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Post by VPL630 on Feb 19, 2015 23:18:57 GMT
This morning I was allocated a WVL which is usually allocated to 257 route for 191 route I was doing, I changed the front and side blind manually but the back blind would not change so I told the engineer who went upstairs and opened the seats at the back and folded them then he changed the blind so it does take time but if you bother to ask they will change it no problem. That's because you are at a Ex First Garage and they care, Try doing that at BE and they would 9 times out of 10 say take it out, it would be logged on the defect card but most likely won't get fixed for months
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Post by VPL630 on Feb 17, 2015 16:05:49 GMT
Volvo 9073 is parked up right in the corner of Unit 7 (Apparently, its Unit 7 and not Unit 12). I wonder what's happened with this bus unless any of you guys know? Crime scene perhaps? Would have thought it would have been moved to a different garage like most others
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Post by VPL630 on Feb 16, 2015 15:58:26 GMT
From what I've been informed adblue issues are covered under warranty. The problem is they expect us to drag the bus down to them to have it fixed. So we end up with these buses crawling around like snails on crack, until they go bang. Sen36 is another culprit as are pretty much any new se that gets chucked out on a w19 where nobody complains as you try and invent new ways to lose running time on that route. Love that sentence. It is true, despite many of the scania's having oil warning lights and many other things wrong with them, they were only getting fixed when brought back on a tow truck, sums BE up to be honest
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Post by VPL630 on Feb 15, 2015 21:27:32 GMT
Am I the only one that thinks it's a bit weird that Abellio are using Volvo's and 12 plate E400's on Rail Replacements as far as Ipswich / Manningtree / Colchester and Billericay
I mean it's like a 80 mile dead run and the work they are doing is much more suited to coaches, I would hate to be doing an emergency stop in a bus travelling at around 50 on the A12 full of people, They would go flying literally
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Post by VPL630 on Feb 12, 2015 8:23:57 GMT
Any E400 from around 59/10 reg has no manual Kidckdown Same with E200's from late 60 reg No London B9TL has manual Kickdown Arriva's DW's from DW401 are speed limited to 42MPH Arriva's DW's in London from DW425 (No idea why) have no kickdown DW401 onwards is limited to 44mph, not 42. Early DB300 DW's like 201-300 has kickdown at around 80% pedal position. All DB300 DW's has a spring based kickdown switch installed that pushes from 90%-100% pedal position. However it is not functional. Later DW's i.e like 401 onwards does not have kickdown from 80% pedal position. It wold not overrev unless on a gradient, hard cornering which can fool the tilt switch used for gradient and other methods (which I would not disclose) can still allow them to reach the engines 2200rpm natural max rev limit. They can allow up to 2500rpm for a very short while, but would go back to 2200rpm. 400 series onwards would naturally then upshift between 1500-1700rpm at 90% or even if you tried at 100% pedal position. IIRC those from around DW500 has a better ECU mapping which is more responsive and would get 100% engine torque quicker with the pedal down, but still would not go past a natural rev limit of 1700rpm. (unless otherwise)
The E400's at 59 plate still do have manual kickdown switches, but are activate/deactivate at operators request. They are worst without as the engine is not mapped to accommodate without it as when it comes to hills. These early versions would then be sluggish as it would have then expect the driver to activate the kickdown switch to gain more power to climb.
Attachment DeletedWell as this sign fitted to most DW's, we are both wrong by a MPH, I'm going to lose soooooo much sleep over that...... Early DB300 have a switch under the throttle pedal which only when your foot is flat down at 100% kickdown will engage, it's set up so you will hear it click if it's been set up correctly DW401 to 425 Have manual kickdown, trust me I've spent many hours being thrown about the 76 route with my mate driving them DW425+ do not have any form of kickdown, they have no intelligent kickdown, you can't throttle pump them, you can't do anything with them to make them kickdown, from the 500's there is not even a switch under the pedal The way they are set up anyway, from DW201 - DW424, if Kickdown is engaged from a standstill, It will rev 2200 in first and 2500 in the 2nd,3rd and 4th, It will rev 2500rpm in first gear only when you kickdown from first into second, They also have a tendency to get stuck in gear when kickdown is used and you have to let off and slow down for it to slam into the next gear, a light appears on the dash but it's not very clear, well to be honest this is a Voith trait that has been around since B7TL's No Euro 5 Enviro 400 has kickdown regardless or there being a switch fitted or not apart from 2 Abellio E400's but they are limited to 30MPH ask 6HP502C , There is no trick to make these buses faster unless you are driving up a hill, the engines are mapped the same for all Euro 5 engines and if you noticed, at the moment they are currently being remapped again to make them even slower Not that is relevant to this post There is a route run by Reading buses/Newbury buses called Jet Black, there is a hill on that route that an moderately packed Enviro 400 in derate mode can't even climb
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Post by VPL630 on Feb 10, 2015 22:06:05 GMT
I thought the 355 line was defective not affected He definately said defected can never understand these Jamaican people lol What you tryna say?! You do know I'm half Jamaican right
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Post by VPL630 on Feb 10, 2015 21:30:24 GMT
Very true - the 345 runs along the trouble triangle, bounded by Elephant (-> Walworth Road), Camberwell (-> Coldharbour Lane) and Brixton (-> Brixton Road). All death threats I got when driving the 35 were along those sections . I was hoping he'd say something about the 345's buses - those Enviros are quick. I like sitting upstairs as you can really feel the weight shift to the back when they pull away with the kickdown The bit about punching 35s on the 45 made me laugh, because I used the punch the 45 when I drove the 35 Some other Bars I liked were.. I was Quite surprised to hear "185 give the best drive" One of the busiest routes in Lewisham, shocked he never said "185 always full up wid prams ina Lewisham" Lol... "68 yuh haffi drive fi keep di pace cant do dat yuh sack from yuh workplace lol, not even di union cant help your case" - Good thing the allocation is not B9TLs... "355 most affected bus di only ting wi good ah di iBus" - Needs double deckers what he means most probably For the future "432 very short bus, only pick up one or two people pon di bus" I thought the 355 line was defective not affected, can never understand these Jamaican people lol
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Post by VPL630 on Feb 8, 2015 8:57:39 GMT
EN27 has just been fitted with WOBS this evening, contains a standard BE/SI DD blind set EL1/2 and D7 omitted Any reason the D7 missed off I wonder? is the famous 541 on there Also assume this bus could stick around after route 498 moves to Stagecoach. D7 was never on any of the WOB blinds fitted to the scania's, This has the same set as in a Olympus, 541 isn't on there either
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Post by VPL630 on Feb 7, 2015 23:12:26 GMT
EN27 has just been fitted with WOBS this evening, contains a standard BE/SI DD blind set EL1/2 and D7 omitted
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Post by VPL630 on Feb 7, 2015 17:16:26 GMT
Possible a daft question but is there a reason why some operators tend to put brand new buses into service mid to late afternoon rather than first thing in the morning? I've noticed this with how Stagecoach are infiltrating the NB4Ls on to the 55 and have seen it with some other vehicle deployments when there's a partial switchover. Obviously with a brand new contract there's no choice - the new buses have to start from first thing. Not as big of a problem if they crash go mechanical during the day but, if it's the first bus it's not as easy to cover mileage I'm guessing
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Post by VPL630 on Feb 7, 2015 16:06:12 GMT
Are they permitted to start a new contract with a bus that was originally EuroIII, I know the modified ones can continue their existing contract, but can they be used for a new contract ? I thought had to be at least euro IV (or Euro V for Central Zone) at start of contract, but willing to be corrected I don't think it should be too much of an issue, given that there are only three buses being used on three return journeys five days a week only. They could also use the B9TLs against the 692/699 contract and use the older B7TLs on other routes. Bandit Triangle took on a number of Romford schools routes with ten year old Euro II B7TLs in 2010. They took on a lot more later on when they got the First routes and are still struggling to run them even when the buses are working...
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Post by VPL630 on Feb 7, 2015 11:17:25 GMT
That's a shame, but I suppose it's logical. These buses are 12 -13 years old - way past there prime are a hard slog in North London. It's a Volvo, it's never past it's "prime" Just look at the amount of Olympians that are still all over the country
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Post by VPL630 on Feb 7, 2015 10:02:22 GMT
They won't stay with GAL as they are non standard, that's why the BE ones were sold to Ensign
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Post by VPL630 on Feb 6, 2015 22:43:08 GMT
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Post by VPL630 on Feb 2, 2015 14:14:22 GMT
Speaking of the 407, Saturday was the first time I driven the new buses on this route and the fleet number was 8834. I really thought they were like the S4 buses so didn't see the need to be typed trained on it. What a big mistake I made as I couldn't get the bus to move for a good 5 minutes or so. Despite the handbrake off the bus does not move. You must press the accelerator and hold it there for a few seconds to get the bus to move. As a passenger I have noticed that the drivers on the 407 take fewer "risks" pulling away from bus stops. With the old Allison automatics if you spotted a gap you could floor it and know that bus would react. However, with the ZF Enviros, drivers now wait for a large gap before pulling away. I suppose this is because drivers have little confidence that the gearbox will react quick enough (or at all!) such that it might cause an accident. On my first 109 trip out of Croydon there were four 109s parked up on Park Street in the early evening. Heading past West Croydon station minutes later I saw two 109s in service running together and then about 30 secs later a third following! I dread to think how many that contributed to the number already in Park Street... If you put your foot to the floor in a bus, it should move, not wait about till it feels like it wants to move, and that auto brake thing, that's actually the stupidest thing I've heard in my life, how did that get type approval, a bus that stops it self when it wants to with no warning, These buses sound like a massive accident waiting to happen
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