For those interested in old buses (and coaches)

[45156]

The Cummins engine was a standard option in the Solo from around 2002, although comparatively rare compared to the infinitely more popular Merc unit. Neither were that refined, the Cummins was a little smoother but revved much higher than the Merc so swings and roundabouts really. They also had a brief flirtation with self destructing MAN units around 2004-5 which had a life expectancy of around 100,000km before the EGR valves clogged up and starved the engine of oil.

This one was apparently a DIY job by Stagecoach, and I think is the only example in the Lancaster/Morecambe fleet.

[37114]

Weren't they developed specifically for, or at least in conjunction with, LT? - That may explain it.

 

Pity they weren't that successful in terms of 'other' sales.

They were originally planned to be a double deck national and had orders from many other Leyland customers. Sadly supply issues due to labour relations and plant closures meant operators looked elsewhere. Operators were also worried about the loss of choice of body builders as the Titan was an integral only product. Hence WMPTE cancelled Titan orders in favour of the local built Metrobus, GM stuck with Atlanteans with NC bodywork. BL eventually sorted out the supply side but only Reading and London stuck with the Titan.

[Dave47549]

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Edited October 4, 2021 by Dave47549
Removed pointless guff

[John M Upton]

The MCW Metrobus was a decent design badly let down by corrosion problems with the rear end frame. Many needed some serious welding to keep them in service and there were tails of engines falling off when the frame they were mounted on failed.

[45156]

To me, there haven't really been any decent buses built after OMO became the norm - that was the start of the bus becoming a mobile traffic jam.  My personal faves were the RT and RM iin London, and in the provinces, the PD3, the Albion Loline, and the Bristol Lodekka.  For Single deckers, the RF took a lot of beating, but I did like the Leyland Tiger.

[leopardml2341]

To me, there haven't really been any decent buses built after OMO became the norm - that was the start of the bus becoming a mobile traffic jam.  My personal faves were the RT and RM iin London, and in the provinces, the PD3, the Albion Loline, and the Bristol Lodekka.  For Single deckers, the RF took a lot of beating, but I did like the Leyland Tiger.

Depends what you mean by 'decent buses', IMHO whilst I'm not a fan of the Leyland National aesthetic or its 510 engine, one can't deny that they were built like tanks seemed to get everywhere, especially after deregulation, so as a vehicle they can't have been that bad?

[bingley hall]

One of the London Country Leyland National's (LN11) hired to Nottingham for a free shopper's service between October 1972 and June/July 1973. It appears it never turned a wheel in LC service being swapped to Hants & Dorset for a King Alfred Metro-Scania in September 1973?

 

 

[Joseph_Pestell]

The MCW Metrobus was a decent design badly let down by corrosion problems with the rear end frame. Many needed some serious welding to keep them in service and there were tails of engines falling off when the frame they were mounted on failed.

That once happened to me with a Triumph 1300. And it had passed its MOT only three days earlier.

[Joseph_Pestell]

The new 'Borismaster' has finished production. No more will be built largely due to the extra 20% cost per bus.

 

A pity. They are rather comfortable and well-equipped.

 

Will we be getting a Khanmaster, I wonder? His dad was a bus driver IIRC.

Edited June 22, 2017 by Joseph_Pestell

[Horsetan]

.....Will we be getting a Khanmaster, I wonder? His dad was a bus driver IIRC.

 

Be careful what you wish for.

[45156]

One abiding memory which I have of the buses/coaches in South London was of the SMA (AEC Swift) class which failed to worked the 725 South Orbital route from Windsor via Kingston Sutton, Croydon, Bromley, and Sidcup to Dartford and some to Gravesend.  The appearance of the Alexander bodies was like a breath of home to an exiled Scot, but OH so unreliable - no guts at all, and I recall one day when I was in Addiscombe on the day of a Jubilee parade, when one of these wonders was following behind, and had a massive hydraulic leak which caused it to regale the folks enjoying the parade with a lovely showering of thick grey smoke!

[bingley hall]

One abiding memory which I have of the buses/coaches in South London was of the SMA (AEC Swift) class which failed to worked the 725 South Orbital route from Windsor via Kingston Sutton, Croydon, Bromley, and Sidcup to Dartford and some to Gravesend.  The appearance of the Alexander bodies was like a breath of home to an exiled Scot, but OH so unreliable - no guts at all, and I recall one day when I was in Addiscombe on the day of a Jubilee parade, when one of these wonders was following behind, and had a massive hydraulic leak which caused it to regale the folks enjoying the parade with a lovely showering of thick grey smoke!

 

 

If not seen already, post #127 in this thread I have posted a pic of an SMA. I lived just off Cheam Road, Sutton for a few years and they were a regular sight.

[37114]

A pity. They are rather comfortable and well-equipped.

 

Will we be getting a Khanmaster, I wonder? His dad was a bus driver IIRC.

Will be very hypocritical if he does, bearing in mind the premium for the Borismaster is the reason why he is not ordering anymore. Hopefully common sense will prevail and standard Enviro 400s will be ordered instead

[great central]

 

One of the London Country Leyland National's (LN11) hired to Nottingham for a free shopper's service between October 1972 and June/July 1973. It appears it never turned a wheel in LC service being swapped to Hants & Dorset for a King Alfred Metro-Scania in September 1973?

 

6142079159_905bd24b2b_o.jpg

 

 

Been turning my brain inside out to figure where that was taken.  I'm almost certain it's on Lister Gate/Carrington St which is now underneath part of the Broad marsh centre, which, having checked, opened in 1975. When that was being built I spent many hours above the ceilings in that very area dragging in cables for PA, fire alarm and intercom systems. All in mid winter before any doors or windows were fitted!

The car park on the left is scheduled for demolition soon, the Victorian(?) building on the right survives although in varying states of occupancy, the ground floor most recently a Chinese supermarket but has been empty for a good few years now.

[Enterprisingwestern]

Been turning my brain inside out to figure where that was taken.  I'm almost certain it's on Lister Gate/Carrington St which is now underneath part of the Broad marsh centre, which, having checked, opened in 1975. When that was being built I spent many hours above the ceilings in that very area dragging in cables for PA, fire alarm and intercom systems. All in mid winter before any doors or windows were fitted!

The car park on the left is scheduled for demolition soon, the Victorian(?) building on the right survives although in varying states of occupancy, the ground floor most recently a Chinese supermarket but has been empty for a good few years now.

 

Thanks for the confirmation, only becoming a Nottingham resident in the early 90's I was musing over it's location, and came to the same , not very confident in my case, conclusion as yourself.

 

Mike.

[Dave47549]

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Edited October 4, 2021 by Dave47549
Removed pointless guff

[John M Upton]

Although curiously the 'bog standard' Enviro 200's are still available, presumably slightly cheaper than the MMC variety.  There has been an awful lot of over regulation of bus specifications recently where perfectly serviceable low floor buses with plenty of life left in them are being scrapped because the interior handrails are a couple of inches too low or the engine does not meet whatever the specification is this week.

 

Little old ladies in a village out in the sticks probably don't give a monkey's what colour or length the hand rails are as long as the bus turns up on time.

 

Don't get me started on that grossly over designed, over engineered, over priced and over blown white elephant that is the Boris Bus.  When they get banished by yet another change in the DDA regulations no one outside London will want them.

Edited June 22, 2017 by John M Upton

[Prometheus]

Don't get me started on that grossly over designed, over engineered, over priced and over blown white elephant that is the Boris Bus.  When they get banished by yet another change in the DDA regulations no one outside London will want them.

 

Hmmmm....I rather like them!  But then, I've always been a sucker for form over substance [i made rather a good career out of it].

 

Tony

Edited June 22, 2017 by Prometheus

[Horsetan]

...Don't get me started on that grossly over designed, over engineered, over priced and over blown white elephant that is the Boris Bus. When they get banished by yet another change in the DDA regulations no one outside London will want them.

Oh I dunno. They might end up in Malta, like quite a lot of old buses....

[Mad McCann]

Optare Solo's?  Had a ride on one to Bosham and back last year.  Horrendous experience!!  How the thing didn't fall apart like a clown car on every bump and pothole I will never know.

Pretty reasonable town buses but probably not the best for country which still tend to be in the hands of MANs and B10s mostly in these parts.

[bingley hall]

Been turning my brain inside out to figure where that was taken.  I'm almost certain it's on Lister Gate/Carrington St which is now underneath part of the Broad marsh centre, which, having checked, opened in 1975. When that was being built I spent many hours above the ceilings in that very area dragging in cables for PA, fire alarm and intercom systems. All in mid winter before any doors or windows were fitted!

The car park on the left is scheduled for demolition soon, the Victorian(?) building on the right survives although in varying states of occupancy, the ground floor most recently a Chinese supermarket but has been empty for a good few years now.

 

I can't remember well that far back other than it would be pretty close to the railway station.

 

It was a day trip to Toton from London and I knew this was around so allocated a few minutes to get a grab shot.

 

Or was it just luck?

[bingley hall]

So talking about the SMA's here's a similar Alexander body, but this time it's on a Leyland Panther chassis (built 1969). Newcastle - September 1972,

 

While across the road......

 

1966 built AEC Regent V with MCCW bodywork - GAT817D. In service with Tynemouth - formerly with East Yorkshire Buses.

 

 

[45156]

If not seen already, post #127 in this thread I have posted a pic of an SMA. I lived just off Cheam Road, Sutton for a few years and they were a regular sight.

And as I lived in Worcester Park, and my then GF, now SWMBO lived in Woodside, I would have been a regular sight sitting inside one of these mobile wonders - ISTR that the last one which was a Northfleet duty with a Windsor driver was almost always late - apart from the one night that I expected it to be as usual, and it wasn't, and I was then stuck with a rail journey from Woodside to Worcester Park - three trains, and a change at Waterloo from East to Main, with quite tight connections. 

[pH]

To me, there haven't really been any decent buses built after OMO became the norm - that was the start of the bus becoming a mobile traffic jam.  My personal faves were the RT and RM iin London, and in the provinces, the PD3, the Albion Loline, and the Bristol Lodekka.  For Single deckers, the RF took a lot of beating, but I did like the Leyland Tiger.

 

Do you mean the Albion Lowlander? They may have looked good, but according to the Wikipedia entry they were not popular with crew and mechanics. I do know Western SMT's Greenock garage did not like them, on locals at least. Apparently the fuel mileage was awful, and there were problems with the rear overhang on sharp changes in gradient. Mind you, if you tried really hard, you could produce similar problems with a rear-entrance Lodekka (second-hand knowledge).

[PhilJ W]

Do you mean the Albion Lowlander? They may have looked good, but according to the Wikipedia entry they were not popular with crew and mechanics. I do know Western SMT's Greenock garage did not like them, on locals at least. Apparently the fuel mileage was awful, and there were problems with the rear overhang on sharp changes in gradient. Mind you, if you tried really hard, you could produce similar problems with a rear-entrance Lodekka (second-hand knowledge).

Awful things whether with an Albion or Leyland badge. They simply took the front end from a Titan PD3 and stuck a lower chassis  and dropped rear axle on it. This meant that as the full height cab was retained the front seats upstairs were on a platform 15 inches above the upper deck. The best front engined low floor decker was the Bristol Lodekka, and the Dennis Loline which was a licence built Bristol for the open market which Bristol wasn't allowed to sell too. AEC made a fair job of it with the Bridgemaster and Renown. The Bridgemaster was a low height Routemaster but London Transport wasn't interested and it was expensive compared with other similar machines. The Renown was cheaper and had a separate chassis and sold quite well mostly to AEC customers but one feather in their cap was a batch sold to Southend Corporation, a Leyland customer, to replace their Leyland Lowlanders which had only had an average of 5 years service. When Leyland took over AEC the Renown was dropped along with the rear engined Routemaster and Leyland offering the Atlantean in their place. London Transport (and Southend Corporation) opted for the rival Daimler Fleetline, this was before Daimler was absorbed by Leyland.