Engine: Gardner 6LXB
Gearbox: Voith D851 three speed automatic, with integral retarder
Chassis: MCW DR101/17 – MB8469
Seating: H43/28D
New: December 1985 – London Buses LTD (Tottenham Depot)
London Transport ordered 1,440 MCW Metrobuses. These were delivered with Hydraulic braking systems like the London Routemaster, but later converted to air brakes.
Built December 1985, M1424 was the last London Transport MCW Metrobus to enter service. M1425 – 40 entered in January 1986 where as M1424 entered in February 1986 at Tottenham Depot.
Privatisation
Sell-off of the London Buses companies in 1994 saw the Metrobuses go to most of the new companies, Leaside Buses operated to the north and north-east of London, from depots at Tottenham, Enfield, Clapton, Wood Green and Palmers Green. The company was bought by the Cowie Group in September 1994. It had about 150 Metrobuses.
The Cowie group started to modify the livery in 1997, adding yellow swept-up stripes at the rear and a yellow bar across the front, with Cowie Leaside fleetnames. For some reason or other the public was not over-enamoured of the name Cowie Buses. The Group name was changed to Arriva in October 1997 and became Arriva London North and M1424 received Arriva’s Red Cowie Horns livery.
January 2001 saw the end of M1424 working in London and was sold to Ensign for re sale.
Bought by Halifax Joint Committee the same month, it was repainted into the Halifax MacKenzie livery before entering service and given fleet number 10. Unlike most of the other buses acquiring fleet numbers straight from the registration plate, 10 was found by adding the registration numbers together 4+2+4=10
On the 21st January 2010, C424 BUV was withdrawn. It was bought for preservation on the 29th November 2012.
In October 2019 the restoration was finally completed.
