ECW Hants & Dorset E.C.W. bodied Bristol LH6L NLJ 525M at Jenkins yard on the 11th of May 1986 © Richard Field

1965 Bristol ECW UK

1966 ECW Bristol

1966 Bristol ECW UK

1967 Bristol Royal Blue ECW UK

1968 Bristol RE ECW

1968 Bristol ECW UK

1968 Brist0l ECW UK

1969 Leyland AEC badge to be seen, but A Sabre V8 with ECW coachwork

1969 Bristol RELH6L ECW DP 49F WHW-374H

1969 E.C.W. bodied Bristol RELL6L UHY634H © Richard Field

1969 Bristol ECW 2365 UK

1969 ECW Bristol RELH6G 2380 (OTA 640G) UK © Richard Field

1970 Bristol ECW 2508 UK

1970 ECW Bristol XDL 122L UK

1971 ECW Bristol RELH6G’s, 623-4 (XWN 623-4J) UK © Richard Field

1971 Bristol ECW UK

1974 ECW Hants & Dorset Bristol LD6G SRU 981 UK © Richard Field

1974 ECW Leyland Malta

1975 ECW Leyland UK

1976 Bristol VRLL ECW coach LRN51J with toilet a.o.t. UK

1976 E.C.W. bodied Leyland Leopard 161 (ANA 92Y). Port Talbot, January 17th 1993 © Richard Field

1976 ECW Bristol LH6L 31 (OJD 45R) UK © Richard Field

1976 ECW Leyland Malta

1977 ECW Bristol FLF6G 51 (OPU823D) UK

1978 E.C.W. B51 bodied Leyland Tiger, was new to London Country as TL 36 © Richard Field

1978 ECW South Wales Transport Bristol VRT’s 995-7 (WTH 955-7T) 1993 UK © Richard Field

1978-Bristol ECW-UK

1978 Leyland Atlantean AN68 ECW open topper

1979 ECW Brewer’s Bristol VRT 598 (UAR 598W) was new to Eastern National © Richard Field

1982 E.C.W. bodied Leyland Leopard 8827 (UKE 827X) © Richard Field

1983 Leyland Olympian ECW Ribble

1984 E.C.W. bodied Leyland Olympian 101 (WDL 748) © Richard Field

1985 ECW UK

1986 ECW Leyland UK

1990 Southern Vectis ECW B51 Leyland Leopard

Eastern Coach Works Coaches Card © Malcolm R. White

ECW 1965-87

ECW Buses + Coaches

ECW

coachworks

THE  END

Filed Under: AEC, ALBION, Bristol, BUSES, Coachbuilders, Dodson, ECW, England, GUY,Leyland, Ribble, ROE, UK