Bristol FLFCHY 419C pounds an uphill slog

I don't mind at all if some of my photos lack sharpness or polished quality as I feel we should be adventurous, and this Bristol FLF LH 7201 CHY 419C pounding it's way uphill creating clouds of exhaust smoke giving a hot dusty feel is brimming with atmosphere.

Runcorn Busway National2 at Warrington AFM 3W

I was never much of a fan of the original Leyland National especially in those rather drab NBC colours but I had quite a soft spot for the later Mark2 with it's more pleasing sounds and more of 'a bus feel'. Crosville had some including this example for the Runcorn Busway, but by the time the firm had been renamed North Western these by now quite elderly buses like this were doing more normal duties like this well patronised run to Warrington.

Penkridge Last Weeks of the 76

One thing that can be said about the Fifties and Sixties, apart from routine fleet replacement there seemed very little that changed in the bus world. It's a very different tale today as nothing seems to stay the same for long which is perhaps a good reson to take pictures of this fleeting history. Taken last summer not only was Arriva's 76 about to go so a year later the bus's Wednesfield garage would close too. This route had a long history as Midland Red introduced it in about 1968 when the long 196 Birmingham to Stafford service was cut back to Wolverhampton and the final section becoming single-deck OPO from Wolverhampton Garage as the 876. At Arriva standards vary greatly and one can take a pleasant smooth ride on similar Wright bodid VDL buses to this working from Cannock but Wednesfield had problems and buses often used to suffer from the smell of fuel leaks, vibration, and even catching fire but miraculously when I was aboard we always got there but some didn't.

Edelskov Ford Plaxton in Copehagen

When I grew up Britin seemed to dominate half of the world with it's bus exports now it's the other way around I'm afraid. But in he Eighties Ford nand Plaxton found a market for it's products in Denmark where they would have been quite cheap and ideal for the low speeds allowed and flat terrain. Edelskov was one of the local tour operators in Copenhagen.

Warrington Daimler Fleetline CRC 250J

Warrington was a keen buyer of good used buses from other Municipals like this Roe bodied Daimler Fleetline which came from Derby.

Copehagen: The Vikings Are Coming

From Sweden in Copenhagen was this Swedish visitor on a Travellers charter, a Scania operated by Viking in an attractive livery with a Viking boat on the side.

West Midlands Metrobus BOK 8V Bound for Rubery

Memories of Birmingham with one of WM's first Metrobuses No.2008 bound for Rubery and fresh-faced schoolboys in the lunch-hour, I wonder what they are doing now.

Arriva FJ06 ZTG My Bus World is a mix of good and bad

Any slight feelings of nostalgia accepted I have to say I prefer many of today's buses to the Leyland National or more recently the Plaxton Pointer Dennis Dart. Yes I rather enjoy riding on Enviro 400 double-deckers, and Wright bodied VDL's like this one so no I don't feel I have to live in the bus past so much today but I did at one time. Many of Arriva's routes are a bit of a pain as they go all-around-the-Wrekin and one could cycle to Cannock in far less time than it takes the 60 as it is only seven miles away from here at Lichfield whereas 60 must mean sixty minutes.Arriva do try initiatives every so often to add extra faster services but when loadings are poor they just cut it whereas the more astute operators make stronger decisions and wait for the boardings to rise which happens wit time if it is reliable. However the problem with Arriva is they have too many managers who just come and go and all they really do is annoy the public as change is often for change sake before they move on. 

Rebodied Royal TigerWorldmaster 488 in Porto

Older bus types used to be a lot more rugged than today but as for bodywork that was a different matter as in the UK corrosion was a serious headache whilst in places lie Portugal with indifferent road surfaces and cobbled streets bodies shook to bits and buses like this Leyland Worldmaster were rebodied. As for the conductors on the Porto trolleybuses they had a lot more to do than just take fares!

Wilson of Carnwath C245 RSF Van-Hool Alizee

We all have differing tastes as to what looks smart and I rather liked this Van-Hool bodied Volvo B10M of Wilson's. I don't know which one despite te Scottish reg. but I'm rather partical to silver based liveries and I've a feeling the other colour was raspberry red. I've just looked it up and it was one of the biggest coach firms in Scotland based at Carnwath, Strathclyde. More recently with over forty vehicles (1986)  In 1963 Robert Wilson had just three coaches, a Commer, a Bedford and an Albion.

Wolverhampton: Not 2123 Again!

Not 2123 again! I'm not sure if I have more pictures of this one as it's not something I worry about as I don't 'bus spot' with my camera I just take pictures as it suits me, but many buses are on dedicated routes and find a favourite spot lke this example by Wolverhampton Bus Station and sure enough they come around and around again still tuse a bit of imagination and each one can be different.

Brown's In Horsham in 1969

The South.East corner of Britain seemed to unable to boast that many well known independents compared with other parts of the country. But of course there were a few quite well known ones even if not household names even amongst enthusiasts. One of the more interesting was Brown Motor Services which could be seen in Horsham like this Willowbrook bodied Albion Nimbus. Based at Forest Green in Surrey they only had three buses, one being a rare Rare Leyland Comet. Despite the name the livery was maroon and cream. Horsham was one of those interesting towns right on the border where various major bus companies met, and as well as Southdown the principal operator with a decent sized garage here, one could also see green London Transport buses and Aldershot and District.

BVG Berlin 1182 on the 211 to Wannsee

As elsewhere as subsidies are cut and costs increase bus manufacturers realised there was no such thing as a 'free lunch' as traditional markets gave up local loyalties as they now strived to costs costs first. BVG of West Berlin had been reliant on mainly MAN and Mercedes buses since the war but that was all to change and the advent of a batch of Volvo buses started to add a bit of variety.

Trial Buses in Liverpool Including Olympian 0064 A316 GLV

Merseyside PTE like it's forerunner Liverpool Corporation was a keen user of the Leyland Atlantean but of course eventually it had to go out of production. The PTA was obviously undecided what to buy next so simultaneously  they bought a whole variety of trial  double-decker buses in small batches from Leyland, Dennis, MCW and Volvo. It was a bit of a waste of time as the days of the PTE's were already numbered with Deregulation in the offing. I always liked the Alexander R-Type body  as seen on Leyland Olympian 0064 but  as well as these five they had  another ten X-Reg buses with ECW bodies.

Havelbus Ikarus

So typical of the Eastern Block counties was the ubiquitous Hungarian built Ikarus bendi-bus. Very unsophisticated for both the operator and passenger they were got rid of as soon as the Iron Curtain countries opened up following Devolution in Germany. However once painted out of that orange colour into a more personable livery they seemed to become much less like a work horse and icon of a repressive Communist regime and now almost seemed quite friendly. I just wished I had ridden on a few more as they had a distinctive sound like this one with Havelbus based in the Brandenburg city of Potsdam just outsie Berlin..

I quite like Wolverhampton it feels a lot more cosmopolitan than Stafford; how sad is that lol. As elsewhere it seems a lot let interesting buswise than it used to be but it does afford some nice views like this one a green environment friendly  5415.

Newton's of Dingwall

An attractive visitor to Victoria Coach Station was this Plaxton 4000 bodied Volvo double-decker coach of Newon of Dingwall but as can be seen by the fleet number now part of the Scottish Bus Group with City Link in whose livery V212 was already operating at this time in 1986.

Bus Variety in Lichfield

Lichfield might be the next town but apart from Arriva they enjoy a totally different selection of buses and operators to Stafford. Double-deckers made a revival in my home town but they have become quite rare again so it was nice to picture an example of Midland Classic, whilst the Arrive Mercedes-Benz is another type we never see. Still it adds something to the day out.

New Month: A New BUS in Roskilde

When buses had a bit more chrome red paint and polished wheel-trims I was a bit of sucker for brand new ones. As it is the first of the month I thought I would add one and in this instance it is a Roskilde Turisttrafik DAB Leyland. These DAB's looked more like Leyland's than many Leylands did . I probably have not loved them so much in later years if I had to operate them but I was a Leyland fan till the end, it was just the sounds and the traditional image of zoo animals and of course big cats and badges.