Bus Shite

[Crackers]

Link, which hopefully works, to original size of St Pauls picture here: https://imgur.com/a/Sc0KzIf 

Meanwhile, here's a few more pics.

2 from Horseguards Avenue, 1 from Newbury Park. Might do 1 more post at some point to finish off the Newbury Park images if anyone wants to see them.

 

   

[busmansholiday]

Lovely pictures those. I've seen similar in  Buses mag a year or two ago. 

[Yoss]

They are lovely pictures. Sounds like a great way to spend a night. It's slightly odd to see such familiar places totally empty, looks like the Martians have invaded (but the buses are still running!). I've done a few Routemaster overnighters, always enjoyable. 

[Crackers]

10 hours ago, busmansholiday said:

Lovely pictures those. I've seen similar in  Buses mag a year or two ago. 

Thanks. Didn't know Buses Mag was a thing, perhaps I should send them in. 

 

8 hours ago, Yoss said:

They are lovely pictures. Sounds like a great way to spend a night. It's slightly odd to see such familiar places totally empty, looks like the Martians have invaded (but the buses are still running!). I've done a few Routemaster overnighters, always enjoyable. 

Cheers ? It was a good night, quite tiring (enough to send me to sleep on the bus!) but good fun. With the usual caveat at these events, being the miserable old farts who will complain at any opportunity. 

....

Me to organiser: 'Can we have the headlights on for just a couple of minutes please?' 

Some stupid fart: 'Who asked for the bloody headlights? They didn't run with them on in service. No I'm not arguing but they didn't. No I'm not arguing.'

OK mate, stick that up your fundamental orifice, I'm 18, never saw them in service, and I literally couldn't care less what you think. We've got hours here and I'm having my way for 2 minutes!

[busmansholiday]

Buses mag editor;

[email protected]

Send in a low Res shot(s) first. Alan will get back to you if he wants the full shot. If it's published you get paid, was £15 quid a shot last time I had one in.

As for boring old farts, it's bad to speak ill of the dead, but there was one person on bus tours who was like that. Every bus had to be posed so the sun perfectly illuminated the FNS of the bus. One winter we arrived at an operator to find the vehicles covered in snow. They looked superb, really made a different photo. Guess who went and found a sweeping brush and brushed the snow off them?

[clayts450]

Finally my local bus route gets the bio-gas treatment (these are NCT's photos, not mine)

And a couple of bonus 69 plates to boot. There's a fair few of them on the route now

s

[Yoss]

Caught the train from Nice to Monaco this morning, then came back on a bendy bus. This is it at Nice, don't even know what make it is but Monaco registered. 

Some well known names here for any F1 fans. 

Staggeringly beautiful bus route. Lots of sharp bends, steep hills and blue bits. 

Sideways View. Blue. 

Tunnel. 

And all this for €1.50! Yes, €1.50 for almost an hours bus ride. Even the internal buses in Monaco were €2. But everything in Nice is a flat fare of €1.50 however far it goes. Even the tram to the airport when every other city hikes up the fares of airport traffic because they think they have a captive audience (in reality it's quite often the airport itself with exorbitant access charges). But not here. 

[Eyersey1234]

15 minutes ago, Yoss said:

Caught the train from Nice to Monaco this morning, then came back on a bendy bus. This is it at Nice, don't even know what make it is but Monaco registered. 

Some well known names here for any F1 fans. 

Staggeringly beautiful bus route. Lots of sharp bends, steep hills and blue bits. 

Sideways View. Blue. 

Tunnel. 

And all this for €1.50! Yes, €1.50 for almost an hours bus ride. Even the internal buses in Monaco were €2. But everything in Nice is a flat fare of €1.50 however far it goes. Even the tram to the airport when every other city hikes up the fares of airport traffic because they think they have a captive audience (in reality it's quite often the airport itself with exorbitant access charges). But not here. 

That's good value. It looks like a Mercedes Benz Citaro. 

[busmansholiday]

27 minutes ago, Eyersey1234 said:

It looks like a Mercedes Benz Citaro. 

Yep, Merc badge on front and the wheel nut covers are Merc. Should be a pusher artic (ie engine in back section).

[LightBulbFun]

7 minutes ago, busmansholiday said:

Should be a pusher artic (ie engine in back section).

I have wondered on bendy buses like that, what stops them jackknifing when going forward?

[NorthernMonkey]

6 minutes ago, busmansholiday said:

Yep, Merc badge on front and the wheel nut covers are Merc. Should be a pusher artic (ie engine in back section).

Oh yes.

Delivered dozens of the things from Coventry to London many years ago.

Then had to go back as they were catching fire... ??

[NorthernMonkey]

7 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

I have wondered on bendy buses like that, what stops them jackknifing when going forward?

The front section has a wheel at each corner...it’s only the trailer that is two wheeled.

They’re actually inherently stable when cornered...because the back end weighs a bit with the engine, you can throw them around roundabouts at a fair pace and the front end stays remarkably upright. Caught one or two London motorists out on the run down to Tottenham garage from the M25 ?

[busmansholiday]

12 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

I have wondered on bendy buses like that, what stops them jackknifing when going forward?

The complicated but neat design of the linkages that connect the two units together. 

[Yoss]

1 hour ago, busmansholiday said:

Yep, Merc badge on front and the wheel nut covers are Merc. Should be a pusher artic (ie engine in back section).

Thought it might be but there was no badge on the front. 

[catsinthewelder]

Just spotted this on Facebook sales while looking for something else

 

 

[Yoss]

1 hour ago, NorthernMonkey said:

The front section has a wheel at each corner...it’s only the trailer that is two wheeled.

They’re actually inherently stable when cornered...because the back end weighs a bit with the engine, you can throw them around roundabouts at a fair pace and the front end stays remarkably upright. Caught one or two London motorists out on the run down to Tottenham garage from the M25 ?

I can vouch for that. We were flying along nicely most of the way, often with a sheer rockface a few inches from the side* of the bus. I just had to tell myself he's a professional, he knows what he's doing. 

 

*I was going to say nearside but then I thought it would be the offside to us. Which got me thinking does the nearside/offside change when it's left hand drive? I assume so as nearside means nearset the kerb doesn't it? Just thinking out loud now. 

[busmansholiday]

13 minutes ago, catsinthewelder said:

Just spotted this on Facebook sales while looking for something else

 

 

Looks like an ex Greater Manchester AN68 with Northern Counties body. 

[busmansholiday]

21 minutes ago, Yoss said:

Thought it might be but there was no badge on the front. 

Look above the letter U on the front, suttle MB car size badge.

[Yoss]

Oh yeah, so it is, I was never gonna spot that. 

[Inspector Morose]

Was trying to work out whether it was one of our old ones at North Birmingham Busways but I don’t think it was because the final destination screen is too small.

Aluminium framed body (you can tell by the front windows) make it a late one (after 81-82 at least). Shame, with all built at that time, the chassis will be totally buggered sitting in the grass like that. 

[Zelandeth]

Just spotted something unexpected while channel hopping on the TV.

What was externally a late 90s Alexander ALX-300 low floor bus pulled up at a stop in the US, then we cut to an interior shot as it pulled off, clearly in the background was the distinctive angry yowl of a Detroit 6V71 two stroke coupled to a typically lazy Alison box...Never knew that bus made its way over to the US. 

Ridden on (and driven) a bunch of them in Volvo B10BLE form (first bus I ever officially drove was one actually - B10BLE is a nice driving thing actually), and the odd Dart...but never anything with such an exciting power plant. 

Anyone know what chassis it was likely built on?  Sadly there was no shot of the cab which might have given any hints by virtue of easy to ID instrumentation...interior in general looked identical to what I'd expect to see over here.

For those curious...of course I have photos of the first bus I drove.

Last B10BLEs are just about to be withdrawn from service in Aberdeen I believe...Streetlites are the new norm...Never been on one yet, though I've not heard anything positive about them from anyone!

[LightBulbFun]

13 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Just spotted something unexpected while channel hopping on the TV.

What was externally a late 90s Alexander ALX-300 low floor bus pulled up at a stop in the US, then we cut to an interior shot as it pulled off, clearly in the background was the distinctive angry yowl of a Detroit 6V71 two stroke coupled to a typically lazy Alison box...Never knew that bus made its way over to the US. 

Ridden on (and driven) a bunch of them in Volvo B10BLE form (first bus I ever officially drove was one actually - B10BLE is a nice driving thing actually), and the odd Dart...but never anything with such an exciting power plant. 

Anyone know what chassis it was likely built on?  Sadly there was no shot of the cab which might have given any hints by virtue of easy to ID instrumentation...interior in general looked identical to what I'd expect to see over here.

For those curious...of course I have photos of the first bus I drove.

Last B10BLEs are just about to be withdrawn from service in Aberdeen I believe...Streetlites are the new norm...Never been on one yet, though I've not heard anything positive about them from anyone!

augh, damn it!

I remember coming across those US spec ALX300s as well and being quite surprised like you where

even saw a picture of one, which had comedy large US federal bumpers 

but I cant for the life find it online anymore, could of sworn it was on wikipedia...

(didn't realise they where detroit 2 stroke powered tho! weird to think of such an "old" engine in such a "modern" bus body!)

[Eyersey1234]

We had 10 ALX300 B10BLEs, they were nice machines, we also had 11 with MAN 18.220 chassis, what a pile of crap they were, a turning circle worse than the Bismarks, a rear overhang the size of the Titanic and acceleration that made it seem an asthmatic ant with heavy shopping was pushing it. 

 

Edited to add first thing in a morning you had to give them a load of welly to get the buggers air pressure built up as it wouldn't build on idle, not good on a cold engine

 

[Zelandeth]

1 hour ago, Eyersey1234 said:

We had 10 ALX300 B10BLEs, they were nice machines, we also had 11 with MAN 18.220 chassis, what a pile of crap they were, a turning circle worse than the Bismarks, a rear overhang the size of the Titanic and acceleration that made it seem an asthmatic ant with heavy shopping was pushing it. 

 

Edited to add first thing in a morning you had to give them a load of welly to get the buggers air pressure built up as it wouldn't build on idle, not good on a cold engine

 

Always wanted to find one of them in a breakers yard to raid the dash for the million and one warning lights...

[LightBulbFun]

ah ha! found the bloody thing, although the "thing" I found is a dennis dart based ALX200 based contraption 

"Thomas-Dennis Dart SLF 200"

see here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Dart#Thomas-Dennis_Dart_SLF_200 and here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Built_Buses#Other_buses

 

sadly does not mention what engine it has

[Eyersey1234]

2 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

ah ha! found the bloody thing, although the "thing" I found is a dennis dart based ALX200 based contraption 

"Thomas-Dennis Dart SLF 200"

see here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Dart#Thomas-Dennis_Dart_SLF_200 and here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Built_Buses#Other_buses

 

sadly does not mention what engine it has

I know UK spec Darts were Cummins engined, I think these were as well but I'm not 100% certain 

[busmansholiday]

10 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

 

Last B10BLEs are just about to be withdrawn from service in Aberdeen I believe...Streetlites are the new norm...Never been on one yet, though I've not heard anything positive about them from anyone!

Not be getting any more Streetshites as Wright went tits up begining of the month.

[Zelandeth]

The other possibility of course being on the TV is that the audio was just a stock recording dubbed on in the studio...so it could have exactly the same selection of engines we'd have had over here.

[Inspector Morose]

3 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

The other possibility of course being on the TV is that the audio was just a stock recording dubbed on in the studio...so it could have exactly the same selection of engines we'd have had over here.

You mean like the AEC engined and wilson gearboxed Optare Solo and Dennis Dart that was on Eastenders recently? Surely not.

[wuvvum]

The 6V71 went out of production in 1995, so I highly doubt any of the US-specced ALX300s were thus equipped.  I think Zel's theory might be correct.