Bus Shite

[Inspector Morose]

843 (FWX913) was the bus used at the closure of the Mexborough and Swinton system and had its roof cut off just behind the trolleypoles for a brass band to play in!

I've managed to drive a few Bradfords under power including 844. They really were nice things and there was no reason that the front loaders could have lasted up to the 80s, if politics and cheap oil got in the way.

[AnnoyingPentium]

On 3/22/2022 at 12:41 PM, big_al_granvia said:

will marbill be buying from keenan's fire sale for school work

Oor Andy (Smith) will probably hoover them up. 😆

[big_al_granvia]

4 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

Oor Andy (Smith) will probably hoover them up. 😆

which company is that, not ringing any bells with me

[AnnoyingPentium]

Just now, big_al_granvia said:

which company is that, not ringing any bells with me

Smith's of Patna. Most local firm to me, since I live across the river from them, haha.

[big_al_granvia]

ah right, i am north ayrshire... dont know smiths

[AnnoyingPentium]

Just now, big_al_granvia said:

ah right, i am north ayrshire... dont know smiths

Aw aye. Does mostly the East Ayrshire (the south bit that was South Ayrshire) schools runs along with some for Queen Margaret in Ayr as well, if I remember right. Used to do stuff for David Urquhart too.

[CaptainGustav]

The bus converted to an RV reminded me that there is a special type of vehicle in China - the mixed traffic coaches.

Essentially these coaches belong to vans but they can carry more passengers and even have beds in the passenger cab. Those vehicles designed for carry packages and their shippers who take those cargo to do business.

Note this mixed traffic coach and the normal sleeping coach for normal passenger service on the right. A route service permit on the windshield means this is a legal vehicle for public transport service just like a normal coach. Sometime mixed traffic coach also can for normal passenger if they have a empty seat.

The word on the side means "Shao Lin Van", by the law if the coach can carry less than 9 the driver only need "B" level for truck driver license, if the mixed coach can carry more passengers the driver need an "A" level for bus/ coach license.

The traffic was very busy and often there is cargo on the roof.

[cms206]

Last day of cab hopping for a few weeks thank fuck, the MAN passed it's MOT this afternoon; it's to come off again during the Easter school holidays for more work I think.

Today's horses were GJI 627, a Van Hool bodied Volvo B12M new to Marbill as SA02 RZB, and Ford Transit SB63 GNU for the backshift which is the last of a batch purchased from Arnold Shark Car & Van Rental a few years back.

[Metal Guru]

On 23/03/2022 at 16:47, busmansholiday said:

March 26th, was a Sunday back in 1972 and is a day inevitably etched in my mind, as it was the day the last trolleybus system in the UK, at Bradford, closed for good.

We'll start a year or so earlier, when a number of us went to Bradford to travel on the last rear entrance trolleybuses as they were being withdrawn because there were enough forward entrance ones for the remaining services.

A tour had been organised using two vehicles EKU745, a 1949 BUT 9611T with Roe H33/25R bodywork,

and FKU758, a 1951 BUT 9611T but with Weymann H33/26R bodywork.

Amazingly, out of the people in this shot I can still identify, only Alan, facing the camera far left, isn't still around. Alan was one of the main people behind the preservation of ex Sheffield AEC Regent V / Alexander 874, and died of cancer just before Xmas last year.

 

So that fateful day, and a number of us from Sheffield met up early to travel to Bradford on this, ex Sheffield JOC 1330, 6330WJ, a 1960 AEC Regent V with Roe bodywork that had recently been purchased by a group of friends. They had actually bought this as a swap, as down in Kent ex Sheffield 116, a 1952 AEC Regent III with Roe bodywork was still in service on school runs and a deal had been done to acquire it on the condition the operator got a newer replacement bus.  When 1330 became surplus a few years later it was repurchased and returned north for preservation.

So Bradford then, there were a number of tours organised to mark the event and the one I went on used this, DKY706, a 1945 Karrier W that had been rebodied by East Lancs in 1960 with a forward entrance body.

The other vehicle on our tour was this, FWW375, a 1950 Sunbeam F4 that was new to Mexborough and Swinton, with a single deck body but was rebodied in 1962 by East Lancs as a doubledecker.

Their were a fair few trolleybuses out that day on tours as these views show (nice Simca sneaking in the shot).

FWX913 was another rebodied ex M&S vehicle

There was a final tour in the afternoon with civic dignities on. We managed to get in front of the tour with 1330.

Quite a chodtastic line up behind 844, another ex M&S vehicle.

A lot of people gathered at Thornbury depot for the end, here's a few shots in B&W and colour..

Note the late registration madness

And that was that. Diesel buses replaced trolleybuses. Then a year later the fuel crisis hit and people started looking for alternative ways of powering vehicles.  Progress.

 

 

I remember trolley buses in Maidstone late 60s, must have gone before the Bradford ones. More recently , saw some in Vancouver about 5 years ago, but they were struggling in modern traffic tbf.

[LightBulbFun]

theres no "buses you didn't know existed until recently thread" so im punting it here, but the Steyr City bus is a new one on me

looks like one of those weird 1980's futuristic concept designs that actually made it to production LOL

[martc]

Talking of 'buses you didn't know existed until recently thread' and combining it with 'bus shite' I give you the 'Tajikistan 2A' from the '70's -

Didn't know about this and it looks shite.

 

[Crackers]

2 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

As if someone crashed a Terberg shunter into a fishtank and put it straight to market.

[busmansholiday]

Bit like the demountable Dodge.

[cms206]

6 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

theres no "buses you didn't know existed until recently thread" so im punting it here, but the Steyr City bus is a new one on me

looks like one of those weird 1980's futuristic concept designs that actually made it to production LOL

If you squint really hard at that you can almost see what it morphed into...

[cms206]

In sunny Skelmersdale this evening on a hire from Glasgow, still waiting on parts for the toilet on my own bus so slumming it today with a Temsa.

Parked up next to a fairly unusual Plaxton-bodied MAN; I asked the driver if he'd come far today - "about four miles; you?"

"226 miles each way... "

[Eyersey1234]

7 hours ago, cms206 said:

In sunny Skelmersdale this evening on a hire from Glasgow, still waiting on parts for the toilet on my own bus so slumming it today with a Temsa.

Parked up next to a fairly unusual Plaxton-bodied MAN; I asked the driver if he'd come far today - "about four miles; you?"

"226 miles each way... "

What are the Temsa's like in terms of driving, reliability etc? 

[cms206]

4 hours ago, Eyersey1234 said:

What are the Temsa's like in terms of driving, reliability etc? 

They can be a mixed bag; in a previous life I was responsible for four, a 16-plate MD9 (the little ones) and 10, 14 and 16-plate Safari HD12s (the big ones).

Of those... the 10 plate was hopeless. The 14 plate was absolutely 100% reliable and more or less fault free, and at one point it was the highest mileage Temsa in Britain. Buoyed by the performance of the 14, the two 16-plates arrived.

The little one continually jettisoned pulleys and leaked like a sieve from the day and hour it arrived. Some of the fit and finish was pretty grim but it went like the hammers of fuck and was a popular little bus. The big one was a pig in a poke and ended up on it's side over the crash barrier on the M9 of an evening and that was the end of that until Caledonian got their hands on it.

At Marbill we've got eight, five big (2x 67-plate, 1x 68 and 2x 20s) and three small (2x 19-plate 34 seaters with toilets and a 20-plate 39 seater). Can't say there has been any major issues with any of them, though electrics can be flaky and the 67-plates are VERY soft riding - they bounce and pitch alarmingly when you're not used to it. Fit & finish, especially in the cab is poor but mechanically they're about as simple as can be - DAF/ZF auto in the big ones, Cummins/ZF auto in the little 'uns.

My biggest complaints on the Safari as a driver are visibility - the door and cab window could be doing with being maybe four inches taller - and the brake pedal sits almost vertically and a good inch and a half higher than the accelerator, a real pain in the arse in traffic.

The little ones are fantastic things.

[Norbert]

NXWMs bus-naming team seems to have developed a sense of humour...

[cms206]

6.30am at Charnock Richard services on our first Alton Towers of the year.

Today will be A Long Day.

[Yoss]

9 hours ago, cms206 said:

6.30am at Charnock Richard services on our first Alton Towers of the year.

Today will be A Long Day.

Jesus, what time did you leave Glasgow? And when are you expecting to get back? And don't they have theme parks in Scotland? So many questions. 

[High Jetter]

Nah, it's to cold!

[cms206]

5 hours ago, Yoss said:

Jesus, what time did you leave Glasgow? And when are you expecting to get back? And don't they have theme parks in Scotland? So many questions. 

0145 sign on, 0200 out the depot. School picked up at 3, 30 minute break at Charnock Richard then into Alton Towers for 8.45am.

Tacho out, 9 hours day rest in a fantastic B&B with breakfast on arrival, dinner before departure and transport there & back included; tacho back in 1745, quick walkround, 1750 departure.

Just arrived at Gretna services at 2110, so back on the road north at 2155 after a 45min break, into the school maybe 0030, depot for 0115, fuel & adblue bus, drop and recharge the toilet, run it through the wash, sweep & mop. Finish maybe 0200, home for 0220.

Tomorrow is 1115 sign on for a midday pickup in Troon (Marr Rugby to Currie RFC for anyone into that sort of thing) and return after the match, Sunday is 0500 sign on for the Greenock shift bus into the base then a football run into Ibrox.

 

Off Monday & Tuesday thank fuck!

[Yoss]

Must admit 9 hours in a B&B sounds infinitely better than a day at Alton Towers. 

[cms206]

6 hours ago, Yoss said:

Must admit 9 hours in a B&B sounds infinitely better than a day at Alton Towers. 

I never normally sleep that well in B&Bs but the bed was outstanding, blackout blinds and nice and cool... think I went up about 10am and woke up about 3.30.

Teachers said it was snowing through the day. Oh dear, how sad.

[Zelandeth]

When we did the school trip to Alton Towers back in 1998-ish it was Turriff to there by a late Volvo B58 based Supreme III.  GIB7513 (originally NSU640V).

https://flic.kr/p/nBL1ML

The second bus was a slightly newer early B10M Van Hool Alizee.  They arrived significantly later than we did.  Two reasons...first they had a working speed limiter, we didn't.  Secondly despite their coach being a couple of tonnes heavier, they were being propelled by the same engine.

The vast majority of folks on our bus spent most of the trip complaining about the fact we didn't have the TV the other bus did, I couldn't have cared less.  

Gib was a cracking old coach and went like the bloody clappers.  Wound up exported to Ireland somewhere around 2001 whereupon it was almost immediately involved in an RTC and got scrapped.

 

Best trip we ever had to AT as a family though was back around 2012.  We went on a cold, slightly drizzly day.  Not poor enough weather anything was closed, just enough to put people off.  Place was virtually deserted, didn't have to queue for anything.  

[martc]

You can almost smell the 1970's in this shot.

[Zelandeth]

3 hours ago, martc said:

You can almost smell the 1970's in this shot.

... I'm pretty sure one of the other vehicles Amber Travel had on fleet had a virtually identical interior to that, TKS666T.  Didn't see much of that one as it catastrophically overheated pretty soon after it was allocated to our run.  Like "the exhaust manifold was glowing cherry red" overheated.

[Leyland Worldmaster]

A couple of LT Types somewhat surprisingly far away from Central London... 

[martc]

Cheapside & St.Mary le Bow.

[UltraWomble]

I picked up a metric shitlaod of photos at the local auction today. 

I've lobbed them on eBay as job lots as they are not my thing but these minibus ones looked like shite. 

I believe these had a habit of bursting into flames....