The Comet and the Keresley End Comet. T.W.Moore
The Leyland Comet with its American styled rear hinged crocodile jaw type bonnet, was launched at the 1948 Commercial Motor Show. Doug Jack writing in his book, Leyland Bus Mk2. wrote, it was called the Comet as a tribute to the great reputation earned by the same named Leyland tank.
The Comet was a semi forward control chassis…the engine being forward of the driver and not by his side..was thought more suitable for export, its largest order for 180 chassis came from Bombay State Transport. In the UK it was mostly sold to independent operators as coaches, the largest order for 6 came from Birch Bros of London. Douglas Corporation on the Isle of Man had three chassis built as buses, with Park Royal bodies. In total 153 Comet PSVs were registered in the UK
There was a choice of diesel or petrol engines, all UK sales were diesel powered. The CPO1 chassis had 5.08 liter diesel engine the CPP1 a P300 engine in identical chassis, the engine and the 5 speed herical gearbox was flexibly mounted as one unit. The Comet was said to have had a ‘very lively’ performance. The CCP1 and CPO1 were in production until 1951.
Now just what was a herical gearbox.? Surely a type of crashbox or synchromesh unit. Is it the split shift action Dutchman refers to? Can any member of the forum explain ‘herical gearbox’?
No operator in the Coventry area had a Comet, but, at Kerseley End, a Comet is sadly rotting into the ground on a smallholding behind a bungalow. I believe this bus has already been mentioned in the Forum. It was used in the 1960’s around the Nuneaton and Bedworth area as a Parrafin bus, it has a large paraffin tank laying inside it. In the 1960’s of course paraffin heaters were used all over and the demand for paraffin to be delivered to the door was common, hence a van or old coach were converted for use and the ‘paraffin van’ or ‘paraffin bus’ and ‘paraffin man’ were weekly callers. The coach had been painted pink and black for its paraffin bus role.
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I first photographed the Keresley End Comet in February 1980. its reg is LYD 133, and the coach was supplied in 1950 to Berry’s Transport at Bradford on Tone. No further history is known. I returned to photograph it in December 1992, it was almost buried in the winter leafless brambles. The owner had been approached by preservationists, on several occasions but, he just wanted too much money and he has taken no steps to protect it in any way against the weather. In the summer growth it could be completely covered by now and beyond all hope of rescue.
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I think that must have have been an earlier version? The one I rode in definitely had its engine beside the driver, as I found out once when the engine cover flew open while we were travelling at high speed! 
