Bus Shite

[DVee8]

[DVee8]

[DVee8]

[DVee8]

[busmansholiday]

Some crackers there @DVee8.

 

[Inspector Morose]

3 hours ago, High Jetter said:

Don Everall's yard, Wolverhampton – 1967

The company was one of the UK's largest dealers in second hand buses and coaches, and this was their main depot at Bilston Street.

Of particular interest are the two double-deck buses behind the trailer in the foreground. They are two of the 5 buses built to carry cyclists when the Dartford Tunnel opened in October 1963. They were built by Strachans on Ford Thames Trader lorry chassis and had racks for normal cycles on the lower deck, with space for tandems in the rear; seats for cyclists were provided on the upper deck. Originally 4 buses were needed to run a 6-minute headway service, but demand failed to live up to expectations and by April 1964 just one bus was being run. The bus service ceased in 1965, being replaced with Land Rovers with trailers. The buses were unsuitable for any other use, and must be some of the shortest lived vehicles in the history of British bus operations.

 

Picture and words courtesy of (the delightfully named) Alan Murray-Rust.

 

 

Even more unbelievably, TT4 still exists and has finally gone in for restoration a few months ago at London Bus Works.

[Inspector Morose]

1 hour ago, DVee8 said:

Another survivor, this one. Preserved by the North East Bus Preservation Trust.

[High Jetter]

3 hours ago, Inspector Morose said:

Even more unbelievably, TT4 still exists and has finally gone in for restoration a few months ago at London Bus Works.

Great news, but could you enlighten us which one is TT4?

[Inspector Morose]

8 hours ago, High Jetter said:

Great news, but could you enlighten us which one is TT4?

The fourth one of the five Dartford crossing Thames Trader cycle carriers built (529FJJ). Rescued from a quarry in Shropshire in the ‘90s, minus its front axle and mechanical components.
 

[catsinthewelder]

For more info....

https://londonist.com/london/transport/dartford-tunnel-bike-bus

[UltraWomble]

23 hours ago, ETCHY said:

I was at Fishwick & Ribble running day in Leyland earlier.

Rode on a Leyland National mk2. When you compare the ride to a modern you realise how shit moderns are  & that at least comfort wise we've gone backwards.

I'd take the National in a crash too unlike modern flimsy buses.

 

[Zelandeth]

20 minutes ago, UltraWomble said:

 

Alexander PS bodied B10M like the first one in that first photo is one of the buses I'm still irked never to have had a chance to drive.  Spent hundreds of hours on them as a passenger, but never driven one.  Know they're pretty well liked by drivers and maintenance engineers alike.

You're right though.  The move to ever smaller wheels, stiffer suspension and more poorly designed seating (read: cheaper) really has made buses so much more unpleasant to travel on.

A halfway well looked after National or Olympian will ride more comfortably than probably 3/4 of the coaches on the market these days.

[ETCHY]

2 hours ago, UltraWomble said:

 

The Fishwick & Sons Fowler bodied Tiger Cub was a real treat to ride on. It looks like it was made from Lego it's so angular but it's uber cool imo.

Still makes me sad that Fishwick & Sons have gone, they were a great company, & seeing a 2 tone green National thundering through a town is part of my childhood.

[busmansholiday]

2 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Alexander PS bodied B10M like the first one in that first photo is one of the buses I'm still irked never to have had a chance to drive.  Spent hundreds of hours on them as a passenger, but never driven one.  Know they're pretty well liked by drivers and maintenance engineers alike.

A local operator has two which they use on local schools services. Trundle past my house twice a day.

[Zelandeth]

5 minutes ago, busmansholiday said:

A local operator has two which they use on local schools services. Trundle past my house twice a day.

Bluebird had one oddball PS I used to encounter on odd occasions back around 2005 ish which confused the hell out of me when the driver started it up first time I was on it and the noise came from directly under where I was sitting on the back seat rather than up front.  It was a Scania (K-113 I believe) under the body rather than a Volvo.  Notable as well as being on a G plate, which was pretty old for their fleet then.

I've no idea what gearbox and axle that thing had in it, but it went like hell.  This was when the timetables on the 307 between Inverurie and Aberdeen were really tight, and I distinctly remember us overtaking pretty much everything along the A96 while I was quite contentedly sitting there listening to the engine sing.  Sure everyone else had their fingers in their ears, but I was happy!  Apparently the reason that those two buses tended to get shuffled around all over the shop was that their performance came with it a truly terrifying thirst for fuel.  Only travelled on them a couple of times before they vanished.  Probably long since scrapped now.

[quicksilver]

For @Yoss, @LightBulbFun and the other RM fans, a Routemaster with an identity crisis. The fleetnumber says RM1400 but the reg belongs to RM1398.

Apparently it is the real RM1400 but the reg 400CLT was sold off and is in use on a 1967 Mustang, and 398CLT was the closest to it available. Adding to the confusion, RM1398 is still alive too as KGJ118A.

[LightBulbFun]

hah cool! funnily enough I saw that bus and thought I papped it myself just a few days ago  

sadly not, but heres a some other photos I took of the Route 38 running day on the 16th, that I managed to attend (which RM1400 was a part of)

first up was KGU4 RTL554, this was my first time on an RTL so that was quite fun  (been on an RTW and RT in the past)

STL2377 was on Route also, was really amazing to see a 1930's STL in the flesh and in working service  sadly I did not quite manage to grab a ride on it

 

I spotted this Bently which made me think of @83C

then we finally got to Victoria, and waited for our bus to arrive, first went 527CLT, RM1527

then VLT5, RM5

then finally RM1 showed up  I like the Clapton Garage code plate, nice little attention to detail there for the 38

being the first prototype it has some interesting small detail differences like the saloon heater outlet

and different rear indicators 

and front indicators too, RM1 and RM2 uniquly had cream coloured ears, where all other buses had standard black ones

it was amusing to see this disc did not match!

and I managed to bag a seat behind the driver, I did check the speedo with a GPS speedo app on my phone and it was surprisingly accurate

and an interesting little plaque on one of the window winder mechanisms 

and an upper deck shot, notice the lack of opening front windows and simple ventilators, something unique to early RM's

very interestingly to me, some of the lightbulbs in the upper saloon had etches on them! the Saloon bulbs on a Routemaster and an RT are something unique to London Transport, 24V 22W 50Mm bulb

no one else ever used such a combination and i have never been able to find any in any catalogs, always a bit of an enigma to me, up until now all I had seen simply had a black ink stamp on the base "24V 22W LT"

and that was it, but these bulbs had an actual etch on the crown of the bulb, sadly tho the etches are quite faded and I cant make out what it says in the middle

but still very interesting to see! after some shuffling about 

finally caught my final bus for the day, SMK760F, RML2760, the Last Routemaster built and a personal favourite of mine  

bagged the near side seat this time for a good view into the cab, she was being driven in semi-auto mode which I thought was interesting

the inside illuminated advert was still working which was nice to see  

saw KYY653, RT1798 

before waving goodbye to RML2760 and heading home

and I have to say oh my gosh why are modern buses not this comfortable the RM and even RT are way nicer to be on then any modern bus, much smoother ride and much more comfortable seats  

 

it was really awesome to finally get out and about on the buses, it had been 6 years since I was last able to ride on an RM so it felt good to do so again  

 

[Inspector Morose]

3 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

being the first prototype it has some interesting small detail differences different rear indicators 

And that often missed little detail of the nearside tail light being integrated into the bottom of the grab rail. It's this exquisite little detail that makes me forgive it for being a Routemaster.

[Yoss]

23 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

hah cool! funnily enough I saw that bus and thought I papped it myself just a few days ago  

sadly not, but heres a some other photos I took of the Route 38 running day on the 16th, that I managed to attend (which RM1400 was a part of)

first up was KGU4 RTL554, this was my first time on an RTL so that was quite fun  (been on an RTW and RT in the past)

STL2377 was on Route also, was really amazing to see a 1930's STL in the flesh and in working service  sadly I did not quite manage to grab a ride on it

 

I spotted this Bently which made me think of @83C

then we finally got to Victoria, and waited for our bus to arrive, first went 527CLT, RM1527

then VLT5, RM5

then finally RM1 showed up  I like the Clapton Garage code plate, nice little attention to detail there for the 38

being the first prototype it has some interesting small detail differences like the saloon heater outlet

and different rear indicators 

and front indicators too, RM1 and RM2 uniquly had cream coloured ears, where all other buses had standard black ones

it was amusing to see this disc did not match!

and I managed to bag a seat behind the driver, I did check the speedo with a GPS speedo app on my phone and it was surprisingly accurate

and an interesting little plaque on one of the window winder mechanisms 

and an upper deck shot, notice the lack of opening front windows and simple ventilators, something unique to early RM's

very interestingly to me, some of the lightbulbs in the upper saloon had etches on them! the Saloon bulbs on a Routemaster and an RT are something unique to London Transport, 24V 22W 50Mm bulb

no one else ever used such a combination and i have never been able to find any in any catalogs, always a bit of an enigma to me, up until now all I had seen simply had a black ink stamp on the base "24V 22W LT"

and that was it, but these bulbs had an actual etch on the crown of the bulb, sadly tho the etches are quite faded and I cant make out what it says in the middle

but still very interesting to see! after some shuffling about 

finally caught my final bus for the day, SMK760F, RML2760, the Last Routemaster built and a personal favourite of mine  

bagged the near side seat this time for a good view into the cab, she was being driven in semi-auto mode which I thought was interesting

the inside illuminated advert was still working which was nice to see  

saw KYY653, RT1798 

before waving goodbye to RML2760 and heading home

and I have to say oh my gosh why are modern buses not this comfortable the RM and even RT are way nicer to be on then any modern bus, much smoother ride and much more comfortable seats  

 

it was really awesome to finally get out and about on the buses, it had been 6 years since I was last able to ride on an RM so it felt good to do so again  

 

I'm glad you managed to make it, I was working unfortunately. It is great to see so many RTs out and about. I mean it's good to see RMs too but they don't seem so exotic to me for obvious reasons. Hard to believe it's eighteen years since they came out of regular service but I've spent so much of my life on them they still don't feel unusual. But as I never knew RTs in service I do always lean towards them on these running days.

Also great to see them running right in to the heart of London. Most of these running days stick to the suburbs.

Glad you enjoyed it.

[calebaaront]

Today's find at work, a load of old timetables. Not sure if it's any interest to anyone? 

[DVee8]

[Inspector Morose]

Meh, much preferred this.

 

Just check out the wiper set up for starters. Sunderland of that period fascinates me , one of a relatively few cases of an operator flying in the face of convention to try new ideas out. 

[Asimo]

What are the car doors from?

 

[High Jetter]

This happened locally, no details as to the cause as yet published:

Another recovery job for Mick Gould

[busmansholiday]

Have another fire victim, except this was taken about 5 hours before it burst into flames on the M5 last night.

[HairySteve]

2 hours ago, busmansholiday said:

Have another fire victim, except this was taken about 5 hours before it burst into flames on the M5 last night.

To be fair, it's over 1000 years old. So it's not done badly.

[martc]

This is the Avenue de l’Opera in Paris and the badge shows that it's a Berliet (or at least the chasis is), but that's all I know.

[martc]

Station Approach, New Barnet, c1992

and 2023 -

 

[busmansholiday]

8 minutes ago, martc said:

This is the Avenue de l’Opera in Paris and the badge shows that it's a Berliet (or at least the chasis is), but that's all I know.

One of a small batch of Berliet / Saviem deckers they had in the late 60's, early 70's (I posted a pic of one I took in Paris in 1971 many, many pages back).

Front engined (under the driver) and front wheel drive. Basically the single deck with another one stuck on top. Didn't last long, think one survives.

[busmansholiday]

Here we go @martc,

 

Paris, 1971.

Apparently one of these also survived.

 

https://citroenvie.com/citroen-cityrama-coach-restoration/