Eye-catching black and whites

[Yoss]

22 hours ago, Richard_FM said:

My Dad reckoned they were cut down because the amount of traffic in central London meant they were almost impossible to keep to the timetable.

 

3 hours ago, Remspoor said:

My dad agrees with your dad. My dad worked as a bus driver in those days.  Another factor is that OMO buses take a longer time at stops, than a crew operated bus. This may have changed now buses no longer take payments for fare with money.

The 25 was said to be the longest route then is still reasonably long now. https://uktransport.fandom.com/wiki/London_Buses_route_25

 

In theory this was the reason but it doesn't help a passenger who wants to travel from two points either side of where the route was split (I know they put a small overlap in the two replacement routes, but not much). They still have to sit in the same traffic but have the pleasure of getting off and waiting for another bus in between. 

The worst case seems to be the 15. They keep nibbling away at both ends of the route. It used to run from East Ham to Paddington. I think it may have run all the way to Westbourne Park in the west at one point but it was Paddington when I first knew it. Then it was cut back to Canning Town and now it's Blackwall DLR. But at the other end its been cut right back to Trafalgar Square which is nigh on useless, you can't even get into the West End. 

The 12 is nearly as bad. Cut from Penge back to Dulwich in the south but the other end is worse. It used to go all the way to East Acton but was cut back to Shepherds Bush. Fair enough, still a useful destination. Then a few years later back to Notting Hill, okay, still a useful route across Central London, but now it only goes to Oxford Circus which is nearly as useless as the 15. Okay, so the 94 still covers the old 12 route as far as Shepherds Bush but the overlap between the two is very narrow forcing you to change buses in the melee of Regent Street. 

So I stand by my original statement. Its done for ease of operation not ease of use for passengers. And anyway Central London has always suffered from gridlock, whatever the year. 

[Andrew353w]

The 107 suffered the same fate, becoming the 307, from Barnet Hospital to Brimsdown and the revised 107 from New Barnet Station to Edgware. The overlap was New Barnet to Barnet Hospital. 

[Remspoor]

23 hours ago, Yoss said:

 

In theory this was the reason but it doesn't help a passenger who wants to travel from two points either side of where the route was split (I know they put a small overlap in the two replacement routes, but not much). They still have to sit in the same traffic but have the pleasure of getting off and waiting for another bus in between. 

The worst case seems to be the 15. They keep nibbling away at both ends of the route. It used to run from East Ham to Paddington. I think it may have run all the way to Westbourne Park in the west at one point but it was Paddington when I first knew it. Then it was cut back to Canning Town and now it's Blackwall DLR. But at the other end its been cut right back to Trafalgar Square which is nigh on useless, you can't even get into the West End. 

The 12 is nearly as bad. Cut from Penge back to Dulwich in the south but the other end is worse. It used to go all the way to East Acton but was cut back to Shepherds Bush. Fair enough, still a useful destination. Then a few years later back to Notting Hill, okay, still a useful route across Central London, but now it only goes to Oxford Circus which is nearly as useless as the 15. Okay, so the 94 still covers the old 12 route as far as Shepherds Bush but the overlap between the two is very narrow forcing you to change buses in the melee of Regent Street. 

So I stand by my original statement. Its done for ease of operation not ease of use for passengers. And anyway Central London has always suffered from gridlock, whatever the year. 

Even back in the 70's my Dad, when driving 15s used to get turned around quite often.  I doubt if it improved. There was also the added factor that the distance travelled was calculated as buses did not have an odd odometer. If the bus was turned then it was a bit out of sync with the servicing schedule.

[Remspoor]

[Yoss]

25 minutes ago, Remspoor said:

Even back in the 70's my Dad, when driving 15s used to get turned around quite often.  I doubt if it improved. There was also the added factor that the distance travelled was calculated as buses did not have an odd odometer. If the bus was turned then it was a bit out of sync with the servicing schedule.

I would love to have seen some of the LT records regarding mileage, servicing etc. I heard that RMs averaged about 33000 miles a year in London which means my bus (ex bus now, I sold it a couple of years back now, but I still consider it mine) covered approximately 825,000 miles in its 25 year London career. It then arrived at Southampton CityBus. I did have the diagrams for the CityBus RMs and they covered between 100 and 120 miles a day so average 110. It was quite an intense service with a loop at each end so the buses never stopped for more than a couple of minutes all day. Six day a week service but even if they averaged five working days a week that's still almost 30,000 miles a year. That's quite impressive considering the shorter working hours in Southampton.  It went on to do another three years with Reading Mainline for which  I have no information but it must have been near the million mile mark by the time it finished there in 2000.

So who knows what miles the Routemasters that made it to 2005 in London reached. But as I say I'd love to see some of the records LT must have kept both at garage and works level so as to know mileages. 

[Dyslexic Viking]

Porsgrunn Norway

[martc]

Salesman Mike Dreschler at the petrol station to get his motorised roller skates refuelled, 1961.

[bigstraight6]

5 minutes ago, martc said:

Salesman Mike Dreschler at the petrol station to get his motorised roller skates refuelled, 1961.

That’s superb, I’d love a set of those to fly by E scooterists leaving a nice trail of exhaust smoke.

[JeeExEll]

1906.  It's probably best if you keep your feet pointing in the same general direction. 

Article here - https://theoldmotor.com/?p=139342

[JeeExEll]

Poor quality images but they're design mock-ups from March 1968 for pillarless-2-door HC Vivas (like on the 1970- Opel Mantas).  From the Vauxpedia site.

Note the curvy 70s 'Coke-bottle' lines behind the doors like the FD Victors.  Almost 'Kowalski Dodge Challenger-ish'.  Sporty estate looks especially appealing.

Features which were missing on the 1970 production models.  Hmmm. 

A nice old bloke who lived near us was a house-painter and had one of these for years in the 80s, a 1256 with the back seat permanently down.  You can imagine the state of the interior.

[lesapandre]

14 hours ago, JeeExEll said:

Poor quality images but they're design mock-ups from March 1968 for pillarless-2-door HC Vivas (like on the 1970- Opel Mantas).  From the Vauxpedia site.

Note the curvy 70s 'Coke-bottle' lines behind the doors like the FD Victors.  Almost 'Kowalski Dodge Challenger-ish'.

Features which were missing on the 1970 production models.  Hmmm. 

Cost considerations probably. But there was a two-door Viva coupe made except with a pillar. Design team led by Wayne Cherry.

[lesapandre]

Wet and melancholy day here in London -  so let's crank up the way-back machine to Thames-side old Deptford in the 1980's.

Most of the buildings are still with us  - Herald probably not...

I wonder if Panda actually ran Fiat Pandas... probably not...

[JeeExEll]

Manchester 1971.

New Cortina Mk3, base.  With radio aerial retracted.

Look at the fucking state of this Mk2, only 4 years old.  Is that a Daimler Dart 250 thing in with the scrap (fibreglass, ha ha).

[lesapandre]

Deptford again. The Wharf building has gone but the dock is still there - now a marina.

Tideway Clothing where you'd get your new motorcycle boots and panties - building still there - now a supermarket.  So is the Zebra Crossing still in place.

[lesapandre]

11 minutes ago, JeeExEll said:

Manchester 1971.

New Cortina Mk3, base.

Look at the fucking state of this Mk2, only 4 years old.  Is that a Daimler Dart 250 thing in with the scrap (fibreglass, ha ha).

 

Cortina Mk2 is a rare 2-dr.

[JeeExEll]

From same set of pics.  This guy has a bottle of Turtlewax.  And it's  a Super 2-door.  Fwoaaaar.   Preferably in Jade green.   DVLC still says no.

[ETCHY]

45 minutes ago, JeeExEll said:

Manchester 1971.

New Cortina Mk3, base.  With radio aerial retracted.

Look at the fucking state of this Mk2, only 4 years old.  Is that a Daimler Dart 250 thing in with the scrap (fibreglass, ha ha).

4 years old & in that state that's crackers.

I think the odd looking car is a Panhard.

[JeeExEll]

'Looking to buy a car Sir?  Step this way.  We have just the car for you'.

[lesapandre]

Yes a Dyna. Panhard were owned by Citroen at that point. 

[lesapandre]

Overall most cars aged much quicker in those days. 8-10 years or about 100,000 miles is all you got. 

But then so did people...

As a driver starting out in the 1970's I bought 1950's cars because they were cheap but actually more robust than more recent bangers.

[JeeExEll]

50 years ago.

[JeeExEll]

[JeeExEll]

[Andrew353w]

4 hours ago, JeeExEll said:

Manchester 1971.

New Cortina Mk3, base.  With radio aerial retracted.

Look at the fucking state of this Mk2, only 4 years old.  Is that a Daimler Dart 250 thing in with the scrap (fibreglass, ha ha).

That's a Skoda Octavia Combi on the top of the pile, next to the crane jib-rare, seriously rare......

[Ghosty]

4 hours ago, JeeExEll said:

Is that a Daimler Dart 250 thing in with the scrap (fibreglass, ha ha).

looks Panhard to me. 

[Rab]

East Berlin.1964

 

[Amishtat]

57 minutes ago, Andrew353w said:

That's a Skoda Octavia Combi on the top of the pile, next to the crane jib-rare, seriously rare......

Cheers for that, first thought was a Gazelle estate but not enough doors. What's the white four-door at the top of the stack just to the right of it? 

[lesapandre]

5 hours ago, JeeExEll said:

'Looking to buy a car Sir?  Step this way.  We have just the car for you'.

All the unwanted all in one place really. 1500cc+  4-door family saloons past their best. In those days most of these were around 25-30mpg when petrol was an expensive item relatively.  All were probably one biggish bill away from the scrapper.

The caravan is probably the most interesting thing there...sign says when the denizen is not to be seen lurking in there  - punters are recommended to call at somewhere opposite Rochdale Road Bus Station for attention.

[Dyslexic Viking]

 

Bygdøy alle Oslo

 

Stavanger Norway

 

 

Norwegian Police 1963

[Dyslexic Viking]

Otta Gudbrandsdalen Norway mid 50s

 

Vormsund Norway

 

Ekeberg Oslo