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Post by MetrolineGA1511 on Dec 19, 2020 6:15:07 GMT
Helped by the geography at the time, my favourite double-deck has been the Metrobus Mk 1. It has never really been the same having separate chassis from bodywork, although ADL as good as have integral buses now.
For an unrelated reason, my favourite single-deck has been Marshall bodied Darts, even though some operators have tended to neglect them.
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Post by mkay315 on Dec 19, 2020 10:42:44 GMT
Helped by the geography at the time, my favourite double-deck has been the Metrobus Mk 1. It has never really been the same having separate chassis from bodywork, although ADL as good as have integral buses now. For an unrelated reason, my favourite single-deck has been Marshall bodied Darts, even though some operators have tended to neglect them. Ahhhh yes the Marshall darts. First capital I believe was its biggest customer in london. I know Metroline inherited some from Thorpes and had their own ones too. Go ahead had a small batch too. Its a shame they went bust in 02.
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Post by redexpress on Dec 19, 2020 13:51:47 GMT
Helped by the geography at the time, my favourite double-deck has been the Metrobus Mk 1. It has never really been the same having separate chassis from bodywork, although ADL as good as have integral buses now. For an unrelated reason, my favourite single-deck has been Marshall bodied Darts, even though some operators have tended to neglect them. Ahhhh yes the Marshall darts. First capital I believe was its biggest customer in london. I know Metroline inherited some from Thorpes and had their own ones too. Go ahead had a small batch too. Its a shame they went bust in 02. Thorpes only ever bought one Marshall-bodied Dart - that was AJ02ZRY, which was being built for First at the time of Marshall's collapse but was left in limbo as First transferred their order to Caetano. The lone bus was eventually snapped up by Thorpes. Metroline did transfer a number of DMLs to Thorpes after taking over the company, and some of these gained Thorpes fleetnames.
Most of Metroline's Marshall Darts came from MTL London - some were already in the fleet when Metroline took over, while the rest were about to be delivered. The only Marshall Darts to be delivered with a Metroline-spec interior were the three T-reg DMLs bought for the 317.
I liked the styling of the Marshall Capital but they weren't great to travel on. The legroom was even worse than on the equivalent Pointer Darts, and they weren't very well built. Still it was nice of First to put a strip of carpet on the ceiling to make up for the basic nature of the bodywork!
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Post by mkay315 on Dec 19, 2020 15:24:33 GMT
Ahhhh yes the Marshall darts. First capital I believe was its biggest customer in london. I know Metroline inherited some from Thorpes and had their own ones too. Go ahead had a small batch too. Its a shame they went bust in 02. Thorpes only ever bought one Marshall-bodied Dart - that was AJ02ZRY, which was being built for First at the time of Marshall's collapse but was left in limbo as First transferred their order to Caetano. The lone bus was eventually snapped up by Thorpes. Metroline did transfer a number of DMLs to Thorpes after taking over the company, and some of these gained Thorpes fleetnames.
Most of Metroline's Marshall Darts came from MTL London - some were already in the fleet when Metroline took over, while the rest were about to be delivered. The only Marshall Darts to be delivered with a Metroline-spec interior were the three T-reg DMLs bought for the 317.
I liked the styling of the Marshall Capital but they weren't great to travel on. The legroom was even worse than on the equivalent Pointer Darts, and they weren't very well built. Still it was nice of First to put a strip of carpet on the ceiling to make up for the basic nature of the bodywork!
The Marshall seats on the earlier versions from first were nice whereas the later ones from the X-reg onwards were unbearable to sit on. It was torture sitting on those.
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Post by mkay315 on Dec 21, 2020 9:19:24 GMT
I also liked the last batch of the Plaxton presidents on metroline VPL629-637. Powerful buses and I miss them
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Post by enviro101 on Jan 2, 2021 21:19:07 GMT
I like the shape of the optare metrocity shape looks like a boat at the front
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Post by MetrolineGA1511 on Jan 2, 2021 22:58:44 GMT
I like the shape of the optare metrocity shape looks like a boat at the front This compares with Versas, which early on I heard descried as looking like fish.
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Post by enviro101 on Jan 2, 2021 23:29:54 GMT
I like the shape of the optare metrocity shape looks like a boat at the front This compares with Versas, which early on I heard descried as looking like fish. optare tend to give their buses a unique shape which is good adds variety in the London fleet.
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Post by lazy_eye_metaphor on Jan 3, 2021 14:55:29 GMT
Well I'm just gonna come out and say it. My favourite current bus design is the New Routemaster. E400 City also highly commended.
Favourite recent single decker - Optare Versa.
Favourite retro bus - AF class Northern Counties bodied Fleetline from London Country in the 70s.
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Post by vjaska on Jan 3, 2021 15:17:28 GMT
Well I'm just gonna come out and say it. My favourite current bus design is the New Routemaster. E400 City also highly commended. Favourite recent single decker - Optare Versa. Favourite retro bus - AF class Northern Counties bodied Fleetline from London Country in the 70s. Always wanted to ride an AF class vehicle, sadly have never been lucky enough to do so. Agree with the Versa as well.
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Post by lazy_eye_metaphor on Jan 3, 2021 15:25:52 GMT
Well I'm just gonna come out and say it. My favourite current bus design is the New Routemaster. E400 City also highly commended. Favourite recent single decker - Optare Versa. Favourite retro bus - AF class Northern Counties bodied Fleetline from London Country in the 70s. Always wanted to ride an AF class vehicle, sadly have never been lucky enough to do so. Agree with the Versa as well. Gosh I lost count of the times I rode on an AF on the 410, often the whole way Bromley - Reigate. Combine that with an RP on the 704 to Tunbridge Wells and you have bus heaven!
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Post by greenboy on Jan 3, 2021 15:32:13 GMT
Always wanted to ride an AF class vehicle, sadly have never been lucky enough to do so. Agree with the Versa as well. Gosh I lost count of the times I rode on an AF on the 410, often the whole way Bromley - Reigate. Combine that with an RP on the 704 to Tunbridge Wells and you have bus heaven! I agree with you about the RP, lovely buses and I think there are a few preserved.
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Post by lazy_eye_metaphor on Jan 3, 2021 15:41:14 GMT
Gosh I lost count of the times I rode on an AF on the 410, often the whole way Bromley - Reigate. Combine that with an RP on the 704 to Tunbridge Wells and you have bus heaven! I agree with you about the RP, lovely buses and I think there are a few preserved. RP21 and RP90 are both preserved, although neither have appeared at any recent bus rally, as far as I know. Sadly all eleven AFs no longer exist
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Post by LJ17THF on Jan 8, 2021 20:10:25 GMT
In terms of current buses, I think the Enviro400MMC range is quite good-looking, alongside LT's. They combine a good chassis and unique looks with a nice view from the stairs. For the single decker, I'd say the Enviro200MMC range is much better than Wright's Streetlite in terms of looks, but the Optare Metrocity is a close second!
In terms of past buses, I think the original Wright Gemini would be a winner here, it had such unique style in comparison to the other boxy styled buses like the Alexander ALX400 or Plaxton President. For a single decker choice, I'd say the Optare Excel was good-looking, although it was a bit like a box (and not renowned for its reliability!), most other buses at the time had similar styling, but this had an interesting front end.
In terms of step entrance buses, I'd say the Optare Spectra would win (even though it wasn't always step-entrance), it had eye-catching design to me and looked great in most colours. For the step entrance single decker bodywork, I think the Wright Handybus and Optare Delta were very pleasing to the eye and much different from the breadvan shaped buses.
However, I remember there being an Optare Rapta, which was only a concept, but if it went into production, it would be my first choice of current bus. I can also see where ADL got some inspiration for the E400MMC because the front ends look so similar, especially the light clusters. It would have probably been much more popular than the Metrodecker, by the looks of it.
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Post by mkay315 on Jan 17, 2021 16:43:27 GMT
In terms of current buses, I think the Enviro400MMC range is quite good-looking, alongside LT's. They combine a good chassis and unique looks with a nice view from the stairs. For the single decker, I'd say the Enviro200MMC range is much better than Wright's Streetlite in terms of looks, but the Optare Metrocity is a close second! In terms of past buses, I think the original Wright Gemini would be a winner here, it had such unique style in comparison to the other boxy styled buses like the Alexander ALX400 or Plaxton President. For a single decker choice, I'd say the Optare Excel was good-looking, although it was a bit like a box (and not renowned for its reliability!), most other buses at the time had similar styling, but this had an interesting front end. In terms of step entrance buses, I'd say the Optare Spectra would win (even though it wasn't always step-entrance), it had eye-catching design to me and looked great in most colours. For the step entrance single decker bodywork, I think the Wright Handybus and Optare Delta were very pleasing to the eye and much different from the breadvan shaped buses. However, I remember there being an Optare Rapta, which was only a concept, but if it went into production, it would be my first choice of current bus. I can also see where ADL got some inspiration for the E400MMC because the front ends look so similar, especially the light clusters. It would have probably been much more popular than the Metrodecker, by the looks of it. That's a good mix there.
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