Bus Shite

[Felly Magic]

Highlight of the Running Day at the Museum today was a ride on an Ailsa Volvo (ex WMPTE 4738) . 55mph on the new two-lane road betweenChasewater Heath station and Brownhills with the 'whistle' on full song is probably the most fun that you can have with your trousers on

 

My mate Keith's motor, he was letting someone else do the driving, for me, the Ailsa has to be the best bus from the 70s, everything else just seemed a bit limp, especially the Bristol Very Rubbish(terrible), I love seeing veg gnash their teeth when I rightly point out how utterly half arsed that bus was. I, like the wobbler have driven a prserved es Pennine of Skipton motor, BTL485X, a late ish supreme IV Leopards with a Power Plus in, and it goes like a stabbed rat, stopping however, you need to throw an anchor out the back as it has no retarder, that is now VOR with cooling issues, i.e the rad does a good job as a colander, and the owner is busy having fun with their LT55/Optare. As far as preserved vehicle collections go, heirs is very varied, a basket case Duple Bedford SB/Vega petrol, Fordson Thames/Duple Yeoman, Freight Rover Sherpa Carlyle, Iveco Daily/Robin Hood 2 City Pacers, the Leopard, and a new to WYPTE Land Rover service van, plus an AEC Regent V Orion 30 footer front entrance, talk about varied. Jo & Simon who own that fleet are both bonkers, and if you ever meet Simon, you will not be able to understand a word, as he has Morleyturbowobblegob syndeome, which seems to be common. His dad is just as bad 

[STUNO]

Properly back on the school bus run this week. My transport is a 1996 Optare Excel, Haven't counted the seats or checked what powers it yet.

All I know is that the previous driver left it filthy inside. That is being sorted ! They also have a couple of Isuzus which are trucks with a bus body behind the cab with a hole cut between the two. Also a rear overhang of about 3 metres. Photo from the innerned.

 

[busmansholiday]

Have some Greek shite.

This was built like this for Milan if my friend is correct.

My guess is that this Tema Safari was modified with a chain saw.

Given that there's not that much to see in Corfu town, it has a ridiculous number of open toppers. There's two of those Mercs, three other Iveco singles and a good number of East Lancs bodied Tridents (ex Madrid or Barcelona, at least 4) as well as at least that in East Lancs bodied B7Ls ex Copenhagen or Arrival Denmark.

 

And to end my holiday, this.

We were on the back Setra when that Kia (in the ditch on the right) decided not to take the bend. Big bang when he smacked into the door by the driver. We transferred to the front Setra. Just made flight home.

[Amishtat]

This may be a daft question but this must be the place to ask it.. Does anyone know what happened to the Colchester Borough Transport Atlanteans? I remember them going out of service around 1997 or so but can't remember the registrations, some of them were WVX-S. God knows what put that in my head earlier. 

[busmansholiday]

21 hours ago, Amishtat said:

This may be a daft question but this must be the place to ask it.. Does anyone know what happened to the Colchester Borough Transport Atlanteans? I remember them going out of service around 1997 or so but can't remember the registrations, some of them were WVX-S. God knows what put that in my head earlier. 

I think the Barnsley scrap men won that argument.

Stick Colchester Borough Transport into Google, there's lots of pics on Flicker 

I'm sure there's one preserved, or was. It's not an area, other than driving through every Saturday in the Nasty Express summer timetable in the early 80's I know.

[Pillock]

Presented without comment.

[busmansholiday]

Pure kwality, enthusiast wise, not driver. Manual box (crash 1st to 2nd), little or no power steering. Independent I drove for had an N reg ex SBG one and a similar age ex West Riding one that was semi auto and steered with ease. One you were fucked after a shift on, one you were totally and utterly bollocked.

 

[dollywobbler]

Not sure this really qualifies for this thread... Stolen pic from Twitter.

[martc]

On ‎6‎/‎14‎/‎2019 at 1:44 PM, Pillock said:

Presented without comment.

[wuvvum]

This old crate has just trundled past me on Buckingham Palace Road. 

[LightBulbFun]

ohh love me an RT  shame someones lopped the roof off, although (luckily?) you dont see many open top RTs

its generally RMs that got the chop (I suspect its because most RTs had already been withdrawn/scrapped/preserved privately, before the whole open top tours thing became a thing in the 80s)

heres a good page on the RT Bus  http://www.countrybus.org/RT/RT.htm

 

(im curious what do people here think of the RT? I know a lot of people hate the Routemaster here LOL)

[busmansholiday]

If it's got an AEC badge on the front, who cares....

[Saabnut]

Also spotted on my travels last week was this little ex Midland Red Stagecoach MB. Used for transporting pea picers and stored inside, it is now surplus and could be for sale. Again I avoided asking how much.....

[The Old Bloke Next Door]

A recent addition at Walsall, 

[Inspector Morose]

Not that surprised Fuzz sold it as he has become rather busy of late!

 

[Mrcento]

I just want National Express to fuck off from Dundee now.

Surely there's no other company in the UK who'd dare to charge £2.25 for anything over 3 stops on a 16 year old bus they can't even be fucked painting, complete with collapsed suspension, james bond smoke screens and axels sounding like they want to make a break for freedom.

On 4/27/2019 at 8:44 PM, The Old Bloke Next Door said:

A decent bus for both shifts today, Bloxwich High Street waiting time this morning.

 

 

Blakenall Church terminus this afternoon.

 

 

 

 

 

They'll look great running around in Dundee in about 12 years time alongside all the other NX cast offs.

 

16 hours ago, The Old Bloke Next Door said:

A recent addition at Walsall, 

Had to double take there, i thought this was a Dundee depot pic of Nx's current "Xplore Dundee" fleet,

The only thing that gave it away was the lack of a green "Xplore" sticker on the Trident.

[busmansholiday]

6 minutes ago, Mrcento said:

I just want National Express to fuck off from Dundee now.

Surely there's no other company in the UK who'd dare to charge £2.25 for anything over 3 stops on a 16 year old bus they can't even be fucked painting, complete with collapsed suspension, james bond smoke screens and axels sounding like they want to make a break for freedom.

First!

They have just sold Bolton depot to Rotala.

 

[mk2_craig]

Christ that’s like out of the frying pan into the fire isn’t it?

 

Glad First are gradually getting themselves into the fucking sea though. Their quality of service when I lived in Leicester was diabolical but it looks like they’ve completely screwed up their Manchester business, hope someone else makes a better fist of it when they sell up or close down. 

[Zelandeth]

22 hours ago, Saabnut said:

Also spotted on my travels last week was this little ex Midland Red Stagecoach MB. Used for transporting pea picers and stored inside, it is now surplus and could be for sale. Again I avoided asking how much.....

Sure that's done a spell in Aberdeen...swear I recognise the reg...

Knowing Stagecoach, it probably wouldn't be much.

When the first wave of DDA forced vehicle disposals came around in Aberdeen, which saw a lot of K-R reg Volvo B10M based Alexander PS's get the chop the then MD of Bluebird (who owns several preserved buses - and was instrumental I believe in getting a PS restored there and preserved) had a chat with me, as I was noting I'd be sad to see them go and was disappointed to have never had a shot at driving one - still haven't!

He said at the time that if I came to him with £650 in hand that he'd make absolutely bloody sure that I got a good one.

The only reason I didn't literally walk down to the bank then return to his office and throw it at him was that I knew even the oldest on their books would be too modern for me to drive without a full cat D license.  At that price storage issues be damned... I'd have found somewhere for it!

 

Those little Merc breadvans are like cockroaches though... they'll still be rattling around long after Doomsday!  I'd love to have a shot of one without inches of play in the rear suspension and downright terrifying clutch judder...

 

[LightBulbFun]

21 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

had a chat with me, as I was noting I'd be sad to see them go and was disappointed to have never had a shot at driving one - still haven't!

He said at the time that if I came to him with £650 in hand that he'd make absolutely bloody sure that I got a good one.

The only reason I didn't literally walk down to the bank then return to his office and throw it at him was that I knew even the oldest on their books would be too modern for me to drive without a full cat D license.  At that price storage issues be damned... I'd have found somewhere for it!

this makes me smile, because its like my Invacar situation right down to not (yet) having a proper licence to drive it 

[Zelandeth]

H622ACK was the one I'd got my eye on back then too.  Apparently it was still about and at least possibly going to make its way into preservation not long ago.

Remember that was one which used to accelerate like a scalded cat but desperately needed an extra gear on the open road.

Granted given a choice of any PS bodied bus a Scania K.113 would probably be my ideal choice...vastly over-engined really, but C'mon they make a lovely noise...and there's something massively satisfying about a bus that can keep up with cars away from the traffic lights...

[83C]

I'll check next time I swing by Winkleigh, H622 ACK probably hasn't gone far. Chepstow Classic tend to keep the good ones going for as long as possible, hence why they keep a dozen VRs almost solely for Glastonbury duties. The PS's are very useful as farm fruit picker machines, and Chepstow have largely standardised on them now as their single decker of choice. Speaking of K113s, they had this still mouldering away, the last of its kind:

F703 BAT is a Scania K113 with East Lancs bodywork. The eagle-eyed will notice the distinct lack of straightness to the window lines along the body - it suffers a fair level of arse sag, enough that Chepstow stuck it at the back of the 'round tuit' queue when its last MoT expired a few years ago. They also had F705 BAT which was even worse, but that went for scrap a year or two ago. 

I do like Scania 113s, we had 4 N113CRLs at Shrewsbury for a Park & Ride contract with East Lancs MaxCi bodies - M401-404 EFD. Very beefy machines though like most Scania products the suspension was very wallowy. The kneeling suspension was pretty trick though, rather than just deflating the front airbags it would redistribute the load by dropping the nearside front the most, the offside front less so, leaving the nearside rear at near normal level and actually inflating the offside rear slightly to push the front step even closer to the ground.

[The Old Bloke Next Door]

6 hours ago, Mrcento said:

I just want National Express to fuck off from Dundee now.

Surely there's no other company in the UK who'd dare to charge £2.25 for anything over 3 stops on a 16 year old bus they can't even be fucked painting, complete with collapsed suspension, james bond smoke screens and axels sounding like they want to make a break for freedom.

They'll look great running around in Dundee in about 12 years time alongside all the other NX cast offs.

 

Had to double take there, i thought this was a Dundee depot pic of Nx's current "Xplore Dundee" fleet,

The only thing that gave it away was the lack of a green "Xplore" sticker on the Trident.

 

[The Old Bloke Next Door]

Can't comment on NX fares in Dundee, here in Walsall its £1.50p short hop, about 3 to 4 stops, £2.40p max on most routes full journey,  £2.50p return, £3.00p day saver all day ticket local, £4.00 area day saver, weekly  return £11.00p on a specific route, £12.00p weekly local ticket.

Since starting my Bus Driving career in 1974 to date, the current fleet is the best I have driven. Can't remember the last time there was a FTP needing a change over due to a mechanical defect. 

Last time I needed a change over the same  passenger had shat his self on  a seat twice, I did ban him from travelling again on the second occasion.

[Daviemck2006]

The fastest bus I ever drove was this one. A scania113 with no limiter. It was a bugger to steer when empty and not much fuel, but loaded with more weight at the front by God she was a flyer. She could scare cars away from the lights or roundabouts!

Sent from my SM-T585 using Tapatalk

[bramz7]

Bloody hell that Dart Dash next to that Scania is one of the former Fleet Buzz vehicles that they had before being completely absorbed by Stagecoach. They ran various Mercedes around Fleet for years before they were taken over, and then had a succession of Stagecoach cast offs (including some utterly dismal SWB Darts) before finally disappearing. 

I hate Dart Dashes. 

[Zelandeth]

9 hours ago, Daviemck2006 said:

The fastest bus I ever drove was this one. A scania113 with no limiter. It was a bugger to steer when empty and not much fuel, but loaded with more weight at the front by God she was a flyer. She could scare cars away from the lights or roundabouts!

Sent from my SM-T585 using Tapatalk
 

Another one I remember seeing in the queue at my secondary school...

We had one Alizee on our run now and then...she was a very early example on a B10M chassis and was probably the slowest coach in the world.  Even the utterly clapped out Bedford could leave it for dead on a hill.

In contrast we had a very late Volvo B58 which was essentially a B10M in all but the steering wheel... obviously built with the expectation of a body like an Van Hool Alizee being fitted, but instead having a Plaxton Supreme IV fitted, she went like a rocket and even handled incredibly well for a coach.

[Mrcento]

23 hours ago, The Old Bloke Next Door said:

Can't comment on NX fares in Dundee, here in Walsall its £1.50p short hop, about 3 to 4 stops, £2.40p max on most routes full journey,  £2.50p return, £3.00p day saver all day ticket local, £4.00 area day saver, weekly  return £11.00p on a specific route, £12.00p weekly local ticket.

Since starting my Bus Driving career in 1974 to date, the current fleet is the best I have driven. Can't remember the last time there was a FTP needing a change over due to a mechanical defect. 

Last time I needed a change over the same  passenger had shat his self on  a seat twice, I did ban him from travelling again on the second occasion.

I wouldn't be so annoyed about the price if every route had a decent bus on it, we've a handful of the new hybrid things with wifi operating on pretty much 1, maybe 2 routes, everyone else is paying £2.25 to ride clapped out 15 year old buses bellowing black smoke with at least one corner suspension collapsed. And that's the better ones..... meanwhile cars are slowly getting banned from the centre because of the pollution the buses contribute to far worse.

The fare thing is also complete nonsense up here, if you're getting a bus from town centre, even if you get on the last stop before it leaves the actual centre, 2 stops doesn't even clear the first road out of it, so you've got to pay the full fare even if your "hop" was a 5 minute walk. (our lowest "hop" fare is £1.75, A day saver is £3.50 local only, no things like returns etc)

[The Old Bloke Next Door]

Sounds grim, what's the competition"s  fare charges, assuming there is any?

It's just occurred to me that a few years back management at our garage were offering overtime for volunteers to drive several of our old fleet up to Dundee.

 

[NorthernMonkey]

On 7/2/2019 at 11:22 PM, Saabnut said:

Also spotted on my travels last week was this little ex Midland Red Stagecoach MB. Used for transporting pea picers and stored inside, it is now surplus and could be for sale. Again I avoided asking how much.....

Bloody hell...I used to drive those around Nuneaton back in the early naughties.

I believe N355 was actually based at Rugby depot where I used to cover occasionally so there’s every chance I’ve piloted that one.

Hated the things at the time....actually wondering what the hell I could use it for nowadays.... ??