A double-deck design that looks almost Wright

摘要

I have always been a great admirer of the products and designs that have come out of the Wrightbus factory in Ballymena. I can fully go along with the need to reduce the depth of the upper deck windows on the Gemini 3 to save weight. I have felt the weight of a standard window glass, and when you multiply that say by about 24, that is a considerable amount of weight, probably second only to the engine, so I can fully appreciate the need for smaller windows. However, the new front on the Gemini 3 and StreetDeck, of which examples have been built for Metro in Belfast and Arriva in Derby, is a different matter. The driver's windscreen and lower front panel are excellent, with good all-round vision, but the upper deck front windscreen, with its large and intrusive corner pillars, restricts forward and side vision for front seated passengers. Two good areas are the glazed staircase panel and the partial glass roof on the latest examples for Lothian. There is more than a passing resemblance to East Lancashire Coachbuilders' Scania OmniDekka, with its six-sided upper screen. Who would have thought Wrightbus would have copied something from East Lancs?