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double deck bus windows

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MrPIC

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Hey guys, does anyone know what the bars are on the top deck front windows (usually on the left)? Is it to stop trees bashing the windows? You can see what I mean on the new routemaster on the top deck front left.
Thanks
 
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heart-of-wessex

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I'd imagine that's what they are for on Borismasters. The bars on the Enviro 400s are tree whackers as I'd imagine other models are too
 

MCR247

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Double decks that run on narrow country roads often have them (retro)fitted to the right side as well if not already present
 

pemma

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Double decks that run on narrow country roads often have them (retro)fitted to the right side as well if not already present

First Huddersfield had them fitted to some R reg deckers they were using over 10 years ago, so not a new thing.

I remember occasionally getting elderly Leyland deckers back when I was travelling on school buses. It included travelling down a tree lined road which rarely saw any deckers or large lorries and in Summer when the windows were open it was common to get leaves and parts of branches making their way on to the bus.
 

TheGrandWazoo

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Tree deflectors are relatively new. In the past, companies would indulge in tree lopping and might use a specific vehicle or an open topper out of season.

Various reasons such as H&S and conservation orders on specific trees make it more difficult to tree lop though IIRC, First Leeds borrowed a Weymouth open topper to do some trimming and chopping last winter
 

carlberry

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Tree deflectors are relatively new. In the past, companies would indulge in tree lopping and might use a specific vehicle or an open topper out of season.

Various reasons such as H&S and conservation orders on specific trees make it more difficult to tree lop though IIRC, First Leeds borrowed a Weymouth open topper to do some trimming and chopping last winter
I think it’s an area where only solicitors will gain anything! In theory the council/highways agency should remove the blockage to the highway but usually don’t have the resources and have other priorities. I don’t think bus companies can do it themselves now without agreement from the council or owner of the trees involved (partly for the conservation orders problem).

A big problem is that if a branch gets bashed often, but doesn’t get lopped, then it will get gradually stronger at the point that it gets bashed until it’s strong enough to cause real damage.
 

SpacePhoenix

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Tree deflectors are relatively new. In the past, companies would indulge in tree lopping and might use a specific vehicle or an open topper out of season.

Various reasons such as H&S and conservation orders on specific trees make it more difficult to tree lop though IIRC, First Leeds borrowed a Weymouth open topper to do some trimming and chopping last winter

Some bus companies have had them on their buses for many years, the original generation of Optare Spectras down this was have always had them. Wilts & Dorset have had their own tree lopper bus for a good few years, don't know if it gets loaned out to the other bus companies in the wider area also owned by Go-Ahead
 

TheGrandWazoo

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Some bus companies have had them on their buses for many years, the original generation of Optare Spectras down this was have always had them. Wilts & Dorset have had their own tree lopper bus for a good few years, don't know if it gets loaned out to the other bus companies in the wider area also owned by Go-Ahead

Relatively new to me is the last 25 years!

W&D had a bespoke tree lopper - a converted Bristol LH!!
 

quarella

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An operator who cited overhanging trees, amongst other reasons for ceasing their bus operation.

http://www.northsomersetcoaches.co.uk/November2013.htm

I’ve also been asking Bath & North East Somerset Council to cut overhanging trees on the 191 route for six months but they will not carry out this statutory duty and are happy for passengers to be placed at risk of injury.

At the same time vehicles are shaken to pieces by poorly maintained roads and have their roofs and paintwork damaged by overhanging trees and vegetation. Any concerns raised are brushed off as immaterial or inconsequential, yet they are the essentials that affect punctuality, reliability and safety on the road and the Traffic Commissioners will still have no powers over these root causes of delays to services.
 

BestWestern

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This is a particularly concerning issue now, as the current generation of double deckers are sufficiently flimsy that the entire roof is likely to be ripped off if struck by a moderately sized tree branch. This has been demonstrated a number of times in London.
 

Antman

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This is a particularly concerning issue now, as the current generation of double deckers are sufficiently flimsy that the entire roof is likely to be ripped off if struck by a moderately sized tree branch. This has been demonstrated a number of times in London.

The bodywork absorbing the impact normally results in less injuries to passengers and so is considered the lesser of two evils.
 

BestWestern

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That's a good point. But some years ago one might have expected a disagreement with a tree to result in a simple crunched front corner rather than a fullscale decapitation of thr bus, which you might argue protects the passengers even more!
 

NorthernSpirit

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I do remember First Huddersfield (possibly Halifax too) who once made their own deflectors and fitted them to pretty much all of the Leyland / Volvo 'boneshakers' they had.

After some six months of them being in use some were in good condition, some were bent, one was torn off just leaving two horizontal metal bars with absolutley no protection for the poor sod sat at the top left.

Even one of the Waterloo based Olympians had one which was also torn off after striking a branch, luckily the window wasn't smashed as the branch struck the deflector thus snapping it from its weld.
 

fgwrich

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causton

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Stagecoach does still have one in their South fleet - a former Southdown Bristol VR - JWV251W - Unfortunately it requires the driver to have a HGV license to drive it as opposed to a normal bus license (Bit of a shame as we've tried to hire it!).

https://www.flickr.com/photos/29485695@N02/9079198600

What is the reason behind that?!? Surely a bus is a bus, unless they removed every passenger seat and somehow...

A local operator to me, Sullivan Buses, recently bought some new (well, 2009 reg) buses provisionally to use on a Watford-Borehamwood service, however after a number of broken windscreens they had to revert to single deck or older buses which are cheaper to replace the windscreens of!
 

carlberry

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What is the reason behind that?!? Surely a bus is a bus, unless they removed every passenger seat and somehow...
At a guess the mods that they've made to it would mean it can no longer get a class VI MOT so it's been tested as a lorry. Because of it's age it could be driven on a car licence, however I suspect that Stagecoach's insurance wouldnt cover that usage.
 

BestWestern

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At a guess the mods that they've made to it would mean it can no longer get a class VI MOT so it's been tested as a lorry. Because of it's age it could be driven on a car licence, however I suspect that Stagecoach's insurance wouldnt cover that usage.

Stagecoach are self insured, so I'm rather surprised they don't allow the relevent staff to drive it on that basis assuming they also posses a bus licence.
 

DaleCooper

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I just assumed they were carrying handles in case of breakdown. I once asked a driver what they were for but he didn't know.
 

Rick1984

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Both Great Yarmouth and Isles of Wight buses have deflectors on both sides, due to abundance of narrow lanes their buses operate on.

I saw a right old banger of an open top bus in Ryde station that I think might have been a tree cutting bus. No pics I'm afraid.
 

SpacePhoenix

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Both Great Yarmouth and Isles of Wight buses have deflectors on both sides, due to abundance of narrow lanes their buses operate on.

I saw a right old banger of an open top bus in Ryde station that I think might have been a tree cutting bus. No pics I'm afraid.

It might have been one used for one of their "Breezer" tour routes (can't think of the name of the tour that goes right round the island). It probably gets used as a school bus outside of the main holiday season
 

Peter Mugridge

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I suspect the bus in question is a Lodekka they have kept for heritage purposes; the day to day open top service these days ( Breezer is the Yarmouth to Needles Pleasure Park at Alum Bay open top service; route 7A??? ) is run with - I think - Olympians.

The Lodekkas were used on that until only a few years ago.

The round the island route ( route 7??? ) is operated with standard fully enclosed double deckers.
 

BestWestern

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Southern Vectis' vehicles are generally fairly smart and tidy. The open top fleet now includes a 2008 Scania low floor double decker, with the rest being Northern Counties bodied Olympans. All are, in my experience, well turned out. School contracts are generally fulfilled by the neely developed Vectos Blue arm, which operates a very modern fleet of dedicated vehicles.

Some sort of tree lopper or anciliary vehicle would be my guess here.
 

61653 HTAFC

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I do remember First Huddersfield (possibly Halifax too) who once made their own deflectors and fitted them to pretty much all of the Leyland / Volvo 'boneshakers' they had.

After some six months of them being in use some were in good condition, some were bent, one was torn off just leaving two horizontal metal bars with absolutley no protection for the poor sod sat at the top left.

Even one of the Waterloo based Olympians had one which was also torn off after striking a branch, luckily the window wasn't smashed as the branch struck the deflector thus snapping it from its weld.

Apologies for the pedantry, but Waterloo was never a First/Yorkshire Rider depot: it was always the NBC/Yorkshire Traction/County Motors/Stagecoach/Centrebus/Yorkshire Tiger Base.
 

AB93

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Southern Vectis' Needles Tour is now run by converted Volvo B7TL/Plaxton Presidents. Prior to 2014, it had been run with Olympians for many years - the Lodekkas came off quite a while ago now.

The Downs Tour and spare buses are Volvo Olympians.
The Shanklin Steamer is usually the recently converted Scania OmniCity (so coverted after an engine fire).

There is no longer a round the island bus route (gone in the April 2006 review after Go-Ahead took over).

The 'Island Coaster', using ex-London B7TL/Presidents, does run a few trips from Ryde to Yarmouth along the eastern/southern coast of the island however.

The treelopper seen is probably 'Vlad the Impaler', an ex-Wilts & Dorset Olympian. Seen here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/richard_rka/13388909255/
 

Crossover

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Arriva Yorkshire certainly had them as long as 10 years ago - that was probably when double deckers become the mainstay on our route so they may have been around before and I wouldn't have known. I am also sure they are to deflect trees - some have them only on the left whereas some have them on both sides

Seems like there are some trains that could do with them as recently I have been on a few that have given the lineside growth a good battering!
 

SpacePhoenix

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Arriva Yorkshire certainly had them as long as 10 years ago - that was probably when double deckers become the mainstay on our route so they may have been around before and I wouldn't have known. I am also sure they are to deflect trees - some have them only on the left whereas some have them on both sides

Seems like there are some trains that could do with them as recently I have been on a few that have given the lineside growth a good battering!

The trains on the Lymington branch could do with them!
 

NorthernSpirit

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Apologies for the pedantry, but Waterloo was never a First/Yorkshire Rider depot: it was always the NBC/Yorkshire Traction/County Motors/Stagecoach/Centrebus/Yorkshire Tiger Base.

Sorry, I didn't make my post clear.

As when I was refering to Waterloo, I did mean Stagecoach.
 
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