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Post by ServerKing on May 15, 2020 10:18:47 GMT
Fantastic bus journeys? I've had a few memorable ones - Streetlite thrash Tuesday on WS140 on the 232 to Neasden - at one point we were up to 35 miles an hour Earliest memories were of the Daimler Fleetlines on the E1 from Brentford to Ealing Broadway, before the route was split in the early 90's. There was a coin box that popped when you dropped the fare (30p Adult, 10p Child) in Being in west London, nearly everything was Voith Metrobus apart from the 607 which had Leyland Nationals with a beastly Leyland TL11 engine! These made a fantastic noise along the dual carriageway passing Ealing Hospital. The awful Renault / Wright buses with "E-Line" / Ealing Buses, several cramped rides from school on an E3 to Northfields... I remember driver changes on the 207 when it still had RM's, just before Hanwell Broadway. Armchair had won the 65 with their iconic white and orange Atlanteans which used to race each other between Kew and Richmond. Was nice seing a bit of variety. Apart from when I would stay with relatives in Harold Hill, which was Leyland Titan country, but there was the unique T684 (?) which had a Voith box which would do cameo appearances on the 374. Guiding a driver of a new DLA on the 242 out of a tight corner on Chatsworth Road, Hackney as he'd misjudged the turn. I'd moved to Homerton by then and it was nice to see something new. At the same time, Stagecoach had bought the Dennis Trident / TA class which were the noisiest buses I'd ever been on, as I was not used to Euro2 Voith thrash on the 277's A frightening ride on Enfield's DLA106 (T306FGN) where the 149 driver decided to race a van along Shoreditch High Street, I was getting ready to get off the bus and holding the pole by the doors when the bus slammed to a halt after trying to mount the kerb to get around said van... I jarred my neck and ended up in hospital for most of the day at Royal London. (Arriva settled out of court through my health insurance) DLA thrash on the 370 before Grays replaced the buses with noisier VLA's and the route lost interest... I would go back and try a DW ride if I wasn't stuck indoors during the Lockdown A hellfire ride on the 232 with Metroline's 07 plate Voith MM's... only having three gears, they would scream along the North Circular towards New Southgate Waiting for an elderly TA on the 189 to start it's journey at Oxford Circus, whilst the driver decided to have a cheeky CIGAR in the cab and stank out the bus DLA231 on the 123 losing it's silencer near Bruce Grove - the noise was deafening. In 2011 many memorable journeys on the W3's Antiques Roadshow with elderly DLA's on the route, missing blinds, frequent breakdowns and short turns. Watching the driver of DLA144 having to kick the ramp to make it go back in after letting a wheelchair user off the bus near Northumberland Park... the buses giving their best to climb the hills around Ally Pally at 10 miles an hour Though Tottenham's DLA156 was a beast, and one of the quickest I'd been on. DW411, 'son of Streetdeck', making it's first trips on the 349 after months of testing, a race between me and the late snoggle to get a ride first in 2015 - I'd even travelled from Brentford to ride it! A ride on one of Norwood's L's in it's later life with exhaust fumes coming into the cabin. Short trip on a 417 as it struggled up Central Hill. Hellfire thrash on the 19's DW's - a driver ignored a passenger trying to catch the bus at Sadler's Wells - passenger kicks side of bus in protest, causing driver to lose it, as he left the cab to try fight with the passenger. Passenger outran him, and the driver swore at us that he hated the job and if we didn't like the way he drove to get off the bus! Fast and Furious driving towards Bloomsbury where I got off the bus PS thelondonthing , love your new avatar, mate I have only the very vaguest and most distant recollection of the Fleetlines - I can't have travelled on them more than two or three times - but I'm sure I remember that, in addition to the coinbox you mentioned, there was also a physical barrier and turnstile (a three-pronged, waist-high affair, similar to those still used outside some public toilets) just past the drivers cab. I would have been very young at the time, but I'm reasonably sure I haven't imagined that ...have I? I also recall the Nationals on the 607; did they have coach seats, or was that just the Ms? My memory is getting rather hazy, which I shall choose to blame on the rather delicious bottle of merlot that I've consumed this evening. *hiccups*I also enjoyed many a fine journey on the Nationals in my part of town, although many were phased out by London United relatively early, after serving faithfully on now-long-dead routes like the 202 and 257 (although some soldiered on and got a new lease on life thanks to the Greenway upgrades, and lived on at LU for several years allocated to the H37). But the 'classic' Nationals remained a common sight around Hounslow in service on routes 116, 117 and 417 under Westlink; and a separate fleet of single-door Nationals was procured for the 116 and 117 when they were operated by the ill-fated TGM Buses. Regardless of operator, I always enjoyed travelling on the old-school LS-class - the saloon layout was pleasant, and the distinctive angry whine from the engine was always music to my ears (with Greenway engine upgrades not so much). Did Atlanteans serve on the 65? My recollection of the Armchair days was that it was always operated with Olympians, but I'm quite willing to accept that I'm wrong about that! (And many thanks, I'm glad you like the avatar! ) The Atlanteans were on the 65 and 260 before the H***GKX Olympians (ZF?) arrived to AH in 1994. Usually hidden with Northern Ireland plates to disguise their age I didn't mind the GLS buses on the 507 / 505 with cherished plates, but those Atlanteans were awful... one other journey I recall is a trip on a Thameside Atlantean on the 373 to Lakeside from Harold Hill, where the driver took us down the M25 from Brentwood
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Post by redexpress on May 15, 2020 11:42:24 GMT
I have only the very vaguest and most distant recollection of the Fleetlines - I can't have travelled on them more than two or three times - but I'm sure I remember that, in addition to the coinbox you mentioned, there was also a physical barrier and turnstile (a three-pronged, waist-high affair, similar to those still used outside some public toilets) just past the drivers cab. I would have been very young at the time, but I'm reasonably sure I haven't imagined that ...have I? I also recall the Nationals on the 607; did they have coach seats, or was that just the Ms? My memory is getting rather hazy, which I shall choose to blame on the rather delicious bottle of merlot that I've consumed this evening. *hiccups*I also enjoyed many a fine journey on the Nationals in my part of town, although many were phased out by London United relatively early, after serving faithfully on now-long-dead routes like the 202 and 257 (although some soldiered on and got a new lease on life thanks to the Greenway upgrades, and lived on at LU for several years allocated to the H37). But the 'classic' Nationals remained a common sight around Hounslow in service on routes 116, 117 and 417 under Westlink; and a separate fleet of single-door Nationals was procured for the 116 and 117 when they were operated by the ill-fated TGM Buses. Regardless of operator, I always enjoyed travelling on the old-school LS-class - the saloon layout was pleasant, and the distinctive angry whine from the engine was always music to my ears (with Greenway engine upgrades not so much). Did Atlanteans serve on the 65? My recollection of the Armchair days was that it was always operated with Olympians, but I'm quite willing to accept that I'm wrong about that! (And many thanks, I'm glad you like the avatar! ) The Atlanteans were on the 65 and 260 before the H***GKX Olympians (ZF?) arrived to AH in 1994. Usually hidden with Northern Ireland plates to disguise their age I didn't mind the GLS buses on the 507 / 505 with cherished plates, but those Atlanteans were awful... one other journey I recall is a trip on a Thameside Atlantean on the 373 to Lakeside from Harold Hill, where the driver took us down the M25 from Brentwood The Atlanteans were backup to the Leyland Olympians rather than being their predecessors. When Armchair retained the 65 and won the 237 (to replace the 260) they bought a handful of new (R-reg) Volvo Olympians to replace the Atlanteans.
I never had the pleasure(?) of riding their Atlanteans but the Volvo Olys were lovely buses. As were the two ex-East Kent Mk2 Metros that they bought in 2001 to top-up the 65. I remember the Metros had those continuous strips in the ceiling instead of bell pushes, which confused the hell out of some of the 65's regulars
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Post by ian on May 16, 2020 11:16:56 GMT
Several that spring to mind include when a driver got lost and having to direct them how to get back on track. The most bizarre example was an N5 from Trafalgar Square; upon reaching Burnt Oak it turned left down Montrose Avenue to the Edgware Road... and I had to explain to the driver he had got lost (at about 4 am!) and ask the driver to turn round in the petrol garage on the Edgware Road - crazy!
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2020 6:23:46 GMT
As a kid I would spend every weekend out and about on London Buses. This was during the late 80’s and 90’s. I grew up in SW London. My favourite bus has always been the Metrobus and my favourite company has always been London United.
I can still recall all of London United’s Metrobuses. I’ve used my lockdown time to compile a full list and I’m in the process of finding pictures of them all.
Particular memories...
Riding crew operated M’s from NB on the 65. Many of these were from a brand new C reg batch 1336-1345, 1374,1381,1418 &1419. The 71 had been converted to OPO with B reg examples from the batch 1261-1272. The NB drivers absolutely thrashed these buses, throwing them around the streets of Chessington and Surbiton like racing cars. The smell of a brand new M was unique. The purr of the engine when idling, the roar as it raced up the gears ( all three of them !) and the extra special whurring you got when at max speed in 3rd. Note, you would only get that if you had a fast driver.
I recall being on M828 from FW on the last day of M operation of route 33. The driver was something else, broke a few laws coming back to FW between Richmond and Twickenham, but great fun. Alas this great bus departed FW that evening for pastures new in South London.
Other little memories. M204 on the 27 one Sunday early evening stuck in traffic on Marylebone Road. I don’t know why I remember this, but I think it was the sheer exasperation of the poor driver. When the controller rang him on the band 3 radio, it was how he exclaimed so pitifully “I’m still at b@@@y Baker Street” when asked why he wasn’t at V Garage heading back to Camden. He was obviously well over 45 mins late.
I remember overhearing many “All Calls” on band 3 radios, during the IRA bombing campaigns. It was routine for bus stations to close, Oxford Street , Strand, Whitehall , were all regular closures. I heard a bomb go off in Ealing, and remember the sudden closure of Hammersmith Bridge for a few weeks and months after the IRA almost blew it up.
Back to bus riding memories.
The 290 Thorpe Park extension on a Metrobus thrashing through Pooley Green and Egham.
The Harrow Mk2 Metrobuses through the Cargo Tunnel on the 140.
I used to have a route plan which involved the following ...
285 Hampton Hill to T4 140 T4 to Harrow 183 Harrow to Golders Green 82 Golders Green to North Finchley 263 North Finchley to Barnet 84 or 326 to Potters Bar 242 to Waltham Cross 310A or B to Harlow or Hertford, then return....
Very happy days, and I still get out when I can. I find today’s buses rather dull. Not many have individual character and nowhere near the amount of variety. But still, something to cheer is the frequency and extra routes now available.
Sent from my iPad
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Post by delt1c on May 17, 2020 6:48:06 GMT
going to turn the clock back to late 70's. When working from Dalston Garage my favorite 2 runs was Dalson Garage to Farnborough on the 47's( Yes Sunday mornings we had a few through runs). Lovely on a summers morning but freezing in the winter asso much running time you froze on an RM as you never got much speed so heating zero. Next Liverpool St to Mortlake on the 9. Especially the section from Hamersmith to Mortlake garage. When you arrived at Mortlake Garage there was always some preserved vehicles stored here, plus RMA's parked up, not training vehicles but still with the staircases in
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Post by delt1c on May 17, 2020 6:56:07 GMT
Interesting reading about some fast journeys. In Dalson Garage in the late 70's early 80's our unsung hero was RM763 which with a clear road at night could easily get to 40+, once even got up to 45, which in an RM was interesting. Also whilst at Palmers Green as a road official myself and some colleagues managed at last minute to get RM5 saved. She arrived back at AD on her last journey just after 20.00 and was scheduled to be taken away with the rest of the RM's from the 29's. After a lot of phone calls we managed to get the inevitable postponed and thankfully the rest is history. We used to take RM5 to many Rallies and even myself and a Colleuge did a full run in service on a sunday after Muswell Hill Rally as an extra on the 102. Happy days
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2020 8:39:00 GMT
I've plenty of happy memories of Metrobuses getting thrashed on the 207, especially on the dual carriageway from Hayes Grapes into Uxbridge. Probably my favourite section would be from the lights at Coney Green down to the stop at The Greenway. Drivers would release the handbrake and it'd be foot to the floor until Hillingdon Cemetery (as long as the stop at St.Johns Church wasn't needed) The vehicle would slam into 3rd just in time for the driver to slam the anchors on for the 40mph speed camera, the sound of the screaming retarder was a joy to behold. One notable 207 journey was on M1400, caught it from Ealing Broadway, it must of been the drivers last run of the day, as he ragged the @rse off the old girl! foot to the floor between every stop, then literally slinging it into every stop and getting the retarder screaming! A 607 never overtook until we reached Uxbridge. Was my last journey on M1400 as it was withdrawn shortly afterwards. Can't believe it's been 20 years since mainstream Metrobus operation ended on the 207. At least my alias, M1199 managed to cling on till 2004. Another memorable M journey was on the 71, going to Chessington, the driver, who was the spit of Errol Brown (of Hot Chocolate fame) M would drop into 2nd early, so he would get it to kickdown back into 1st, by the time it would change back into 2nd, it was flying, this was the only Metro I've ridden that made a funny whining noise whilst in second (only way to describe it is to listen to The Chemical Brothers 'Let forever Be' there like a whining noise in it, which was almost identical!) I remember being on a packed RML on the 9 once, was hanging on at the back, the conductor who was a bit of a rude boy, spent the time from Hyde Park Corner to Hammersmith, trying to chat up a passenger, he was even giving the nod to passengers (including myself) to give the 2 bells to the driver! He didn't get nowhere with the girl and at Hammersmith, when leaving on the H91, I saw him and the driver 'having words'!!! Have also had a fair few memorable journies/memories on my local U3 over the years: You always got a lively ride after 2200 when it was operated with the little MA's, one evening, my journey from Uxbridge to Appletree Avenue could barely of took 10 minutes! I'd struggle to do it in 10 minutes in my car! When it was operated by Capital Logistics/TGM, although the service was terrible, the majority of drivers were lethal on the accelerator! Those Excels went like rockets. Then in 2000/1 once it moved into TF, you'd never know which vehicle would turn up! You had Excels, Green Darts from the 465, Kingston Uni Darts, Darts off the 235, R68 & R70 and MPD's off the H20/H26/H28 - Wish I took photos of all these now! Another on DML41336, we were stuck in traffic at Heathrow, the driver in his boredom, used his keys to prize open the Assault Screen (First had fixed them shut by then) to rest his elbow in the opening portion! More recently, my last journey on Abellio's 9765 is up there as one I'll remember for a long time to come! Luckily I recorded it! Think it's fair to say the driver liked driving those Tridents! www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UprsMlwv7cI'll also mention the H91, when it was operated by LLW's but actually it was with whatever HH of V would throw out on it! Waiting at Hammersmith, you'd of seen a big grin appear on my face if I saw A LLW or M come round the corner or a grimace if it was a DR/L, CD or DP! H91 was my local route for a little while. As you mention it was a most interesting phase. The LLWs seemed a bit better once they were refurbished. I liked the CD’s. But the M or a Leyland Olympian were my favourite. Definitely not one of those awful DR’s ( DRs in the 50-67 batch seemed terrible for some reason) This was when the 120 was operated by 2DR on Sundays ... can you believe that !!!
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Post by VPL630 on May 17, 2020 11:16:53 GMT
DN33501 on Central Line Rail Replacement between Woodford and Epping all stations, The route was nice, the bus was fast and who doesn't want a nice day out to Epping? Thorwback to 2011 when First London were still about
The route had a load of hills and was very busy and still, the driver was thrashing the life out of the bus, much for fun when you aren't stuck in London traffic and having to stop at bus stops all the time.
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Post by Green Kitten on May 17, 2020 12:14:05 GMT
My ride on the 34, 107 and 113 for the first time. Three great routes, would have been even better if I had a DLA instead of a T on the 34.
Barely anyone to stop the bus on the 113 as well.
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Post by overgroundcommuter on May 17, 2020 16:37:49 GMT
Boxing Day rides used to be special, when routes were extended to run along the whole route. One of my first memorable rides was going on the 37 from East Dulwich to Richmond which in them days with shops closed meant the roads were like the early days of the lockdown.
I also liked childhood rides on the 12 when they used to operate to 'far flung' destinations like Elmers End Garage and Penge and Leyland National rides on the 12A, 12B and 227.
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Post by M1199 on May 18, 2020 0:24:24 GMT
H91 was my local route for a little while. As you mention it was a most interesting phase. The LLWs seemed a bit better once they were refurbished. I liked the CD’s. But the M or a Leyland Olympian were my favourite. Definitely not one of those awful DR’s ( DRs in the 50-67 batch seemed terrible for some reason) This was when the 120 was operated by 2DR on Sundays ... can you believe that !!! Always thought it was weird that London United refurbished LLW4 rather late in the day compared with the other 9 of the batch. Despite refurbishment, those Saydair seats are the most uncomfortable seats I've had the misfortune to use! I must be one of the only people going who actually liked a Lance! Used to love the 'woooing' noise the handbrake made when being applied and released and the noise the ZF box made as it was coming back down the gears to idle. I always remembered them as being pretty nippy, but whenever you look at YouTube videos of them, the uploader always seems to complain that they are gutless! When I did my school work experience at UX, the engineers hated them! One of the engineers told me once that LLW13 was actually the first one built and it had a slightly different under floor layout to the rest, whether that's true or not, I've no idea. Shame they all went to the scrap man, as I think at least one of them deserved preservation status, being pioneers of the Low Floor revolution!
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2020 8:14:28 GMT
H91 was my local route for a little while. As you mention it was a most interesting phase. The LLWs seemed a bit better once they were refurbished. I liked the CD’s. But the M or a Leyland Olympian were my favourite. Definitely not one of those awful DR’s ( DRs in the 50-67 batch seemed terrible for some reason) This was when the 120 was operated by 2DR on Sundays ... can you believe that !!! Always thought it was weird that London United refurbished LLW4 rather late in the day compared with the other 9 of the batch. Despite refurbishment, those Saydair seats are the most uncomfortable seats I've had the misfortune to use! I must be one of the only people going who actually liked a Lance! Used to love the 'woooing' noise the handbrake made when being applied and released and the noise the ZF box made as it was coming back down the gears to idle. I always remembered them as being pretty nippy, but whenever you look at YouTube videos of them, the uploader always seems to complain that they are gutless! When I did my school work experience at UX, the engineers hated them! One of the engineers told me once that LLW13 was actually the first one built and it had a slightly different under floor layout to the rest, whether that's true or not, I've no idea. Shame they all went to the scrap man, as I think at least one of them deserved preservation status, being pioneers of the Low Floor revolution! Absolutely should have been preserved. I remember the suspension being dodgy too. And the rear doors. They seemed to hang on by a thread.
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Post by redexpress on May 18, 2020 10:30:26 GMT
H91 was my local route for a little while. As you mention it was a most interesting phase. The LLWs seemed a bit better once they were refurbished. I liked the CD’s. But the M or a Leyland Olympian were my favourite. Definitely not one of those awful DR’s ( DRs in the 50-67 batch seemed terrible for some reason) This was when the 120 was operated by 2DR on Sundays ... can you believe that !!! Always thought it was weird that London United refurbished LLW4 rather late in the day compared with the other 9 of the batch. Despite refurbishment, those Saydair seats are the most uncomfortable seats I've had the misfortune to use! I must be one of the only people going who actually liked a Lance! Used to love the 'woooing' noise the handbrake made when being applied and released and the noise the ZF box made as it was coming back down the gears to idle. I always remembered them as being pretty nippy, but whenever you look at YouTube videos of them, the uploader always seems to complain that they are gutless! When I did my school work experience at UX, the engineers hated them! One of the engineers told me once that LLW13 was actually the first one built and it had a slightly different under floor layout to the rest, whether that's true or not, I've no idea. Shame they all went to the scrap man, as I think at least one of them deserved preservation status, being pioneers of the Low Floor revolution! I always preferred the SLWs to the LLWs. Although being a Scania fan I was probably a little bit biased! The SLWs were fine when they were on the move, but the vibrations at idle were something else. If I had the money and ability to preserve a bus I'd have been tempted by an SLW but they're all long gone.
As for LLW13, looking at the chassis and body numbers there's nothing to suggest that it was an earlier build. But I suppose it might have been held back for experimental tweaks to the design.
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Post by planesandtrains on May 18, 2020 13:46:14 GMT
My favourite memories are the many journeys on 33 darts being driven to the limit. More recently I have taken up conducting on the EOR 339. There is nothing like being on the back of an empty RT being floored to bits on the last run of the day from Shenfield to Ongar on a hot sunny day cashing in the days takings to enable a quick getaway home. Another favourite is when an inspector turns up along the route with LT country uniform ,clipboard and everything. The passengers love it. It really is something I miss from my 'normal' life.
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2020 13:59:52 GMT
Boxing Day rides used to be special, when routes were extended to run along the whole route. One of my first memorable rides was going on the 37 from East Dulwich to Richmond which in them days with shops closed meant the roads were like the early days of the lockdown. I also liked childhood rides on the 12 when they used to operate to 'far flung' destinations like Elmers End Garage and Penge and Leyland National rides on the 12A, 12B and 227. Sunday’s were good. One favourite of mine was to do Putney Bridge to Hyde Park Corner and back three times on either the 14,22 or 74. Of course the 74 was already OPO at that point. Catching a Titan down to Hammersmith on the 10 and a Westbourne Park M to Richmond on the 7 felt quite special. When AV received an allocation on the 223 on Sundays it really felt like they were invading an otherwise all UX controlled kingdom.
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