Working vehicles past their sell by.

[5speedracer]

On 16/12/2024 at 09:17, bunglebus said:

Recovery vehicle that appeared near me

With a friend

 

Not sure I'd trust him with a paint job.

 

[SunnySouth]

7 hours ago, timolloyd said:

Bonus points for an incredibly shonky numberplate.

That’s glorious!

[MrT]

Around where I live (Rothwell, Leeds) our local buses seem to be getting older. Arriva seem to a bit behind in the newer buses stakes. The most modern buses are 13  plated, but recently  a lot of 58 plated Vdl DE02 single deckers are showing up, usually in pretty bad shape. By contrast, the First Bus services use 70 plated Dennis double deckers and 22-24 plated  single deckers. Punctuality is an issue, can't retain drivers and reliablity issues. 

[jon.k]

[andrew e]

On 16/12/2024 at 08:21, bunglebus said:

Another one surely just doing promo work these days

 

Lodges fleet is all for hire and working - I was on one in the summer!

[andrew e]

[Metal Guru]

On 15/12/2024 at 16:01, lesapandre said:

Wow - if they are that shonky wonder how the aircraft maintenance goes?

A choice review on TripAdvisor:

"This airline completely takes advantage of how they’re the only ones the fly to the north. Never been on a flight that wasn’t delayed. Which causes you to miss your connections wasting a day or more in the airport. The staff is rude, never gives valid reasons and you’re usually showing up before them for the flights. The prices are ridiculous especially for the quality and the planes look like they’re about to fall apart. They’re uncomfy and ridiculous small. Don’t ever expect to be on time, you have to waste an extra day off each way to be on time for out of town work because this airline will never do its job properly knowing people have no choice but to deal with them. Oh and for a native airline they won’t even allow you to use tax exempt. Worst airline. Wish a competitor would come in. Genuinely considering changing jobs just to not fly with them."

They have had 4 major crashes ( 2 with fatalities , all destroying the plane), between 1995 and 2020, which given how big they are seems a lot.

[neil72]

Some more from Greater London.

[sierraman]

On 15/12/2024 at 16:01, lesapandre said:

Wow - if they are that shonky wonder how the aircraft maintenance goes?

A choice review on TripAdvisor:

"This airline completely takes advantage of how they’re the only ones the fly to the north. Never been on a flight that wasn’t delayed. Which causes you to miss your connections wasting a day or more in the airport. The staff is rude, never gives valid reasons and you’re usually showing up before them for the flights. The prices are ridiculous especially for the quality and the planes look like they’re about to fall apart. They’re uncomfy and ridiculous small. Don’t ever expect to be on time, you have to waste an extra day off each way to be on time for out of town work because this airline will never do its job properly knowing people have no choice but to deal with them. Oh and for a native airline they won’t even allow you to use tax exempt. Worst airline. Wish a competitor would come in. Genuinely considering changing jobs just to not fly with them."

Not unusual to for airlines to keep a plane until it’s 20 odd years old. There’s places in Africa that still run them that might be 40 years old or more, I don’t know how they go on with spares I’d presume they get them second hand or just cut corners until they crash. Hence why there’s the EU Air Safety List…

[reb]

On 15/12/2024 at 19:30, jon.k said:

I’m sure I’ve see one in the uk with a camper van conversion and a kind of skylight or glass top on the roof.

 

edit: must have been this one.

 

I'm sure I've seen that in the metal.

It looked grim as fuck.

[Rust Collector]

I’ve posted it elsewhere, but I saw this Tatra working in Bratislava in 2017.

[somewhatfoolish]

On 15/12/2024 at 16:01, lesapandre said:

Wow - if they are that shonky wonder how the aircraft maintenance goes?

A choice review on TripAdvisor:

"This airline completely takes advantage of how they’re the only ones the fly to the north. Never been on a flight that wasn’t delayed. Which causes you to miss your connections wasting a day or more in the airport. The staff is rude, never gives valid reasons and you’re usually showing up before them for the flights. The prices are ridiculous especially for the quality and the planes look like they’re about to fall apart. They’re uncomfy and ridiculous small. Don’t ever expect to be on time, you have to waste an extra day off each way to be on time for out of town work because this airline will never do its job properly knowing people have no choice but to deal with them. Oh and for a native airline they won’t even allow you to use tax exempt. Worst airline. Wish a competitor would come in. Genuinely considering changing jobs just to not fly with them."

The conditions and terrain they fly in are among the most hostile on earth, not that it excuses being shitty human beings but dealing with Karens every day who don't understand that the snow means the airport is closed because if it didn't close the plane would probably crash killing everyone onboard probably shortens your fuse a bit. I have to watch "Ice Pilots" with the sound off due to the relentless false jeopardy, but it illustrates quite well the plentiful actual jeopardy trying to kill you even on good weather days.

[Metal Guru]

4 hours ago, sierraman said:

Not unusual to for airlines to keep a plane until it’s 20 odd years old. There’s places in Africa that still run them that might be 40 years old or more, I don’t know how they go on with spares I’d presume they get them second hand or just cut corners until they crash. Hence why there’s the EU Air Safety List…

B52s are projected to be in service until they are 100 years old, although they will have been maintained on a virtually unlimited budget compared with planes run by an African domestic airline.

 

[artdjones]

1 hour ago, somewhatfoolish said:

The conditions and terrain they fly in are among the most hostile on earth, not that it excuses being shitty human beings but dealing with Karens every day who don't understand that the snow means the airport is closed because if it didn't close the plane would probably crash killing everyone onboard probably shortens your fuse a bit. I have to watch "Ice Pilots" with the sound off due to the relentless false jeopardy, but it illustrates quite well the plentiful actual jeopardy trying to kill you even on good weather days.

My wife was born in Prince Rupert, up by the Alaskan border with British Columbia. In 2017, herself, her sister and their mother visited the area.  They took a ferry up the coast from Vancouver, and flew back from Prince Rupert a few days later on one of these small airlines. My wife had told me the flight number, and take off time, so I thought it would be fun to follow it on Flight Radar.

The plane took off dead on time, but it was a bit disconcerting when it disappeared off the app a minute after leaving the ground. Thankfully it reappeared 10 minutes later. I suppose something went wrong with the transponder. 

There's a lot of territory up there for even a quite large aircraft to disappear into.

[PhilA]

On 14/12/2024 at 14:13, morrisoxide said:

Royal Mail around Leeds uses 10 & 59 plate Combo vans. I'm told it's becuase the ULEZ crap got brought in Bradford. The Royal Mail got all new ULEZ compliant vans for Bradford and shoved the old vans into Leeds.

We've got several Grumman LLV mail vans still in service here, the last one was built in 1994...

[Barry Cade]

31 minutes ago, PhilA said:

We've got several Grumman LLV mail vans still in service here, the last one was built in 1994...

Same engine as my old Fiero 😆

Just listened to a podcast about them (LLVs) on Past Gas. 

[Supernaut]

Now, do you have Love Shack or Rock Lobster stuck in your head?

[horriblemercedes]

16 minutes ago, Supernaut said:

Now, do you have Love Shack or Rock Lobster stuck in your head?

Does anyone on the forum have a Chrysler that's as big as a whale?

[hairnet]

seats about 20?

[hairnet]

 

lough rynn in 2016

uncle shays 60 dexta and mid late 50s fergie tvo

still doing stuff round farm and cutting hay and stuff - they cant handle modern bales so 84 case does that - not had a go on that and hes had it at least 12 years

have a pic of them following each other still a frame attached at lough rynn more recently but came across this pic first

 

[captain_cal]

On 16/12/2024 at 16:27, howe said:

Almost forgot I had a picture of this one. The bloke I recently bought two Datsun Cabstars off (in addition to the one I already had...) has this and uses it day to day, including to haul stone back from a quarry on occasion.

It has the diesel engine rather than the 2.0 pushrod petrol and the bed on the back is one off a Transit that's been dismantled, trimmed down and bolted back together. I'm also quite fond of the crane he's got to lift things onto it.

How goes the crab lad?

[cms206]

Still working near me is this Bedford TM, operated by an owner driver who's had it for over three decades.

[howe]

1 hour ago, captain_cal said:

How goes the crab lad?

Patiently queued up behind the Lada (taking much longer than expected as usual, innit.)

[PhilA]

4 hours ago, horriblemercedes said:

Does anyone on the forum have a Chrysler that's as big as a whale?

I mean, my Plymouth is pretty huge.

[howe]

Not necessarily a vehicle but it's mechanical and floats about so good enough.

Floating crane made by Carlisle firm Cowans Sheldon in 1948, still in use today in a Singapore shipyard.

Write up from the local newspaper below, I was sure I'd seen the guy post about it in a local FB group but can't find it.

The crane was spotted by Carlisle resident, David Cunninghame, who was in Singapore for work.
“It’s fascinating,” said David.
“I'm in the maritime industry, so that's the reason I was at the shipyard, and I saw the plaque on the side of the crane, and I couldn’t believe it.
The plaque on the side of the crane (Image: Supplied)“I was talking to one of the managers at the shipyard, so I said that crane was built where I’m living and he replied, ‘that thing just keeps on going’.
"The locals are still perfectly happy with the crane which I thought was quite a unusual thing in itself because of all the regulation that comes with cranes and for such a thing from that era, to still be able to pass all the regulations and modern rules, it must be very well engineered.”
Cowans Sheldon was founded in 1846 in Upperby and had a world-leading reputation in the construction of rail and dock cranes which were exported across the world.
The business moved to a new site at St Nicholas St, Carlisle off London Road in 1857.
After a boom during the war, the company continued but sadly closed its doors for the final time in 1987.

[5speedracer]

18 hours ago, cms206 said:

Still working near me is this Bedford TM, operated by an owner driver who's had it for over three decades.

Passed my Class 1 in a TM artic in 1985.

[grogee]

On 15/12/2024 at 17:01, LightBulbFun said:

I think I have mentioned it before

https://autoshite.com/topic/30877-what-makes-you-grin-antidote-to-grumpy-thread/page/1773/#findComment-1755535

but I would love to import/have one of those, being RHD and all that and I love they just keep on plodding on, also their story is in general is quite fascinating with the fact that the majority of them are government owned except a very few sold privately so to speak, plus I have a close friend of mine who for many years ran a couple of very shonky S10's of about the same generation as what those LLV's are based on  

I do hope that as those LLVs are withdrawn, they can be purchased/preserved by those interested in doing so, because I do fear that otherwise if the USPS are super strict about (like how the DHSS were very strict towards the end of the Invacar scheme), then very few will end up surviving and that would be a big shame, as say what you will about them they are a very iconic vehicle over there

(I do know that there are already a couple here in the UK, but I dont know exactly what their story is, I would love to know tho!)

 

+1 for me on LLV love. 

I have a thing for vehicles designed purely for purpose. The 'government contract' bit is interesting too. I guess the D&D cost was covered by billions of stamps being sold. 

What's interesting is that USPS didn't consider any existing van to be suitable. I bet an Econoline could have done 80% of the job, maybe RHD if they insisted. But the USA is big (populous) enough to justify a very specialised vehicle developed for a singular purpose. 

I was thinking that the closest we get in the UK is probably the FX4 or Metrocab. 

Neither is designed to be pretty. But they're relentlessly effective. Designed primarily for long life and easy servicing, and peculiarities of their role (cab turning circle, LLV sliding doors). 

Massive want. 

[reb]

2 minutes ago, grogee said:

 

I was thinking that the closest we get in the UK is probably the FX4 or Metrocab.

There's another, and it's tattooed on my right arm.

No, not the bicycle, the other one.

[ProgRocker]

On 18/12/2024 at 16:30, horriblemercedes said:

Does anyone on the forum have a Chrysler that's as big as a whale?

Like a Grand Voyager?

[MrBig]

21 hours ago, grogee said:

Those headlamps look unbelievably familiar. What are they off? Frontera?