PTT; A real rarity

Well this batch of buses might have been an extremely rare sight in the more populated urban areas of Switzerland as the batch P23321-330 dating from 1991 was confined to the narrow roads of the mountains where they ran from Chur, Thusis and here at Scoul. However what made P23324 a very rare sight indeed was the fact that by Swiss standards it was filthy. The warmer weather had obviously caused a thaw making the roads very mucky with a lot of mud mixed in with melting snow but I'm sure it would stay dirty for very much longer as the PTT were most proud of their spotless yellow buses.

Smiths Imperial Coaches

The Birmingham based Independent Smiths Imperial Coaches christened this Leyland Tiger delivered in about 1982 Imperial Pullman. I guess it was pride of the fleet and it is still cherished by it's current operator also an enthusiast, Coastal Coaches of Wolverhampton who put down as the key to it's long life the superior corrosion free Jonckheere Jubilee body.

Frazer's Setra on the M1

Of course a good place to photograph coaches at work is at a Motorway Service Area like this taken on the M1 of the Tyneside Independent Frazer's who ran this rather up-market Kassbohrer bodied Setra in the Eighties.

A Berresford's Atlantean

As well as having a wealth of old buses dumped at the rear of it's Cheddleton premises there were always used new arriving entering service, some lasting several years others lasting maybe a few months. This former Bournemouth Leyland Atlantean of 1964 with a pseudo Alexander body by MCW was a familiar sight in Hanley so I imagine it was one of the lucky ones. Next to it a Plaxton Panorama coach is being prepared for service and probably a Leopard as they were popular here too.

You don't need glasses but this is a green London Bus

Today of course apart from for some detail differences London buses come straight off-the-peg as supplied by the manufacturers, and naturally there are those who are old enough to miss with affection the real thing like the RT, the RF and the Routemaster. But even in those good of days of neat Post-War standardisation before they started experimenting with Provincial buses like the Atlantean, Fleetline and RC Green-Line AEC Reliance in 1965 there were a few notable exceptions. Like other operator's London Transport used single-deckers whenever possible on routes where there were low bridges to negociate but there was a need for some lowbridge double-deckers on the busier routes particularly in the green country area. For this purpose seventy-six mechanically not too dissimilar to the normal RT, AEC Regent 111 RLH Type buses with low ceilings and sunken-gangways came in 1950 and 1952 fitted with attractive Weymann lowbrige bodies. Only three garages in the Red Central Area worked them Dalston (D), Hornchurch (RD) and Harrow Weald (HD). This bus carries an HT depot plate for Highgate Garage but I don't suppose any London Transport bus inspector was lurking in Basle to take issue with the driver of this sightseeing bus when I snapped it early in 1990. I had better mention it as no doubt someone is bound to point out that this bus was painted green during it's life with LT. Annoyingly unlike this one many red open-top double-deck sightseeing buses are branded London Buses whether they are or not.

Mind the cyclists: Amager Bridge

HT 1583 a five-year-old DAB bodied Scania leaves Copenhagen as it crosses over the bridge to the mainly residential Amager Island on it's way to Sundyvester. Of course on the Continent they were well used to urban cycle-routes but for English drivers it was one more thing to be wary of.

Leeds: A gentle retirement for an old girl

Even in semi-retirement as a trainer this Bristol FS6G still looks presentable which is no doubt mainly due to the good care it was given when it was FRD 168 with W. Alexander and Sons Fife who put it on the road in 1963. In the mid-Eighties it was still hard at work in Leeds where they were enjoying some welcome sunshine.

Blackpool here we come!

One of my passions has always been getting photographs of especially smart Leyland and AEC coaches in smart liveries complete with manufacturers badges and wheel nut covers. One of the best places to see these of course was on a busy weekend at Blackpool as they arrived from all over the North. The fact that this Tatlock's Plaxton Panorama Elite hadn't come far no doubt didn't spoil the excitement of it's trippers who had picked a good day for their outing in the sea air for once.

The Train on Platform One

The Swiss PTT had a small allocation at Baden which I guess were kept at the main telecommunications fleet depot in the town but there was also a small dormy shed beside the railway station that was still in use and probably dated back to earlier times when it was the bus garage. This rather unusual view is very Swiss whether it be the magnificent trains, their taste in advertising, the lack of litter or of course bright yellow post buses like resting Mercedes-Benz 0405 P25260 with the whole wooden shed to itself.

Lisbon Volvo 1397

They were not as interesting as the old AEC's, a few of which were still on the streets of Lisbon in 1984 but buses like this modern Volvo were still worth a photo.

Rain in Liverpool

In it's final days before being bought out by Arriva who returned the buses to a kind of green, Merseybus turned the clock back to before the war and reintroduced this distinctive maroon and cream livery which looked quite good and even in the rain. Most MCW Metrobuses were bodied by MCW but a minority also carried Alexander bodywork like 0056 bound for Aigburth in the early Nineties.

Lugano's: Sugerloaf Mountain

Lugano is sometimes known affectionately as Little Rio as like the quite different much more exciting and far less genteel monster of a city in Brazil it is overlooked by an immense giant boulder of a mountain. I haven't been for a few years but like the lake I expect it is still there but sadly the trolleybus system is not. Probably because of it's mild climate vehicles seem to enjoy long lives down in the mild south of Switzerland below the Alps. Pictured in 1990 Hess bodied FBW No.127 was new to the tiny system at Rheintal in 1978 as it's No.6.