Gerry Brooke takes a look at a new book about Bristol's buses

When the first double-decker buses left the factory and took to the roads, they encountered a major problem – they were just too high to get under most railway bridges.

One solution, perhaps the most obvious, was to lower the ceiling on the upper deck.

But even though the engineers managed to reduce the height by about a foot or so, the bench-type seating arrangements upstairs and encroachment into the lower deck proved unworkable.

There just wasn't enough room for the passengers to sit comfortably.

The Bristol Tramways and Carriage Company, then based in Brislington, toiled for many years to overcome the problem.

Instead of looking at the upper deck, engineers thought about lowering the chassis and, in 1949, the first of two prototypes took to the road.

The bus, a great example of Bristol engineering and design, was known as the Bristol Lodekka.

With an overall height of about 13ft 6in, a drop-centre design rear axle allowed a much lower floor on the bottom deck and a conventional layout on the top deck.

Production started in 1954 and the Lodekka soon became a staple of the bus scene. Companies across the UK were soon snapping them up.

One man who remembers the vehicle with great fondness is Brislington-born author and bus enthusiast Martin Curtis.

He told Bristol Times: "My father, Don, worked on the very first prototype at Brislington's Motor Constructional Works. I was a bus enthusiast even before I began working for the old Bristol Omnibus Company in 1972.

"And since 1999, I've been managing director of the Bath Bus Company."

His book about the Lodekka – the sixth he has researched and written – covers the history, design, development and production of the vehicle.

Packed with hundreds of illustrations, it includes chapters on prototypes and trials, pre-production models and then, finally, how the Lodekka fared following the introduction of one- man-operated buses.

Martin, 53, said: "It took me about a year to put together, with the pictures coming from a network of friends."

Although the bus chassis was built in Bristol, Martin recalls how the vehicles were then driven to Lowestoft in East Anglia to have the bodywork fitted.

He said: "The 265-mile trip took two days, and it certainly showed the vehicles were reliable and road-worthy.

"Like all the residents of Brislington, I was familiar with the sight of Lodekkas running around on test.

"Lots of people will remember seeing them driven through Bristol's streets minus their bodywork.

"It was one of the most revolutionary double- decker designs ever seen."

Martin's book is the first to cover the history of the Lodekka in depth.

He explains: "Bristol really did lead the way when it came to lowering the whole height of the bus. Other manufacturers tried, but failed.

"Over the next three or four years, new legislation will mean all buses have to have low floors for easier access.

"Yet, here in Bristol, 60 years ago, they were already pioneering low-floor vehicles."

But as one-man operated buses came onto the market in the 1960s, so the writing was on the wall for the two-man (driver and conductor) Lodekka.

Then, rather unexpectedly, the bus was immortalised in popular British culture by the 1970s comedy series, On The Buses starring Reg Varney, which featured the vehicle.

After their retirement from service, many of the buses survived by being converted into open-top vehicles for seaside or city tour work.

Martin said: "I seem to have tapped into the nostalgia market.

"All my bus books have sold really well – the publishers are quite surprised."

● Bristol Lodekka, by Martin S Curtis is published by Ian Allan. It costs £16.99.