Buses of my childhood. Shite ones obviously

[Ditchfinder General]

A small independent (now a fair sized company part of the Wellglade Group) called TM Travel had the contract for our school initially and they basically put on it whatever was left at the back of the yard at 2.30 in the afternoon. A pictoral record is included below for your viewing pleasure*. 

 

 

Then one day this turned up in full Chesterfield Transport heritage colours. It was owned by a local preservation group who kept some vehicles at their depot and I can only think that this was the only serviceable bus available. Keep in mind, this was in 2002!

 

 

Then the contract passed over to Johnsons of Hodthorpe, renowned for their fetish for Bristol VRs, and from then on in it was as succession of elderly Series II examples:

 

 

And then if you were really lucky, one of their Series I's that they kept for ages.

 

 

[sawdustman]

I used to love going home from school on one of these Optare Deltas:

 

 

If only because everyone who worked for Walls on the afternoon shift used to thrash the living daylights out of them.

 

My favourite bus was the Bristol VR though, because the engine made a good racket.

 

 

These made a good noise as well:

 

 

Special mention goes to UK North though. For years they ran a fleet of Atlanteans like this one:

 

 

These were some of the most beaten up knackered examples you'd ever dare get on. But they employed one driver who always brought his mate along to guard their sound system which was stuck in that under stairs bit.

It was great because they'd always be playing drum n' bass records so loud you'd hardly be able to hear your mate shout. You could hear whether it was the 'jungle bus' from 100 yards away. 

[wuvvum]

That'd be an East Lancs Greenway. Basically a National with new front panels, side panels and windows. Midland Red had a pair in Shrewsbury, PUK 637R & PUK 652R.

 

Yep, that was it.  In fact here is the very bus: