Trivia: Which Type of Bus Will You Miss Most When Withdrawn?

[OptareLover]

I saw a thread over on the railway forum and thought this would be interesting to ask the bus enthusiasts this question.

Which type of bus will you miss most when withdrawn?

For me, the following would be my answers, not in any specific order.

- Optare Solo
- Optare Solo SR (very controversial opinion, but okay)
- "1st Generation" ADL/TransBus Enviro300 (2001-2008)
- Dennis Trident Alexander ALX400
- Volvo B7RLE Wright Eclipse Urban
- ADL Enviro500
- Volvo B7TL East Lancs Vyking
- Dennis Trident Plaxton President
- Wright Gemini 1

Any of the newish buses I'll likely not miss, including the MMCs, (which I accidentally voted "Yes" in the poll - oops).
Although I do know a lot of people like the MMCs.

 

[cnjb8]

I will miss the Scania L94UB/Wright Solar buses at TrentBarton. They were supposed to be gone at the end of 2022 but a number of vehicle issues and service increases have kept four of them on the road for now

 

[Russel]

Probably the Wright Eclipse Gemini, still plenty of the B9TL variants going strong but the B7TLs are few and far between now.

I think National Express West Mids is the largest operator of B7TL Geminis now but even they are slowly being withdrawn.

 

[318266]

The Volvo B13RT Panthers on Citylink work.

 

[Bus9120UK]

Various buses with Volvo Chassis from the early 2000s to the current day, such as Volvo B7TL and Volvo B5TL.

 

[Roilshead]

Nothing, absolutely nothing, after the Leyland Olympian/Titan/Lion/Lynx/Tiger/Tiger Cub (all two of them)/Royal Tiger - oh! MCW Metrobus and Volvo Ailsa/Citybus.

 

[Tetchytyke]

I’ll miss the Wright Renown B10M, comfortable and bomb-proof.

Not sure I’ll miss any of the current main models.

 

[GusB]

Nothing, absolutely nothing, after the Leyland Olympian/Titan/Lion/Lynx/Tiger/Tiger Cub (all two of them)/Royal Tiger - oh! MCW Metrobus and Volvo Ailsa/Citybus.

I'm with you! I began losing interest in buses after they stopped putting "proper"* engines in them. I also miss manual gearboxes.

* "Proper" meaning a decent sized lump around 10-11 litres

I’ll miss the Wright Renown B10M, comfortable and bomb-proof.

Not sure I’ll miss any of the current main models.

The Wright Renown body was built on the B10BLE chassis, rather than the B10M, but I agree nonetheless. They were more or less the mainstay of the First Aberdeen fleet when I last lived there. Since moving north, it has mostly been Dennis Drats and their derivatives!

As for the B10M - well, that was responsible for many of the thrill rides I had in my late teens and early twenties. There were still a few late examples kicking about doing school contracts until a few years ago, but I suppose even the later ones will be getting a bit long in the tooth now.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

Has to be Enviro 200s for me.
The distinct sound* is something I learned to pick up on from a relatively young age, not being able to hear it anymore would be such a difference, and since I very often see or hear them too.
To be fair we are probably a VERY long time from these going out of service, with iteration and iteration of them they might life on basically forever.
They are, and almost always have been, my most common local bus.

* occasionally had other things that I notice with that sound that throw me off, but those are rare

 

[Intercity110]

The National Express Enviro 400 MMCs are a major outlier for me. I absolutely adore them. The ALX400s have grown on me a bit though

 

[RELL6L]

I'm with you! I began losing interest in buses after they stopped putting "proper"* engines in them. I also miss manual gearboxes.

* "Proper" meaning a decent sized lump around 10-11 litres :

Absolutely right!

Nothing compares to the buses of old. The best things just hanging on are a few Scania Wright Solars, they are proper buses. I’ve also got a soft spot for the earliest Tridents but nothing really decent since Euro engines came in.

 

[Strathclyder]

Volvo B9TL with Gemini body. Every other type I grew up with (see below) have either disappeared from my area altogether or just have a few examples left.

MCW Metrobus
Leyland/Volvo Olympian
Volvo B10M
Volvo B10BLE (particularly with the Wright Renown bodywork)
Volvo B7RLE
Volvo B7TL
Volvo B7L
Dennis Trident
Dennis Dart
Scania L113CRL/L94UB
Optare Excel

 

[m79900]

I will miss the Scania L94UB/Wright Solar buses at TrentBarton. They were supposed to be gone at the end of 2022 but a number of vehicle issues and service increases have kept four of them on the road for now

I was going to say them. Brilliant buses, and much better than the Versas that replaced them where I am.

 

[mb88]

Last buses I missed when withdrawn was the Volvo B10M/Alexander PS and Volvo Olympian/Alexander Royale. Can take or leave anything that’s come since.

 

[Towers]

Another vote for the Renown/B10BLE here, lovely vehicles! Well built, nice spec in First Barbie flavour, ‘proper’ heavyweight machines and bulletproof to boot. And a nice drive, too. Much missed, particularly when sat on a rattling e200 with the godforsaken ‘stop start’ nonsense going on every 2 minutes.

Honourable mention also goes to Olympians and B10Ms with the usual Stagecoach standard Alexander bodies (DP seated, preferably!)

All proper machines the like of which we simply won’t see again.

 

[MotCO]

Although I have never travelled on one, I think that the Optare Tempo was a very striking looking bus. Likewise the Excel; they looked so different from anything else.

 

[DunsBus]

For me, the Seddon Pennine 7. These were a common sight in parts of the Central Belt and throughout southern Scotland when new, and accounted for more than half of Lowland's fleet on its formation in 1985. They were simple, dependable, reliable (very few of them broke down on me) and frugal too, as I believe their fuel consumption was in the region of 20mpg. The manual version in particular was a delight to travel in and I still remember the drone when setting off then becoming a whine as the bus picked up speed.

Part of the fun of travelling on these was watching new starts getting caught out by the two things which manual Seddons were known for: the first gear clutch judder when setting off (which either resulted in a smell of smoke and a stall, or several sets of false teeth flying down the aisle) and the angled gearbox gate which meant that it was easy to select reverse gear instead of first, which would only then become apparent to the driver when he released the handbrake and the bus shot off backwards.

 

[Mikey C]

The Wright Gemini 2, which upstairs with its large windows, is so much nicer than the current Gemini 2/Streetdeck body.

 

[delt1c]

Lodekka FS a dream to travel on , closely followed by the FLF

 

[Devon Sunset]

For me, the Seddon Pennine 7. These were a common sight in parts of the Central Belt and throughout southern Scotland when new, and accounted for more than half of Lowland's fleet on its formation in 1985. They were simple, dependable, reliable (very few of them broke down on me) and frugal too, as I believe their fuel consumption was in the region of 20mpg. The manual version in particular was a delight to travel in and I still remember the drone when setting off then becoming a whine as the bus picked up speed.

Part of the fun of travelling on these was watching new starts getting caught out by the two things which manual Seddons were known for: the first gear clutch judder when setting off (which either resulted in a smell of smoke and a stall, or several sets of false teeth flying down the aisle) and the angled gearbox gate which meant that it was easy to select reverse gear instead of first, which would only then become apparent to the driver when he released the handbrake and the bus shot off backwards.

Agreed, good solid buses. I was warned about the gearbox and taught the trick was to put it in 2nd and then over to 1st to avoid embarrassment .

 

[Lewisham2221]

Although I have never travelled on one, I think that the Optare Tempo was a very striking looking bus. Likewise the Excel; they looked so different from anything else.

I believe they were both notoriously unreliable, hence why so few operators ever had any. The few operators that did, tended to have quite large/concentrated fleets of them which no doubt maid it easier to tackle the maintenance issues.


As for what I miss/will miss:

Volvo B7TL/Wright Gemini 1 combination is probably the most comfortable service bus I've ever driven or travelled on.

Not always the most reliable or best performing, but always enjoyed both driving and travelling on the Optare Solo.

Ultimately though, I probably miss the various Mercedes Benz minibuses of the (late 1980's-)1990's the most. They cost practically peanuts for operators to run, were fairly reliable and were nimble and agile enough to operate virtually anywhere. Always enjoyed the sound of the engine/gearbox too. It's a shame they all had to go, the UK bus industry would probably be in a far better state now than it is if they had been able to hang around a bit longer.

 

[MotCO]

I believe they were both notoriously unreliable, hence why so few operators ever had any. The few operators that did, tended to have quite large/concentrated fleets of them which no doubt maid it easier to tackle the maintenance issues.

I certainly heard that the Excel was not reliable, but there are a number of operators who seem to be amassing Tempos (I thnink Lynx in Norfolk is one), and they seem to be the staple fare on many Traws Cymru routes.

 

[DunsBus]

Agreed, good solid buses. I was warned about the gearbox and taught the trick was to put it in 2nd and then over to 1st to avoid embarrassment .

That was the trick used up here too by those drivers who knew about it. To overcome the clutch judder, if I'm correct, the trick there was not to let it up too quickly and to apply some throttle at the same time.

 

[43055]

I will miss the Scania L94UB/Wright Solar buses at TrentBarton. They were supposed to be gone at the end of 2022 but a number of vehicle issues and service increases have kept four of them on the road for now

Agreed especially as they were the buses on my local trent route for a good few years. Will also miss the B7RLE's that we have now once they go.

 

[JD2168]

If the current vehicles about the most missable versions will be the Volvo B9TL Gemini’s both mark 1&2 & the Volvo B7RLE’s with Wright Eclipse bodywork.

From history the ones I miss the most are Dennis Dominators, Volvo B10M’s with Alexander PS bodywork particularly the Mainline ones with Voith Gearbox & Volvo B10BLE Wright Renown’s.

All versions mentioned so much better than current StreetDeck’s & StreetLite’s.

 

[Andyh82]

I would agree with the second generation Wrightbus products - the B9TL/Gemini (the B7TL feels a bit old now particularly how loud the fans always are) and the B7RLE single deck will be missed. Both have been replaced by products that are just not as good. I think the operators see them as solid vehicles that they will get as much out of as possible.

 

[alex397]

I think I’ll be sad when the last of the Wright bodies designs that started in the 90s until the mid 2000s go. Their body design just seemed perfect in my view.

It also seems the Mercedes Benz Citaro is becoming rarer in the UK. They seem like a ‘proper’ bus to me, and there used to be loads but they are gradually being withdrawn now, and new ones just arn’t being ordered.
The only new order I’m aware of is for articulated examples at Stansted Airport for parking shuttles.

 

[K219UHA]

VDL SB200, Wright Pulsar 1 and 2 for me, not a fan of modern buses but these sound good and go well on the right route and driver.

 

[Cambus731]

I do miss seeing First Essex's last Dennis Dart. ie 42935. She outlasted her sisters by several weeks and did seem to be on a kind of protracted 'farewell tour' where she appeared on most routes operated by Chelmsford depot. Including inter urban routes such as the 351 to Brentwood.

 

[VioletEclipse]

The Wright Eclipse Urban 1 B7RLE, Gemini 1 B7TL, Darts and Tridents all seem much better built than many newer models. I will miss the Gemini 2s and Eclipse 2s too. Volvo 7900s still seem brand new but aren't too far off being withdrawn now. I currently don't think the newer models (for example MMCs) are very popular and part of me wouldn't miss them, but many times I've not been fond of a type of bus when it's new and then have grown fonder of them as they've got older.