Bus Shite

[SunnySouth]

Rather swish Irizar / Merc ridden recently on Cyprus.  

Aside from a batch of tatty Dart-sized MANs with MCV bodies - at least some of which are ex UK - the fleet is all modern, comfortably seated and of course fully air conditioned. Nice heavyweight, comfortably riding, proper buses. Puts plenty of UK fleets to shame. The MANs are also airconned, but presumably retrofitted after they were shipped out. Interiors on those were admittedly ratty, but the difference in spec between what passes for a normal, modern bus in Britain and here is really quite remarkable! 

[McRusty]

Afternoon bus experts - What's this? Captured on dash cam last night.

[quicksilver]

On 02/08/2025 at 14:26, willswitchengage said:

Is the Mayor talking bollocks here?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/clyjgg211lpo

It's a bus with a fancy bodykit... it will use roads, bus lanes and bus stops.  Does my head in when this is spun as something revolutionary or different. Even Irizar calls it a tram https://irizar.co.uk/model-range/irizar-ie-tram/ (made in Spain!)

FML Councillors are morons

"If you take the tyres off and put it on rails, it's a tram." No, if you do that, it's a bus that doesn't work. Moron. 

[SunnySouth]

1 hour ago, McRusty said:

Afternoon bus experts - What's this? Captured on dash cam last night.

Alexander Y Type bodied something - presumably a Leyland Leopard, although they also came in AEC and Ford flavour I believe, possibly others als.

[McRusty]

3 hours ago, SunnySouth said:

Alexander Y Type bodied something - presumably a Leyland Leopard, although they also came in AEC and Ford flavour I believe, possibly others als.

Thank you. Further investigation shows it is indeed a Leyland of 11 litres. It's not as old as it looked to me - 1982. It was plying the A444 near Fenny Drayton.

[Remspoor]

Been trying to watch Ripley. After 2 episodes I am still not convinced it is something I can watch much more.

Still the bus has me hooked, what a glorious sound.  All it does is snarl.

Fiat 626, I believe.

[Stroller133]

On 10/08/2025 at 13:05, McRusty said:

Afternoon bus experts - What's this? Captured on dash cam last night.

I saw this Saturday morning, arriving at Market Bosworth Train station (serves preservation railway only). 
I thought it look older, I'd say a National for example looks more modern. 
 

Just checked their website and it was a Model railway weekend , so wondered why this bus was there, but it was running a service bringing people from Hinckley and Nuneaton mainline stations. 

[SunnySouth]

8 hours ago, Stroller133 said:

I saw this Saturday morning, arriving at Market Bosworth Train station (serves preservation railway only). 
I thought it look older, I'd say a National for example looks more modern. 
 

Just checked their website and it was a Model railway weekend , so wondered why this bus was there, but it was running a service bringing people from Hinckley and Nuneaton mainline stations. 

I’d be inclined to agree that a National is a more handsome thing; oldschool Alexander bodies though were never really ‘styled’, they tended to be rather functional things. This is a later effort, a P Type (no idea how that comes after a Y Type!); it is unavoidably as ugly as f*ck…

Although some of their 1960s/70s/early 80s Atlantean bodies were a tad more pleasing:

(Not my photos…)

[danthecapriman]

What was the deal with these;

Obviously a Dodge, but were they a bus custom built in small numbers for Matchbox (and possibly other companies?) or were they more numerous and used by bus companies somewhere?

Im considering trying to make one in 1/43 scale to go with my Regent model!

[cms206]

5 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

What was the deal with these;

Obviously a Dodge, but were they a bus custom built in small numbers for Matchbox (and possibly other companies?) or were they more numerous and used by bus companies somewhere?

Im considering trying to make one in 1/43 scale to go with my Regent model!

Thankfully there are quite a few photos of them! I've seen them variously quoted as being a batch of 5 or 6, I think the latter as OMK 818-823R. They were bodied as I think 42-seaters by Rootes of Maidstone on Dodge Commando G08 chassis.

 

Rootes predominantly built Welfare bodies; Dumfries & Galloway Regional Council also took similar examples to the Matchbox ones into the 1980s.

[martc]

This bus manufactured in Granton near Edinburgh. That's all I know.

[martc]

A convoy of LAZ 695 coaches is being escorted by a GAZ 24 police car; which is missing the roof bar which should contain the flashing lights, spotlights and a loud hailer.
 

[myglaren]

'My wife wants to sell my collection of 23 buses'

A man who has collected 23 vintage buses is resisting pressure to sell them.

Wesley Tierney's lifelong obsession with buses began when he was 10 and he went to work with his dad, who drove a Leland Lynx in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.

The 34-year-old from Essex bought the exact bus that his dad once used from a private collector in Newcastle and has now restored it to how it was in his childhood.

He estimated he could earn about £200,000 if he sold the buses, but was reluctant despite demands from his wife, Laura Tierney, 31.

 

 

 

[aotb]

I’ve seen it discussed elsewhere that allegedly the guy is well known for not being the most trustworthy. 

[artdjones]

There's someone of the same name in the same area who's got a couple of aviation related convictions, one for flying planes with a faked licence, and one for stealing aircraft parts.

If it's the same man it's probably a typical example of a common misconception women about to marry have.

"I can change him."

 

[Pieman]

Spotted on a mini break in Llandudno recently - 1964 Leyland Tiger Cub with Harrington Grenadier coachwork.

[SunnySouth]

3 hours ago, myglaren said:

'My wife wants to sell my collection of 23 buses'

A man who has collected 23 vintage buses is resisting pressure to sell them.

Wesley Tierney's lifelong obsession with buses began when he was 10 and he went to work with his dad, who drove a Leland Lynx in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.

The 34-year-old from Essex bought the exact bus that his dad once used from a private collector in Newcastle and has now restored it to how it was in his childhood.

He estimated he could earn about £200,000 if he sold the buses, but was reluctant despite demands from his wife, Laura Tierney, 31.

 

 

 

"You're never a dull person at a party when you own a bus."

👀

OFFICIAL - bus wankers aren’t dull. Saw it on the BBC m9!

On a serious note, how the fuck is this “news”?! I thought it was only dreadful ‘local news’ publications who put utter dross like this in? 

[artdjones]

20 hours ago, SunnySouth said:

"You're never a dull person at a party when you own a bus."

👀

OFFICIAL - bus wankers aren’t dull. Saw it on the BBC m9!

On a serious note, how the fuck is this “news”?! I thought it was only dreadful ‘local news’ publications who put utter dross like this in? 

It's the East of England BBC, so basically local news. 

That's what passes for excitement there.

[JonS]

Not sure  if this is of interest but thought would share it anyway.

Grahams Bus Service operated in the Paisley area until 1990.

Plans of their depot from my childhood discovered on a visit to my parents recently.  Can’t remember how I came to have it unfortunately.

[colino]

I went to the auction dispersal sale at Graham's with half an idea of bagging a bargain.  Fortunately, as I had no space to store a bus, I wasn't lucky.  That family company was sold off as the remaining, involved family were getting on a bit and the adjacent company, Ciba Geigy, bought the site and cleared it just to extend their car park.

[JonS]

3 hours ago, colino said:

I went to the auction dispersal sale at Graham's with half an idea of bagging a bargain.  Fortunately, as I had no space to store a bus, I wasn't lucky.  That family company was sold off as the remaining, involved family were getting on a bit and the adjacent company, Ciba Geigy, bought the site and cleared it just to extend their car park.

My Dad worked for Ciba Geigy at the time so that’s probably how this ended up with me.

They were always a nicely turned out fleet.

[cms206]

16 hours ago, JonS said:

Not sure  if this is of interest but thought would share it anyway.

Grahams Bus Service operated in the Paisley area until 1990.

Plans of their depot from my childhood discovered on a visit to my parents recently.  Can’t remember how I came to have it unfortunately.

That's amazing! I'm a Paisley buddie though Graham's ceased when I was three. If ever it's for disposal, keep me in mind please!

[Metal Guru]

Saw a Yutong coach (Flixbus) on the M6 near Carlisle. New one on me but probably well known to the busophiles here.

[lisbon_road]

14 minutes ago, Metal Guru said:

Saw a Yutong coach (Flixbus) on the M6 near Carlisle. New one on me but probably well known to the busophiles here.

Yutong is a Chinese bus manufacturer who make a huge number of buses, sources vary but start at 50,000 per year, and apparently not the largest supplier in China.  We have basically two factories, Alexander Dennis in Falkirk and Scarborough and Wright in Ballymena.  Between them they make I think 2750 a year.  There's concern that ADL (or whatever they call themselves now) want to close the Falkirk factory.  

We have no tariffs on Chinese vehicles, and there's a lot of stuff about their government subsidising their products and with those volumes, their costs must be very low, never mind that some of their inputs are also cheap.  I believe that Stagecoach is now owned by an American company so they won't be too concerned about where the buses come from.

All in all, I can't see this going well for us.  

 

[JonS]

Couple of Glasgow Transport Museum posters 

[CreepingJesus]

Ooh! I have that green GGPTE  poster somewhere!

And I have a green bus, several miles and decades off route...

[JonS]

16 hours ago, CreepingJesus said:

Ooh! I have that green GGPTE  poster somewhere!

And I have a green bus, several miles and decades off route...

That’s a belter! 👍

[CreepingJesus]

1 hour ago, JonS said:

That’s a belter! 👍

Funny thing was, I'd missed it earlier that day; too slow on the draw getting my phone out of my bag! Satisfied that I'd at least seen it and savoured the aroma, in the wild, it was a surprise to happen across it sitting waiting for a pic later! 

I'd seen the well known National Express Leopard KAD359V parked up on a local side street the week before, but not been able to get an even passable pic (on a shitty Stageroach bus with dirty windows, against the sun) so this felt good, getting a good look at a bus I probably saw as a kid on day trips to Edinburgh.

[500tops]

[wesacosa]

Spotted today at Rustival. Managed to get aboard it but for a nosey around. Pretty sure its the first time I've set foot in a National as they never really ran them in Hull where I grew up