London Pride Pound a Pint or a Dennis Dominator

Well a pint of London Pride beer was about one-pound then if you knew where to go but I'm sure it's a lot more today. Many areas of bus operation have declined but an area of impressive growth since the early Seventies has been the open-top double-deck sightseeing tour. Sadly maybe because of the decline of the seaside resort we are less often able to relive childhood memories of cheap rides and ice-cream. However the often pricey city tour bus is only really for tourists but for the enthusiast it adds a bit of much welcomed variety bringing unlikely buses like this former Cleveland NC bodied Dominator to Trafalgar Square in the Nineties.

Nottingham City Alexander Dash Volvo M513 TRA.

The Dennis Dart was conceived as a small bus to tempt customers away from mini-buses especially as even they were getting bigger and more sophisticated. But some operators including Nottingham City preferred the Volvo instead like this example with Alexander Dash bodywork.

4466: Old Huddersfield Daimler Still in Red and Cream 1980

I got as far as into Yorkshire as Sheffield with my bus spotting trips of the Sixties but it was only at the end of the decade that I got to places like Leeds, Halifax, Wakefield and Barnsley. As for Huddersfield I  have to confess I had long since given up being a spotter in 1980 but I made an effort to visit as I was trying to catch the good old half-cabs on film before they went, fine old buses like this East Lancs bodied Daimler still in Corporation red and cream. I chose this one today as I've just added the Corgi OOC model of it to my collection as it was just six-quid and never out of it's box. I'm not sure if Corgi quite got the red right as it looks a bit too orange.

Volvo Coach in Portugal

Seen in Portugal in 1984 this Volvo coach reminds me of those attractive bodies which came out of Holland and Belgium in the late Sixties. Indeed at first glance it could almost be mistaken for a Van-Hool but I expect it just a local product.

C981 HOX: Midland Red Coaches Metroliner at Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton is still very much on the National Express map with numerous departures. But the vehicles have very much changed since the late Eighties when this Midland Red Coaches MCW Metroliner 1501 called in on Rapide Service 555.

Frontline XUB671Y bound for Rugeley

Looking rather smart in a fresh coat of red paint complete with gold lettering was this Plaxton bodied Leyland Leopard of Frontline seen in Birmingham and bound for Rugeley.  I thought it was KUB 671V but it is in fact XUB 671Y, it's a good thing my bus spotting days are long gone. lol

E823 HBF: Even the bad times a good?

We all seem to have a tendency to give the past a rosy glow, but even when in the Nineties we could still enjoy once familiar bus types the down side of Deregulation was very much part of the scene, horrendous Dodge minibuses like this PMT example in Hanley, depot closures, and asset-striped fleets topped up with unwanted buses from elsewhere. One or two made a fortune from the 'refreshing world of change' but it was not a happy time for busmen who put up with a lot as they didn't know who they would be working for or whether they would have a job tomorrow.

Berlin in a Hurry! VIP Bus Service or Nippy Bus Service

Unimaginable then but today they are more likely to flood in from China than Japan, but in the Eighties they had a head start as touristic areas of West Berlin down by the Wall near Checkpoint Charlie etc were already being covered in tall concrete blocks and untidy roadworks just like Tokyo City.

JJD 236D: Penny for your thoughts

I don't know which was greatest spirit lifter, the fleeting thought of winning that fortune on the pools or admiring the way the attractively painted Kentish Bus RML 2536 lifts the rain sodden scene as it dodges the puddles on the Charing Cross Road. I think this was my favourite Ray Stenning livery

North Western Citybus at Preston

The period following Deregulation was interesting as the bus industry went in different directions. Some new groupings had a very individual feel like the Drawline Group which not only introduced some interesting liveries it owned East Lancs Coachbuilders which meant most new buses were bodied in house but wore totally different colours. They also liked Dennis products and similarly bodied Volvos like this  Citybus leaving Preston Bus Station for Ormskirk.

Staffordian Ribble Leopard

This is my first post for a while as my previous computer finally died. So I'm starting again with a coach I liked as Staffordian Travel operated this former Ribble Plaxton bodied Leyland Leopard which having a straight-through exhaust made some delicious sounds.

Leicester R Series Metrobus at Loughborough

Corrosion was the biggest problem with the MCW Metrobus so I imagine the outside Scotland not so common Alexander R Series bodied variant was a much better bus, they certainly looked good in their day. Following Deregulation Leicester City Bus found themselves well outside the city such as here at a rather dreary Loughboriugh Bus Station still with it's old concrete shelters.