East Midland Tiger at Bretonside

It would appear from this view taken at Bretonside in Plymouth that the East Midland Leyland Tiger had travelled a lot further than the two Volvos alonside it and in summer there was always a nice mix of local traffic and more exotic coaches from places like Barnsley and Wigan. Catch the light right and it was good for photography too but in later years as elsewhere one was reluctant to walk on the parking area although I never heard anyone say anything. They are a bit more laid-back in the west Country. No.37 was one of a pair of with Duple bodywork.

Good Boardings on D&G 841 Service

We hear a lot of operators struggling to survive but Potteries operator D&G has certainly built up it's traffic on the 841 Stafford to Uttoxeter route, indeed on some journeys it's hard to get a seat. Not only does decent fair levels and a reliable service win them support have a good team of friendly drivers wins a few more passengers too as there is nothing worse than rude drivers who are mildly rude or dont speak. The bus is the normal on this route, Dennis-Alexander Enviro but like the others those doors certainly rattle when we get under way.

Lothian Olympian C776 SFS

Of all the ECW bodied Olympians built I think Lothian's fleet of dual-entrance buses were my favourite. Lets be thankful that Edinburgh was just too stubborn or proud to follow the herd and let it's fine bus fleet get sold off to the Privatised rabble.

Wish we were going swiftly home on this AEC Swift

A horrible Sunday in Blackpool, but at least I had a hobby to keep me occupied but it was a foul day and I did get wet.  Blackpool like St.Helens and a few others liked the AEC Swifts and not including the London types must have run the second biggest UK fleet  after St Helens  who just pipped them with slighty more than this fifty-four but the last batch went to the PTE so they might not count! However despite the over-indulgence the love affair was not to last and they would only enjoy short lives at the seaside. The Leyland Panther was not considered a good bus either like all the early rear engined saloons but obviously they were good workhorses as many enjoyed quite long normal likes and three could be found nearby at Fylde.

WMT. 2026 A Very Lucky Bus For Me

Last week I was looking forwards to getting home as it was hot and chemo tires me out. But waiting for my 54 bus home to Stafford turned out to be a long wait as I stood at the bus stop for the best part of an hour waiting for it. When I caught the next hourly bus I asked what had happened and he told me it had been taken off because someone had pissed on one of the seats. I was happy with that anyway and it turned out the driver knew who I was one of  my 'Flickr Followers' So it wasn't such a bad day and i got a few more photos including this yet another Wright bodied Volvo but two of these photos is never quite the same. This bus West Midlands 2026 of Wolverhampton was where my purse fell out of my handbag but I quickly reporting it to the Bus Station Inspectors who radioed through and luckily the the driver found it for me as someone was sitting on it and it was returned plus the one-hundred-quid and credit cards. Phew, oh yes I might have to go a bit slower at the moment but life is never boring.

Foxhound chasing a Fox by the Bull Ring in Birmingham?

Some might see the dissolution of the various NBC companies as a farewell or more as interesting. We all had our favorites and some I never liked like Eastern National, but when they make an effort it was nice to see operators like the former Leicester area of Midland Red, now titled Midland Fox using a bit of imagination with it's Foxhound coaches like Duple Laser bodied Tiger BPR 108Y which came with British Bus or had it by then become Drawline from Pilgrim Coaches of Southampton. It had been the coach arm of Hants and Dorset and former NBC vehicles were being scattered everywhere. Midland Fox,Foxhound and even Foc Cun might have been nice names but not much to do with buses unless one had run over one.

Havel Bus P-AV-945

Not surprisingly in the old East Germany they were suspicious of cameras, especially the older folk but I never had any problems. Reunification meant the writing was on the wall for the ubiquitous Ikarus fleet and they were quickly replaced by buses like this typical MAN artic. One thing we Brits have to get used to is the well used cycle lanes where people feel safe enough to travel with a helmet.

HT DAB 2054 in Copenhagen

It must be an age thing but often when I visit a place it's the oldest buses that catch my eye and gain affection. These DAB Leylands were nicely rounded and some dated from 1964 with examples still in service in 1982 from 1967. However 2054 was one of the last examples of this family of similar buses dating from October 1972 which went as far as 2058. However some had a bit more time as thy were being repainted.

Linclon Roe bodied Atlantean AVL 278C

Lincoln Corporation had two small batches of four Atlanteans with the favored Roe bodywork for most types. The 'unripened' apple green green colour was a bit dreary but like many Municipal buses the hand painted local advertisments always added a touch of quality.

Stagecoach SN16 OTC in Liverpool

Our city centres are a lot more clean than they used to be especially without all that coal smoke. But probably vehicle exhausts are just as big a health hazard, I say plant more of those trees. From an enthusiasts point of view because Stagecoach run such a modern standardised fleet there isnothing worth chasing after unless of course Alexander-Dennis Enviro SN16 OTC No.15067 is about to be move down to Exeter. As you can see our Sundays are almost as busy as during the week with shoppers.

Western National Bristol VR AFJ 702T at Bretonside

For me bus nostalgia was for the pre-PTE and NBC era with by later standards smartly turned out vehicles. So I let most of Seventies with it's Leyland Nationals wash over me but I particularly enjoyed that 'Indian Summer' we had following Deregulation till the last of the good of British buses departed. One place I will miss is Plymouth Bretonside where there was to be enjoyed the Gardner whine from Bristol VR's with each one sounding slightly different whether singing along or just boomy and all accompanied by the squawking of the seagulls to give that cornish pasty a bit of seaside relish.

Islwyn East-Lancs Leyland Tiger C42 CKG at Cardiff

Obviously I picked the wrong time of the day to visit Cardiff Bus Station, better to get there first thing in the morning but it was a great place to take photos, so much variety and even in the Nineties. Many of the old operators I remember from the Sixties still called but most had changed both names and livery like this two-tone blue and white Islwyn East-Lancs bodied Tiger which in the old days would have been maroon like much of the other buses found here and run by West Mon which was more memorable to everyone except the 'locals'.

Mercian B607 OEH leaves for Nuneaton

Being winter an understandably grubby Midland Red North Duple bodied Leyland Tiger leaves the Birmingham Bull Rig Bus Station for Nuneaton. In the past Vehicle licensing  would have not issued B607 OEH as the letter 'O' could be mistaken for a zero, but now able to sell more desirable marques off to the public walk down any busy road and you will see what people have invented for themselves and some of these corrupted registrations can be quite amusing even though one wonders what the correct number is. But one has one government arm selling numbers off knowing they are going to be messed with and The Police and VOSA still able to prosecute for the offence.

Oranienburg OVG: I should have asked hich was best bus

When the Berlin Wall came down everything had to be modernised to bring it up to modern standards including public transport. Out went the legions of in truth quite reliable Ikarus buses to be replaced by more recent types from The West or as seen here at Oranienburg where OVG new modern stock like these MAN and Mercedes buses complete with an old Ikarus in the background. My only regret is I didn't ask that driver which was the best!

Some Might Miss The Delights of Communism

Even in East Germany there was a political elite who rode around in State paid for in shiny black Volvos and Mercedes-Benz cars whilst all around people believed how important they were. But for the rest it was a diet of Trabants, Wartborgs, and often military based buses like this school bus on the Unter der Linden close to the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

Happy Days Former Western Welsh Leyland PD2/27 917 DBO

Still looking smart when photographed in Stafford was this former Western Welsh MCW bodied Leyland  PD2/27 one of twenty delivered in 1963. I imagine when they arrived they could have caused a stir amongst enthusiasts for apart from the Atlantean generally WW had stuck to Leylands for it's saloons and AEC for it's deckers. The 'cherished' number-plate went on to grace various Happy Days coaches and Leons who now own Happy Days might still well be using it.

Sightseeing Bus in Liverpool

The much hated chemo effects roll on for I might have remembered to take my camera with me to Liverpool last Sunday but I left the battery at home! But have no fear I still have some from last year I have not used up yet. The Plaxton bodied L-Reg bus of 2003 bus gives the show away as it once ran in London, but restrictive contracts mean that quite modern buses have to find new lives elsewhere like this one in Liverpool.

Devon General 3536; The Riviera Connection

Devon General had some Willowbrook bodied Leopards from Western National days and 3536 was painted in a special livery for the Riviera Connection and looked quite smart when pictured at Bretonside, in Plymouth in some Riviera Sunshine.