AEC Regal IV

The AEC Regal IV was a bus chassis built by AEC from 1949 to 1962 and the company's first mainstream underfloor-engined vehicle. A prototype appeared in 1949 and production began in 1952, the first 25 being built to the then maximum length of 8.4 metres for London Transport before the legal limit rose to 9.1 metres. More than 2,600 were made. London Transport was the biggest buyer with over 700, and British European Airways took 64 as coaches. Production for the British market ended in 1955 when the AEC Reliance arrived, although the Regal IV stayed in production for export into the 1960s, notably to New Zealand, where at least 117 went to cities such as Christchurch and New Plymouth to replace tram networks.