Bus Shite

[lisbon_road]

The Bristol was UFJ229J, a Greensades Tours RE from about '71.  Not that that fact gets us anywhere closer to it being fixed up again.....

[Stroller133]

I was briefly at a bus show at the GCR Quorn station on Saturday. Went on what I think was a Routemaster, but painted in the livery of a Leicestershire bus firm called Browns Blues? I thought Routemasters were London only?

[Felly Magic]

Clost it's an AEC RT ex London Transport, nice to see one not red or green for a change

[Stroller133]

This was my favourite of the show:

[CreepingJesus]

Not my pic, but it's epic in practically every respect...

[bramz7]

I'm in Thessaloniki at the moment and they have some 'proper' buses here. Particular highlight is the locally bodied Volvo B10 artics from the early 90s....

[clayts450]

This has been a great read, as in my youth I was a bit of a bus-licker.

 

I was in London Country land (St Albans) so during my youth was 'treated' to a mix of AEC Merlins, Swifts, Reliances (both Green Line coaches and buses), Nationals (short and long versions, but no National 2s), Olympians, Bristol LHs, Tigers (Green Line) and Leopards (Green Line) and probably a few more I've forgotten. We also had the privilege of being the northern most visited town by London Transport (route 84) so got treated to all sorts - Daimlers, more Merlins, Metros and various Euroboxes thereafter.

 

Thanks for the person who posted the cold-start National video - that took me back ! Just did a quick squiz on Google for a pic of a 'properly liveried' National and was delighted to discover one of my old 'clan' has been preserved (SNB 312)

 

[Vantman]

I spotted one of these whilst on the M27 last weekend,could someone identify it please.

 

[quicksilver]

It's the latest version of the Neoplan Cityliner.

[Inspector Morose]

Starliner. Now unavailable right hand drive sadly as I think the new ones look epic, as do most things from the Neoplan stable (euro liner excepted).

[clayts450]

I posted a huge message on here when I was still in my nappy (first 5 posts have to be approved, blah blah blah) and it never appeared which was a bit disheartening....

 

However, whenever it was (a few days back) I had avidly read through this entire topic as I was a bit of a bus licker in my youth (well it beat glue-sniffing and football hooliganism which were the only other activities available to me at that time).

 

Who-ever posted the vid of a National cold start, thank you - that brought back so many memories. I was in London Country territory (St Albans) and experienced a wide range of vehicles - AEC Merlins, Swifts, Reliances (bus and coach versions), Nationals, Bristol LHs, Tigers and Leopards (the last two coach versions). We also had the most northern-bound red bus route, the 84, which threw up all sorts of shite, again Merlins but also those disastrous Daimlers, as well as Metros and National2s. London Country even ran the red bus route for a while (bought in some shiny new Olympians) before it was farmed out to some company or other.

 

I suppose my lasting memory was of the Nationals - in St Albans you literally had every iteration going - standard Nationals (single and dual door) which London Country referred to as Long Nationals (LN/LNB/LNC class - the C laughingly referred to as Coach - with bus seats) and then the majority were shorter versions, all single door, with longer roof pods, shorter pods or no pod at all (SNB/SNC - this time the C was right to an extent as these Nationals had coach seats). The 84 also was run with National 2s by LT.

 

I got all nostalgic and have spent this afternoon reading up Ian Smith's excellent website at http://www.countrybus.org, and was delighted to see that one of the old St Albans-garaged Nationals has been preserved - SNB312

 

 

 

I like the back shot of these as all London Country Nationals seemed to have the Portman Building Society adverts - the other bus is one of the coach-seated Nationals, SNC168

 

 

Somewhere lurking in my attic is all my bus-licking stuff from the 1980s - I may need to dig this out....

[clayts450]

Here's another ex-St Albans garaged National that's not doing quite so well

 

 

In it's better days, pulling out from the garage

 

https://thetransportlibrary.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=42993&page=1324

[clayts450]

We're getting fart buses in Nottingham:

 

 

https://www.nctx.co.uk/2017/05/were-going-gas/

 

http://www.biogas.org.uk/news/nottingham-city-transports-plans-to-deliver-greener-and-cleaner-transport-for-nottingham-city

[Felly Magic]

Here's another ex-St Albans garaged National that's not doing quite so well

 

 

In it's better days, pulling out from the garage

 

https://thetransportlibrary.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=42993&page=1324

I spot a Volvo powered Mk2 National with LT seats there

[Split_Pin]

Ian Smiths Bus Stop is always the first place I go for London Bus info. The drawings are wonderfully simple as well, I'm so glad he hasn't changed the style since the site started what must have been nearly 20 years ago.

[clayts450]

Totally agree - it's a proper old school website (designed in Notepad), no Flash, HTML5 or other diverting buffoonery, just facts, facts, facts in a digestible form.

 

I spent most of Saturday afternoon (when I should have been fixing my fence) glued to his reports of the running days a few years back in St Albans - his use of words and photos made me feel like I was there - he picks out such level of detail in his observations, very easy to read.

[Six-cylinder]

Mrs 6C wants to go back to School!

 

Yesterday Mrs 6C donated some apple trees to a school locally and was amazed to see this bus parked in their grounds, on enquiring she was told it was the school library and not running. What is is it and how old is it?

[mrcitroen]

Looks like a Bristol VR.

 

Cool idea as a school library. Would have made me more keen to read!

[Inspector Morose]

Very late build Eastern Coach Works bodied Bristol VR. Judging by the hopper vents, it was one of the last built but as the body was pretty standard across many fleets around the country, it could have originally come from a number of places. Quite probably Gardner 6LXB engine but there were a small number built with the 6LXC or even Leyland 680 engine around that time.

Built around 1979-81.

[Inspector Morose]

appears to be a  late  ECW   bodied Bristol VR  ... ( late  due to the design of the  sidelight/ indicator )

BMAC fetishist.

[rml2345]

I think only the last couple of years had square BMACs. Unfortunately that doesn't narrow it down much as they were still being ordered in large numbers.

[Felly Magic]

I've checked Rob Sly's site, and nowt's come up on it, the only late model VR that is a school library on there is ENOC STW30W, and that is red and has a BMAC PAYE sign on the front, there is a green VR in use as the same, but that is an earlier former Maidstone example and is 14ft 6

[Felly Magic]

I think it may be this un : http://bcv.robsly.com/snv933w.html, last known in 2016

[quicksilver]

SNV 933W is my best guess too. It disappeared from Koncept Travel's yard at Great Horwood (not a million miles away from the field of dreams) and hasn't been traced further. The destination blind with Soulbury and Stoke Hammond on it looks like a Luton & District one.

[Six-cylinder]

http://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/news/tesco-express-woburn-sands-gives-swallowfield-lower-school-bus-library-scheme-1-000-1-6025102

 

https://www.facebook.com/BBC3CR/videos/1062917723725605/

[Felly Magic]

That picture confirms my guess, as it was pretty much in that condition when last snapped for Rob Sly's website. He may be worth emailing with a copy of that photo in it's new guise

 

And this link 100% confirms it as the reg number is in shot

 

http://swallowfieldlowerschool.co.uk/library-bus-vandalism-three-counties-radio/

[Felly Magic]

I've been in touch with Rob Sly of the BCV website, and he's going to update his website, he'd wondered where it vanished to, thanks Mrs 6C for spotting it. 

[RoadworkUK]

STW30W, and that is red and has a BMAC PAYE sign on the front.

 

That was one of my old school buses in the early 90s. Hedingham Omnibuses contract route 15.

[CreepingJesus]

Spotted yesterday at Harthill: Czech reg'd something. Fair to assume it's a Tatra? Couldn't see badges on it.

[martc]

It may be a Karosa; I'll stick my neck out further and suggest it's from the 700 series.

 

The really cool Czech buses are the Skoda 706's...