The AEC Bridgemaster was introduced by AEC in 1956 to meet the demand of low-height double-deckers from municipal and independent bus operators across the United Kingdom, which were barred from purchasing the
Bristol Lodekka. It was designed as a fully-integral vehicle, utilising two sub frames like the contemporary
Routemaster. Four pre-production examples were bodied by
Crossley with an aluminium body; production examples bodied by
Park Royal were introduced from 1958 with steel body frames at the request of
British Electric Traction. In 1960 a forward-entrance version with slightly different driveline layout was introduced. A total of 180 were produced before it was superseded by the AEC Renown in 1963.
East Yorkshire Motor Services were the largest customer, purchasing 50. File:AEC Bridgemaster sketch.jpg|AEC Bridgemaster initial styling concept. File:AEC Bridgemaster chassis.jpg|Rear-entrance AEC Bridgemaster chassis layout. File:AEC Bridgemaster body frame.jpg|AEC Bridgemaster body frame. File:AEC Bridgemaster YDH225.jpg|First pre-serial AEC Bridgemaster, registration YDH225, chassis number MB3RA001, bodywork by Crossley with H41/31R layout, entered into service with Walsall in Nov. 1956. File:AEC Bridgemaster 9JML.jpg|Second pre-serial AEC Bridgemaster, registration 9JML, chassis number MB3RA002, bodywork by Crossley with H41/31R layout, in the service of the Birmingham Corporation. ==References==