Bus Shite

[Inspector Morose]

1 hour ago, busmansholiday said:

My reason for including this shot of  116, a 1958 Met Cam bodied PD2/40 can be seen if you look very closely at the front corner below the driver. Yes, that's a semaphore trafficator, sticking out to indicate the bus is pulling out. This was the last bus I ever saw with one, and there's only one on each side, at the front. You can see why they were replaced by flashing indicators (on the side and back).

 

Sad anorak fact #842 - One of the first instances of the use of flashing indicators in the UK was on Bradford trolleybus 758 (FKU758) in 1952.

 

You're welcome.

[Yoss]

1 hour ago, busmansholiday said:

 

TTFN.

The Handleys store behind the bus became Debenhams. On the opposite corner to the right was an old fashioned John Lewis. Both closed within months of each other a couple of years ago turning Southsea town centre in to a ghost town pretty much overnight. 

[Inspector Morose]

It's about 1992 and I'd not long bought NOB413M back from Anglesey and was keeping it at work. This did give me the opportunity to line it up with visiting vehicles from time to time.

GNY432C was a Massey bodied Leyland Titan PD3, formerly Caerphilly UDC No. 32. Unbelievably thhe Titan was still used for bus service by Green Bus of Great Wyrley but in this instance it had popped over to pick up a load of retrimmed East Lancs patern seats we had for one of our old REs.

[jon.k]

I think I saw NOB413M  in Wythall a couple of weeks ago.

I'd not been there before but it was a very good day out with a bonus ride in a fleetline and an excellent secondhand bookshop!

[Inspector Morose]

Yes, 4413 is now a Wythal resident. Oddly so is 6311 KON311P. Why significant? Well, most of the back of 4413 was rebuilt using 6311s twin, 6312 after the last operator backed it into his garage the day before selling it to me.

[Remspoor]

Three cheers as it is the platinum jubilee,

Oh and Stagecoach has may have been sold.

https://www.stagecoachbus.com/news/national/2022/march/proposed-sale-of-stagecoach

 

[High Jetter]

Is that HM's new personal transport?

[catsinthewelder]

International asset management company doesn't sound like a positive future.  On the other hand, bad things happening to Stagecoach are probably good news for the rest of the bus industry.

[colino]

There's a lot of coaches/buses at Sweeney Kincaid auction  in Hillingdon (can't do linky).  Is that someone else bit the dust?

 

 

[cms206]

13 minutes ago, colino said:

There's a lot of coaches/buses at Sweeney Kincaid auction  in Hillingdon (can't do linky).  Is that someone else bit the dust?

 

 

Gibson Direct, Renfrew; doors closed April 4th, following Henry Crawford on April 1st.

Crawford was a retiral, Gibson collapsed.

[cms206]

Being punted about more than normal this past fortnight; today's chariot was former Lothian 626, a Dennis Trident still carrying East Coast Buses livery.

[Yoss]

39 minutes ago, catsinthewelder said:

International asset management company doesn't sound like a positive future.  On the other hand, bad things happening to Stagecoach are probably good news for the rest of the bus industry.

Stagecoach built their empire on the asset stripping of others so it'll be second nature to them. 

When they bought Hampshire Bus they promptly sold Southampton bus station, Grosvenor Square bus garage and the coach station that backed on to it. They got more for those two pieces of land than they paid for the whole company. They then sold their Southampton operations to Solent Blue Line (who were really Southern Vectis) but minus any land of course. I believe that went on all over the country so I doubt many people will be too upset if nasty things happen to them. 

[Leyland Worldmaster]

How 'retro' is this moquette ! 🤩

[Eyersey1234]

1 hour ago, cms206 said:

Being punted about more than normal this past fortnight; today's chariot was former Lothian 626, a Dennis Trident still carrying East Coast Buses livery.

We had a couple of ex Lothian Trident open toppers, T509/10 SSG. Never drove T509 SSG but T510SSG was a nice bus to drive considering it was a Trident, the 2 ones we bought new in 2000 were apparently like beached whales to drive, I say apparently as they were at Finglands when I started so never drove them

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, Yoss said:

Stagecoach built their empire on the asset stripping of others so it'll be second nature to them. 

When they bought Hampshire Bus they promptly sold Southampton bus station, Grosvenor Square bus garage and the coach station that backed on to it. They got more for those two pieces of land than they paid for the whole company. They then sold their Southampton operations to Solent Blue Line (who were really Southern Vectis) but minus any land of course. I believe that went on all over the country so I doubt many people will be too upset if nasty things happen to them. 

Yup, it's a business model. Busses, or even passengers, are incidental.

[martc]

Looking south towards Central Station from near the intersection of Hay Street and Pitt Street in Haymarket, Sydney in September 1968.

I'm sure m'learned colleagues can shed some light on the bus type. I'm guessing it's home made as it doesn't quite look British.

[MorrisItalSLX]

2 hours ago, martc said:

Looking south towards Central Station from near the intersection of Hay Street and Pitt Street in Haymarket, Sydney in September 1968.

I'm sure m'learned colleagues can shed some light on the bus type. I'm guessing it's home made as it doesn't quite look British.

It’s appears to be a Leyland Titan OPD2/1, body by Commonwealth Engineering of Granville NSW. Operated by the NSW State Government and in service from the late 1940s to the late 1970s (roughly).

Given the street furniture in the photo, I’d say it was taken in the mid-late 1960s

[High Jetter]

4 hours ago, martc said:

I'm guessing it's home made as it looks very grumpy!

EFA!

[martc]

Another Aussie bus, looks similar to the one above without the silver radiator surround; still looking grumpy. 'Looking East at a bustling Oxford Street towards Rowe Street on the left from near the intersection of Newland and Oxford Streets in October 1971' apparently..

[High Jetter]

Destination board would have Manuel running round, and round, and round...

[Leyland Worldmaster]

7 hours ago, martc said:

Another Aussie bus, looks similar to the one above without the silver radiator surround; still looking grumpy. 'Looking East at a bustling Oxford Street towards Rowe Street on the left from near the intersection of Newland and Oxford Streets in October 1971' apparently..

The previous one looks like a Leyland Titan. This looks like it might have an AEC Regent chassis... 🤓

[Remspoor]

got a link to this the other day.

Now I have read that the buses have been temporally withdrawn. Because two have evidently caught fire, recently.

https://www.france24.com/en/france/20220429-paris-suspends-bolloré-electric-buses-after-two-catch-fire

[Leyland Worldmaster]

3 hours ago, Remspoor said:

got a link to this the other day.

Now I have read that the buses have been temporally withdrawn. Because two have evidently caught fire, recently.

https://www.france24.com/en/france/20220429-paris-suspends-bolloré-electric-buses-after-two-catch-fire

https://driventowrite.com/2021/11/27/the-appliance-of-science/#more-75777

Some good points raised in the above article! 

[busmansholiday]

19 hours ago, Leyland Worldmaster said:

The previous one looks like a Leyland Titan. This looks like it might have an AEC Regent chassis... 🤓

Certainly is, Mk III chassis with preselector gearbox, the headlights were required to be a lot closer to the edges in Aussie land than the UK, hence the odd look.

[Dyslexic Viking]

Bus chassis in Norway often came with the railway and then was driven as in the picture to the company that was  building the body . The longest of these trips could be 700km and were done all year round so needless to say this was cold in the winter and dangerous as they struggled with road grip due to lack of weight.

And is unsure when this practice ended.

[martc]

23 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

Bus chassis in Norway often came with the railway and then was driven as in the picture to the company that was  building the body . The longest of these trips could be 700km and were done all year round so needless to say this was cold in the winter and dangerous as they struggled with road grip due to lack of weight.

And is unsure when this practice ended.

I don't live a million miles away from the Plaxton factory at Scarborough and you would regularly see chassis being delivered in this manner I can't remember the last time I saw this sight, perhaps 20 years ago. They are now delivered on the back of lorries.

[Yoss]

They also used to be a semi regular sight heading down to Southampton docks but, as above, I also can't remember when I last saw one. 

[RoadworkUK]

Yup, regular sight on the A14 (A45 back then), too, en route to Marshalls of Cambridge.

[Yoss]

That's got me wondering now when it stopped being a thing. Has health and safety kicked in or does it still happen and I just haven't seen them? But I used to see them a couple of times a year. Or have we stopped exporting chassis?  I hadn't even given it a thought until now.

[High Jetter]

H&S I'd guess - high risk of somebody leaping on, falling through and getting wrapped round the propshaft. Or the driver falling out...

You don't see sliding front doors on vans now either.