For those interested in old buses (and coaches)

[SRman]

It is an interesting photo, with so much peripheral detail as well. Things like the bollards in the centre of the road are fascinating for their ornateness. I always love the period shop fronts in photos like this.

Buses are ST, STL and LT types that I can see. They all seem to have retained their rear white circles for visibilty during the war at night. The STL has a reduced blind display.

Edited June 7, 2021 by SRman

[alastairq]

Nipping back to the Baltibus for a moment....I wonder what sort of Bristol LD or FS type [rear enders] I used to [have to?] drive, when driving for United Automobile Services in Scarborough, in the 1970's?

 

They were primarily used on the seafront services, in bad weather , or when loadings went stupidsville.

They were not open toppers. Neither were they painted in the NBC orange, but in United's older red with a  cream stripe.

 

They were  quite short in length [compared to the front entrance FLFs {? Lodekkers} used mostly on town & Eastfield services..}

 

They also had 4 speed gearboxes, as against the [more modern?} others with their 5 speed boxes.

Driving position was not 'upright' as per AECs or Leylands...but rather, ''feet-in-the-air'', legs akimbo fashion.  Pedal came out of the floor rather a long way, as I recall?

Not wise to drive one wearing a skirt...not on a crowded street, at any rate?

 

 

[PhilJ W]

7 hours ago, SRman said:

It is an interesting photo, with so much peripheral detail as well. Things like the bolalrds in the centre of the road are fascinating for their ornateness. I always love the period shop fronts in photos like this.

Buses are ST, STL and LT types that I can see. They all seem to have retained their rear white circles for visibilty during the war at night. The STL has a reduced blind display.

Strangely the London trolleybuses did not carry the white circle. As an aid to driving convoys in the blackout army lorries had the rear axle differential painted white. Perhaps the idea was that in an emergency the buses could be commandeered and the white circle was there for that reason.

[pH]

7 hours ago, alastairq said:

They also had 4 speed gearboxes, as against the [more modern?} others with their 5 speed boxes.

All (?) the local Western SMT garage’s LDs had 5 speed boxes. Only 2 of the originally-bought FLFs had the fifth (known as ‘booster’) gear. I don’t know about the FLFs obtained by exchange of VRs with English companies.

[alastairq]

42 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

As an aid to driving convoys in the blackout army lorries had the rear axle differential painted white.

 Did they also not have an indirect, low wattage white light that shone onto the white disc underneath? [Known latterly as the 'convoy' light.]

When the convoy light was turned on, all other lights, horn, etc, were isolated and unable to be [accidentally] activated.

[Sorry, WW2 was a few years before my time]

Edited June 7, 2021 by alastairq

[Johann Marsbar]

On 30/05/2021 at 02:48, J. S. Bach said:

This ran in Baltimore, MD as a city-sponsored tour bus:

I leave it to one of you to identify it as as I only knew it as the "London bus". It was in service sometime during the late 1980s until?.

 

 

 

After someone forwarded the details to the British Buses Abroad Group, it would appear that Hants & Dorset Bristol LDs, registrations SRU 982 or SRU 985, would be the likely candidates. They started off at Williamsburg, VA, in 1976.

SRU 982 still exists, in a derelict state, in Ohio.

[ColinK]

 

Not old buses but maybe of interest to some.  On Sunday I was rostered to drive Dalesbus services 830 and 829.  The 830 route is Preston - Lancaster - Ingleton - Ribblehead - Hawes - Buttertubs Pass - Muker - Reeth - Richmond.  My second time on the route, the first one being Bank Holiday Sunday where traffic and parking through Swaledale was to put it mildly, very challenging.  My bus meets the Middlesborough - Kirkby Lonsdale bus in Muker, we have to meet there as two buses cannot pass on much of the route. On the Bank Holiday Sunday I was 20 minutes late so the other bus had to wait for me, yesterday I was on tine but the Middlesborough bus was 15 late. Here is my bus in Richmond Market Place.

 

After a short break, my bus forms the 829 to Bedale, terminating at the Wensleydale Railway station. Yesterday my Dad and I had a ride on the railway, very enjoyable and is another bus, well a Pacer.

 

I spotted another railbus in the sidings at Leaming Bar.

 

 

 

 The service currently runs to Scruton where the station (only found when vegetation had been removed) has been superbly restored to 1910 condition.  Costumed volunteers explain the history of it.  They are rightly proud of the awards they have won, including one for educating primary school children, beating off competition from the V&A, Tate, Beamish etc.  It’s well worth a visit.  The bus ride to get there is quite exciting too.

 

[Oldddudders]

A particularly nice post, Colin, thankyou. 

[Johann Marsbar]

18 minutes ago, ColinK said:

 

 

I spotted another railbus in the sidings at Leaming Bar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hadn't realised what a terrible state LEV 1 had got into since I last saw it at the North Norfolk in 2010.....

 

 

The NNR had done some work on it and it was at least running in passenger service that day.  The NRM subsequently removed it back to York and then put it out on loan to the Wensleydale.

 

Still rather different to what it looked like in 1980 though.....

 

 

Edited June 14, 2021 by Johann Marsbar
Bonus Photo!

[Gwiwer]

1 hour ago, ColinK said:

My bus meets the Middlesborough - Kirkby Lonsdale bus in Muker, we have to meet there as two buses cannot pass on much of the route

I know of other similar situations although often as not the "meeting" is also a convenient way of ensuring each depot gets its own vehicle back.

 

Crosville once served the busier routes in Snowdonia and throughout North Wales where many roads are narrow and feature passing places - which are sometimes abused as parking places - making punctuality a moveable feast.  Capel Curig was the meeting of the ways. We were inadvertently boxed in on one occasion - a school field trip where our minibus was legally parked at the kerb with no bus stop or yellow lines marked - when a Bristol SC4LK pulled up alongside us. Frustrated at a slight delay we then watched a full load slowly disgorge packs, mountaineering gear and all.  Only to find another bus, this time an MW, pull in behind which prevented us reversing out.  The contents of this bus then also slowly emerged onto the road whereupon the load of each bus then boarded the other bus and each eventually returned whence they had come!  

 

When I was driving in Cornwall we had a lengthy St. Ives - Newquay route which took in a large number of very steep hills, some narrow lanes and several reverse-shunt turnarounds.  The timetable was arranged such that the two buses met at a half-way point (Blackwater on weekdays, Mount Hawke on weekends when the route differed) for a driver-swap.  Passengers remained aboard and the buses returned home on the afternoon trip with the same two drivers swapping over again.  The timetable favoured the Newquay driver who was always waiting for the St. Ives driver.  The latter would struggle to keep time and especially so on the weekend variant which had to negotiate Porthtowan beach.  This is a single-track road requiring a double-run to reverse-shunt and come back.  On a good day you were lucky to get through at all.  It didn't help that the normal rolling stock at the time was A-reg. Leyland "Limpalongs" which were hopelessly slow and utterly gutless on anything resembling a hill.  

 

In the heat of the moment I managed to leave my jacket on the back of the driver's seat one day and had already set off back towards St. Ives when I thought "Oh s**t".  Luckily there was nothing of value in the pockets, I had my bag, ticketing needs and cash safely with me.  Some six hours later I was reunited with my jacket when we swapped back on the afternoon runs.  

[4630]

A stroll along the Victoria Embankment on 11th June 2021 and this was parked up looking rather smart.

 

 

NLE 527, London Country RF 308 - AEC Regal IV / Metro-Cammell

 

[Rugd1022]

[Gwiwer]

Nice.  Trolleybus, RTL and RM all in the same shot.  And maybe an RTW as well on the left?

[Adam88]

On 14/06/2021 at 20:18, ColinK said:

 

Not old buses but maybe of interest to some.  On Sunday I was rostered to drive Dalesbus services 830 and 829.  The 830 route is Preston - Lancaster - Ingleton - Ribblehead - Hawes - Buttertubs Pass - Muker - Reeth - Richmond.  My second time on the route, the first one being Bank Holiday Sunday where traffic and parking through Swaledale was to put it mildly, very challenging.  My bus meets the Middlesborough - Kirkby Lonsdale bus in Muker, we have to meet there as two buses cannot pass on much of the route. On the Bank Holiday Sunday I was 20 minutes late so the other bus had to wait for me, yesterday I was on tine but the Middlesborough bus was 15 late. Here is my bus in Richmond Market Place.

 

 

 

Reminds me of travelling from Grinton to Richmond courtesy of Percival's many many years ago probably in something like a Bedford OB.  Happy days!

 

[Rugd1022]

West London....

 

 

 

[PhilJ W]

Anyone interested in old French buses?

 

[jonny777]

For retro bus enthusiasts....

 

Buses seen at High Wycombe on this day 67 years ago - August 28th 1954. 

 

Motor buses:- RF523 RT4718 RT2639 RT1424 RF582 RT3443 BS64 RT3191 RT3444 RF626 RF59 RT3891 RT3196 RT3206 RF622 HE363 RF628 RT3209 RT3193  RT3203 RT3722 RT3814 RT3207 RF627 RT3205 RT3188 RT3192 RT4195 ST441 RT3198 RT3181 RT3202 RF623 RT3889 GS50

 

Trolleybuses:- 679 1057 678 700 659 721 663 717 712 655 742 681 738 664 689 677 743 727 1888 657 703 694 198 708 673 753 284 730 725 384 752 714 731 723 747 741 706 1061

Edited August 29, 2021 by jonny777
typo

[PhilJ W]

Interesting, Trolleybus 1888 would be a Q type.

[chrisf]

Jonny, I think you'll find that Uxbridge was the nearest place to High Wycombe that trolleybuses could be seen!

 

Chris

[Mike_Walker]

You wouldn't have seen a GS at High Wycombe until the mid sixties when GS28 was allocated for the then new route 442 serving the Hicks Farm estate.  And what's   a BS or HE?  HE was the garage code.

[PhilJ W]

And ST441, The ST class had been withdrawn by 1954.

[Mike_Walker]

I would also query the RFs quoted.  At that date I think the only examples of the type allocated to HE would have been those used on the 711 which would be the lower numbered ones.  As stated by philJ W above, ST441 had gone by then and whilst HE did have STs (including former Amersham & District examples) and STLs, all were gone by 1954.

[great central]

11 hours ago, jonny777 said:

For retro bus enthusiasts....

 

Buses seen at High Wycombe on this day 47 years ago - August 28th 1954. 

 

 

Does this mean that someone has been telling me porkies and I'm only 48 years old??

[jonny777]

14 hours ago, chrisf said:

Jonny, I think you'll find that Uxbridge was the nearest place to High Wycombe that trolleybuses could be seen!

 

Chris

 

I have no idea. I just transcribed what is on the page of the notebook which I have. 

[jonny777]

11 hours ago, Mike_Walker said:

You wouldn't have seen a GS at High Wycombe until the mid sixties when GS28 was allocated for the then new route 442 serving the Hicks Farm estate.  And what's   a BS or HE?  HE was the garage code.

 

Shoot the messenger, why don't you?