BUSWORLD PHOTOGRAPHY

I AM CHRISTOPHER LEACH THE ARTIST. I started this blog so that I can share with everyone my vast collection of transport photographs showing a personal and nostalgic view of the industry with images that span some 45 years taking in the U.K and some of Europe. I have no darkroom and so rather than being the perfectionist after tidying them up I upload the images warts and all, and even those that won't scan squarely or are scratched. In a way it adds age and character. You are all free to download these for your personal use but please remember I still own them and you are not just free to use them without prior permission for any knd of publishing. Click on images to enlarge them and if you want to see more leave your comments or visit my website for the mother-site with galleries including those Buses & Girls: PICTUREWORLD

Thursday 4 September 2008

Pretty Devon or a Narrow Hell?


I don't travel on buses very often these days so it was really enjoyable to take an interesting bus ride in Devon on First's Mayflower Link between Plymouth and Dartmouth two hours away. The drivers certainly earn their money as this route is a slow roller-coaster ride of steep hills, sharp bends and painfully narrow roads as we squeezed through quiet villages or swished passed overhanging trees in what seemed like lanes. Also on offer were some spectacular views of the wild unspoilt countryside across which Buzzards glided or we nervously glanced down steep rocky wooded banks at the sea far below. For the drivers it doesn't pay to take their eyes off the road for as well as the oncoming cars and motorcycles come equally big Plaxton bodied Dennis double-decker 93 Route Buses coming the other way. In a perfect world they would plan it so they met in the right places but with buses running late inevitably one should meet at least one in absolutely the worst place. Luckily there were a couple of policemen on board our bus making their way to busy Dartmouth where the town was enjoying it's Regatta and they stopped the traffic so the other bus could reverse into a better passing place. However advanced they are this backbreaking work certainly doesn't suit modern buses like these examples that when new battled their way more comfortably through the streets of Bristol as our embarrassingly example T812 LLC broke down on the way back with slipping gears.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ex-First London these. Bristol [neither Badgerline nor Cityline] have never operated Tridents, altho Badgerline at Bath had a batch of East Lancs W-reg Tridents for Park and Ride work, some of which have made their way to Plymouth and are seen on the 93 at times, altho generally on X80 Plymouth-Torquay instead.

--
Ross
Wivenhoe, Essex

christopher said...

Sorry Ross I can't always get it right as I don't watch the bus scene as closely as I did when I was a youngster. It would take too much time to research every photo so your corrections are most welcome. Yes I have pictures of those East Lancs Tridents too.

Unknown said...

Regretfully a fatal accident involving one of these buses and a van occurred on this route during February