E99945 EFE Road Leyland Atlantean Open Top Devon General Set

New release - pre-orders invited - expected during March 2026. preauthkernow

The well-known bus operator, Devon General, began operating regular open top bus tours of the Torbay area in the summer of 1955 using vehicles converted from conventional double deckers. However, in 1961 these were replaced by a fleet of nine specially built Leyland Atlanteans with Metro-Cammell bodies, each seating 75 passengers.

The nine were named after historical naval and maritime figures such as Sir Francis Drake  and Sir John Hawkins, and soon earned the nickname ‘Sea Dogs’; a term Devon General even adopted for its marketing. In their distinctive cream and red livery, they became a familiar sight on the 12A-12D routes serving Torquay, Paignton, Brixham, Babbacombe and Kingswear, and carried generations of holidaymakers for the next 20 years. They were built as convertibles, with detachable roofs, meaning that they could operate as normal double deckers during the low season.

In January 1971 Devon General became part of the Western National Omnibus Company (itself part of the National Bus Company), and during the next two years the Sea Dogs were repainted into NBC poppy red and white, and also converted to one-man operation. They initially carried Devon General branding under NBC ownership, but this was later superseded by Western National and other NBC liveries as their duties took them further afield into Cornwall and Dorset.

Withdrawal commenced in 1982, and the Sea Dogs went their separate ways, finding use in places including London, Lancashire, East Yorkshire and Glasgow.

This special twin pack is the third special gift set produced under the EFE Road banner and celebrates the golden era of the ‘Sea Dogs’ with two of the vehicles in the popular Devon General cream livery with red bands. The first of these is registration 932GTA ‘Earl Howe’, which is depicted in its original operating condition, sporting the cream coloured wheels that the type entered service with. As fleet number DL932, it is presented as working service 12D to Babbacombe. The second vehicle in the gift set is classmate 930GTA ‘Sir John Hawkins’, which differs from ‘Earl Howe’ in having red wheels and lifeguards; a change made early on by Devon General owing to the dirt build-up on the original cream wheels. The model also represents the dropping of the DL prefix to the fleet numbers, simply being number 930, and working service 12C to Kingswear. The gift set comes with a reproduction of the original Devon General ‘Sea Dog’ information brochure that was printed to coincide with the launch of the fleet into traffic.