Bus Shite

[Leyland Worldmaster]

Vanhool A300, innit.

[martc]

Bodywork by Currus, chassis and engine from the Citroën U 55.

[Metal Guru]

12 hours ago, martc said:

Bodywork by Currus, chassis and engine from the Citroën U 55.

I hope it’s got seriously good aircon.

[busmansholiday]

Today is Monday December the 29th, 2025, and I'd like to tell you a story about this day, but the one back in 1975. Yes, 50 years ago to this very day December the 29th was also a Monday. Amazingly, despite those last 50years I know exactly what I was doing back then with buses (and a few trains) because earlier this year I came across an old notebook of mine where I'd written down what I'd photographed and where I'd been. So if you're already bored move on, if you want to see some of the pictures I took during this next week, half a century ago, enjoy things until Saturday.

Three or so years before (I cannot remember everything!) my best mate at school, and fellow anorak, let's call him Ed, had moved south due to his dad having been promoted from regional to company manager. Their head office was in that shithole at the southern end of the M1 (I could add that back then, the M1 connected two shitholes beginning with L) and to allow for commuting, his parents had settled in Amersham at the end of the Metropolitan line of London Transport's underground / overground system back then..  I'd been and stayed with them on at least the two previous Xmas New Year's periods so today wasn't anything new.

Armed with my trusty Zenith B camera and separate light meter (I forgot one year !! and had to borrow an Instamatic), my dad dropped me in Sheffield centre on his way to work and I walked across to the Central Bus Station (there were other smaller bus stations in Sheffield back then) to await my National Express coach to London.

Sheffield United Tours 432, TWJ432L, an AEC Reliace with Duple body that had been delivered in National white livery duly arrived on service 302 to London (internet pic of her, not mine, taken a few months later).

 

I duly arrived at Victoria Coach Station and walked to Victoria Underground Station to catch my train to Amersham. I took my only picture that day of RF615 (tommorow I would take nearly 30), well I took this.

 

 

The National Bus Company was sweeping away regional liveries in favour of the bland poppy red or leaf green liveries (yes, I know there were some operators who resisted and used blue) so I took the opportunity to photograph the "mint with the hole" as London Country Bus Services emblem was known on RF615. I should have photographed the RF as well, but each photograph you took cost money (and there were plenty of RF's around still) so there was no blitz everything like today, you selected what you wanted carefully.

I duely arrived at Ed's and we planned out our beer drinking, womanising bus travels for Tuesday.

[Metal Guru]

7 hours ago, busmansholiday said:

Today is Monday December the 29th, 2025, and I'd like to tell you a story about this day, but the one back in 1975. Yes, 50 years ago to this very day December the 29th was also a Monday. Amazingly, despite those last 50years I know exactly what I was doing back then with buses (and a few trains) because earlier this year I came across an old notebook of mine where I'd written down what I'd photographed and where I'd been. So if you're already bored move on, if you want to see some of the pictures I took during this next week, half a century ago, enjoy things until Saturday.

 

Three or so years before (I cannot remember everything!) my best mate at school, and fellow anorak, let's call him Ed, had moved south due to his dad having been promoted from regional to company manager. Their head office was in that shithole at the southern end of the M1 (I could add that back then, the M1 connected two shitholes beginning with L) and to allow for commuting, his parents had settled in Amersham at the end of the Metropolitan line of London Transport's underground / overground system back then..  I'd been and stayed with them on at least the two previous Xmas New Year's periods so today wasn't anything new.

 

Armed with my trusty Zenith B camera and separate light meter (I forgot one year !! and had to borrow an Instamatic), my dad dropped me in Sheffield centre on his way to work and I walked across to the Central Bus Station (there were other smaller bus stations in Sheffield back then) to await my National Express coach to London.

Sheffield United Tours 432, TWJ432L, an AEC Reliace with Duple body that had been delivered in National white livery duly arrived on service 302 to London (internet pic of her, not mine, taken a few months later).

 

 

 

I duly arrived at Victoria Coach Station and walked to Victoria Underground Station to catch my train to Amersham. I took my only picture that day of RF615 (tommorow I would take nearly 30), well I took this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The National Bus Company was sweeping away regional liveries in favour of the bland poppy red or leaf green liveries (yes, I know there were some operators who resisted and used blue) so I took the opportunity to photograph the "mint with the hole" as London Country Bus Services emblem was known on RF615. I should have photographed the RF as well, but each photograph you took cost money (and there were plenty of RF's around still) so there was no blitz everything like today, you selected what you wanted carefully.

 

I duely arrived at Ed's and we planned out our beer drinking, womanising bus travels for Tuesday.

 

No way 1975 was 50 years ago. It can only be about 20 or so!

[quicksilver]

This is not what I think of as a 20-year old bus. I remember when these Wrightbus Geminis first appeared and they still look modern now but it's firmly in the oldies category and took a break from its usual school duties to do some rail replacement today.

[Joey spud]

[mk2_craig]

4 hours ago, quicksilver said:

This is not what I think of as a 20-year old bus. I remember when these Wrightbus Geminis first appeared and they still look modern now but it's firmly in the oldies category and took a break from its usual school duties to do some rail replacement today.

That’s an old Lothian bus isn’t it? I stopped working for them just before those buses started arriving, and the fact that they’ve finished working in Edinburgh makes me feel damn old. 

[Leyland Worldmaster]

12 hours ago, busmansholiday said:

Today is Monday December the 29th, 2025, and I'd like to tell you a story about this day, but the one back in 1975. Yes, 50 years ago to this very day December the 29th was also a Monday. Amazingly, despite those last 50years I know exactly what I was doing back then with buses (and a few trains) because earlier this year I came across an old notebook of mine where I'd written down what I'd photographed and where I'd been. So if you're already bored move on, if you want to see some of the pictures I took during this next week, half a century ago, enjoy things until Saturday.

 

Three or so years before (I cannot remember everything!) my best mate at school, and fellow anorak, let's call him Ed, had moved south due to his dad having been promoted from regional to company manager. Their head office was in that shithole at the southern end of the M1 (I could add that back then, the M1 connected two shitholes beginning with L) and to allow for commuting, his parents had settled in Amersham at the end of the Metropolitan line of London Transport's underground / overground system back then..  I'd been and stayed with them on at least the two previous Xmas New Year's periods so today wasn't anything new.

 

Armed with my trusty Zenith B camera and separate light meter (I forgot one year !! and had to borrow an Instamatic), my dad dropped me in Sheffield centre on his way to work and I walked across to the Central Bus Station (there were other smaller bus stations in Sheffield back then) to await my National Express coach to London.

Sheffield United Tours 432, TWJ432L, an AEC Reliace with Duple body that had been delivered in National white livery duly arrived on service 302 to London (internet pic of her, not mine, taken a few months later).

 

 

 

I duly arrived at Victoria Coach Station and walked to Victoria Underground Station to catch my train to Amersham. I took my only picture that day of RF615 (tommorow I would take nearly 30), well I took this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The National Bus Company was sweeping away regional liveries in favour of the bland poppy red or leaf green liveries (yes, I know there were some operators who resisted and used blue) so I took the opportunity to photograph the "mint with the hole" as London Country Bus Services emblem was known on RF615. I should have photographed the RF as well, but each photograph you took cost money (and there were plenty of RF's around still) so there was no blitz everything like today, you selected what you wanted carefully.

 

I duely arrived at Ed's and we planned out our beer drinking, womanising bus travels for Tuesday.

 

Re: NBC Corporate type shit:

https://nationalbusmanual.com/category/design/

Hope you find this interesting, innit.

[quicksilver]

8 hours ago, mk2_craig said:

That’s an old Lothian bus isn’t it? I stopped working for them just before those buses started arriving, and the fact that they’ve finished working in Edinburgh makes me feel damn old. 

It is, very popular for school services being long-wheelbase and high-capacity. There were three of them on this job with different operators.

[artdjones]

8 hours ago, Leyland Worldmaster said:

Re: NBC Corporate type shit:

https://nationalbusmanual.com/category/design/

Hope you find this interesting, innit.

It's interesting. It's always puzzled me that NBC picked liveries and colours that seemed specially selected to look dirty and faded after a short space of time. 

[busmansholiday]

Tuesday December 30^th.

 

 

Fifty years ago there was no internet or mobile phones, these were things of Star Trek, or Bond movies (The Man with the Golden Gun was the latest - the one with the flying AMC Matador car), so our plans for today centred on what we had read in things like "Buses" magazine and talking with other enthusiasts. One of the things we'd read was of a vehicle shortage by LCBS and them borrowing vehicles from other operators. Back then, a "vehicle shortage" was a frequently used euphemism following a visit from "the man from the ministry", on this occasion LCBS did have shortages as the NBC was trying to modernise the aged fleet they had inherited of RFs, RTs and Routemasters when they had been split from London Transport five years previously.

We'd organised 'Golden Rover Tickets', this was effectively a Green Rover that covered all LCBS but also allowed travel on the Green Line network of cross London express bus services.

Ed's dad had a business meeting so offered to drop us at Garston, which was extremely useful as not only was there a LCBS depot (Garston (GR)), but it allowed easy access to Watford, from where we could head east. Here's some of the pics from GR depot that morning 50 years ago starting with RML2424 in proper green livery (I always thought the green livery was better than the red one) you’ll have to bare with me on some pictures as the colour has deteriorated over this last 50 years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The adverts on the front of RML2424 tell us the Green Rover was 75 pence whilst the Goldern Rover was £1.20

Modernised RF200, it's duties on Green Line services having been replaced by the RP class of Park Royal bodied AEC Reliances, the SMA class of Alexander 'W' bodied AEC Swifts (ordered by South Wales Transport but diverted ) and those new fangled Leyland things.

 

 

 

 

The one size fits all livery that really doesn’t fit RMC1457.  Note the already broken Leyland National inside the depot.

 

 

 

 

Around the back was red RT4683. This wasn’t ’withdrawn as such but was being used as a staff bus for workers at London Transport’s Aldeham Works, one of many that ended it's days like this.

 

 

We boarded green RT3530 on service 347A to Watford.

 

Back soon.

[busmansholiday]

Tuesday December 30^th, part 2

 This allowed a few more pictures of what was running that day starting with MB623 on service 258. Interestingly, records show that this MCW bodied Merlin was actually allocated to Bromley(TB) and not recorded as being elsewhere in December 1975. You obviously cannot believe everything you read on the internet therefore.

 

 

One of the vehicles LCBS were replacing RF’s with, Short Nasty Bus 112.

 

Clearly displaying its "On Hire to London Country Bus Services" sticker, MBS80 was on loan to GR.  It had been new as SMM80F but had been stored prior to entry into service so was re-registerd VLW80G. It was returned in January 1976,promptly withdrawn and dispatched to Radlett before disposal for scrap..

 

 

We then caught RMC1485 on service 311, Watford to Radlett. On this occasion we had more important things to do so didn't visit the infamous 'dump' on the old airfield that London Transport was using to store the SM and MB class Swifts and Merlin's they had fallen out with in spectacular fashion. Here's a picture I took on another visit.

 

 

Back soon.

[busmansholiday]

Tuesday December 30^th, part 3

 I've split up today to stop it being a very long, picture heavy post, so

it was then SNB75 on service 713 from Radlett to St Albans where a few more pictures were taken.

The SMW class of AEC Swifts (1 – 3 were Willowbrook two door bodies, the rest Marshall) had been acquired from South Wales Transport, another NBC company, to help with the modernisation of LCB. Here's SMW6,

 

and SMW12,

 

 

Bit of a crap shot of MBS401 & 400

 

 

RP12 on Green Line service 724 then took us to Harlow and another few pics were taken.

FT2 was one of just 5 (fortunately) Dormobile bodied Transits, the infamous “Bread Vans”, used on a local Dial-a–Ride service. Just think, that young couple are now well into their 70's.

 

 

 

Advert liveried AN6, a Park Royal bodied Atlantean. Back then there were no 'wraps', they were painted, you were also allowd to advertise fags and tobacco.  Note the 'Exact Fare please' 12p on the front.

 

 

Green RT4563, again with adverts for the Green and Golden Rovers we were making use of.

 

 

This, RT4563, then took us from Harlow to Bishop's Stortford on service 397 where money had then to be spent to catch  Eastern National BE2853 (an ECW bodied FLF) on service 70 to Dunmow, I can hear you going WTF, Dunmow.

More soon.

[busmansholiday]

Tuesday December 30^th, part 4

The reason we were at Dunmow was to visit Don's of Dunmow (who are actually still going today) as they had something we wanted to see. No it wasn't a couple of ex Yorkshire Traction Northern Counties bodied PD3As.

 

 Previously Tracky 1199, 

 

 

 

and 1204 which was un-repainted.

 

 

It wasn't even an ex Leicester Bridgemaster, it's origins being ovious as Leicester fitted the front registration plate above the cab on their deckers.

 

 

Not even a couple of ex South Wales front entrance Bridgemasters were the reason for being here.

 

 

 

 

It wasn't even this Eastern National FLF which was outstationed there,

 

 

 

 

 

it was the bus behind it though.

 

 

 

This was ex Sheffield Omnibus 1156 (the railways owned C fleet) a 1958 Leyland PD2 with Roe bodywork and the last double decker we knew about from the old C fleet still going.  A few months later I was amongst a group of enthusiasts who had a day trip back to Don's from Sheffield using a 1948 Barnaby bodied Bedford OB (LRB750) for a closer look at 1156. I'm pleased to say we purchased her from Don's and she still exists at the South Yorkshire Transport Museum.

 

 

 

Time to head back.

[busmansholiday]

Tuesday December 30^th, part 5

Eastern National CR2827 (another ECW FLF) on service 70 took us back to Bishop's Stortford, followed by RP7 on  service 397 to Harlow. Here we had a pleasant surprise as RC6 (which I had photographed earlier in the day)

 

 

appeared on service 396 to Hatfield. The RC class was a batch of 14 AEC Reliances with BET style Willowbrook bodies delivered in 1965 to London Transport to modernise the Greenline services. They weren't successful and ended up as service buses out in the sticks so this was a real treat.

Another RP, RP13 on GreenLine service 724 then took us from Hatfield to Staines.

Staines, yes Staines, because this is where we had read that some of the true AutoShite of 1960's rear engined single deck buses were on hire. These;

 

Daimler's infamous Roadliner, in this case Willowbrook bodied ones on loan from Bournemouth. The Roadliner was Daimler's attempt to get into the market that already had AEC's Swift (and Merlin), Leyland's Panther and Panther Cub, Bristol's RE (then only available to the THC companies), and Albion's Viking. The big difference with the Roadliner, and it's Achilles heel was the engine, the Cummings VIM200 V6. This was a high speed (by standards then) diesel that would be OK eating up miles of Interstate highways, but stop start bus work it hated. They failed regularly, and quite spectacularly, look it up on Wiki if you’ve never heard of them.  Notice RT4731 (above) in use as a Driver Trainner.

 

 

 

. Obviously therefore we needed to ride on one and we caught Bournemouth 56 on service 460 to Slough and here’s 56 and that was it for the day. The bloke stood to the right of Bournemouth 56 is my mate ED.  It was now beer time..

[busmansholiday]

 

 

Wednesday December 31^st, 1975.

 

 

 

Being New Years Eve we decided not to venture too far (don't want to waste too much drinking time), but it would be another Golden Rover day. We walked down to Amersham (MA) depot and caught SM451 on service 355 to Slough. We weren't going to turn down another ride on a Roadliner even if it was 56 again.

 

 

 

 

Back to Staines on the 360 and then RML2311 on service 352 to Uxbridge for a few pictures.

 

 

 At first glance there's nothing unusual about this photograph, then you realise route 305 is a green bus route. MB129 was new as SMM129F in February 1968 but stored until August 1968 and re-registered as VLW129G. It was loaned to LCBS and working from High Wycombe until withdrawn in January 1976, dispatched to Radlett and scrapped in 1977.

 

 

RP6 on service 727 then took us to Kingston upon Thames, followed by SNC162 on service 714 to Leatherhead. Here there were more Bournemouth buses on loan.

 

 

We caught Bournemouth 194, a Weymann bodied Daimler Fleetline on service 408 to West Croydon getting the front seats upstairs so allowing me to photograph oncoming buses including sisters 197;

 

 

 

 

and 192.  Plenty of chod to entertain you in the background.

 

 

This was a real 'spot', LCBS trainer T2, an ex Maidstone & District Harrington bodied Reliance.

 

 

West Croydon reached and 194 ready for its return.

 

 

But there was also this;

 

 

 

Southend 347 was an East Lancs bodied Leyland Titan PD3 that was new in December 1967, the same year operators like Manchester were introducing two door one man operated Atlanteans !!  It was actually on loan to London Transport, rather than LCBS.

Note the background traffic.

 

 

Hopefully one of you might recognise where all these pictures were taken and what it looks like today.

Our return started with RCL2226 on Greenline service 709 into London followed by RP40 on service 718 to Kingston upon Thames and SMA19 on service 725 to Uxbridge. We finished off with SM460 back to Amersham. Deffinately beer o'clock.

 

 

 

 Enjoy your New Years celebrations today, yes we really did get up tommorrow for more travel 50 years ago.

[martc]

You know these brand new, highly sophisticated electric buses? What a good idea, why haven't they thought about them before? Well....

It's 1906 and we're in that London. This had a range of 40 miles and used a battery swapping system. Everyone remarked on it's smooth, quiet, fume free ride. The project was abandoned a few years later due to 'financial and management problems'.

 

[busmansholiday]

 

Thursday January 1^st, 1976.

 

New Years day had 1976 arrived, and as we hadn't drunk too much* the night before we were up and on Red Rovers today. We caught the Underground to Uxbridge for a few pictures first.

RML2622 and RFs 598, 403 and 519. Route 207 that RML2622 was operating was of course previously trolleybus route 607.

 

 

For comparison here's unmodenised green RF 214.

 

 

We then set about using the buses starting with RML2262 (see above) on service 207 to Shepherds Bush, RM1188 on service 12 to Oxford Circus, RM2135 on service 25 to Beacontree Heath, DMS1617 on service 23 to Barking and RM102 on service 87 to Romford.

We'd come to see these.

 

These were the ex British Airways Routemasters (originally new to BEA or BOAC) that LT had acquired and pushed into service on the 175 from Romford (North street (NS)) depot. RMA 6 and 13 above, 3 below.

 

 

RMA 4  with RML2677 behind and one of those new fangled DMS's inside North Street. 

Pic RM

 

RM1667 and a MkI 'tina

 

 

We decided on a different way back.

DMS1886 on service 175, Romford to Beacontree Heath, followed by DMS145 on service 23 to East Ham, RML2594 on service 101 to Woolwich then after a break RML2388 on service 101 to East Ham, RML2549 on service 15 to Blackwall Tunnel, SM38 on service 10, to Charlton. From there DMS750 on service 177 to Greenwich, DMS282 on service 177 to Elephant & Castle, RM1269 on service 68 to Bloomsbury then RM2121 on service 25 to Oxford Circus, RM2304 on service 8 to Harrow Road, RM1075 on service 18 to Wembley Central, SMS756 on service 182 to Wembley Park and the Underground back to Amersham.

A long way to go to take just 6 pictures!

 

Hope you all have a happy and prosperous new year.

[auntiemaryscanary]

5 hours ago, busmansholiday said:

 

Hope you all have a happy and prosperous new year.

And to you too.

I right enjoyed your 50 year old bus tour. I would have liked to have joined you but mum and dad wouldn't have let me as I was only 5!

[lisbon_road]

Winchester bus running day today, the first of January.  The usual well organised day with a reasonable number of buses in attendance.  This one caught my attention, it is an ex Trent Leyland Tiger Cub.  I got the impression that someone has just bought this.  

[busmansholiday]

Friday January 2^nd, 1976.

 

 

Another Red Rover day today, although our target was actually more buses on loan to LCBS. Ed's dad dropped us at Ruislip where we caught SMS782 on service 273 from Ruislip Station to Ealing Broadway.

 

First, and only red bus picture of the day, 

RT4718

 

 

 

 

 

It was then RML2266 on service 207 to Shepherds Bush, RM1716 on the 88 to Oxford Circus, RML247on service 6 to Fleet Street, then RM1114 on service 6 to Bank.

RM370 on service 2 to Lewisham followed and then RT3589 on service 89 to Bexleyheath and DMS1480 on service 96 to Dartford. Here it was camera back in action time.

 

 SMA5, an Alexander 'W' bodied AEC Swift stands outside the old Dartford depot, it was demolished apparently in 1986. You can see in the background what we had come to see.

 

Maidstone Corporation 21, a 1962 Massey bodied Leyland Titan PD2A (the version with the St Helens fibreglass front) stands awaiting it's next duty. 

 

 

Tucked away inside the depot was this 1957 Burlingham bodied Leyland Titan PD3 that had been new to Ribble.

 

whilst around the back were RF223/173,

 

 

Getting into bus depots to take pictures was much easier 50 years ago, the H&S advice you got was generally "watch out for the buses and don't fall down the pits". 

 

Maidstone 14, a 1959 Massey bodied (tin front) PD2 was also on loan at Dartford,

 

 

 

as was Maidstone 23, a 1963 PD2A with Massey bodywork.

 

 

It was time to go home so again a slightly different way back, DMS184 on service 96 back to  Bexleyheath, DMS1484 on service 132 to Blackfen, RT4647 on  service 51A Orpington, RT941 on service 94 to Bromley, RM844 on service 47 to Lewisham. We finished off with RM1870 on service 36B to Marble Arch, RML2289 on service 13 to Golders Green and DMS1566 on service 183 to Harrow on the Hill and the Underground back.  Last night with Ed and his parents before a return to God's country tomorrow, but obviously via seeing some more buses. 

 

Here's a couple of crappy extra pics.

[busmansholiday]

Saturday January 3^rd, 1976.

With my return ticket to Sheffield in my pocket we set off for our final day with a Red Rover but as we had an urgent appointment at 15:00 we caught the Underground to Victoria. From there it was RM1696 on service 2 to Vauxhall then RM1716 on service 88 to Tooting Mitre.  Picture time as RT3103 was parked up.

 

DMS238 on service 64 then took us back to West Croydon and the hired in Southend Titans.

 

We only had time to catch up with Southend 333, a 1963 Massey bodied Leyland Titan PD3 on loan to London Transport. (nice aftermarket heated rear window on that Viva, I did the same !!)

 

Note the emergency exit on 333, twin sliding vents were very, very unusual.

 

 

I'm quite sure these days that mention of the Essex Organ Studios would have differnt connutations to back then.

  

Time to head to our appointment, RT1379 on service 109 from West Croydon to Streatham then DM1816 on  service 109 to The Oval and RM225 on service 36 to New Cross, before we caught DMS1681 on service 177 to The Valley . Yes, The mighty Wednesday were playing away in the FA Cup 3rd round against the Adicks.

 

We lost (we were nearly as shite 50 years ago as we currently are, but for very different reasons). Pissed off we caught the train to Charring Cross then RM108 on service 11  to Victoria where I bid farewell to Ed and walked to Victoria Coach Station to catch National Travel East YWE509M, a Plaxton bodied Leopard on service 316 to Sheffield (internet picture, not mine)

 

After a short walk South Yorkshire PTE (ex Sheffield Transport) 668, a 1970 Park Royal bodied PDR2 Atlantean took me home on route 13 (internet picture, not mine)

 

 

I would do similar over Xmas New Year 1976/7 with Ed, but would I try to do this in 2026 ? Well if it was possible yes, but the modern day buses aren't anywhere near as interesting as we had that week 50 years ago.

 

 Enjoy 2026, if you’re really unlucky I might dig out some more pictures from places I visited 50 years ago. My note book seems to indicate that I managed from Newcastle to Plymouth with lots of places inbetween such as Southampton and Reading..

 

 

[mk2_craig]

13 minutes ago, busmansholiday said:

but the modern day buses aren't anywhere near as interesting

But (apart from the loaned buses) they might now be more varied? It sounds like London buses were massively standardised in those days. 

[busmansholiday]

1 hour ago, mk2_craig said:

But (apart from the loaned buses) they might now be more varied? It sounds like London buses were massively standardised in those days. 

They were standardised to London Transport's requirements, but other than St Helens with a few RTs and Northern with RMFs, nobody else wanted what they had.

There's a bigger variation in London now because after various bits were privatised and services tenderer the new operators easily proved that the buses that worked in the provinces would also work in London, rather against the dogma that had previously been spouted. Other than the Borismasters , which nobody really wanted to touch with a barge pole, an ADL400 is an ADL400 in a different colour. 

[martc]

Newgate Lane, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.

 

[Knotty Ash Towers]

9 hours ago, busmansholiday said:

They were standardised to London Transport's requirements, but other than St Helens with a few RTs and Northern with RMFs, nobody else wanted what they had.

There's a bigger variation in London now because after various bits were privatised and services tenderer the new operators easily proved that the buses that worked in the provinces would also work in London, rather against the dogma that had previously been spouted. Other than the Borismasters , which nobody really wanted to touch with a barge pole, an ADL400 is an ADL400 in a different colour. 

The Leyland Titan B15 was another type that appealed to almost nobody outside London, although a combination of of London Transport's greed, British Leyland's ineptitude and strikes at Park Royal prevented most other operators from buying them. They were extremely dull as well, just like the Routemaster.

[The Old Bloke Next Door]

May include repeats.

[danthecapriman]

Did anyone ever convert, or attempt to, trolley buses to diesel?

It always struck me as a bit wasteful to scrap them all, particularly as so many looked very modern compared to the single cab diesel/petrol buses of the time. 
Obviously you’d have to remove all the motors etc and find somewhere to put an engine & gearbox so that’s probably the killer of such a project. Just wondering if it was ever done or proposed?

[lisbon_road]

34 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

Did anyone ever convert, or attempt to, trolley buses to diesel?

It always struck me as a bit wasteful to scrap them all, particularly as so many looked very modern compared to the single cab diesel/petrol buses of the time. 
Obviously you’d have to remove all the motors etc and find somewhere to put an engine & gearbox so that’s probably the killer of such a project. Just wondering if it was ever done or proposed?

I do remember seeing pictures of diesel chassis that had been fitted with used trolleybus bodies.  The give-away was a thick pillar between windows which was where the electricity would go.  I suspect that there were not very many.  

Other thought, especially in London, I have read that the reason (perhaps one of the reasons?) the trolleybuses were replaced was to keep the factories busy building Routemasters.  Otherwise, they'd have had nothing to do.  I suppose this comes from a secondary effect of WW2 when few new buses were made for five years, after which more or less everything was replaced, and then there wasn't much need to make anything new for a while.  Whether this is correct or not I don't know.

What I do know is that I think trolleybuses are a fine technology.  An electric bus without batteries?  What's not to like about that.