MRN M833 SDA: Straight out of it's Box

I know bus liveries today tend to be neither one thing or the other and nor particularly cheerful but looking back to the Nineties some like this Midland Red North East Lancs bodied Scania fresh out of it's box seen in Birmingham was in the strong sunshine a bit too bright perhaps.

An FLF CHY 419C :Looking for Bristols in Bristol

As their numbers seemed to dwindle almost daily I made a big effort to try to get pictures of the last provincial half-cabs before they were gone; indeed this was one of the reasons I started taking bus photos again following a ten year pause. These forays had to be done once I had done my deliveries and fortunately every so often I used to deliver in one drop electricity meters to SWEB at Lockleaze in a Bristol residential area. To have a hobby to get one out and about walking was much better than just tanking it up and down the motorway like an idiot..... I know what you are thinking, but I was self-employed.

GHY 137K: Badgerline's Glorious Bristol RELL's

Usually when I feel nostalgia for a place if it's a large town or city it's usually double-deckers that spring to mind but Bristol is a exception as favourites of mine in Bristol were Badgerline's Bristol RE's which made that glorious booming sound as they exited Marlborough Street Bus Station.

TWM 2989: Remembering Wolverhampton Buses

As well as creating a bit of variety it is always of interest to see newer buses in liveries from the past. Unfortunately most of them don't quite hit the mark as the donor vehicles are not suitable or my guess is they often get some graphic artist to dress them up in basically the same colours. But Travel West Midlands did a number of buses in the various Corporation colours and they were so realistic they could almost pass for the real thing. I suspect the job was carried out in the Works by craftsmen who remembered exactly how they were. Wolverhampton's MCW Metrobus 2989 looked just right covered in rain.

Brand New Prague Tram 8614

When I was last there in 1996 Prague was taking delivery of a new generation of trams.

ARE508Y: My first trip on a Leyland Tiger

A mate of mine used to be able to get us onto trips like this one organised by some lads from Michelin of Stoke to Amsterdam. Here we had a couple of hours in Brugges which was ruined as it coincided with a downpour. I was looking forward to seeing what a Tiger was like, and even though I grew quite fond of them later, at that time I found the Tiger of  Procter of Fenton sounded a bit tame compared to a nice loud booming Leopard. This application of this stripy livery was quite trendy at the time and it appeared on a similarly bodied Stevenson's Leopard too as well as ARE508Y seen here.

Glossopdale

As well as the rather soulless corporate image that engulfed the bus industry in the Nineties there were some rather pleasing more simple liveries too which employed subtle colours and neat clear lettering like this Marshall bodied Dennis Dart seen at Stockport.

ETG 113K: Vale of Llangollen

Vale of Llangollen was a well known coach operator but following Deregulation like many other Independent's it diversified into stage carriage work. I think I took this former Rhymney Valley Leopard in Mold or Denbigh.

Wash, Sweep and then a Pint

I always wondered where Blackpool people go in Summer and it looks like Abbott's Volvo B10M F727 VAC coach had just returned home from a trip to Bournemouth

Stoniers for Maidstone Atlantean in Hanley

Stoniers of Tunstall bought this former Maidstone Northern Counties Atlantean, buses which were prematurely disposed of when the council decided ro modernise it's fleet with of all things Bedfords. Up till then it had been entirely Leyland for a number of years but a few Leopard coaches from Nottingham joined them to keep the marque alive.

London General B20 Fleetline Trainer in Victoria

Driving a big red bus in London a romantic concept or a nightmare? Probably the latter but by today's standards it is a well paid job so there are plenty who want to get behind the wheel. I'm sure there are those who will say times were better then when these recruits took out their DMS Daimler Fleetline through Vicoria, indeed they might get to drive a Routemaster.

C112 DTM: A Paramount Leisure Paramount 3500

Paramount Leisure was an operation of the better known PMT and an interesting coach was this Scania K112CRS and also with a Paramount 3500 body by Plaxton. This vehicle had been a demonstrator and was also with British Airways. It was seen on a holiday tour at Plymouth Bretonside.

3501: Sprintime arrives in the Tiergarten.

Unlike Britain where the seasons slowly change day by day, in Berlin it can be still snowing at the start of the week and enjoying a heatwave at the end of it. I don't know which is the best but it must be a shock to the system especially when winter comes. That thought was a long way away as passengers boarding BVG 3501 one of three prototype MAN 202 buses built in 1984 as it passes through a sunny Tiergarten. Of course many of these have second lives as sightseeing buses right across Europe but I'm not the only one who must have missed them when they all finished normal service as they had a lot more rugged character than the high-tech deckers like the Lion that followed.

RM 1214: A head turner in Halifax

Some of you like to imagine how modern buses might look in your favourite colours of the past.  This also applies to other types like the Routemaster but a few of them became a reality like when the name Halifax Joint Omnibus Committee was revived by a local entrepreneur together with that distinctive livery. Of course I knew they were there but I'm sure this strange combination in the town might turn a few heads.

Billingshurst Coaches Volvo Plaxton

Plaxton Paramount 3500 bodied Volvo B10M and it was caught preparing to negotiate Trafalgar Square in London.