Associated Equipment Company - Definition and Overview

AEC was a United Kingdom based bus manufacturer which built buses from 1912 until 1979. The acronym stood for the Associated Equipment Company, but this name was hardly ever used.

History

The London General Omnibus Company, or LGOC, was founded in 1855 to amalgamate and regulate the horse-drawn omnibus services then operating in London. The company began producing motor omnibuses for its own use in 1910 at works in Blackhorse Lane, Walthamstow, London. In 1912 the Underground Group, which at that time owned most of the London Underground, bought the LGOC. The bus manufacturing elements went on to become AEC, whilst the bus operating elements continued to use the name London General.

AEC had its manufacturing plant at Southall in London and supplied many buses for operation in both London and the rest of the UK. Its most famous model was the Routemaster, built for operation in London and, as of October 2004, still in service there.

AEC was acquired by Leyland Motors in the early 1960s, and built its last buses in 1979.

External links

• Website remembering AEC (http://www.aecsouthall.co.uk/)

Example Usage of Associated