Bus Shite

[Asimo]

Hong Kong

 

 

Some of these are Dennis, some Volvo but they both look the same to me. Alexander body?

Front row, top deck, nighttime is a real Bladerunner experiance around central Hong Kong, especially after a few beers.

 

 

These Toyotas are fun to ride around in too, there must be thousands of them in HK, never have to wait long for one anywhere. Manual 'box, swipe card payment. Surely these would be a good bet for British rural service? On the sort of routes served (around here) by empty Optares. 

[Felly Magic]

Those Toyotas did hit the UK, but with Caetano bodywork, and sold as mini coaches. Bleedin awful to drive, known as Toyboatas in the trade due to their alarming body roll

[davidfowler2000]

In other bus news, I'm determined to achieve a dream in 2016. I simply must drive an MCW Metrobus. I've managed short stints in various other double deckers (including a Fleetline and an Atlantean) but have yet to match Brummie-built bus joy with a screaming Voith retarder. 

 

I quite fancy actually driving a bus on the road too, thought that's not very easy to achieve it seems. I can't really justify getting all proper and going PCV. Or maybe I should revisit that £3000 question again. I mean, I only need some of it for the Dyane...

 

You can drive it on the road if it's over 30 years old and not carrying more than 7 passengers (8 inc driver).

 

See Scotland.

 

We have neither buses over 30 years nor any Metrobuckets. However we have ones that say autoshite.com on the destination gear.

[hennabm]

Going back to the HK photo I'm pretty sure they are Alexander bodies. I also half remember that some of them came back to the UK for operation here, but don't quote me on that one.

[Felly Magic]

That HK photo looks like a swb Duple Metsec body very likely on the HK spec Trident chassis, which bared little in common with Tridents over here, as it had an in line Cummins lump, not transverse

[Richard]

Those Toyotas did hit the UK, but with Caetano bodywork, and sold as mini coaches. Bleedin awful to drive, known as Toyboatas in the trade due to their alarming body roll

 

 

Is this one?

 

P1050784 by RichardB5, on Flickr

 

Don't buy anything there btw, no matter how hungry you are. £1 for a warm can of Irn Bru indeed. Robbing hoor.

[Felly Magic]

Yup that's a Toyota Coaster under the Portuguese skin. Later examples had a wider body on the same narrow chassis, and I felt rather ill driving one as a favour for a mate

[Inspector Morose]

Nah, for the full roly poly experience, you need one of these.

 

 

[dollywobbler]

I think there was one of those at SVR at the weekend: Clogging the car park up and reminding me of Commers.

[cobblers]

Going back to the HK photo I'm pretty sure they are Alexander bodies. I also half remember that some of them came back to the UK for operation here, but don't quote me on that one.

MASS engineering at Worksop does school runs with them IIRC.

[Inspector Morose]

See Scotland (2).

[Inspector Morose]

In homage to the Hull thread and that I think we need more trolleybuses on here:

 

[Inspector Morose]

Oh, and remember someone said there was a link between David Bache and the National. Not really as such but here's the answer. Not the Mk2 but this restyled, cleaned up FPB7 pre- Michelotti

(As far as I can get to the bottom of):

 

[NorfolkNWeigh]

I'm not really a bus licker, but found these pictures in my library when trying to make some space.

[Inspector Morose]

That last photo is of the first production Daimler Fleetline. New to Blue Bus and passed to Derby Corporation in1976, the same year it, along with many other fascinating buses were lost (Cummins V6 engined Fleetline anyone?)

[willswitchengage]

 

OMG Reading bought one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111111111111 Saw this earlier driving around town

[Felly Magic]

It's a one off, like that Eas Leaks MAN lowheight decker they got, which they didn't have for very long either

[willswitchengage]

Whatever happened to the MAN?

 

It does look cool:

 

 

Reading does have a weird fleet (municipal ownership!). Loads of the ADL hybrid double deckers and Scania CNG single deckers. In the past they even used Scania ethanol buses. On my local route they've now even got a second hand Arriva DAF double decker...

 

[Inspector Morose]

Went up north to Pride of the Clyde but I lost track of it since then. I think it went to Blythswood at some point, CMS206 might know a bit more.

 

It was also built to 4m height limit for some reason and, as you can tell from the picture above, upstairs headroom was somewhat limited!

 

Concerning the Rail replacement set, I don't know of any ALX400 tri axles in this country (yet)! 

[Felly Magic]

It's with another Scottish dealer after Blythswood closed, it took a while to source a replacement window for the upper deck. It's going to be one of those buses that will end up being cut up after a very short service life, or converted to a playbus. There is no way it's going to sell in it's current form

[Inspector Morose]

Ah, got to be Drew Wilson then. Yup found it. £71 GRAND!!!!  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[Felly Magic]

Yes it is a source of much ROFLCOPTER ness. It's got a digi tacho and DP seats, but the upper deck is only suited for those under 5 ft, and the infamous unreliable MAN powertrain that likes to go omnoms on it's self. Not a snowflake's chance in hell of ever selling it

[cms206]

That MAN is still Blythswood's; old George has retired but he has been advertising stock through other people, Drew included, for a long time - even before I worked for him a few years back when he first got it in. Drew knows he hasn't a snowball's chance in hell of selling it at that price (likewise the Cheetahs he's advertising on behalf of George) but ultimately in this case it's not him setting the price. I drove it a few times and it was actually a surprisingly good steer, went well and it was pretty comfy; by far the oddest thing on it is the fact it's only got single wheels on the back, albeit 455-section rather than the usual 275-sections you would expect to find on something like that. I didn't find any particular headroom problems compared with other lowheight deckers and it complied with all UK construction and use regulations of the time.

Marty I don't know where this window sourcing rumour has come from but you're the second or third person who has mentioned it, so if I can I'd like to set the record straight.

I was the one who phoned for it, it arrived the following day and was fitted there and then. Wasn't even that expensive if memory serves and both front screens were shared with the continental Lion's City DDs IIRC. For info it needed two nearside SIDE windows upstairs, the only front window it recieved was the windscreen; the upper deck screen was original.


Metrobuses are glorious DW, I thoroughly recommend them; they are the most detached you'll ever feel driving anything, anywhere. Steering is completely lifeless, brakes feel dead and the throttle doesn't seem to do much but jesus christ do they handle - they stick like shit to a bedsheet. My favourite of the ones I drove had a Rolls Royce Eagle at the back end (JHE 161W) but from memory it went on fire on route back to Yorkshire.

[cms206]

Those Toyotas did hit the UK, but with Caetano bodywork, and sold as mini coaches. Bleedin awful to drive, known as Toyboatas in the trade due to their alarming body roll

I liked all the Coasters I drove; the last two I piloted were an Optimo 3? on an L-reg and an Optimo 5 on an 06. Exactly the same dash, switchgear, steering wheel, the lot. The 06 felt heavier but it was a 26-seater. The 22-seater went like a stabbed rat and drove like it was on rails, steering was a bit light for my liking though and getting a handbrake up the arse every time you get out of one grates quite quickly.

 

Most drivers I know who've driven them liked them, and I've never heard anyone refer to one as a Toyboata.

 

The only complaint I've ever heard from other operators is that 'cos the levels are a twat to check ones which don't tend to have a regular driver do in head gaskets.

[cms206]

I was papped twice in one day recently.

 

... but back to bus shite. We've just acquired this pair of unusual beasts for further service. Don't think I've actually posted pictures of them yet though. K984 JNV is actually technically older than J930 UNC, as it was the very first glimpse the UK saw of that now distinctive frontal styling.

[Inspector Morose]

The optimo I drove was okay, apart from a crap handbrake. Heard about the head gasket fun too, a company up the road from where I used to work moons ago (three ways travel as there were three partners - two left early on so was always referred by us as one way travel) had an original one and it did in its head in with clockwork precision.

 

Never heard of toyboata either apart from top gear.

 

Andy, MUST get a go on one of those! Any more Tigers due? Please?

[cms206]

 

 

Andy, MUST get a go on one of those! Any more Tigers due? Please?

Doesn't look like it now... this pair are an odd spec and things like a 6-8 week wait for draglinks isn't endearing them with the mangement. A go in one can be arranged... the K-reg has no limiter and is apparantly somewhat like piloting an exocet missile. Not really driven the J-reg yet but I'l getting the choice of the pair when they go on the road.

[Asimo]

 

Before I could drive these buses on this route were a big part of life.

They were replaced by Leyland Nationals. Midland Red - but what is the bus?

[Inspector Morose]

ECW bodied Bristol RE with Leyland (probably 0680) engine. National Welsh and scrapped in 1984.

 

Anything else?

 

By the way, there's an RE (Potteries) for sale on the bay of E at the moment. Engine trouble (it's fucked) but only starting at £1700. Worth it just for the sound effects alone when repaired.

[Felly Magic]

The one RBW posted photos about, needs a horizontal 0.680.