Bus Shite

[Yoss]

I don't know yet either, firstly I haven't started marking days off on next year's calendar yet, and secondly there's rumours of another revision at our office so my days off could change. All I know is I get one in three Saturdays off so we will just have to see nearer the time. 

I know they wouldn't want normal drivers near their buses but you've had a lot of more experience than a lot of London drivers who come in and have only driven whatever their garage operates. If I was in your position I'd be waving my CV under their noses! Maybe not an RT but something like a Titan would be neat wouldn't it?

[artdjones]

11 hours ago, The Old Bloke Next Door said:

Because of the backlog of orders for electric bus charging kit delaying the new NXWM buses entering service, some have already been built for 6 months.

Yardley Wood garage have had to keep Tridents running longer than originally planned. Veteran 4393 now the last remaining 2002 vehicle in the fleet passed a fresh mot  yesterday (with no advisories).

Here it is at seven years old.

Theres a fleet of electric buses in Dublin that have been hanging around for a year with no charging provision as yet.

[108]

10 hours ago, artdjones said:

Theres a fleet of electric buses in Dublin that have been hanging around for a year with no charging provision as yet.

Yes, 100 double deckers and 34 single, with more on order. 

[MorrisItalSLX]

Please enjoy my somewhat limited selection of photos from my visit to the Sydney Bus Museum.

[MorrisItalSLX]

There was also a spin out in this AEC Regent around the Sydney CBD.

And a bonus shot for @LightBulbFun

[cms206]

For the benefit of @Yoss and others who may have missed it, some photos from the running day at North Finchley on the 19th... naturally M1014 was the highlight for me (and what a beautifully set up Metrobus it is) but an honourable mention for RM2023 which had several of the assembled frothing contingent literally furious.

[LightBulbFun]

Awesome stuff! I personally quite like the condition of RM2023, its a good representation of how badly MTL looked after their poor Routemasters!

and weird seeing the Metrobus on the 26, the current 26 is a local route to me, so its quite funky to see, even more so when none of the rest of the blinds match of course to the current route 26  

[LightBulbFun]

speaking of Routemasters dragging this up from the eBay tat thread

On 22/12/2018 at 22:57, LightBulbFun said:

Dear Santa... 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/283279814191

im surprised ensign still had a Routemaster undercover for sale like this, I figured they shifted them all a good 10+ years ago...

On 23/12/2018 at 02:02, Felly Magic said:

It has probably been built by them with all the spares they had, I'm sure they were kicking them out to people with more money than functioning brains, mind you to buy anything from Ensign, that is a legal requirement I think

as Im sure it was meant jokingly

however I happened to just now be passing the time reading RML histories on Ian Bus stop as you do, and it turns out someone really did make an RML out of spare parts! 

I'd love to find out more about that, for example how much of the bodywork was from which Routemaster etc!

[83C]

41 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

speaking of Routemasters dragging this up from the eBay tat thread

as Im sure it was meant jokingly

however I happened to just now be passing the time reading RML histories on Ian Bus stop as you do, and it turns out someone really did make an RML out of spare parts! 

I'd love to find out more about that, for example how much of the bodywork was from which Routemaster etc!

Most RMs are an amalgamation of parts anyway, the ID is just a way of identifying it for paperwork purposes. 

[Yoss]

1 hour ago, 83C said:

Most RMs are an amalgamation of parts anyway, the ID is just a way of identifying it for paperwork purposes. 

I refer you to my previous post.

On 18/11/2023 at 18:21, Yoss said:

Because London Transport were a law unto themselves and could do whatever they wanted?

 

[Yoss]

9 hours ago, cms206 said:

For the benefit of @Yoss and others who may have missed it, some photos from the running day at North Finchley on the 19th... naturally M1014 was the highlight for me (and what a beautifully set up Metrobus it is) but an honourable mention for RM2023 which had several of the assembled frothing contingent literally furious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The owner of RM 2023 Is a good friend of mine. She bought the bus direct from Holloway Garage in 1998 when the 139 went one man. The 139 was the last route left with all unrefurbished RMs. She ran it for a few years but it had been off the road for a long time and only recently been dug out again. It has been kept undercover all that time though so that Holloway patina hasn't been lost!

Her younger brother also bought RM 2097 from Holloway at the same time at the age of 16 for £1500. It was that cheap because it had been stripped for spares so had no engine or gearbox or seats or stairs or platform, only a few windows and most of the cab was missing. He spent a lot of time going up and down the M1 to Barnsley, back in the days when the Barnsley scrapyards still had lots of RMs in them. He sourced an AEC AV690 from the RAF of all places. It had been used as a mobile generator.

He finally got it all back together and in tip top mechanical condition but it too still looks like his sister's bus. But this is mainly because he started doing work on other people's buses, including mine a few times. He is now pretty much the foremost Routemaster fixer in the country. In fact as I type this he is in Japan fixing RMs over there. And it all started from him buying what most people would consider a scrap bus in 1998.

But despite its looks RM 2097 is by far the best Routemaster I have driven. As I say, it has the AV690 11.3 litre engine as used in RMA/RCLs but still with the standard speed diff so it flies like nothing else I've ever driven. It will also pick up from walking speed in top gear and sail up hills like Routemasters generally don't making for a very relaxed drive.

[martc]

NuT.

[N19]

That running day was just around the corner from me - I took a trip on what was supposed to be an RM journey down the 263, but substituted for a preserved E400 (a preserved E400, let that sink in, I must be getting old) then a trip on the Metro on the return - I agree, excellent condition, apparently restored a few years ago but you'd be forgiven for thinking it'd just rolled out of being repainted.

[quicksilver]

16 hours ago, Yoss said:

He finally got it all back together and in tip top mechanical condition but it too still looks like his sister's bus. But this is mainly because he started doing work on other people's buses, including mine a few times. He is now pretty much the foremost Routemaster fixer in the country. In fact as I type this he is in Japan fixing RMs over there. And it all started from him buying what most people would consider a scrap bus in 1998.

Would that be 'Lord' Tim Barrington? Often seen in Pete and his Bus videos working his magic on various dilapidated RMs.

[Yoss]

Indeed. He's a nightmare to get hold of because whatever time you ring he'll probably be under a bus. Most people think that once you've reached tea time it's time to stop work but he has no concept of time. He'll think nothing of starting a job at 9pm even if it'll take until 2am. It's good that we have people like that though. If it was down to me nothing would get done, even if I knew what needed doing I probably couldn't be arsed.

[Weird Car]

Driving the Enviro 200 tonight, after not driving one for a good few month's i forgot how fun they can be. 

[Joey spud]

This sad looking Fleetline that had been hit and then shunted against a wall back in 1978 was posted on a site recently.

The story goes it was hit by a reversing fuel tanker. It was never repaired and got scrapped as it was due for withdrawal anyway.

Surely as a twelve year old bus couldn't this have been a viable repair ?

[artdjones]

39 minutes ago, Joey spud said:

This sad looking Fleetline that had been hit and then shunted against a wall back in 1978 was posted on a site recently.

The story goes it was hit by a reversing fuel tanker. It was never repaired and got scrapped as it was due for withdrawal anyway.

Surely as a twelve year old bus couldn't this have been a viable repair ?

Big fleets can be pretty ruthless in situations like that, especially if there are lots of good spares to be harvested from the vehicle.

[Cookiesouwest]

On 25/11/2023 at 13:35, Yoss said:

Indeed. He's a nightmare to get hold of because whatever time you ring he'll probably be under a bus. Most people think that once you've reached tea time it's time to stop work but he has no concept of time. He'll think nothing of starting a job at 9pm even if it'll take until 2am. It's good that we have people like that though. If it was down to me nothing would get done, even if I knew what needed doing I probably couldn't be arsed.

Is Tim a real Lord or is it nickname?

[Yoss]

Oh god no! Though I suppose Barrington sounds a bit posh. Hounslow born and bred. Though of course you probably need to be a millionaire to live there now but not when I first went there.

[quicksilver]

45 minutes ago, Cookiesouwest said:

Is Tim a real Lord or is it nickname?

He's not a legitimate peer of the realm but Pete did buy him one of those phony Lord titles in one of his videos so he has a piece of paper declaring him Lord Barrington. I don't think anybody has ever been ennobled for services to bus preservation, but he sounds like a deserving candidate.

[Saabnut]

Just had a call out of the blue from a good friend. In conversation he mentioned he recently bought this

 

He says the cable brakes make it "interesting" to drive but has said I can have a go next time I am down to see him!

[DVee8]

[Dyslexic Viking]

Something has come up for sale in Norway that might be interesting?

2003 Volvo B12M  with almost 19 meters length.

https://www.finn.no/b2b/bus/ad.html?finnkode=328725122

[Inspector Morose]

1939 Ragheno bodied Brossel 6DS of the Brussels fleet. Apparently hidden away until 1950 before being used in service. 15 of these were built and lasted until 1964. Now at the Museum of urban transport in Brussels (well worth the visit if you're in that neck of the woods).

[Remspoor]

1 hour ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

Something has come up for sale in Norway that might be interesting?

2003 Volvo B12M  with almost 19 meters length.

https://www.finn.no/b2b/bus/ad.html?finnkode=328725122

If Autoshite had a camper van conversion!

[martc]

Worswick Street bus station NuT, 1981. Don't worry, no-one got run over.

[willswitchengage]

On 18/11/2023 at 09:20, The Old Bloke Next Door said:

Because of the backlog of orders for electric bus charging kit delaying the new NXWM buses entering service, some have already been built for 6 months.

Yardley Wood garage have had to keep Tridents running longer than originally planned. Veteran 4393 now the last remaining 2002 vehicle in the fleet passed a fresh mot  yesterday (with no advisories).

Here it is at seven years old.

Those early Tridents are peak bus in my opinion. They sound badass and the front axles say SPICER on them, which is very cool.

[The Old Bloke Next Door]

An awesome decker compared to anything else on the fleet when they were first into service at Walsall. Fast, quiet, no rattles, great heaters, ice cold air-con. 

Last year, parked up awaiting departure  time after a change over, St. Pauls, Walsall.

[martc]

This looks like a British coaching party stranded abroad. The old fella is probably telling them how to do it/they are not doing it properly. Princess Anne seems to be enjoying herself and the lad in red is ready to go, demonstrated by rolling his sleeves up, but not actually doing anything (the youth, eh?).

Any idea what the coach is?