II was launched in 1993. Visually similar in design to its competitor, the Optare Spectra, the Palatine II had a revised front fascia which also featured a curved windscreen and a rounded roofline, sharing similar design cues with the single-decker Northern Counties Paladin; wider and deeper windows and more interior headroom. The first-generation 'Countybus' was subsequently renamed the 'Palatine' and continued to be sold alongside the Palatine II as a low-cost alternative. MTL Trust Holdings were a notable operator, purchasing an initial batch of 36 high-specification Palatine IIs in 1996 for both the 'Silver Service' through the Mersey Tunnels and for the Southport operation. Another batch of 22, branded as 'The Millennium Fleet', entered service in Merseyside in 1998. In London, the Palatine II proved less popular than the Palatine I. However, Capital Citybus were early adopters of the Palatine II, ordering the only Leyland Olympian to receive a Palatine II body, as well as further examples on the Volvo Olympian and Dennis Arrow chassis. CentreWest Buses purchased 15 Palatine IIs on Volvo Olympian chassis for the 607 Express in 1996, while the Cowie Group purchased 13 Palatines IIs on the DAF DB250 chassis in January 1996, with an additional two being acquired from dealer stock in 1999, by which point Cowie London had become Arriva London. Additional Palatine IIs were purchased by London General, who purchased only 27 of the type, Armchair Passenger Transport, Harris Bus and London Suburban. Other operators of the Palatine II on the Volvo Olympian chassis include Go North East, who purchased a total of 23 in 1997; Northumbria Motor Services, who took eight in 1994; East Yorkshire Motor Services, who took six in 1995, and Eastbourne Buses, who purchased the first Palatine II bodied on the DAF chassis. Gallery References External links Double-decker buses Open-top buses Palatine Tri-axle buses Vehicles introduced in 1988