Eastbourne Corporation
1961
AEC Regent V 2D3RV
East Lancashire H32/28R

Having been a satisfied user of the AEC Regent III in its 9613A crash gearbox form, in 1956 Eastbourne Corporation turned to the Regent V D3RV with the dry liner A218 9.6 litre engine, synchromesh gearbox and vacuum brakes. DHC 649-655 had H30/26R bodies from the Corporation’s long favoured supplier, East Lancashire Coachbuilders, but these bodies were equipped with Auster window ventilation throughout. The next Eastbourne Regent V deliveries were of the 30 ft 2D3RV version, now with the wet liner AV590 engine. HJK 156-160 were fitted with East Lancs H32/28R bodies, and again had Auster window vents. The first of this batch, HJK 156, fleet number 56, is seen at the entrance to Eastbourne pier, and the impeccable standard of presentation of the bus ten years after its 1961 delivery is of great credit to the Corporation. This batch of five Regent Vs was withdrawn between 1978 and 1981, No.56 surviving to the end after some twenty years of service.

Photograph and Copy contributed by Roger Cox

28/03/21 – 17:25

Are you sure it was 30′ long? I had thought that all of Eastbourne’s Regent Vs were of the shorter variety; and the seating capacity would tend to support that assumption. Southampton also had short Regent Vs with East Lancs bodies (numbered 343-372), and these seated 66; so the Eastbourne vehicles would have provided very generous leg room if they were 30′ long!

Is the location correct – Bournemouth Pier? The adjacent vehicle also appears to have an Eastbourne registration.

Nigel Frampton

29/03/21 – 07:39

The Eastbourne Regent V’s were all 27ft long. The ‘2’ in the designation means a later model of the D3RV not necessarily 30ft long.

Philip Halstead

30/03/21 – 05:26

My mistake. I stand corrected; thank you gentlemen.

Roger Cox

30/03/21 – 05:27

I can certainly confirm that the setting of the photo is Eastbourne Pier which was the starting point of the Town Tour.
As Philip says all Eastbourne’s Regent V’s were 27ft long as for the designation the number 3 indicates that they were synchromesh manual gearboxes, if the designation had a 2 in that position they would have been the semi automatic Monocontrol gearbox. The 2 in the 2D3RV indicates the later AV590 engine and other changes to update the model, the R indicates right hand drive and the V vacuum brakes.

David Lennard