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Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2021 22:56:29 GMT
Metrobus was always my firm favourite , but I appreciated Titans as well. I liked the yellow bits inside the T’s. And no matter how old they got, a T reg Titan always seemed a more comfortable ride than a T reg M. But, for variety, Can’t beat M”s.
Mark 2 M’s, Airbus , a handful of coach seated ones, and my most memorable rides were on Ms as a child, running up as far as Harlow and Hertford on a 310 London Northern PB Metrobus, or down to Stanies on a 290. Up and down the M4 on an Airbus, hair breaking rides on night buses like the N7 (when ran from X), Sunday OPO M’s up to Crouch End on the 14, and NBs lovely C reg M’s when they briefly ran as crew on the 65, very happy days indeed.
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Post by vjaska on Jun 6, 2021 23:11:20 GMT
It's very pleasing from someone who cannot pick between the two types to see them neck and neck in the polls
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Post by paulo on Jun 7, 2021 5:50:51 GMT
It's very pleasing from someone who cannot pick between the two types to see them neck and neck in the polls Metros all the way for me. But if you grew up the west side of London then you had little chance of seeing a Titan until Westlink gained some late in their life for the 131. Both great vehicles that dominated the London scene for the best part of 20 years.
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Post by southlondonbus on Jun 7, 2021 9:58:35 GMT
I love the Metrobus as it was the bus I grew up with on the 280 and regular trips seeing them on the 44, 77, 118, 155, 270 on trips to Tooting. However with not having any in my area the Titan seemed far more interesting and would love to seeing them on the 54 and other routes in Bromely and Greenwich.
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Post by VPL630 on Jun 7, 2021 10:11:16 GMT
It’s been really nice reading these stories and memories from the past and the majority of the time it’s been neck and neck but if anyone is attending LBM on the 27th, providing its all good I’ll be taking M1 and thanks to the amazing LEZ it will be enjoying a slow poodle around the M25
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Post by bottomless on Jun 7, 2021 10:29:13 GMT
Will be attending LBM on 27th and helping to provide service on 462. Grew up with metrobus in Kingston area and enjoyed them but having driven both types prefer to drive the Titan. More room in the cab,(not the smallest person about and metro bus cab very tight) and prefer that you can drive as a semi automatic for more control. Please don’t forget though that the Olympian, L, was just a cheap Titan as most places could not afford the Titan. Having driven early Olympians as well,(LR type on London Country) still prefer the Titan to drive, although was a fan of the Atlantean in this regard.
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Post by M1104 on Jun 7, 2021 10:40:31 GMT
I love the Metrobus as it was the bus I grew up with on the 280 and regular trips seeing them on the 44, 77, 118, 155, 270 on trips to Tooting. However with not having any in my area the Titan seemed far more interesting and would love to seeing them on the 54 and other routes in Bromely and Greenwich. Merton Garage actually had a handful of Titans for a brief period during the mid 90s. www.flickr.com/photos/kjs251/37435894001
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Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2021 11:18:07 GMT
I love the Metrobus as it was the bus I grew up with on the 280 and regular trips seeing them on the 44, 77, 118, 155, 270 on trips to Tooting. However with not having any in my area the Titan seemed far more interesting and would love to seeing them on the 54 and other routes in Bromely and Greenwich. Merton Garage actually had a handful of Titans for a brief period during the mid 90s. www.flickr.com/photos/kjs251/37435894001I remember getting a Titan on a 267 from FW. It was a Westlink one on loan from K not long after LU bought Westlink. Wished I had a camera.
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Post by capitalomnibus on Jun 7, 2021 23:07:48 GMT
I think the reason why the L was not included as it never had the numbers and the M/T were the second generation OPO buses in London. The L would have been seen as the third generation. By the time the L came with the trials of the H, mk2 M, things had changed a bit. The M and T were more neck and neck from 79. LT even convinced MCW to produce the mk1 M longer than the production end date. The mk1 M and Titan were very much to LT spec, the Titan even more.
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Post by M1104 on Jun 8, 2021 11:10:11 GMT
I think the reason why the L was not included as it never had the numbers and the M/T were the second generation OPO buses in London. The L would have been seen as the third generation. By the time the L came with the trials of the H, mk2 M, things had changed a bit. The M and T were more neck and neck from 79. LT even convinced MCW to produce the mk1 M longer than the production end date. The mk1 M and Titan were very much to LT spec, the Titan even more. When i first saw the L class I originally thought they were the Mk2 Titan for their looks. I also remember being 'shockingly' surprised that the centre doors didn't initially appear to have the interlock feature to prevent drivers from pulling away with the doors opened. The Ls to me were ok at best but i would've 'ideally' preferred them spec'd with Cummin engines coupled to the ZF, which could've been the case if those relevant Ls were ordered a few years later.
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Post by capitalomnibus on Jun 10, 2021 22:28:17 GMT
I think the reason why the L was not included as it never had the numbers and the M/T were the second generation OPO buses in London. The L would have been seen as the third generation. By the time the L came with the trials of the H, mk2 M, things had changed a bit. The M and T were more neck and neck from 79. LT even convinced MCW to produce the mk1 M longer than the production end date. The mk1 M and Titan were very much to LT spec, the Titan even more. When i first saw the L class I originally thought they were the Mk2 Titan for their looks. I also remember being 'shockingly' surprised that the centre doors didn't initially appear to have the interlock feature to prevent drivers from pulling away with the doors opened. The Ls to me were ok at best but i would've 'ideally' preferred them spec'd with Cummin engines coupled to the ZF, which could've been the case if those relevant Ls were ordered a few years later. I think it was down to economy why the Gardner was used so many years. Eventually the Cummins became the staple for later London Olympians and then when it went Volvo, they used their own unit. IIRC all Metro's Titans and early L's never had the interlock for the centre doors. The Titan setup was changed to go into neutral. It would not be funny on a slope or hill if you forgot to close the centre door then released the handbrake and the bus started rolling! I remember a campaign in the mid 80's on tv about people getting dragged under buses after being caught in the centre doors and they wanted it to be standard for the bus not to be able to move with the exit doors opened and to have sensitive edges fitted.
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Post by M1104 on Jun 11, 2021 0:34:01 GMT
When i first saw the L class I originally thought they were the Mk2 Titan for their looks. I also remember being 'shockingly' surprised that the centre doors didn't initially appear to have the interlock feature to prevent drivers from pulling away with the doors opened. The Ls to me were ok at best but i would've 'ideally' preferred them spec'd with Cummin engines coupled to the ZF, which could've been the case if those relevant Ls were ordered a few years later. IIRC all Metro's Titans and early L's never had the interlock for the centre doors. The Titan setup was changed to go into neutral. It would not be funny on a slope or hill if you forgot to close the centre door then released the handbrake and the bus started rolling! I remember a campaign in the mid 80's on tv about people getting dragged under buses after being caught in the centre doors and they wanted it to be standard for the bus not to be able to move with the exit doors opened and to have sensitive edges fitted. The Metros also went into neutral but the Ls didn't (at least not initially). Also with the Metros the centre doors were rigged so that you couldn't close the doors immediately after opening (a few seconds had to pass before the mechanism above the doors made a "tick" noise). I also remember that 80's campaign about the doors.
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Post by M1199 on Jun 11, 2021 8:33:16 GMT
Obviously the Metrobus for me! It's what got me into this ever increasingly waning hobby of mine! Have some very fond childhood memories of being on a Metrobus, from catching the 223 home from Uxbridge with my grandparents and always sitting on the bench seats opposite the driver so we could exit via the front doors! They didn't like alighting via the rear doors (no doubt due to that campaign that was mentioned by M1104 and capitalomnibus) to playing with my toy cars on the shelf above the engine, always obsessed with how hot the shelf was! As I got older I came to appreciate the sights, sounds and smells(!) of them, how with replacement grills & mismatched repaints all seemed to have their own unique appearance and how when onboard, they seemed to have a smell which I imagine is hot oil, but then, I've never smelt the same smell on any other vehicle since! You couldn't beat a heavy footed, late running Uxbridge bound 207 beyond Hayes By-Pass, it was a joy to behold, the sounds of the screaming retarder, the whooshing of the handbrake being applied, the front door slamming open as the bus pulled into the stop, followed by the rear door audible warning and the slam of the gearbox into 3rd, pure bliss, how I miss those days! Favourite M is obviously M1199, having fixed it's rear doors and changed its alternator whilst on my school work experience, it quickly became my stalker bus, was always a mechanically sound bus and was gutted when I found out the First sent it to Poland for a new life.
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Post by MetrolineGA1511 on Jun 12, 2021 21:35:44 GMT
I liked Titans for the curly bannister and the cube "cut out" from the back. However, I have happier associations with Metrobuses for being dominant in more areas served by the Underground and in several other cities too.
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Post by redexpress on Jun 13, 2021 7:21:23 GMT
Obviously the Metrobus for me! It's what got me into this ever increasingly waning hobby of mine! Have some very fond childhood memories of being on a Metrobus, from catching the 223 home from Uxbridge with my grandparents and always sitting on the bench seats opposite the driver so we could exit via the front doors! They didn't like alighting via the rear doors (no doubt due to that campaign that was mentioned by M1104 and capitalomnibus ) to playing with my toy cars on the shelf above the engine, always obsessed with how hot the shelf was! As I got older I came to appreciate the sights, sounds and smells(!) of them, how with replacement grills & mismatched repaints all seemed to have their own unique appearance and how when onboard, they seemed to have a smell which I imagine is hot oil, but then, I've never smelt the same smell on any other vehicle since! You couldn't beat a heavy footed, late running Uxbridge bound 207 beyond Hayes By-Pass, it was a joy to behold, the sounds of the screaming retarder, the whooshing of the handbrake being applied, the front door slamming open as the bus pulled into the stop, followed by the rear door audible warning and the slam of the gearbox into 3rd, pure bliss, how I miss those days! Favourite M is obviously M1199, having fixed it's rear doors and changed its alternator whilst on my school work experience, it quickly became my stalker bus, was always a mechanically sound bus and was gutted when I found out the First sent it to Poland for a new life. Same here, it's the Metrobus that got me interested in actual buses. Prior to that I was more interested in bus routes, maps and timetables, but didn't have much of a clue about the vehicles themselves. More than anything it was the sounds of the Ms that did it for me! They seemed like they were from another planet compared to the boring old VRs that we had at home. Your description of Ms has brought back quite a few happy memories
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