Bus Shite

[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.

[martc]

Almost definitely H&S. Towards the end of my spottings the drivers wore motorbike gear - gauntlets, leathers and a helmet so you could see the creeping fear of litigation. Before then the driver had a heavy coat, mittens and a scarf. Bus chassis's to Scarborough are still a regular sight but they are always on a flat back. I suppose there's a possibility that the bare chassis are supplied in a form where they can't be self propelled. The ones on the backs of lorries are accompanied by a lot of packing cases no doubt full of mechanical gubbings. In the old days I don't recall any extra luggage (the one in the picture above is without extra boxes).

And come to think of it it was probably 35 years ago when I last saw a self propelled chassis, not 20 years as I first thought....

[Inspector Morose]

2 hours ago, Yoss said:

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.

Most modern chassis can’t support themselves without the bodywork these days so would have to be braced up to the hilt for it to be safe to drive from Guilford to Falkirk (or wherever). So, that bracing has to be transported back for the next chassis movement which would have to be done by lorry. Not much of a logical leap to work out it’d be much easier and cheaper just to shift the whole chassis with the lorry (two on one lorry so saving a driver as well).

As production has been consolidated so much in this country, only Alexander Dennis would require chassis to be moved far anyway. Most manufacturers build the under frame in one part of the same factory as the body, if not all at the same time.

Overseas chassis come in for bodying by truck - who these days would want to drive a bare chassis for thousands of miles with nowt but a bit of plywood for protection? Plus, there’s only Plaxton building coaches nowadays so for the few chassis coming over, lorry is so much easier and cheaper.

 

Edit: I very much doubt H&S is anything to do with it more than a easy excuse for companies to stop doing anything. What they really mean is that they don’t want their arses sued by the ambulance chasers but let’s just blame H&S instead because it’s ‘always’ their fault.

[AnnoyingPentium]

7 hours ago, martc said:

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.

My Granda used to drive up lorry bodies to Greenock in a fashion like this.

[willswitchengage]

2 hours ago, Yoss said:

Or have we stopped exporting chassis?

I think a few end up in Singapore and Hong Kong with local bodywork, but I imagine hardly any these days.

Those at the end of their life still sound brilliant.

 

[willswitchengage]

On 4/28/2022 at 10:22 PM, Leyland Worldmaster said:

How 'retro' is this moquette ! 🤩

I remember that being on everything in the late 90s. Loved it.

[Leyland Worldmaster]

This is an excellent resource for Leyland Motors and Leyland Bus stuff. Lots of beautiful Technical Drawings as well. 

http://www.naimad.co.uk/jmswarbrick/michael/Life Story/outlineworkinglife.html

[Metal Guru]

2 hours ago, High Jetter said:

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.

I can only recall the Bedford CA with sliding front doors. What else had them?