Bus Shite

[Six-cylinder]

WTF?!?!?! Why is there an export E500 sunk in to the ground somewhere in England?

 

9 miles from the Field of Dreams

 

Sharing the site with the NSE is Coulsdon Old Vehicle & Engineering Society (COVES) 

[Guest Hooli]

WTF?!?!?! Why is there an export E500 sunk in to the ground somewhere in England?

 

I went back & looked for a Big Merc saloon until I realised.

[Inspector Morose]

Even more strangely, that one was the chassis and emissions development rig. It used to thunder about all over the country. Never registered and I thought it was long scrapped. Same goes for the E300 too.

The green RM single deck is a bit of a folly. Bought by COVES as a complete RM, it was, erm, modified for use as their mobile workshop/crew bus/jolly machine. If I remember correctly, it's got a high speed diff, Cummins engine and the dash out of something modern. Why? Because they could. Why else? They really are a bunch of extremely talented engineering nut cases.

The RML is, well, an RML. Modernised later in life but still an RML Bloody things.

[chaseracer]

Routemaster_bus_RML2284

[Felly Magic]

Some twunt turned up at the Naaaruch depot open day with a friggin RML, I did not waste memory card space on it. Had a nice ride on the ex Carters Coach Services/Eastern Counties boat engined Greenway, and a Brizzle LS DP/coach. Surprised the heritage liveried Yarmouth based B7TL wasn't there, the rest of the Eastern Counties heritage buses were there. Norwich has borrowed Ipswich's decker to run round alongside the single deck, even though it may fall foul of the Norwich LEZ. I have noticed all Norwich's deckers have piss tanks fitted, even the aged ex London Tridumps, and the B7Ls

[Felly Magic]

A few more shots from yesterday including a repatriated Lodekka camper. The AEC Swift/ECW used to belong to a friend of mine from Wakefield, now lives much closer to it's original home, my mate Nigel Blair and his friend Tony White did a full on rebuild of it, and did the head gasket at least 3 times on it, nearly every time it went on a long run, it would kettle. crappy AH505 lump. They missed a golden opportunity to snap all 3 ECOC dereg liveried buses together. I think the fictitious 4th, an ex LT National has vanished, not seen it in a fair while

 

 

 

[Felly Magic]

I think that trim is like gold dust these days

[83C]

Martyn Hearson at Reliance Bus Works would be the man to speak to. If he doesn't know to or have some, he'll probably know someone who does.

[holbeck]

No spares like that available from Plaxton's themselves? 

[Felly Magic]

Not a chance, Plaxton have changed hands and factory sites, bits for Supremes and Panoramas have been obsolete decades now

[beko1987]

I found myself walking around a school in Chinnor earlier trying to get Charlie to sleep, when I saw this

 

 

Apparently it's been there years, is actually sitting on a metal framework underneath and is plumbed into the mains going by the caravan type plug and lead bolted to its arse, they use it as an outdoor learning place.

 

 

Lucky bastards! Judging by the paint I imagine it was arriva, their our local bunch along with carousel. Arriva have the better routes though.

[Felly Magic]

New to United Auto in the North East so deffo would be ex Arrivashite. Bizarrely today the Mrs was given a bubble wrapped parcel for me from the fitters at her workplace, the front reg plate of a bus I despised with a passion unequalled, a new to Ragecoach London Dennis Dart SLF ALX200 that became 438 in the Stephensons Haverhill fleet

[quicksilver]

It was with Arriva but the last operator was Heyfordian at Bicester and that was their livery for all their Olympian school buses. No further trace since they sold it in 2015 so I guess we now know where it went. Here it is in service with them (different reg but definitely the same bus as they kept that plate and put the original one back on).

 

[beko1987]

Although I'm amazed about the info gained, I'm not surprised!

 

St Andrew's school in Chinnor if it fills a hole in anyone's spreadsheet!

[CreepingJesus]

There is a story behind this contraption, it I forget what it is now!

[Pillock]

B255RAJ

 

 

This 1985 LEYLAND Unknown Unknown on numberplate B255 RAJ was first registered on Saturday 1st of June 1985 near Middlesbrough. It had been previously registered under DF4065, 8548VF, JFG939, ASV603. This bus had 2 previous owners before the current keeper acquired it.It was painted red/cream previously.

[beko1987]

It's now liveried in pogweasel arriva green! With whitewall* tyres

[Guest Hooli]

There is a story behind this contraption, it I forget what it is now!

 

Reminds me of a 1950/60s RAF crew bus, but I don't think it is.

[RoadworkUK]

Apropos of not much, I found myself wondering earlier, are there any Bova Europas left on British roads?

[busmansholiday]

My sister has sent me this picture she took whilst out walking her dog. It's in the back of a car scrap yard near Great Yarmouth and looks like one of the three Marshall bodied single deck Leyland Atlateans they had. Anybody know anything about it or why it's there (she says it's been there some time).

[Pillock]

I put a load of train pics in the open forum from a quick trip to the GCR Nottingham, but there were also a few busses parked up too

 

Red bus.

 

Bus Recovery Shite

 

Why does the front end of this look funny?

 

ARTY FARTY SHITE

 

Some sort of odd one out game.

 

Airport National?

 

Inside a bus.

[busmansholiday]

Nottingham had it's own unique design for the front of its buses. Apparently the destination box was angled slightly downwards to allow intending passengers to read it easier as it approached their bus stop. The big black bumper is a car inspired idea to reduce damage to any pedestrians that may get in the way. Although being hit by around 10 tons of Atlantean doing 30 mph does nobody any good.

Rear shot of the Barton Plaxton bodied leopards reminds me I backed one of those into a wall once. The wall won.

Doubt the National is ex airport, two door ones were quite common.

Like the cab pic of the Barton Leyland Leopard, haven't played with one of those semi auto gear selectors for some years. Favourite trick if the bus wasn't performing well was to get it flat out in third then quickly slot it into second for a couple of seconds then into fourth. Two things could happen, either a big cloud of black smoke from the exhaust and it then went better or a big bang....

[Pillock]

The windscreen and headlamps look different to all the others on the NCT bus. I'm used to seeing their own design with the big bumpers, Iwas brought up on day trips into the city or sitting at my grandparents in Cinderhill watching traffic. Easily pleased me.

 

That almost looks like a facelift, never seen any others like it.

[busmansholiday]

It was the 1978 Motor Show exhibit that had some novel new features but the front was different then (and in different colours). That grill looks familiar but I cannot think what it's off.

[Inspector Morose]

There isn't, that's why. 666 was a one off for the motor show and featured such noveliteies as the alngular front, lcd number display, triple wipers (that'll please Dollywobbler) and other things. It lived a charmed existence right to the end of Atlantean operation at Nottingham and was named by NCT after an enthusiast who, I think, had a terminal illness at the time.

 

The wrecker was built from a Midland Red touring coach. One of several built to replace the cut down D7 tow buses around the company. I bought that same machine after I found it languishing at an operator in Tamworth. All the glass had gone and it was as rough as arseholes but it was bought just to save it from the cutters torch. I remember that the exhaust came up through the floor at the back and through a stainless steel silencer before exiting skywards. On full chat, it sounded glorious! Less glorious was the manual steering and early leopard brakes (IIRC this one was GHA326D). It also had the earlier style of gear change pedestal which was bloody huge and could take the tips of fingers off with ease.

It's time with me was short ( I only bought it to save it) and after a mild tidying up, it was passed on to a friend. It looks like little else was done but I'm glad it's survived.

 

The national looks to be a generic dual door 11.3m one. What is weird is that it's painted in the rare NBC blue livery. Everybody knows the National Bus Company buses in red or green but there was a third, very little used option in that blue. Off the top of my head, there were only three or four (if that) subsidiaries that used that colour, as this is Nottinghamshire, ithis one must be Midland General.

 

Anything else?

[Asimo]

haven't played with one of those semi auto gear selectors for some years. 

 

Reminds me of the notice about "not coasting in neutral" that was displayed where this weird child could see it.

I always wanted to ask the driver to coast in neutral just to see what would happen.....

 

Anyway, I like the way the front of the roof on this is done, a bit locomotive stylee?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1964-BEDFORD-VAL-CHINESE-6-RARE-COACH-FOR-RESTORATION-RUNS-DRIVES-/352153872588?hash=item51fe01a8cc:g:n8sAAOSwrblZpu1y

[CreepingJesus]

Presumably you'd fuck it up quite badly. It's an epicyclic gearbox, and those tend not to like the output shaft driving the works very much. Although saying that, there's plenty of mesh gear boxes that can't take coasting in neutral, because the oil pump runs slow and causes damage, so maybe there's that too.

[Inspector Morose]

Built to go under a low bridge. They has some similarly weird roofed Bristols as well.

 

Thinking of low bridge single deckers, what about this?

[wuvvum]

It was with Arriva but the last operator was Heyfordian at Bicester and that was their livery for all their Olympian school buses. No further trace since they sold it in 2015 so I guess we now know where it went. Here it is in service with them (different reg but definitely the same bus as they kept that plate and put the original one back on).

 

OX_Heyfordian_Bicester_8548VF.jpg

Heyfordian used to run my school buses in the mid-late '80s and I recall their livery being Autoshite colours.

[Inspector Morose]

My sister has sent me this picture she took whilst out walking her dog. It's in the back of a car scrap yard near Great Yarmouth and looks like one of the three Marshall bodied single deck Leyland Atlateans they had. Anybody know anything about it or why it's there (she says it's been there some time).

That looks like GEX740F. It was in preservation but looks to have fallen on hard times of late. Shame, I had a spin in it years ago and it was a rather pleasant thing to drive.