Stagecoach bus with train style seats

[158757]

I recall coming across a photo a few years ago of a Stagecoach single decker bus, I think it was an Alexander Dash bodied dart, with an unusual interior of chapman seats in NSE blue blaze moquette. IIRC it was in the SWT colour scheme, either as a rail replacement or as a feeder service from a non rail connected town.

I think the original interior and exterior photos were on the long gone fotopic, but I was talking about this to someone the other day and can't find any evidence of it.

Did anyone else see these photos and can confirm I'm not just imagining it, or even the bus itself?

 

[mbonwick]

32719 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelwadman/22735956548/

 

[158757]

That's the one, thanks @mbonwick!

 

[mbonwick]

No problem. Googled a bit more and I'm not sure it actually lasted long enough to get a national fleetnumber, passing to Solent Blueline in 2004.
Probably more accurate to refer to it as Hampshire 5004!

Nice avatar btw @158757 , I always was a fan of the B10Bs when Lancaster had them. Pity they didn't get off Uni work too much!

 

[158757]

Stagecoach South (Ex Busways) 32719 K719 PCN

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This photo suggests it did last long enough (just!), certainly an interesting vehicle nontheless.

I too enjoyed the B10B's at Lancaster, they were there when I was from 2008-2010, back when the fleet was an interesting mix of the MAN ALX300's, a few Sxxx BWC tridents, a few olympians and the odd B10M and B6. Even the route numbers made sense back then, apart from when they used to change the X1 from going direct to via Bowerham and back again every 2 months!

 

[DB]

Have train seats been used in any other buses? Even without armrests I would have though it would be tight for space as buses tend to be narrower than trains.

 

[richw]

Have train seats been used in any other buses? Even without armrests I would have though it would be tight for space as buses tend to be narrower than trains.

A 158/159 (using this class simply as it was the first confirmed source I found) is 2.7m wide, most buses now are 2.55m wide,

 

[Roger1973]

Have train seats been used in any other buses? Even without armrests I would have though it would be tight for space as buses tend to be narrower than trains.

I think this particular Dennis Dart had standard bus seats, but re-upholstered in railway moquette, rather than having seats from a train.

Theoretically, it might work to fit the 2 seats from a 3+2 style train in to a bus, although in practice there are 'construction and use' regulations around bus seats and their spacing, so they may need too many modifications for there to be any point in doing it.

I believe that preserved AEC Regal FV 4548 has ex railway carriage seats exterior / interior photos (photos by Gavin Francis on Oxford Chiltern Bus Page) - It did run for Quantock Motor Services / Quantock Heritage for a while, but I'm not sure if it had PSV status at the time.

Conversely, I faintly remember one or two Southern Region EPB units having some bays (or may have been compartments) with seats done in London Transport RT / RF bus moquette (as in this photo from Ensignbus' website) - all I can assume is that LT had a stock of that moquette left when the last RT / RF buses were withdrawn, and that BR were happy to make use of it.

 

[fgwrich]

I think this particular Dennis Dart had standard bus seats, but re-upholstered in railway moquette, rather than having seats from a train.

Theoretically, it might work to fit the 2 seats from a 3+2 style train in to a bus, although in practice there are 'construction and use' regulations around bus seats and their spacing, so they may need too many modifications for there to be any point in doing it.

I believe that preserved AEC Regal FV 4548 has ex railway carriage seats exterior / interior photos (photos by Gavin Francis on Oxford Chiltern Bus Page) - It did run for Quantock Motor Services / Quantock Heritage for a while, but I'm not sure if it had PSV status at the time.

Conversely, I faintly remember one or two Southern Region EPB units having some bays (or may have been compartments) with seats done in London Transport RT / RF bus moquette (as in this photo from Ensignbus' website) - all I can assume is that LT had a stock of that moquette left when the last RT / RF buses were withdrawn, and that BR were happy to make use of it.

Although I can't find any interior photos, they certainly are Rail seats - the erstwhile Chapman seat well favoured by TOCs at the time, and finding they way into 142/143/150/153/156/158/317s.

 

[DB]

Although I can't find any interior photos, they certainly are Rail seats - the erstwhile Chapman seat well favoured by TOCs at the time, and finding they way into 142/143/150/153/156/158/317s.

168, 170 and 442 as well! Think the NMT also has them in its staff coach.

It's not possible to be certain from that photo above, but they certainly look like them.

As regards the point above about regulations- this might well bean issue now, but probably wasn't A few decades ago.

 

[mbonwick]

Whether they were proper "train" seats, or a slimmed down version for road use - they were definitely Chapman seats, and definitely retro-fitted to 32719.
The entire batch were new with traditional bench seats, with both 716 and 719 being reseated when they went onto SWT RailLinks work.

Interestingly, 716 was then converted back to bench seats at some point in its later life with Solent Blue Line.

 

[MotCO]

Interestingly, 716 was then converted back to bench seats at some point in its later life with Solent Blue Line.

Maybe the train wanted its seats back

 

[robertclark125]

In the late 1980s, rennies of dunfermline had a Leyland leopard, which had train seats in it.

 

[randyrippley]

Stagecoach South (Ex Busways) 32719 K719 PCN

Explore royalmailman's 13828 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

This photo suggests it did last long enough (just!), certainly an interesting vehicle nontheless.

I too enjoyed the B10B's at Lancaster, they were there when I was from 2008-2010, back when the fleet was an interesting mix of the MAN ALX300's, a few Sxxx BWC tridents, a few olympians and the odd B10M and B6. Even the route numbers made sense back then, apart from when they used to change the X1 from going direct to via Bowerham and back again every 2 months!

When first introduced to Lancaster the B6 only lasted a few months, as the drivers refused to work them after they found handling problems going down Hala Hill. When braking downhill on wet or icy road conditions the weight of the rear engine would spin the bus, with the back end trying to overtake the front. They were rapidly replaced by B10M's, and any that filtered back later were kept away from Hala

 

[Boo_]

Maybe they were the same seats used on 142 refits
As they would have been same size as bus seats as the old 142 sets was bus seats Afterall.