[One of a Kind!] Mercedes-Benz O405G Alexander Cityranger | K1GRT | Grampian | Preserved

In one of her first passenger carrying runs in over a decade Grampian Regional Transports one of a kind Mercedes O405G (Voith) with Alexander Cityranger bodywork K1GRT / 10046 is seen here on a tour during the Aberdeen & District Transport Preservation Trust's annual open day in July 2019. K1GRT is a very special and unique vehicle, being the only Mercedes-Benz O405G to enter service in the UK, in addition she is one of only two Alexander Cityrangers built and the only Articulated bus ever bodied in Scotland by Alexander (later Transbus, now ADL). The Alexander Cityranger was an interesting concept, with it being based off the familiar PS Type and using some parts from the Strider. In all 2 were built, Articulated K1GRT and rigid K473EDT. K1GRT was kitted out with Bonded Glazing, Air-Conditioning, Electronic Flip-dot displays, Modular seating (very uncommon at this point), and electronic interior displays. While only 2 Cityrangers were built, GRT did order a further 22 for their Aberdeen and Midland Bluebird operations, but due to issues at Alexander at the time the contract ended up going to WrightBus who created their own Wright Cityranger product using their existing Wright Endurance body as a base and sharing many of the features that the Alexander Cityranger offered. Both the Alexander & Wrightbus Cityrangers never caught on with only 24 being built between the two of them. K1GRT was always a troubled bus, with her being a one off mechanical issues were inevitable and common. Despite this she spent many times on loan during her 17 year service life, perhaps most notably in Leeds in Spring 1999 prior to them ordering a batch of their own Artics and then later the Streetcar. In 2002 she was repainted in to the very loathsome Barbie 2 livery, along with that when the voyager fleet numbers came along in July 2003 she was renumbered from 1 to 10046. As the years went on 10046 as she was now known was seen less and less in service before in early 2007 becoming a reserve bus, by 2009 she had became withdrawn. In July 2009 she entered preservation with Aberdeen & District Preservation Trust and was returned to original condition as shown here, sadly the issues that plagued her in service life also plagued her in preservation as such she spent almost a decade off the road (albeit still in working order) before being reinstated with a fresh MOT in June 2019, her first MOT pass since 2008! For me her return to the road was by far the highlight of the day and it was great to get a chance to ride a bus i had grown up with for the first time in many years. Additional Information on the K1GRT: Owner: Aberdeen & District Transport Preservation Trust Home Depot: The Bus Collection At Alford Chassis Type: Mercedes-Benz O405G Chassis Number: 357211-21-068901 Body Type: Alexander CityRanger (Articulated) Body Number: Ar ----/692/1 (?) Interior Layout: AB60T Date of registration: November 1992 Excuse the audio error at 4:15 - 6:10, i was going to edit this out but decided to keep it in so the full journey is on video. Video date: 07/07/2019 ©Jordan Adam