Metrobi steps into the light.. (A bit of bus shite inside)

[Inspector Morose]

Hello. After a long time waiting I can finally introduce myself here.

 

Why Metrobi? Not the car but most of my time is spent playing with these:

 

The last one is where I spend most of my time as a freelance driver/engineer/anything else I fancy doing. It's done out as a mobile exhibition space so my time is spent driving it around the country for various clients. It does afford me the chance to find things like:

 

 

in Rochdale. It's a tribute to the Rochdale Olympic I found lurking up a side street whilst on a job for the NHS.

 

Other toys include this:

 

In which I usually get the job of piloting to London to do things like sit on the end of Westminster Bridge with this lot behind me:

 

 

Car history? Plenty thanks. Mostly shite related including such delights as series Land Rovers, Austin A40 Mk 1, Wartburg 311 and 353, Various Trabbies, Opel 1900GT, Humber Sceptre, Volvo 66, Berkley T60, 2cv, Alfa 33,75 and 164, Lancia Dedra.....I could go on. Ever had the idea I get bored easily?

 

A spell working for the, then closed and now even more closed, Patrick Collection in Birmingham cured me from compulsive car buying and selling for a loss a few weeks later. There was still a core collection of around 84 cars and it was my sad task to get them up and running and MoT'd after lying idle for many years. Favourite toys were, well everything really, Mk 1 Golf, Lancia Delta S4, yadda yadda yadda...

 

Other interests include playing with these:

 

and to relax I pop down to Cornwall to my mates B&B and stables. Mainly because he has a 2ft industrial railway running around his fields:

 

 

Current winter machine is this:

 

A 2 litre auto with cream interior and the toastiest heater ready for this cold spell. I'm getting bored with it though so it's due for a change. Dunno what for though.

 

 

Well that's enough from me for a bit. I hope to be able to fit in and bring a little bus shite with me!

Andy.

[Mr Lobster]

Hello and welcome!

 

You'll find theres a fair amount of old bus love on here already. If I had time / space / money / busknowledge / etc I'd love a nice Leyland National. Don't know what I'd do with it but I'd like to just have one.

 

However, if I was driving this >

 

 

then I'd be far too tempted to sling it in reverse and back over this lot

 

 

 

Tell us a bit more about the Patrick Collection anyway, is it still there? What happened? I remember going with Fatha_Lobsta in probably about 1987ish and really liked it. Always wondered what had happened.

[FredTransit]

Welcome in mate, a member of my forum is trying to tack down a bus to restore.

[trigger]

Welcome Metrobi!

[Inspector Morose]

It closed to the public around 1993 ish and most of the collection of over 300 cars were auctioned off including all of the really expensive stuff. The rest (about 84 cars including delights such as Late a model Cortina and Capri, an Acclaim, Tercel 4wd, Prairie etc ) were stored in the main exhibition hall, all under their own taylor made car covers (the other halls were rented out to other businesses) and in a warehouse just up the road from the museum.

 

I joined the fray in 2001 after the idea of moving the collection to the Black Country Museum where I was a volunteer looking after the Trolleybuses. My job was to get the collection mobile and preferably MoT'd at minimal cost and archiving the museums collection of brochures from the days of the Patrick Motor Group garages. Joys included rolling up to the MoT centre in a (non shite but very fun) 1902 Wolseley.

 

After a couple of years it was clear that procrastination was killing the idea of a new home and this, along with the need to pay the rent (museum work doesn't pay) meant that I had to leave for pastures new driving Leyland Atlanteans around Birmingham.

 

Last I heard was that all the remaining cars, apart from a select few, were auctioned off a number of years back.

 

You like Nationals? Good call. True bus shite there! Sadly the oldest and last remaining pre-production National has been broken up recently due to lack of anyone to take it on.

[ashmicro]

Welcome aboard mate. Lovin the 190. Cool as.

[michiel]

Welcome!

[VWPowered]

wow big playtoys awesome, welcome

[pogweasel]

Wow, what an amazing back-story. Welcomes.

[STUNO]

Welcome metrobi brother.

One of my current playwork toys

[Minimad5]

Wow welcome :)I'm coming round to the idea of buses (My dad things i'm going crazy)Thanks for sharing the pics and stories !

[Father Ted]

Welcome in mate, a member of my forum is trying to tack down a bus to restore.

Eeeeeh, bloody hell Fred - Preston corporation got shut of a dozen Leyland Lynx's about 12 months back now - they went for £1 each plus the 50 quid admin fee.Im pretty sure First in Bristol are retiring the last of their Lances as well, but they want a bit more for them.

[Gompo]

Was it the Patrick Collection that had a Tagora?

[Inspector Morose]

Welcome metrobi brother.

One of my current playwork toys

Ah otherwise known as Johnny Cabs around this neck of the woods (Total Recall?) Can provide endless hours of entertainment when they go wrong. Good fun when they work too. I've a soft spot for them, mainly because they have a horrendous reputation with operators and drivers around here.

 

Indeed The Patrick collection did have a Tagora but it had been sold before I got there but it did still have the green Rapport Forte. What a POS that was; the floor-pan of the donor xj12 was crudely hacked off behind the rear axle for the new body to fit onto. Originally meant to be a convertible, the roof section was permanently bonded onto the main tub and the fit and finish was on a par with the fabled kit car built by some bloke in a shed in Leicester. Took me three goes to just get it the 7 miles down the road to the testing station let alone actually getting a ticket on it. That thing fell apart so quickly that passers by were getting caught by the shrapnel.

[stoterstangen90]

busshite is cool.

 

http://www.hobbymatig.nl/daf.html

 

This is a project of a friend of mine

 

[Inspector Morose]

Ooh! a Den Oudsten bodied DAF MB200?I'll get me anorak

[chester drawers]

I hope to be able to fit in and bring a little bus shite with me!Andy.

Welcome! I’d be delighted to see more bus shite :DAs our newly-appointed Metrobus expert, do you know if ex-Greater Manchester SND 120X survived the demise of Bowker coaches? linky

[messerschmitt owner]

was your BErk an Excelsior one? I had three of them!

[Inspector Morose]

As our newly-appointed Metrobus expert, do you know if ex-Greater Manchester SND 120X survived the demise of Bowker coaches? linky

By the look of the comments, I think it expired 12 months ago. One thing Metrobuses are well known for is horrendous chassis and body rot and there aren't many Mk1s left at all now. A few have been preserved and indeed the prototype TOJ592S is still around and plying its trade around the Burton area.

[Inspector Morose]

was your BErk an Excelsior one? I had three of them!

I think it was but not 100% sure anymore! I swapped this, the Volvo66 and a Trabbi 6v saloon for a MGB. It was the Trab I really wanted as it had once been in the pages of Jalopy. OOP???X IIRC

[dollywobbler]

 

Oooh, an ex-Brum, assymetrical-windscreen Metrobus! I WILL own one.

 

Welcome!

[Inspector Morose]

I thought you might like it!MK1 Metrobus GR8 4 WLDIN.

[chester drawers]

By the look of the comments, I think it expired 12 months ago.

Pretty much what I’d assumed, but sometimes you preservationists pull off remarkable rescue missions so I was just wondering

[stoterstangen90]

Ooh! a Den Oudsten bodied DAF MB200?I'll get me anorak

That's it

[Split_Pin]

Welcome along!GR8 jobs you have had and have now! I'm a big fan of buses and always get myself along to the Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust Open Day every October. I think my pic thread might still be on here somewhere about it.I've always been a fan of the MB, but there are no more to be seen up in Scotland since First withdrew all the examples in Central Scotland in about 2005-6, most of which had Alexander bodies. There was recently a MK1 All-MCW version in use as a school bus in Linlithgow from an ORJ-W batch, presumably Manchester area.Thats also a shame about the pre-production National Looking forward to hearing more about the buses.

[brammy777]

There is a fair few Metrobuses round here on School routes, all run by Newnham coaches. A couple have POG plates. One of the ones with the aforementioned plates has a yellow, green and white paint scheme, anyone know what company that could be?

[dollywobbler]

POGs were all West Midlands Travel, but I'm not sure where it would have picked up that scheme as I'm no bus anorak (still got my L plates on...)I've got a model of POG 507Y. Wonder where that bus is now?

[Volksy]

I hope to be able to fit in and bring a little bus shite with me!Andy.

Welcome! I’d be delighted to see more bus shite :DAs our newly-appointed Metrobus expert, do you know if ex-Greater Manchester SND 120X survived the demise of Bowker coaches? linky

I'll ask Tim Bowker what happened to it, he's a good frind of mine.

[Inspector Morose]

There is a fair few Metrobuses round here on School routes, all run by Newnham coaches. A couple have POG plates. One of the ones with the aforementioned plates has a yellow, green and white paint scheme, anyone know what company that could be?

Ah, they were the ones bought by Linconshire Road Car direct from West Midlands Travel. The great Stagecoach bought Road Car a couple of years ago and promptly sold all the Metrobuses on fairly quickly. POGs were Mk 2s. Like a Mk 1 but with a shed load more fibreglass bits.

[Inspector Morose]

I've got a model of POG 507Y. Wonder where that bus is now?