These things...

"Telumektar" (telumektar) 05/24/2014 at 18:00 • Filed to: None

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The shifter. Does anyone know how it operates?

It's a pneumocyclic direct-acting semi-auto gearbox developed by Leyland back in the day. I used to see them while travelling on old city-buses but they have now vanished as new buses are mostly automatics.

I always thought they were pretty cool, the gear lever itself is super-short and close to the driver's hand AND it's also a gated shifter, making clickity-clackety noises all the way up to fourth... or fifth.

I think they have some kind of hydraulic linkage to the gearbox itself, which is in the rear in these buses.

I want one.

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > Telumektar 05/24/2014 at 18:05

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"pneumocyclic direct-acting semi-auto gearbox" THIS IS THE sexiest thing I've read in a while. Now I need new trousers.

Telumektar > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh 05/24/2014 at 18:23

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They are like sexy mechanical witchcraft.

Cé hé sin > Telumektar 05/24/2014 at 19:06

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I've been in buses with these. They're crap. Depends on the driver I suppose but I remember horribly jerky changes.

Here's the lever:

Telumektar > Cé hé sin 05/24/2014 at 20:34

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Dog-leg pattern! That's pretty nice.

Cé hé sin > Telumektar 05/25/2014 at 12:08

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I think - bearing in mind how jerky they are - that is some ploy to get the driver to change slowly between first and second.

Telumektar > Cé hé sin 05/25/2014 at 12:34

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it's probably just because 1st is a very low gear in those things, only used when moving rom a complete stop, and they are constantly changing between 2nd and 3rd while moving. Those rev counters go to 5000 tops and I've never seen the revs go beyond 3500 rpm while on a bus, IIRC.

Cé hé sin > Telumektar 05/25/2014 at 16:48

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Are you sure about the 3,500 rpm? Commercial diesels don't usually go much above 2,000.

Telumektar > Cé hé sin 05/25/2014 at 21:28

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Absolutely not. I guessed they would be slower than car engines but I didn't know how low. You must be right

Cé hé sin > Telumektar 05/26/2014 at 05:27

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Yes, the bigger they are the slower they go!

The biggest marine engine around is more than 25,000 litres and produces its 107,000 bhp at just 102 rpm.