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