Bus Shite

[quicksilver]

especially if there are only those 8 left in service!

 

are there any routemasters working elsewhere out in the provinces outside of that london?

There's still loads of Routemasters left. Out of less than 3000 built over a thousand are believed to still exist - that's an incredible near 50% survival rate, which explains why so many bus events get overwhelmed by rows of boring identical red ones but doesn't explain the silly prices as it's not like there's a shortage of the things. I consider them the MGB of the bus world.

[brickwall]

Kelvin Scottish had them on my bus route to school. I'll never forgive them. The single deck Leopard and Tigers were much more cosy.

[sloth]

Check these photos out from my mate Wobblegob. This bus has been in that building over 20 years. It put up a fight to leave. Almost every window is smashed, and it was green tint glazing, but the plan is to restore it. It's a rare 33ft Leeds Roe Jumbo AN68 Atlantean

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/21667585@N03/sets/72157648061285784

i remember riding on sug's sisters at applebys in hull back in the late 90s. they formed my love of atlanteans. so glad to see one survives.

[Justin Case]

Not sure if this should be in this thread or not but yesterday I spotted no less than a Bedford VAL horsebox parked on the forecourt of a derelict garage between Burton and Lichfield . It looked the real thing with varnished wooden bodywork and not an Italian Job type 'aftermarket' conversion of a coach. I've heard of it but never seen one in the flesh (or should that be the ash ) before, so does anyone know the story behind it?

 

Sorry no photo, but I was driving by in a stream of traffic doing about 56mph, as is usual on the A38

[davidfowler2000]

I can haz been papped!!!!!!!! Saw someone standing in a hedgerow on the A143 on Tuesday evening

 

I get papped quite regularly...

 

https://flic.kr/p/aKjdHi

https://flic.kr/p/rvWAsH

https://flic.kr/p/pcqiL5

https://flic.kr/p/oLki1o

https://flic.kr/p/oiKF2B

https://flic.kr/p/nB7fjM

https://flic.kr/p/jqz3rK

https://flic.kr/p/dDEB3T

https://flic.kr/p/dC1S4K

https://flic.kr/p/bKkqgv

https://flic.kr/p/bnA9CG

[Volksy]

Not sure if this should be in this thread or not but yesterday I spotted no less than a Bedford VAL horsebox parked on the forecourt of a derelict garage between Burton and Lichfield . It looked the real thing with varnished wooden bodywork and not an Italian Job type 'aftermarket' conversion of a coach. I've heard of it but never seen one in the flesh (or should that be the ash ) before, so does anyone know the story behind it?

 

Sorry no photo, but I was driving by in a stream of traffic doing about 56mph, as is usual on the A38

I pass this one when heading to one of our venues quite often, not far from the scrap metal/army surplus place? 

 

Looks interesting, but yes I'm always going too quick to get a shot of it. 

 

 

EDIT: It's not on Street view, but it's at this place...

 

[Jim Bell]

Was out with the Mrs SP in the Roffle 305 today.  Spotted this auld waggon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Qwality pics from Mrs SP.

[catsinthewelder]

Not sure if this should be in this thread or not but yesterday I spotted no less than a Bedford VAL horsebox parked on the forecourt of a derelict garage between Burton and Lichfield . It looked the real thing with varnished wooden bodywork and not an Italian Job type 'aftermarket' conversion of a coach. I've heard of it but never seen one in the flesh (or should that be the ash ) before, so does anyone know the story behind it?

 

Sorry no photo, but I was driving by in a stream of traffic doing about 56mph, as is usual on the A38

 

 

 

I had a go back in the autumn.

[Inspector Morose]

It's this.

 

 

 

Built on a new chassis by G.C Smith of Loughborough in 1973. Sold to its present owner about 2012. 

[Six-cylinder]

I went to a friends 70th Birthday yesterday who likes al things Mechanical, so in the afternoon he treated his guest to a train ride at the Chinnor and Princess Risborough Railway and to get them there from Milton Keynes he hired this pair of Bristol Lodeekkas.

 

[mercrocker]

Aaaah I do love a Lodekka. Those Lincolnshire Road Car ones (oop where me granny lived) were identical to Pants & Corset (Hants & Dorset) ones I rode to school on every day, except for patented Cave-Brown-Cave ventilation system on ours (big hungry vents each side of the destination blinds on the tweendeck). Having spent my childhood between Hampshire and Lincoln I was convinced all provincial buses were apple green and cream Lodekkas. Come to think of it, they almost were. Can still smell those buses now!

[Six-cylinder]

This is the history for one of them

 

[willswitchengage]

[Inspector Morose]

Merc V10 engined too.

[willswitchengage]

The Megaliners got V12s! Only 500hp 22L...

[Inspector Morose]

I'll stick with my 15 litre twin turbo Setra.

[STUNO]

Something I had forgotten about. I think the drivers may have quite liked them !

 

 

.

[cms206]

I too have been papped...

[willswitchengage]

And the ugliness award goes to...

 

 

 

Looks good on paper though. Very lightweight (for a low floor), integral chassis. Only a Merc 4-pot though so will likely vibrate itself into oblivion before all the elctrics go awry.

[Felly Magic]

I believe nobody so far has ordered that Optare decker either, Optare are too busy pissing off existing customers with poor aftersales, and comedy build quality that makes a Wright Streetshite seem well built. Wright are also using the same Merc 4 banger in their integral decker, and Volvo are using a twin turbo 5 litre in the B5TL, accelerates fairly well I'm told, but turbos and engine won't last long. 

 

I've had my photo snapped a fair bit recently driving ALX200 Darts that are on borrowed time, and an Omnidekka in the middle of nowhere, but have yet to see the photos appear on line. 

[Inspector Morose]

I've driven the Orange Optare decker (albeit around a yard) and it is indeed shit. Comical build quality, even on the improved, second one built. About as gutless as the rest though. It's a shame as optare do have some good ideas it's just the execution always lets them down. Strangely enough, they are part of a group that uses the flying plug hole as their logo. Make of that what you will.

[willswitchengage]

^Optare are just a bit pointless these days really considering what else is on the market. They truly make a fisher-price product compared to Wright and AD, whose new products are exceptionally high quality, especially the former. If they do go bust I really really hope the gov't don't bail them out as at the end of the day, they've failed to make anything high quality whilst their rivals have invested heavily in decent new models and deserve to be rewarded.

 

Reading has a new fleet of the new design (non-hybrid) Enviro400, great so far at breaking down.

 

Despite making shit and dangerous cycle lanes, investing in record car friendly schemes and masquerading as 'green', Boris's TfL boffins have invested crazily in new buses. They're all pretty good too. The Enviro400H feels a bit like being a diesel locomotive, and the Volvo like a tractor with its automated gearbox. Both do accelerate well under electricity only although it's interesting to notice how the drivers have adjusted their driving styles to fool the start-stop function into switching off.

[cms206]

The last decent integral Optare was the Metrorider and they didn't even design the sodding thing.

[Felly Magic]

And they didn't cure the main fault, rampant rot!

[Inspector Morose]

But they did make it less catastophically shit.

[davidfowler2000]

If they do go bust I really really hope the gov't don't bail them out...

 

 

I'd hope not too as well seeing that Optare are now owned by Ashok Leyland. Maybe the Indian govt will bail them.

[Felly Magic]

the Metroruster was still utterly merde even under Optareshite. I know people who worked at the factory, and talk about lazy numpties. 

[davidfowler2000]

And the ugliness award goes to...

 

Can I make my input...

 

 

 

 

And

 

 

 

I know some people like these but I'd have an E400MMC first. That said if I were running a bus company it'd be R type Olympians as far as the eye could see.

[cms206]

Have done shifts in Mercs and Metroriders... Metrorider every time, even the slow ones. I don't fit in many buses but Metroriders are one of them.

 

Manual Merc 709D comes a close second, though possibly only 'cos I've never had the pleasure of a 3-pedal Metrorider.

 

As for the Gemini 3s that Dave mentioned above... still ugly, but a massive inprovement on the Gemini 1 and 2. I actually like the long rear overhang.

[Felly Magic]

I don't know what has got into Scania these days, but I find their new stuff absolutely feckin awful to drive, the old N series tackle I loved, and the L113, with ZF box, ooft. Then the L94 came along, and it's been a slippery slope ever since. Driven 60 plate deckers, and gutless POS with a bloody awful handbrake mech, with a handle shaped like a fucking dildo!