 Barton had earlier been an engineer at Hornsbys where he had worked on the early development of "oil engines" (he always refused to use the term "diesel").Leylands were purchased from the mid-1930s and made up a large part of the fleet by the beginning of World War II.Starting in 1939, a fleet of Leyland Titan TD5, TD7 and rebodied TD1 double-deckers with stylish, front-entrance, lowbridge bodywork by Duple and Willowbrook was purchased, which appeared very modern by the standards of the day.