BusTalk

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

(SEE PREVIOUS POST)

Case in point.............

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?135965

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["GOOD GOD!! WHAT IS IT??!!?"]

[W.B. Fishbowl]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

W.B.:

To be polite, LRV units and buses with similar fronts (many current double-deckers in London also have similar front ends) more remind me of (I'm trying to be polite, here!) in Brit terminology, "a massive loo seat".......BEYOND ugly as all heck, NO MATTER WHAT you think this resembles; the double-deckers are particularly ugly.....

"NYO"

["INVADERS FROM MARS"]

[W.B. Fishbowl]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

W.B.:

I read you, and TOTALLY agree!

Again, NO INTEREST whatsoever, regarding the current lot of insipid, often-bizarre "BINOs"....they just ain't REAL buses....PURE and SIMPLE!

"NYO"

["GMC"]

["FLXIBLE"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

REAL "Noo Yawk" buses!!!!!!!!

See (two photos)......

https://imcdb.org/vehicle_236966-GMC-TDH-4509.html

["2804"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

W.B.:

From one of my more recent LT bus books........

"......what will the future hold as we enter the 2020s? It would indeed seem that the days of purely diesel-powered buses is at an end, with the 'Ultra Low Emission Zone' coming in 2019......"

".......hybrid or all-electric power seems to be current thinking, rather than biofuels or hydrogen gas-cell technology .But will the buses of the future still have a human driver, or be self-guided......."

(source: "EAST LONDON BUSES-THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY" (Malcolm Batten)

"NYO"

['72A EPPING"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

See also:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_emission_buses_in_London

["35 CLAPHAM JUNCTION"]

[W.B. Fishbowl]

Like I said . . . potential "rolling fire traps."

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

W.B.:

Again, in TOTAL agreement.

Regarding modern London buses (both single- and double-deck), recall the astute comments made by Travis Elborough, in his book, "THE BUS WE LOVED: LONDON'S LOVE AFFAIR WITH THE ROUTEMASTER"........

"......the modern buses are depressing.....their very designs indicated troubled minds....."

(Man, does THAT ever ring true, especially regarding the most modern "loo seat" front ends now in vogue)

And, just like here at home, many modern London/British "BINOs" now sport headlights that give the impression of some sort of evil demon, or a starving, prowling feline.

Talk about "going off the dep end".............

"NYO"

["2 CRYSTAL PALACE"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Once touted as "London's Bus Of The Future....TODAY!", the ill-fated "Bendies" were withdrawn after not even a decade of service......

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Articulated_buses_in_London

When they debuted, garages around London hosted large celebrations in their honor; there was, of course, much media hoopla.

The "Bendies" also earned the reputation (well-deserved) of being the WORST bus ever to run in London.

How very ironic, when you think that many rugged, solid, dignified-looking "RTs" and RMs" served for decades, giving reliable, faithful service to generations of Londoners.

The fare-evasion crises that these "BINOs" generated far surpassed that which was going on here in "Noo Yawk"..........indeed sad.......

"NYO"

["23 HENDON"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

A "connection" between 1010 WINS and ex-LT "Routemasters" in Sri Lanka?

I found this QUITE interesting, coming across this in Andrew Morgan's "ROUTEMASTER HANDBOOK".........

Back in the 1990s, LT sold 41 retired 'RMs" for further service in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon); most, if not all of these iconic buses have since been scrapped.

These "RMs" were modified with more pronounced bonnets (hoods) and grillwork, in order to accommodate the new "ASHOK" engines (and 5-speed gearboxes)

Of course, learning the name of the new engines being installed in these ex-LT buses right away (obviously!) called to mind the name of a "soitan" (and most familiar!) 1010 WINS weekend news anchor.......

"NYO"

["MH82"]

["1010"]

['1010"

[W.B. Fishbowl]

Similar to "Noo Yawk" subways, for decades, having controls split between General Electric and Westinghouse - the latter of whose broadcasting division, from 1962 until the array of mergers starting in the late 1990's, owned 1010 WINS.

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

W.B.:

Over the course of many years, I have seen other photos of buses, rail cars, locomotives, etc. numbered "1010"

Ditto, equipment numbered "815", Your's Truly's childhood address in Union City

Speaking of the ex-LT "RT" and "RM" buses sent to Sri Lanka, outside of one of two that were sent back to England for preservation, the rest were either scrapped outright, or dumped into the ocean for use as artificial reefs.

Some buses were cut down to single-deck, giving them the appearance of the iconic half-cab "T" types that once dominated Great Britain......

"NYO"

["25A MORDEN STN"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

These nostalgic photos date to 1973; note how the ex-LT "RT" has had its original rear platform door closed in, and a new entrance/exit cut into the body on the opposite side.

The "RT" was the Old Look's contemporary, while the "RM" was in production at the same time that our Fishbowls were being built.

Both photos were snapped at Cherry & Rutgers........

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?157308

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?157309

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["LONDON TRANSPORT"]