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11 minutes ago, quicksilver said:

Something I saw today for @LightBulbFun, @Yoss and the other Routemaster fans. It's RM548 but with an age-related plate and an Iveco engine (so LBF won't approve :) ), used on the Victoria's Secret 'Bra Fit' campaign to visit universities as a mobile fitting room. The truck is from Purfleet, just round the corner from Ensignbus, so I guess that's where it was going as it can't do its job at the moment.

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"and other Routemaster fans" No I think its just us 2 on here LOL

RM548 is a 2000's refurbishment  so it might have a Cummings B series engine and and other such crap fitted during the refurbishment (note the awful hopper windows)

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(glad to see her exterior lighting has been returned back to how it should be at least)

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I saw the lights and got my hopes up, then saw the windows and they dropped again. Those windows are the worst mod they ever did to RMs. Not just cosmetically but they are hopeless at letting any air in. The first time I ever went on a 'Dartmaster' was on a hot day. I got on at Brixton garage and got off again before Brixton high street, it was so unpleasant. 

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9 minutes ago, Leyland Worldmaster said:

Here is an example of the worst vehicle I've ever driven. They were shite when new. Comedy understeer and ELCB build quality. 

Frequently broke down when new. Suspension problems and interior partitions coming adrift. 

Bloody fast though! 

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What chassis were they? 

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21 minutes ago, Eyersey1234 said:

What chassis were they? 

They are based on the Scania N94/Omnicity Underframe. A similar Underframe is found under the ELCB Omnidekka too. 

Speaking of their close relatives, I have driven the first of these Omnidekka 'deckers in service. The quality was such that teams from ELCB and Scania had to be physically separated at a Warranty Meeting. 

Even late model Omnidekkas suffered problems such as "Body Drop" and the Underframes cracked below the gangway between the rear wheels. No great surprise. They were a very "Flexible" bus. 

Shite. But their "Lively" performance made them popular. 

I'll look through my old files when I get the time and post them here.  😎

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1 hour ago, Leyland Worldmaster said:

They are based on the Scania N94/Omnicity Underframe. A similar Underframe is found under the ELCB Omnidekka too. 

Speaking of their close relatives, I have driven the first of these Omnidekka 'deckers in service. The quality was such that teams from ELCB and Scania had to be physically separated at a Warranty Meeting. 

Even late model Omnidekkas suffered problems such as "Body Drop" and the Underframes cracked below the gangway between the rear wheels. No great surprise. They were a very "Flexible" bus. 

Shite. But their "Lively" performance made them popular. 

I'll look through my old files when I get the time and post them here.  😎

We have some Scanias as National Express coaches and they seem to have upped their game in recent years, the last ones we had, back in the 90s, were terrible, they spent more time off the road than on it but these are fine. 

They were originally going to lease the Scanias but in between them being ordered and delivered we were taken over by Go Ahead Group, and the new owners said they would buy them as it would be cheaper. 

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Right, lets have a few more B&W pics from the early 70's in Sheffield. Again, where possible there's some local chod to enjoy in the background.

Most of the buses numbered 101 to 228 were Park Royal bodied Atlanteans but there were a few different ones in their like 101 to 125 which were Fleetlines (easily spotted with the white steering wheel) with the 'Sheffield' style Park Royal bodies.

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Atlanteans 126 to 160 looked similar, this is Castleton in Derbyshire, we were on that Roe bodied Regent III on an enthusiasts tour, that's why it looks busy.

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Sheffield took two batches of Neepsend bodied Atlanteans, although lower numbered, 161 to 180 were the second batch. Neepsend were a subsidiary of East Lancs who built a factory in Sheffield (at Neepsend), allegedly to take advantage of available government grants. When they ended, so did the factory. You'll be pleased to know they were built to the generally acknowledged East Lancs quality.

Some class chod spotting here,

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and they didn't look much better from the front.

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More Park Royal stuff,

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Although still with it's "B" fleet numbers, this became 217, front bumpers were fitted to the 1967/8 batch.

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Another batch renumberd were these older (1962) Weymann bodied Atlanteans, this was 1351.

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One, 1357, now 227 was rebodied in 1968 after a fire destroyed the top deck with a Park Royal body.

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This still survives in preservation. It became a driver trainer and was then used for livery experiments before sale.

That'll do for today.

 

 

 

 

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41 minutes ago, busmansholiday said:

One, 1357, now 227 was rebodied in 1968 after a fire destroyed the top deck with a Park Royal body.

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This still survives in preservation. It became a driver trainer and was then used for livery experiments before sale.

That'll do for today.

wonder if that counts as Early Registration madness or not...

(reminds me of those rebodied milk floats you used to see) 

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I'm on a Railway Replacement bus. Wrightbus Gemini/Volvo B9TL.  I'm missing driving Double Deck Buses. 

The last one I drove was a Leyland Titan RTW. This is me a couple of years ago in the first one I'd driven. 

I usually drive an AEC RT. Deeply wrong for a Leyland Man... 

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30 minutes ago, Leyland Worldmaster said:

I'm on a Railway Replacement bus. Wrightbus Gemini/Volvo B9TL.  I'm missing driving Double Deck Buses. 

The last one I drove was a Leyland Titan RTW. This is me a couple of years ago in the first one I'd driven. 

I usually drive an AEC RT. Deeply wrong for a Leyland Man... 

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Our standard double decker at one time was the Gemini, both B7 and B9. Good solid buses. We switched to the MCV Evoseti body for a couple of years because price, though the build quality of the MCVs is terrible.  I drove one of them when it was a fortnight old and it felt like it was going to fall apart. 

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19 minutes ago, Eyersey1234 said:

Our standard double decker at one time was the Gemini, both B7 and B9. Good solid buses. We switched to the MCV Evoseti body for a couple of years because price, though the build quality of the MCVs is terrible.  I drove one of them when it was a fortnight old and it felt like it was going to fall apart. 

I've driven a few B7TL based buses. My favourites were Plaxton President variants with Independent Front Suspension. These felt solid and reliable. Often used on Rail Replacement. 

The (what I'll call Mk2) B7TL with a beam front axle isn't as nice to drive. I only drove Wrightbus Geminis though. I echo your comments re: quality. 

The Gemini 2 B9TL felt a little less solid. Also the Gearbox was set to Economy so was quite sluggish. 

I've driven a couple of comparitively rare Gemini 3 B5TL buses too. Quite nippy for a Double Decker with a 5.1L Engine. 

Not reliable though. One needed a new Engine within months of arrival. Also, the bodywork feels extremely flimsy. Everything feel as though its as lightweight as possible; even the window glass is noticeably thinner. 

The Upper Deck Windows are like letterboxes and the whole thing reminds me of the first MCW Bodied Leyland Atlanteans, actually... 

Interesting you mention the poor quality of MCV Bodies. I've some stories, but I need to get something to eat now... I'll try and find some more bus shite pictures too... 👍 👍 👍 😎 😎 😎 

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On 11/02/2021 at 8:36 AM, busmansholiday said:

 

Cracking chod not to mention the buses.

 

This is AMAZING!!! Unfortunately the Leyland National wasn't suited to the Operating Conditions; you might notice the enlarged ventilation grille at the back. I read they got so hot, the rear seat passengers got warm backsides... 

Low Ground Clearance was a problem too. They did not have long service lives. 

Still, great to see some Leyland National, Leyland\MCW Olympic and LAD Cabbed Lorry action! 

I think at the time of production, JOS was still a BET Company. :)

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4 minutes ago, Leyland Worldmaster said:

OK, as promised from my Leyland Motors Southeast Collection:

Portuguese Connection... 

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Holy moly! That's a UTIC Naup body! There used to be one parked not far from home, until about 2010.i think.

 

Thanks a lot!

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20 minutes ago, Leyland Worldmaster said:

The UTIC Leyland B52 is a Leyland Olympian with a different arse end. 

More Leyland stuff:

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Wasn't that the Titan? Yes, plenty of great innovation. Were those London-specific buses were they used elsewhere in the country? I know Metrobi were most popular in their native Birmingham, and likewise Volvo's dominated in Glasgow. Bus regionalism.

I remember Citaros often had indie front suspension too but never seen it in anything else. I thought B7s and Tridents had beams.

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17 minutes ago, OM646 said:

Holy moly! That's a UTIC Naup body! There used to be one parked not far from home, until about 2010.i think.

 

Thanks a lot!

My pleasure! No information about the Bodywork, so it's great to know what it is! 

I wonder how many Leyland UTIC B52 types were built. I bet it handled nicely with that Olympian suspension! 😎

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3 minutes ago, willswitchengage said:

Wasn't that the Titan? Yes, plenty of great innovation. Were those London-specific buses were they used elsewhere in the country? I know Metrobi were most popular in their native Birmingham, and likewise Volvo's dominated in Glasgow. Bus regionalism.

I remember Citaros often had indie front suspension too but never seen it in anything else. I thought B7s and Tridents had beams.

The early B7TL had IFS; this was changed for what I call the Mk2... 👍 👍 👍 😎 😎 😎 

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15 minutes ago, Leyland Worldmaster said:

The early B7TL had IFS; this was changed for what I call the Mk2... 👍 👍 👍 😎 😎 😎 

From my archives... I had a wonderful day on Rail Replacement with this fine machine. Was my first experience with a Voith Gearbox. 

Why are these transmissions so noisy? 

Anyway, here's some IFS Porn... 😁

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