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Post by moz on Feb 22, 2015 23:15:30 GMT
Having ridden and driven both it's the Metro that is the winner. Titans were over complicated and hellish to drive.
Moz
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Post by rmz19 on Feb 22, 2015 23:55:28 GMT
I've ridden on both when I was little but I vaguely remember. Design: Tie. I like the bulkier look of the Titan, but I also like the tidier look of the Metrobus. Sound: Metrobus. That high-pitched sound!. Ride: Metrobus. I just remember bouncing alot on it when I used to get the 82 up Finchley Road , they had a super soft ride. So for me Metrobus > Titan
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Post by M1104 on Feb 23, 2015 7:10:49 GMT
Another characteristic about the Metrobus is when you take your foot off the throttle whilst in 2nd gear it sometimes jerks into 3rd about two seconds later...even if you are braking.
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Post by allentc on Feb 23, 2015 7:28:46 GMT
Metrobus for me because of that lovely Gardner/Voith sound.
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Post by sid on Feb 23, 2015 12:02:50 GMT
It's the Titan for me all day long. I remember the comparative trials on the 51 - I was able to try both and I found the ride quality on the Titan to be far superior. I was delighted when Selkent got Titans rather than Metrobuses. From a passenger perspective, they were a joy to ride on. I totally agree with you, I was driving at SP back then and I much prefered the Titan although opinion varied amongst drivers.
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Post by M1199 on Feb 24, 2015 16:37:43 GMT
Being a West Londoner and going from my user name, defo the Metrobus for me! From the asymmetrical lower front window right down to the sounds of the screaming retarder. You just can't beat a ride aboard a Metro on the 207, charging down Hillingdon Hill, driver getting the bus to jolt into 3rd gear before slamming the anchors on before the speed camera. If only we could turn the clocks back 15 years! I was always fascinated by the Titan's rear end though!
Now if we could of had a Metrobus with a Titan rear end....
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Post by wivenswold on Feb 27, 2015 23:34:09 GMT
I grew up around the corner from BK so I'd always go for the Titan.
I kind of miss those days when bus types were split into areas. It was weird heading to SE London and seeing nothing but T676+ Titans or going west and being surrounded by those unusual-sounding Metrobuses. I used to love it when you'd see an M or a T well outside of their usual domain like the odd occasion an M would visit BK.
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Post by ServerKing on Feb 27, 2015 23:47:52 GMT
Also a native of West London, it was Metro's for me! Always good for a thrash along Uxbridge Road past Ealing Hospital (you'll be crawling thru Southall Broadway anyway : , the stubborn early Voith 'box that wouldn't want to go into third gear unless it's with a loud clonk... I miss them, but at least their spirit lives on in DLA311 I used to go to my cousin in Harold Hill a lot which always meant a long Titan bus ride on the 87 from Barking (as it was) which was good... I remember a Titan out of NS being fitted with an experimental Voith box, like a Metrobus which threw me when I caught a 374 to Romford... But for real thrash you couldn't beat an Atlantean (used to be loads on the 65 and 370) or a Leyland National II on a spirited run from Ealing to Uxbridge
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Post by vjaska on Feb 28, 2015 1:26:47 GMT
I remember a Titan out of NS being fitted with an experimental Voith box, like a Metrobus which threw me when I caught a 374 to Romford... That would be T684 - the only Titan to have a 3 spd Voith box from new and thankfully, is a preserved vehicle with the Bromley Bus Group www.flickr.com/photos/thebbpg/15850914352/
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Post by M1104 on Feb 28, 2015 9:22:35 GMT
I grew up around the corner from BK so I'd always go for the Titan. I kind of miss those days when bus types were split into areas. It was weird heading to SE London and seeing nothing but T676+ Titans or going west and being surrounded by those unusual-sounding Metrobuses. I used to love it when you'd see an M or a T well outside of their usual domain like the odd occasion an M would visit BK. I remember when the 12 went OPO on Sundays, the last Routemaster route to do so on that day of the week in 1988. It was then weird seeing a Titan in the Shepherds Bush area. There was also a time when Shepherds Bush Garage were briefly doing short journeys on the 12 as far as the west end. Though some of their Ms had 12 on their blinds they were never used to my knowledge as the garage never did Sundays working, leaving that to main allocators PM and Q. I also remember a few Ms working alongside Ts on the 35. I remember almost going on one at Clapham Common thinking it was a 37. I believe those Ms were then at AG?? I will never forget the first time ever i saw a Titan, it was running out of service along Tooting high street back in the late 70s. At first i thought it was an updated version of an M as i was used to those from the 131 on sundays, when it was then extended beyond wimbledon to clapham common. When i saw the back of the bus my first reaction was how ugly it looked and was hoping it's not replacing the DMS on the 57, 152 and 200. I didn't see a Titan for years after that until the 45 got converted. I was by then in my teens and by then realising the Ms and Ts were two different buses. It wasn't until i actually got on a Titan were i realised the gears change like the leyland national, which was another thing i found strange about the Titans. Being a young lad i didn't know anything about bus names and gearboxes, i just went by what i saw and what I heard. The sound of the Metrobus was something i loved as their sounds were well flavoured between the engine and gearbox , equivalent to hearing a jubilee line train today. LOL i would say hearing a Titan at the time reminded me a bit of the early DMSs with the headlights more in the middle ( the engines sounding different (heavier) to the later MK1 DMSs with their headlights further apart).
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Post by ServerKing on Feb 28, 2015 12:27:39 GMT
I think London Northern had a few Titans in Highgate as well I used to feel sorry for the Metros on the 468 in their later years struggling on Norwood's hills, but not half as sorry as I felt for the Olympians attempting the same route
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Post by ThinLizzy on Feb 28, 2015 22:24:38 GMT
I grew up around the corner from BK so I'd always go for the Titan. I kind of miss those days when bus types were split into areas. It was weird heading to SE London and seeing nothing but T676+ Titans or going west and being surrounded by those unusual-sounding Metrobuses. I used to love it when you'd see an M or a T well outside of their usual domain like the odd occasion an M would visit BK. Always Titans for me, I grew up on the old 169 route (when it went through Thames View Estate)- the Metro always seemed slow, lumbering and sooo dull inside compared to the bright yellow/ olive green Titan interiors. All those years ago, the only buses I preferred over the Titan was APs/BKs DAs which were fabulous buses!
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Post by vjaska on Feb 28, 2015 22:45:06 GMT
I grew up around the corner from BK so I'd always go for the Titan. I kind of miss those days when bus types were split into areas. It was weird heading to SE London and seeing nothing but T676+ Titans or going west and being surrounded by those unusual-sounding Metrobuses. I used to love it when you'd see an M or a T well outside of their usual domain like the odd occasion an M would visit BK. Always Titans for me, I grew up on the old 169 route (when it went through Thames View Estate)- the Metro always seemed slow, lumbering and sooo dull inside compared to the bright yellow/ olive green Titan interiors. All those years ago, the only buses I preferred over the Titan was APs/BKs DAs which were fabulous buses! I'm guessing you never had the London Transport spec M's which carried the same interior spec as T's lol.
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Post by Volvo on Mar 1, 2015 0:47:29 GMT
Growing up in Brixton, I was lucky as I had the chance to ride both types as well as the Olympians and that's why I can't pick between all three. Everything about them were excellent: The Gardener engines on all three were loud and beasty, The Voith box on the M's was tuneful whilst the gearboxes on the T's and L's would always leave you wondering what kind of sounds you'll hear The 1980's interiors they had are the best interiors IMO and should be brought back for all buses I loved the reversing mirror on the rear window of the Titans - was fun watching the scenery through it And much more, I really could go on lol. Your lucky, I never had the Leyland Olympians in my area but due to having masses of family and family friends in south I travelled on them alot. They are for me the best non volvo buses ever and as someone who is really into the sound of vehicles the Metrobus has to be second.
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Post by ThinLizzy on Mar 1, 2015 7:46:07 GMT
Always Titans for me, I grew up on the old 169 route (when it went through Thames View Estate)- the Metro always seemed slow, lumbering and sooo dull inside compared to the bright yellow/ olive green Titan interiors. All those years ago, the only buses I preferred over the Titan was APs/BKs DAs which were fabulous buses! I'm guessing you never had the London Transport spec M's which carried the same interior spec as T's lol. lol I'm sure the Metros had a lot more brown inside than the Titan- the only London Ms we had in Barking were the First London ones that sometimes appeared on the 179 and 369. We did have other Metros but they were the Grey Green ex Newport (?) ones and Ensign Mark 2s
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