Seddon Pennine RU

The Seddon Pennine RU was a rear engined single deck bus built by Seddon Diesel Vehicles and later Seddon Atkinson at Oldham, England, between 1969 and 1974. RU stood for rear underfloor, the position of the engine. It was launched in 1969 to compete with the market leader in rear engined single deckers, the Bristol RE, and copied the same sort of Gardner engines and Self-Changing Gears semi-automatic gearbox, but with a simpler straight frame and a straightforward T-drive layout to cut cost and complexity. Buyers could choose a 10.45 litre Gardner 6HLX or an 8.6 litre 6HLW engine, wheelbases of 16 feet 6 inches or 18 feet 6 inches for coachwork of 33 or 36 feet, and in-house Pennine Coachcraft bodywork. The chassis used air operated brakes and polyurethane bushed spring shackles that needed no greasing.