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Post by mkay315 on Jul 17, 2021 9:51:30 GMT
What got me into London buses was the fact that growing up in East London we had all sorts of buses, from the Wright pathfinders on the 101 to the Northern Counties Palatine Scanias on the 15, 15B (current day 115), 48, 147, 330 (when it used to go to Blackwall), Titans on near enough every stagecoach garage in East London, to the Optare Delta's on the 129, 150, 169, 369. To the Ikarus DAFs on the 167 in it's grey green livery. To Harris bus on the 108, 128, 129 and 150. Also seeing the Leyland Olympians on Hackney's famous route 253 and Kentish buses running on the 22A and B (modern day 242) and also on the 55. To seeing those Dennis Lances on the 369 around Bastable Avenue, 145, 62 and 169. Going up to see family in North especially around Tottenham, Wood Green, Palmers Green and Edmonton seeing the Ms on most of the routes up there and that was when I lived through seeing the big construction works on the NCR and man did the 34 suffer but it was all good. I think route 34 would have had County Bus Darts around that time. For the most part but it did have some Ms running it too
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Post by bn12cny on Jul 17, 2021 9:55:57 GMT
I got into buses when I lived in Barnes at a very young age, my old man was a driver at FULWELL and Shepherds Bush, so it was a natural progression, when coming home from Westfields Primary School in Barnes with my brother our trip was from Barnes Pond to top of Castelnau we jumped on the number 9 because time the conductor came upstairs we were already at the top of castelnau and spent the 20p fare on candy!
Later on through school and on the weekends I had a travel card (went to Chiswick School) so remember getting a boundary zone 3 to Kingston but went through the loop back to Clapham Junction so Barnes to Clapham Junction via Kingston then North London Line to Kensington Olympia then a bus back to Barnes.
Later on went to university and got a job as a manager in Tesco but this never fulfilled me so got a job as a driver at 19 stayed as a driver and also operating supervisor, went to Africa and came back and onto the coaches whilst studying for my teaching qualifications.
Was headhunted with a tour company in China and moved here, still ride buses in China which in my opinion is much more fun and much faster, more types also am co-owner of M48 even though have no plans to come back to live in the UK and can’t even get back for a holiday..do I like buses..Yes but do I like the service in London? No not the same as used to be
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Post by MetrolineGA1511 on Jul 17, 2021 10:07:59 GMT
I think route 34 would have had County Bus Darts around that time. For the most part but it did have some Ms running it too Oh yes, because it was in 1997 that it moved to County Bus having been M operated at AD until then.
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Post by thesquirrels on Jul 17, 2021 11:07:11 GMT
For the most part but it did have some Ms running it too Oh yes, because it was in 1997 that it moved to County Bus having been M operated at AD until then. Leaside Travel operated some school journeys with their Ms until the route's conversion back to double deck - this made it one of the final routes in London to see the type.
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Post by Catford94 on Jul 17, 2021 20:56:53 GMT
I'm not sure I had much choice in the matter, parents were enthusiasts and involved in preservation, and a few of the extended family worked on the buses.
Having RTs on many of the local routes until 1978 possibly helped...
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Post by twobellstogo on Jul 19, 2021 18:42:54 GMT
Looking out of the window at the RTs on the 229, and the (usually) green Swifts on the 486. Subsequently moved to see Routemasters on that same 229, including RM8, which was obviously special even to my young eyes, and that was that, addicted.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2021 10:10:09 GMT
Imagine it, south London, 2001. My late grandfather was staying with my family at the time when he came home and told me the buses were now talking. I didn’t understand but I begged my mother to take me on one and what do you know he meant the door closing safety message that London General were using on the new Y or 51 plate LDPs that AL had, I can’t remember which exactly. That was it for me, I was hooked.
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Post by vjaska on Jul 31, 2021 11:30:08 GMT
Imagine it, south London, 2001. My late grandfather was staying with my family at the time when he came home and told me the buses were now talking. I didn’t understand but I begged my mother to take me on one and what do you know he meant the door closing safety message that London General were using on the new Y or 51 plate LDPs that AL had, I can’t remember which exactly. That was it for me, I was hooked. I'd imagine it was the lovely 51 reg LDP's, probably my favourite of all the LDP's aside from the shouty R LGH lot. The door closing message was on anything from 51/02 reg up to 52 reg from memory, about the same time they were using those green stopping signs that were terrible when sun shined on them as I remember the message on the 02 PDL's, WVL's & PVL's and 52 reg WVL's
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Post by 6HP502C on Aug 1, 2021 9:01:52 GMT
A day out as a child was often being taken on a bus ride - low cost and kept us entertained I guessed.
I used to like the shrieking whine of the ZF Volvo Olympian when they were floored away from a stop. And the crisp engine note of those insanely quick H-GPF Volvo Citybuses on the 176 - they weren’t lookers but tremendous to travel on up to the West End. As a child you didn’t step onto them, but rather climbed on. The mountainous steps even had lights in them. Also liked the whine of the grunty YT51 Darts on the G1. Such buses weren’t so common in South East London. I remember asking to be taken to Richmond in the hope of getting a brand new Euro 3 SN51 plate Dart on the 371, but was really disappointed when one zoomed past the stop and a Euro 2 Y-XAG picked us up instead.
So to sum up, the sound of the engines and transmissions are like a form of music to me. Enjoying that led to spending time on them and my general interest in buses.
Riding around exploring the network was a pastime between 2002 and about 2010. Now I’ve sort of made a career out of the knowledge gained doing that!
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Post by capitalomnibus on Aug 26, 2021 10:40:01 GMT
Started from a toy Daimler Fleetline my dad got at the airport. Think I was around 4 years old.
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Post by britishguy54 on Oct 1, 2023 19:07:58 GMT
Bus spider maps were pleasing to look at. I liked seeing which routes go where, and imagining what other routes may look like on the maps. Where specific routes go has always been my favourite part, or the signs detailing the routes that stop there and where they’re headed.
Later on, I started to notice the variety of the buses themselves. I’m not a massive bus vehicle guy, but I appreciate the differences each vehicle and operator has.
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