Bus Shite

[Felly Magic]

Leeds is aparently putting in a huge LEZ zone in just over 2 years time, and all buses & coaches going in it must meet Euro 6, it's going to piss off Ian Tetley as his yard is slap bang in the middle of the LEZ zone

[busmansholiday]

Leeds is aparently putting in a huge LEZ zone in just over 2 years time, and all buses & coaches going in it must meet Euro 6, it's going to piss off Ian Tetley as his yard is slap bang in the middle of the LEZ zone

Yep, and how are Northern Rail going to get away with operating the bags of 80's shit called Splinters ? . Oh sorry, trains don't count do they...

[Guest Hooli]

This seems better here than the ebay thread.

 

I've got a great idea lads.... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1964-BEDFORD-VAL-CHINESE-6-RARE-COACH-FOR-RESTORATION-RUNS-DRIVES/352233710573?hash=item5202c3e3ed%3Ag%3An8sAAOSwrblZpu1y

[Yoss]

I popped in to book my bus in for it's MOT last week and this was in the yard.

I like Titans, always preferred them to the Metrobuses when they were basically the only two types of opo bus in London.

 

I know there's a couple preserved but unfortunately I think this is the sort of thing destined for most survivors.

[cms206]

I always liked driving Metrobuses, they stuck to the road like shit to a bedsheet.

 

Never managed to drive a good Titan, they've always been quite tired.

 

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[Felly Magic]

Still in full York Pullman livery is that Titan, they operated a mixed bag of motors including Metrobuses

 

 

 

[CreepingJesus]

Wonder what was going on there this afternoon: a couple of very shiny McGill's liveried Merc Citaros (not on fire or taking a header into someone's garden, which is a start) heading east at Harthill services. I thought trade plates, but the plates were blue and foreign, possibly Eastern European like the blokes driving them. I did wonder if the brothers were making Pedro Cashmachine work his fare back to Portugal, but I'm not sure that's right.

Any ideas, particularly our AndyCMS, the Bard of Barrhead?

[cms206]

On delivery from Mercedes themselves from wherever Citaros are built; think these are the long awaited batch for Inchinnan for the 23/X23 corridor.

 

I'd suspect they're heading for PDI at Western Commercial in Broxburn 'cos WC at Govan are fucking useless.

 

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[rml2345]

B15 Titans. I reckon they were the last bus designed by LT to their own specification... [/Controversial]

[Eddie Honda]

This mornings wagon:

 

 

 

Misery.

[busmansholiday]

B15 Titans. I reckon they were the last bus designed by LT to their own specification... [/Controversial]

No, the B15 was Leyland's one size fits all 'decker like the National was their single deck version. Admittedly, the integral construction fitted LT's overall programme perfectly but by the time they had sorted out the strikes at Park Royal and moved production to Workington Aldenham was on its way out.

 

MASS, of Jolly Green Giant fame, operated a large number of these at one point. I borrowed the only one in South Yorkshire the didn't own, an ex GM Gardner engined one for an enthusiasts tour that was visiting there. Drove well enough, even got up East Bank Road without too much drama. Best thing was fuel consumption, it hardly used any, certainly pissed of my mate on how few points he got on his BP card.

[Cleon-Fonte]

Surely one of the major failures of the Titan was that it was designed very much with London in mind, and therefore was too complex and over-engineered for most provincial operators? The lack of alternative body options and continual production delays were also factors, but London Transport had played an integral part in the Titan's development and the resulting bus was largely designed around their whims (largely to avoid a repeat of the DMS disaster).

 

It was all for nothing though as LT eventually discovered that the bus they really wanted was the Ailsa-Volvo, just as it was going out of production.

[busmansholiday]

^^^^^^ Yes, the lack of body options, the problems with Nationals that it was based around and it was designed around the needs of London pissed off most other operators. The Metroscania / Metrobus, Dennis Dominator, Fodern ( OK so that failed), Ailsa wouldn't have been developed if BL could have seen the wood for the trees.

 

The Ailsa might have been an engineer's dream, but they are bloody noisy to drive, have a slightly less cramped cab and entry than a Wulfronian and have, if I remember correctly, an alternator attached to the i/p shaft of the box, so if you sit in traffic in gear, it doesn't charge.

[Pillock]

Brummingham, today. Seems a bit chilly to have the roof down TBH. The irony of the advert on the side is not lost on me though.

 

 

 

[Guest Hooli]

Someone is getting an interview without biscuits.

[catsinthewelder]

It must be easy to do when they nearly fit but did you see what he drove under?

 

 

 

 

 

I'd struggle to get my work van through there.

[Guest Hooli]

Bloody idiot, it's impossible to forget ya driving a decker. There is no head room & signs telling you how tall it is.

 

Why was he off route anyway?

[Felly Magic]

Shortcut when running light probably, single decks won't fit under there FFS. What a cunting moron that driver is. As an ex PCV driver these incidents boil my piss. In other bus news, Blackpool based nutjob/crook Phillip Higgs has finally been given the order to shut down next Feb by the courts, he was actually stalking former head traffic commissioner Beverley Bell by having a private investigator following her. He's ripped off rather a lot of people over the years, and what I think the beak should have done was invite all his victims to meet with him in a locked room, armed with a set of power tools and blunt instuments

[Zelandeth]

Merc 709.  Utter misery (especially when Bluebird used to stick one on the afternoon peak 307 to Inverurie - one of the busiest commuter services! - for some reason).  However surely one of the most utterly indestructible vehicles ever made.  Well... except for the ones with the Alison self-destructing autobox fitted anyway.  Though they do make some wonderfully bizarre noises even when working right.

 

The engine noise from an old 709 is one of "those" things that always sticks with me.  It's an awful racket, but strangely pleasing in its brutal mechanical honesty.  It's also one of those noises which says "this thing has been to the moon and back and been serviced twice.  It doesn't care though and will still keep going till doomsday."

 

Strangely, I've never driven a 709 based bus!  Van, yes.  Camper, yes...bus, nope!

 

The Volvo B10M PS last page is an ex-Aberdeen bus too.

[Soap Distant]

Shortcut when running light probably, single decks won't fit under there FFS. What a cunting moron that driver is.

Thanks for your constructive criticism. For you information it is part of a single deck bus route. Strangely enough operated from the same garage the driver was running private back towards. People make mistakes, people have conditions that could have allowed their concentration to slip. Unfortunately I am not party to the full information so I think I'd rather not publicly cast any judgement just yet.

[Zelandeth]

It shouldn't happen, but it does.

 

Just glad he (or she) was running light by the sound of it so no passengers were up there.

 

Still mind the first time I took a decker under a bridge - I knew it fit with a couple of feet clearance - still damn near pissed myself.  Really doesn't look tall enough from the driver's seat...

[Felly Magic]

Someone is making excuses for a driver being an idiot. There are never any excuses for bridge strikes, it is clearly marked in the cab by law of any tall vehicle, 14ft6 in this case, and the driver will have been trained to know the low bridges in the area, and what fits & what wont. It is time they made bridge strikes an automatic ban, going by the damage they hit the bridge at speed, they are facing a minimum dangerous driving charge, and a visit in front of the traffic commissioner, who fingers crossed will revoke their licence. The cost of bridge strikes is enormous, it ties up the police, fire service and Network Rail, and can cause knock on delays for lengthy periods, all this gets dumped on to the bus operator, who the likes of NXWM are self insured, the company could even be called to a public enquiry to explain why this happened. TCs don't like bridge strikes. It's not a simple mistake on the driver's part, it's criminal negligence.  

[Zelandeth]

See also wheel loss incidents.  They just shouldn't happen.

[CreepingJesus]

There's an infamous bridge like that on Dunnikier Rd in Krkcaldy, that some single deckers - but not all -would fit under, and Fife Scottish/Stagecoach had a few bridge strikes, even with express coaches deployed on urban duties. Only the low floors were fine. It got to the point where there was a company wide edict that even approaching the thing was a disciplinary matter, and all the routes were redrawn to completely avoid it. This was after a big meeting with the TC, the police, and Network Rail, who were all sick of it by then.

 

And yes, wheel losses do just happen. Even to the best drivers. There's one particular make of truck on one particular fleet, that I take a hammer and ping the nuts, because I had it (nearly) happen to me, despite visually checking, and complaining of wandering steering for days. That particular brand of truck shed both drive axle wheels on one side after a wheel bearing change. This happened to a mate of mine who's as good a driver as any.

With the best will in the world, some defect issues are just unavoidable.

[Zelandeth]

Every day's a school day as they say!

 

Only have come across it happening twice in our area, and those were both with operators who had no idea what the term maintenance actually was.  The fact that the wheels involved in both incidents were wearing tyres that were down to the braiding said a lot I think...

[Felly Magic]

I remember Arriva up north had a B10B shed both rear wheels on one side, and they had been recently torqued up, turned out the fitter's torque wrench was seriously gubbed! A big oops as the wheels hit a Landy Disco. 

[martc]

 

[cms206]

Every day's a school day as they say!

 

Only have come across it happening twice in our area, and those were both with operators who had no idea what the term maintenance actually was. The fact that the wheels involved in both incidents were wearing tyres that were down to the braiding said a lot I think...

Stagecoach had a run of bad luck on Optare Solos losing wheels, nothing to do with maintainance just a characteristic of the vehicle unfortunately; Merc Varios jettison brake pads too, reknowned for it.

 

We used to run a Merc 811D that loosened it's nearside rear wheels with monotonous regularity, even on a daily retorque. They'd be fine for weeks then boom - hanging off.

 

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[Soap Distant]

Some of Dublins finest_20171215_164240.JPG

 

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The windscreen on that looks weird. Dublin only spec or what?

[Zelandeth]

Stagecoach had a run of bad luck on Optare Solos losing wheels, nothing to do with maintainance just a characteristic of the vehicle unfortunately; Merc Varios jettison brake pads too, reknowned for it.

 

We used to run a Merc 811D that loosened it's nearside rear wheels with monotonous regularity, even on a daily retorque. They'd be fine for weeks then boom - hanging off.

 

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We had a Solo running one one of our supported services for a while which seemed to be off the road every other day due to punctures.

 

I do wonder how much that and wheel issues stem from the regularity with which the less careful driver's forget the front wheels in a Solo are right out front and clobber the kerb on tight turns.  I know I've seen it happen at least a dozen times on the route we had the vehicle on...never had a bit of trouble with the ratty old Merc 709 Beaver (even with the terrifying clutch judder)...