Southall's Greatest Triumph: How the AEC AV590 Powered a Nation
Britain’s Fallen Engines
4,308 views
In 1979, the historic Southall factory in West London closed its doors, marking the end of the Associated Equipment Company (AEC) under the management of British Leyland. But the 9.6-litre AV590 diesel engine they forged refused to die. Designed specifically to survive the brutal stop-start abuse of London Transport, the AEC AV590 became the mechanical heartbeat of the capital inside the legendary red Routemaster bus. In this documentary, we explore the rise and fall of this bespoke British engine. Discover how a heavily de-rated, indestructible iron straight-six mastered the streets, how the massive Aldenham Works kept it running indefinitely through a brilliant overhaul system, and why corporate consolidation, government regulations, and the shift towards rear-engined buses ultimately killed the factory but couldn't silence the sound. This is the story of the AEC AV590—the mechanical trust that Britain lost.
#AECAV590, #Routemaster, #LondonTransport, #BritishLeyland, #BritishEngineHistory.
6 Comments
Selling the AEC site for business units and silently passing orders for AEC products onto Leyland.
The new leyland replacement barely lasted 10 years before they were destroyed quietly due to safety concerns, and the Routemaster bought back from china and repainted in their original red. Leyland went broke
as those in the know predicted.
The murder of capitalist AEC would never come back the dream of the far left labour party the costs of labours love of labour party voters who made bankrupt unloved products had yet again driven another nail into
Britain's coffin, of once great companies. Labour has done more damage to british industry than the luffwaffa ever did.
Southall's Greatest Triumph: How the AEC AV590 Powered a Nation
Britain’s Fallen Engines
4,308 views
In 1979, the historic Southall factory in West London closed its doors, marking the end of the Associated Equipment Company (AEC) under the management of British Leyland. But the 9.6-litre AV590 diesel engine they forged refused to die. Designed specifically to survive the brutal stop-start abuse of London Transport, the AEC AV590 became the mechanical heartbeat of the capital inside the legendary red Routemaster bus. In this documentary, we explore the rise and fall of this bespoke British engine. Discover how a heavily de-rated, indestructible iron straight-six mastered the streets, how the massive Aldenham Works kept it running indefinitely through a brilliant overhaul system, and why corporate consolidation, government regulations, and the shift towards rear-engined buses ultimately killed the factory but couldn't silence the sound. This is the story of the AEC AV590—the mechanical trust that Britain lost.
#AECAV590, #Routemaster, #LondonTransport, #BritishLeyland, #BritishEngineHistory.