GFP Tourisme 8323 PL 59 - March 2002
You'll still find S-series buses and coaches all over France. They are tough, simple to repair and cheap to operate, so they'll probably be around for a while yet. Despite the relatively high level of pollutants kicked out by their ancient MAN engines, they're still hard to beat as cheap transport for schools work. This one is an S53R in 'luxe 1' form, with two-leaf front doorway and outward-opening emergency doorway at the rear. It has the large black radiator grille found on the 'R' generation of this type. It belongs to Nord independent GFP Tourisme and was photographed at rest between jobs in Calais.

The story of the S-series starts just after World War II when Renault introduced the R4190 model, an underfloor-engined design with single rear wheels for suburban, rural bus or coach work. The R4190 was subsequently improved, becoming first the R4191 then the R4231. By 1960, Renault had acquired the Chausson bus manufacturer and the improved range was being marketed as the Saviem-Chausson SC1 and SC2.

In 1964, yet another series of improvements were added. By this time, use of the Chausson name had been dropped, and the bus became the Saviem S-series. Three versions were offered - the S45 (a 10.6m coach/rural bus), the S53 (an 11m coach/rural bus) and the S105 (an 11m urban/suburban bus). All three models shared the same wheelbase length, with the S45 having a shorter rear overhang. The S105 differed in that the body was marginally taller, increasing interior headroom to allow standing passengers, although without seeing the two side-by-side it can be difficult to tell the difference. Initially the range used Renault's own engines, with a more powerful version of the S45 (the S45GT, with MAN engine) offered for touring work. Before long, the MAN engine became standard and the models in the range became the S45GT and the MAN-powered S53M and S105M. Various options were offered - vehicles could be supplied with a shallow windscreen with destination box above, or with a taller windscreen and no destination display. S45s and S53s tended to be supplied with a three-leaf front doorway and outward-swinging manual 'emergency' door at the rear, although a proper rear door was an option. S105s could be two door (front / rear or front / centre) or three door, and could have three or four-leaf doors. Roof-mounted luggage racks, which looked pretty anachronistic by the 1970s, were also optional.

Pre-1977 S-series buses are pretty rare nowadays, however their simplicity and tendency to go on forever mean that you might find occasional examples still in use. On a visit to Perpignan in 1999 I was surprised to find quite a number of S45GTs and S53Ms still providing schools transport for pupils travelling into town from outlying villages. 

Voyages Goujeau 4985 SG 17 and others - July 1987
Yes, I know it's an ancient photo, but this shot does show what the pre-restyling versions of the S-series looked like, with their smaller windows and heavier roofline. These four vehicles are S53Ms, and were photographed on the premises of a small operator somewhere in the Charente-Maritime département - I can't remember where exactly.  

In 1977, the range was restyled again. There was now a new body design with much taller windows and a flatter roof, together with a large, black plastic front radiator grille. The increased height of the body allowed the urban bus model to share the same bodyshell as the rural bus/coach versions. Mechanically, the range remained much the same as before - the model continued to have a good reputation for reliability and mechanical simplicity so Saviem left well alone.

Yet again, a bewildering range of options were offered. Three basic models remained available - the S45R 10.6m rural bus/coach, the S53R 11m rural bus/coach and the S105R 11m bus. Options available were as follows:

• S45R or S53R 'standard 1' :- Shallow front windscreen with destination box above. Two-leaf front door and manual emergency door at rear. 45 seats (S45R) or 49 seats (S53R). Rear luggage boot.
• S53R 'standard 2' :- Shallow front windscreen with destination box above. Two-leaf front door and manual emergency door at rear. 45 seats (S45R) or 49 seats (S53R). Rear luggage boot.
• S45R or S53R 'luxe 1' :- Deep front windscreen with no destination box (or blind box fitted behind windscreen). Two-leaf front door and manual emergency door at rear. 45 seats (S45R) or 49 seats (S53R). Rear luggage boot.
• S53R 'luxe 2' :- Deep front windscreen with no destination box (or blind box fitted behind windscreen). Two-leaf front and rear door and manual emergency door at rear. 47 seats. Rear luggage boot.
• S53R 'suburbain PM' :- Shallow or deep front windscreen. Two-leaf front and centre doors. 45 seats. Rear luggage boot.
• S53R 'suburbain PS' :- Shallow or deep front windscreen. Two-leaf front and rear doors. Lowered floor. 42 seats. No boot.
• S105R :- Shallow front windscreen with destination box above (deep screen optional). Available with two-leaf doors front and rear, four-leaf doors front and centre or four-leaf doors front, centre and rear. Extended front overhang to accommodate four leaf doorway. No boot. Revised rear end incorporating quarterlight windows in corner pillars.
• S105R RA :- Shallow front windscreen with destination box above (deep screen optional). Available with two-leaf doors front and rear, or four-leaf door at rear and two-leaf doors front and centre. No boot. Revised rear end incorporating quarterlight windows in corner pillars.

By the late 1970s, interest in vehicles smaller than 11m for coach and interurban bus work had waned - S45Rs are therefore relatively uncommon, however the short length remained in production as it was the favoured choice of the French armed forces and police. S53Rs however, sold in their thousands. S105Rs also became a common sight, mainly on suburban bus work. From 1980, Saviem was merged with Berliet to form Renault Véhicules Industriels. As with all other buses in the Saviem and Berliet ranges, the Renault diamond replaced the Saviem name on the front of the bus.

Despite the age of the design, S-series buses continued to sell strongly throughout the 1980s. Renault facelifted the model yet again in 1987, fitting a new front panel and renaming the models S45RX, S53RX and S105RX. Front panels are however interchangeable between 'R' and 'RX' variants - what looks like an 'RX' may in fact turn out to be an 'R' with a new front end.

CTS, Strasbourg no. 249 (2691 WE 67) - September 2001
The S-series in its final form. CTS no. 249 is an S53RX in its 'suburbain PM' variant. S-series buses are not ordinarily a feature of major urban fleets but CTS is hardly an ordinary fleet - as well as urban services within the city of Strasbourg, CTS operate well outside the city boundaries on rural services under the Réseau 67 banner. S53RXs could be found in both the CTS urban fleet and the Réseau 67 fleet, but more recent deliveries of new buses mean that only a handful now remain. 249 was resting at the Baggarsee interchange when photographed.

CTS, Strasbourg no. 243 (9704 VW 67) - September 2001
Another of CTS' Renault S53RX buses, showing the two leaf doorways and rear end incorporating a luggage boot. S105Rs and S105RXs have a different rear end design with no boot and curved quarterlight windows either side of the main rear window.

The 1990s dawned with the ageing S-series still in full production. Despite the model still being a reliable and trusty workhorse, it was now a pretty antique design - noisy and slow to travel on, and lacking the creature comforts of more modern machinery. Also, since production of the SC10R ceased in 1989, the S-series was now the only Renault design still using MAN's venerable DO846 engine. This engine dated back to the 1960s and was unable to meet new EC emissions regulations. Clearly it was not worth reengineering the S-series to take a newer power plant, or to fit antilock brakes which would soon also be required under EC regulations. So, when the new regulations came into force in October 1993, S-series production finally ceased. The model's successor, the Tracer, had by this time been in production for some months.

S-series buses and coaches of the 'R' and 'RX' generations can still be seen just about everywhere in France. They're still cheap to run and maintain, so they're likely to continue in use for some time to come.

CFC, Cambrai no. 63 (2173 TJ 59) - May 2000
Alongside one of the same company's Van Hool A308 low-floor midibuses, CFC's S105RX looks positively antique. Being an underfloor-engined design, the S-series doesn't exactly represent the cutting edge of low-floor technology... As a result, they tend not to be found in major urban fleets these days. Small towns like Cambrai are probably the best places to track S105Rs and S105RXs down. CFC tend to use slipboards for route details, so in this case the operator did not choose to specify a destination box.