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Post by portman227 on Apr 3, 2017 15:56:58 GMT
So, I finally got to drive a Citaro in service in the form of 23107 which I had for 8 hours on the 227's last night. To start with, the bad things: I don't know if it is just this particular bus but the brake pedal was at a really awkward angle and combined with the steering column casing it was quite annoying and was making my foot ache after a while. When the bus is in auto kneel mode it can take a while for the bus to raise back up to ride height and the stop brake won't release until it's happy it's at "Ride Height" The mirrors have to be adjusted manually, which isn't really a problem but the O/S mirror you have to get out of the cab to adjust because of the position of the cab window (Which if you look at the 358 batch you'll notice they've moved the window to a much better position) and it's quite hard to gauge how you are setting it, even more so if it's the first time you've driven one in service and very annoying when a Pigeon flys straight into it after you've finally got it in a position that you are happy with. Again don't know if it was this particular bus but the turbo lag was diabolical, I take it everyone wants a smooth pull away but there is very little get up and go until the turbo finally spools up most notably on pull away from a standing start and accelerating in 6th/5th where even after kicking down to 4th/3rd it was still struggling to pick up boost Anyway, the good points: The doors are quick and the door buttons are great When the turbo finally kicks in it shoots off like a rocket and my bus at least sounded like a rocket when it was at full power The brakes are lovely and smooth, they are quite weighted but half the time it doesn't feel like you are going to stop in time but somehow the bus just stops and smoothly, it's really odd and you have to try and tell yourself it will stop without having to press the brakes harder The ride is silky smooth, it's a lot better in the cab than in the bus itself The climate control features are pretty good and powerful, you have to option to open roof hatches in the passenger compartment and roof fans to really move some fresh air into the bus, as far as I'm aware these buses also have passenger air con The driving position is good, nice and low with great visibility, it is a bit hard to tell where the kerb is at first but you get used to it after a while There are times where the gearbox will refuse to Kickdown and instead hold the current gear which I guess is another passenger comfort setting but there are sometimes when it will try and do this and then give up and Kickdown quite harshly Other than that, can't really fault the bus, wish I could drive them more It's citaros in general which have turbo lag and I have always experienced but I figured out there is a way to minimise the turbo lag, I was told by a senior a while ago, you will get use to it. Other than that on the flats, it's one of the fastest or the fastest I've driven, it's quite easy for them to reach 40mph on the slight incline in penge !. Nevertheless there are better citaros which perform better, not sure which ones |
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Post by sid on Apr 3, 2017 17:05:31 GMT
The 227 itself is nice and short, quite a bit of running time, very little traffic and very simple route. I can now see why these buses have such a big buggy wheelchair area as you seem to pick up loads of them, I like how free flowing and hilly this route is, just wish it terminated somewhere more enjoyable than Bromley north. Due to its short nature unless you are held up for some time this route should essentially run perfectly yet I still saw 2 buses depart together yesterday... all day I had a perfect headway The 269 can be a lovely route, there just happens to be quite a bit of traffic during the day, still again it's got quite a few hilly bits, lots of open wide roads, and quite a bit of running time during the day, not so much at night, it's mainly straight driving after leaving bexley which is something I like The I've always thought that the 269 is a nice route although I think the 227 is boring as hell even if it Citaro's are nice. |
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Post by VPL630 on Apr 3, 2017 17:51:26 GMT
So, I finally got to drive a Citaro in service in the form of 23107 which I had for 8 hours on the 227's last night. To start with, the bad things: I don't know if it is just this particular bus but the brake pedal was at a really awkward angle and combined with the steering column casing it was quite annoying and was making my foot ache after a while. When the bus is in auto kneel mode it can take a while for the bus to raise back up to ride height and the stop brake won't release until it's happy it's at "Ride Height" The mirrors have to be adjusted manually, which isn't really a problem but the O/S mirror you have to get out of the cab to adjust because of the position of the cab window (Which if you look at the 358 batch you'll notice they've moved the window to a much better position) and it's quite hard to gauge how you are setting it, even more so if it's the first time you've driven one in service and very annoying when a Pigeon flys straight into it after you've finally got it in a position that you are happy with. Again don't know if it was this particular bus but the turbo lag was diabolical, I take it everyone wants a smooth pull away but there is very little get up and go until the turbo finally spools up most notably on pull away from a standing start and accelerating in 6th/5th where even after kicking down to 4th/3rd it was still struggling to pick up boost Anyway, the good points: The doors are quick and the door buttons are great When the turbo finally kicks in it shoots off like a rocket and my bus at least sounded like a rocket when it was at full power The brakes are lovely and smooth, they are quite weighted but half the time it doesn't feel like you are going to stop in time but somehow the bus just stops and smoothly, it's really odd and you have to try and tell yourself it will stop without having to press the brakes harder The ride is silky smooth, it's a lot better in the cab than in the bus itself The climate control features are pretty good and powerful, you have to option to open roof hatches in the passenger compartment and roof fans to really move some fresh air into the bus, as far as I'm aware these buses also have passenger air con The driving position is good, nice and low with great visibility, it is a bit hard to tell where the kerb is at first but you get used to it after a while There are times where the gearbox will refuse to Kickdown and instead hold the current gear which I guess is another passenger comfort setting but there are sometimes when it will try and do this and then give up and Kickdown quite harshly Other than that, can't really fault the bus, wish I could drive them more It's citaros in general which have turbo lag and I have always experienced but I figured out there is a way to minimise the turbo lag, I was told by a senior a while ago, you will get use to it. Other than that on the flats, it's one of the fastest or the fastest I've driven, it's quite easy for them to reach 40mph on the slight incline in penge !. Nevertheless there are better citaros which perform better, not sure which ones Spill the beans, I'm back on them this Friday, I know you can pump the throttle to make them hold revs which works a dream but they are nice enough to drive normally, I don't think I've driven a more relaxing bus, beats a scania for sure, actually the Sovereign recovery truck I'm currently getting a lift back to the garage in is proper comfortable, passenger seat beats any bus seat I've sat in |
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Post by snoggle on Apr 3, 2017 18:54:57 GMT
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Post by VPL630 on Apr 10, 2017 17:18:12 GMT
So, yesterday (Sunday 9th) I was driving the rail replacement service for TfL Rail between Shenfield and Newbury Park. I was quite looking forward to it until I saw how much running time is given between stations, for example leaving Newbuy Park around 6pm you are given 40 mins to get to Romford via Chadwell Heath , a journey which can be done in about 25-30 mins, The 86 has less time between Chadwell Heath and Romford and it also has bus stops to serve and form experience even the time given to the 86 is a little excessive, anyway this meant there was a lot of waiting around at stations, passengers getting frustrated, slow driving and a lot of time spent with the engine off not moving, one of the few times I've been happy to have an MMC as they have good batteries and heating. Later on in the evening the running time did get better but I still think the whole service is over bussed and over timed, I understand they are going for the reliability factor but at the end of the day people just want to get where they were going, and being told that it's 20 mins quicker to get a service bus (66) to Romford really doesn't seem to make them happy but I felt it only right to give them an alternative rather than have their time wasted sitting outside a station. The routing is very simple, and very clear, it seems like a professional operation at least which I'm happy to say, staff at every station except Gidea Park  I was offered a pilot but I live in the area so knew where I was going. To give an idea of how over bussed the whole service including the greater anglia rail replacement service is, there were 10 standby's at Newbury Park as far as I know only 2 were used, 1 because a coach suffered a blow out on the A12 and another was sent out as an extra. I really don't want to know how much TFL/Greater Anglia are paying for all this extra resources they just don't need Anyway, I'll be enjoying the next few weekends doing this late job, at least it's nice driving around areas you know, and picking up people you know/went to school with and bumping into a load of drivers/staff from other companies that I know from various places, I think I can just about put up with the running times issues because it was a really relaxed day, and nice to catch up with quite a few people, plus the station staff are always good to chat too, including the various Abellio agency drivers in Romford that was jealous of my MMC haha as they don't get treated to such a new bus, it was also nice driving a replacement bus service that I've had to use for the last few years and growing up as a kid, it's much better from the driving seat, trust me  I think that's all really, only other points to note is the job I've been given works out of West Ham on Saturdays with a massive dead run down the A13 and M25, and the Sunday job works more conveniently out of Romford, My girlfriend works pretty much all weekend so staying at Brentwood (Where I actually live) works perfectly for me on weekends, and then during the week I'm working in Bromley and staying with her not that far away, best of both worlds |
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Post by mondraker275 on Apr 11, 2017 10:41:55 GMT
I understand they are going for the reliability factor but at the end of the day people just want to get where they were going, and being told that it's 20 mins quicker to get a service bus (66) to Romford really doesn't seem to make them happy but I felt it only right to give them an alternative rather than have their time wasted sitting outside a station. Well done for that. Need more people like you. Is there a way of reporting that to someone who can get things changed? I am sure that TfL or anyone will listen especially if saving money is involved. I mean 10 buses parked up. On the other hand what RR is not overbussed, but usually they have excellent running times. I think that's all really, only other points to note is the job I've been given works out of West Ham on Saturdays with a massive dead run down the A13 and M25, and the Sunday job works more conveniently out of Romford, My girlfriends works pretty much all weekend so staying at Brentwood (Where I actually live) works perfectly for me on weekends, and then during the week I'm working in Bromley and staying with her not that far away, best of both worlds Hmmm, you seemed to have used the 's' twice here. It's either 'My girlfriend works' or 'My girlfriends work'. I assume its the former judging by the rest of the sentence, but you have told in the past that the youthfulness has attracted your passengers attention. |
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Post by VPL630 on Apr 11, 2017 13:45:28 GMT
Yes to clarify, Girlfriend, my one and only |
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Post by VPL630 on Apr 30, 2017 13:49:30 GMT
I had the absolute joy of being on the 61's last Sunday (23rd), now I haven't been on a 61 since it was put on that diversion for what seemed an entirety back in 2011 when me and Jack later met up with DT 11 to catch 19835 and a few of the remaining Xreg TA's so the route from Orpington onwards anyway seemed a little unfamiliar but it has to be one of the simplest routes that TfL operate, it pretty much does a massive U turn if you look at it on a map with both termini being about a 12 min journey apart, the route includes a few hills, some nice quiet/scenic areas, loads of stand time, perfect running time, oh and some very beastly LWB Enviro 400's I had 19134 for my first half and this bus could not have been better, normally I just can't get comfortable in Enviro's but in the 1st Gen Enviro's the seating position is slightly different, the steering is also lighter. This bus was set up correctly so that you had to have your foot hard down to engage kickdown unlike most where kickdown will engage without you even having to push the pedal past the click, it was a seriously quick bus even without using kickdown this bus flew up hills and was a dream to drive, shame I only had it TB-BN-CH and then light back to the garage I had 19136 for my second half and while there wasn't anything wrong with it, it was nowhere as nice as 134 or as quick to drive, anything over about 60% throttle would engage kickdown and this bus really had no top end, kind of annoying as I’m sure it would have been much quicker if the throttle pedal was set up correctly and you could drive it pretty much full throttle without kickdown but oh well, it’s an inherent issue from the TA’s. This bus also appeared to be leaking air while switched off, I walked round the bus and couldn’t hear any air leaking but after 30 mins stand time the air tanks were near enough empty. These buses also seem to be set up like robots, doesn’t seem to matter what trickery you try with the throttle it will always upshift and downshift at set points and set speeds, nothing like a TA which if you are persuasive enough will just give in and downshift but still, these must be the last of the decent diesel buses in the fleet, very little restrictions and they just drive so nice, agreed, some have seen better days and some are quite smoky but for the most part they are lovely to drive, brakes can be a little sharp but it's not too much of an issue unlike the blind periscope which in some of them is useless. |
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Post by vjaska on Apr 30, 2017 14:55:19 GMT
I had the absolute joy of being on the 61's last Sunday (23rd), now I haven't been on a 61 since it was put on that diversion for what seemed an entirety back in 2011 when me and Jack later met up with DT 11 to catch 19835 and a few of the remaining Xreg TA's so the route from Orpington onwards anyway seemed a little unfamiliar but it has to be one of the simplest routes that TfL operate, it pretty much does a massive U turn if you look at it on a map with both termini being about a 12 min journey apart, the route includes a few hills, some nice quiet/scenic areas, loads of stand time, perfect running time, oh and some very beastly LWB Enviro 400's I had 19134 for my first half and this bus could not have been better, normally I just can't get comfortable in Enviro's but in the 1st Gen Enviro's the seating position is slightly different, the steering is also lighter. This bus was set up correctly so that you had to have your foot hard down to engage kickdown unlike most where kickdown will engage without you even having to push the pedal past the click, it was a seriously quick bus even without using kickdown this bus flew up hills and was a dream to drive, shame I only had it TB-BN-CH and then light back to the garage I had 19136 for my second half and while there wasn't anything wrong with it, it was nowhere as nice as 134 or as quick to drive, anything over about 60% throttle would engage kickdown and this bus really had no top end, kind of annoying as I’m sure it would have been much quicker if the throttle pedal was set up correctly and you could drive it pretty much full throttle without kickdown but oh well, it’s an inherent issue from the TA’s. This bus also appeared to be leaking air while switched off, I walked round the bus and couldn’t hear any air leaking but after 30 mins stand time the air tanks were near enough empty. These buses also seem to be set up like robots, doesn’t seem to matter what trickery you try with the throttle it will always upshift and downshift at set points and set speeds, nothing like a TA which if you are persuasive enough will just give in and downshift but still, these must be the last of the decent diesel buses in the fleet, very little restrictions and they just drive so nice, agreed, some have seen better days and some are quite smoky but for the most part they are lovely to drive, brakes can be a little sharp but it's not too much of an issue unlike the blind periscope which in some of them is useless. Do they vibrate a lot when changing gear like E1-39? |
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Post by VPL630 on Apr 30, 2017 15:30:36 GMT
What do you mean ? It's a plastic bus, it vibrates
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Post by vjaska on Apr 30, 2017 16:26:18 GMT
What do you mean ? It's a plastic bus, it vibrates E1-39 seem to have tendency of vibrating loudly when they change gear but if your not sure what I'm on about, don't worry. |
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Post by 6HP502C on May 8, 2017 21:58:15 GMT
What do you mean ? It's a plastic bus, it vibrates E1-39 seem to have tendency of vibrating loudly when they change gear but if your not sure what I'm on about, don't worry. I know what you mean - don't think the Stagecoach or QL examples are as bad. |
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Post by londonbusboy on May 9, 2017 11:10:35 GMT
I drove 19140 to the Crown the other day and it was so nice to drive one of those e400s again. Retarder was great on it.
I was on 19136 the other week as a passenger and the bus tried to kickdown 3-4 times but failed, either it was the bus that couldnt kickdown or from what you've said Dave the driver probably tried to abort it.
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Post by VPL630 on May 15, 2017 22:53:06 GMT
So I Route learned the 336 today, well I tried too, it's so confusing, and there are little to none passing places and the timetable seems to be really tight, I'll be attempting to drive it tomorrow along with the 146 which is a much better route, I'll keep you updated on how badly my day goes
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Post by snoggle on May 16, 2017 0:05:51 GMT
So I Route learned the 336 today, well I tried too, it's so confusing, and there are little to none passing places and the timetable seems to be really tight, I'll be attempting to drive it tomorrow along with the 146 which is a much better route, I'll keep you updated on how badly my day goes (makes sudden decision to ride on the 336 for the first time  ) Not really.  Good luck as I think you may need it based on past remarks on here about that route and its clientel.  |
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I was offered a pilot but I live in the area so knew where I was going.
)
