AEC Q-type

Although based on the Twin Coach, the Q had many differences as compared to it, the most noticeable being whilst the Twin Coach had two engines, hence the name, the AEC Q only had one. This overcame the many complications arising from the need for a second engine.

The London General Omnibus Company received the first Q-type vehicle with a crash gearbox, although all subsequent vehicles had the pre-select version. The engine was available in either petrol or diesel versions and was located longitudinally behind the front axle, intended to be hidden by the staircase in the double-decker version. In order to fit into the space, the engine was tilted to one side and the crankshaft rotated anti-clockwise.^[2] This allowed the driver's cab to be located on the front overhang, with the entrance opposite, even though some body builders didn't use this facility and had a centre entrance. Its modern, full-frontal design, made it look very similar to buses built in the 1950s and 1960s.

The Q failed to attract the attention of the British operators and failed to find a market in the UK, unlike Fageol in the US. One of the reasons was the Q's susceptibility to problems, the most worrying being that the carburettors on the petrol-engined models caught fire.^[1] The recommended solution was just as worrying ... increasing the revs until the fire went out! However, the vehicle was just too revolutionary for the conservative-minded bus industry, with the result was that the Q did not obtain the popularity of the other AEC models, so the project was dropped, last appearing in the 1937 catalogue.

However, London Transport did find the single-deck model useful for its needs and, accordingly, bought over 200 of the diesel-engined version as its first standard bus for Country Bus services. They had centre entrances with sliding passenger doors fitted.^[3] They led full service lives.

One version that was an oddity was the AEC 761T trolleybus version, of which only five were built.^[1]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to AEC Q-type.

• Thackray, Brian (2001). The AEC Story: Part 1. Venture Publications Ltd. ISBN 1-898432-37-6
• Townsin, A. A. (1980). Blue Triangle. Transport Publishing Company. ISBN 0-903839-34-2