Falkirk’s Finest From EFE Road
Today (Saturday 11th October 2025), Bachmann Europe Plc has unveiled four new 1:76 scale Alexander Y-Type buses as part of its popular EFE Road range of diecast collectables. The announcement was made at the Isle of Wight Bus Museum’s annual ‘Wightrider’ event.
The Alexander Y-Type buses and coaches were manufactured by Walter Alexander & Co (Coachbuilders) Ltd at its works in Falkirk, Scotland. The prototypes first appeared in 1961, with the first production versions entering service two years later. Some 3,266 production examples were constructed over the next 20 years, including small window buses and large window coaches in both long and short bodied variants. Over 2,800 of those constructed were delivered to the Scottish Bus Group and its predecessors.
It was a very versatile body design, capable of being built on a wide range of chassis types. The most notable of these was the Leyland Leopard, but the bodies were also carried on the AEC Reliance, the Seddon Pennine 7, and the Ford R series amongst others. It was also very adaptable thanks to its modular construction, and Alexander could offer various options according to the customer’s requirements. These included single piece, 2-leaf or 4-leaf entrance doors, as well as the various seating configurations depending on its purpose.
The front face of the Y-Type changed a few times during its 20-year construction, with different grille and headlight arrangements appearing as the design evolved. This saw it become the AY or AYS Type in 1971 – the ‘A’ denoting its new alloy construction, and the ‘S’ signifying the bus specification. This change included the introduction of a new front end design, typically with twin grilles in an elongated moulding. In 1983, the Y-Type made way for Alexander’s P Type, a lighter and more modern successor, but continued to give good service well into the 2000s.
The new models are based on EFE Road’s updated AY-Type coach tooling, and now feature such enhancements as mirrors and opaque glazed roof vents. Options of 2-leaf or 4-leaf doors are also offered, according to the prototype.
The new models are:
E39102 – Alexander Y-Type Strathtay Scottish SCS360M Service 15 St. Fillans
This model depicts Strathtay Scottish fleet number SL 12, registration SCS360M; an AY-Type bodied Leyland Leopard built in 1975. It was part of a batch of 43 dual purpose 49-seaters that originally operated with Western SMT from new. The model captures it during its time with Strathtay Scottish, wearing full orange and blue livery, complete with 2-leaf doors, as working Service 15 to St. Fillans in Perthshire.
E39103 – Alexander Y-Type Highland Scottish SCS337M Service 25 Inverness
Our model represents registration SCS337M, an AY-Type bodied Leyland Leopard built in 1974 as part of a batch of 43 dual purpose 49-seaters for Western SMT. This example later became part of the Highland Scottish fleet, operating as number L53. The model depicts it in its circa 1984 condition, again with 2-leaf doors, as working Service 25 to Inverness.
E39104 – Alexander Y-Type PMT NBC FEH168J Service 23 Hanley
Potteries Motor Traction, or PMT, had some 25 Y-Types on its books, taking delivery of the last six in 1971. One of these was registration FEH168J, a dual purpose 49-seat AY-Type with 2-leaf doors, built on an AEC Reliance chassis. Our model depicts this bus as operating under National Bus Company ownership as PMT No. 168, carrying red and white livery and working Service 23 to Hanley around 1976.
E39201 – Alexander Y-Type Stevensons of Uttoxeter MFR18P Service X38 Burton
AY-Type registration MFR18P was built for Lancaster City Council in 1976 on a Leyland Leopard chassis with 4-leaf doors. It later joined the Stevensons of Uttoxeter fleet and carried a variation of the in-house yellow livery advertising Stevensons Express Services to Blackpool, North Wales, Skegness and the South Coast. Our model is finished in its 1984 condition as fleet number 18 and working service X38 to Burton via Lichfield.
The four models are expected to reach retailers during December 2025 and have an RRP of £46.95.
In addition to the above, EFE Road has worked with model bus retailer, TTC Diecast, to produce two additional exclusive edition Alexander Y-Types based on the same tooling. These are:
See TTCDiecast.com for more information about these two models.
