Trivia: Nicknames / slang that are widely accepted?

[Kremlin Stooge]

I was at uni in Bristol in late 90s and still clearly remember the single deck buses (two piece windscreen sloped on the drivers side) that went like **** off a stick. Drivers always seemed to just floor them and they really accelerated well. Some kind of Leyland I think?

That sounds like Leyland Lynxes - credit to photographer

Cityline Leyland Lynx LH1648 H648YHT

September 2nd 1993

www.flickr.com

Yes, definitely a Lynx and indeed they did go like the proverbial out of a trombone! Depot gossip had it that was possible to pull a ‘wheelie’ with one, though I never witnessed this or certainly never tried to attempt it.

Another nickname from Bristol (I think it may be quite widespread): a particularly elderly or decrepit vehicle was known as a “shed”.

Overtime was “grabbing” here as well.

 

[Typhoon]

Lowland's Nationals and Dominators were nicknamed "Nasties" and "Detonators" respectively by some drivers.

When I lived in the West Midlands, I heard Nationals referred to as 'Dustbins'.

 

[PG]

I'm not sure if this is still the case, but I recall being in conversation (probably mid- to late-eighties) with an Aberdeen-based Northern driver who referred to city routes as "The Track"

These days any Stagecoach driver who's on "the track" is doing a service 59 Northfield - Torry.

 

[DunsBus]

I've heard of Eastern Scottish and Citylink inspectors being referred to as 'sharks'.

When I lived in the West Midlands, I heard Nationals referred to as 'Dustbins'.

Which reminds me - Lothian Olympian 321 and SMT Tiger 321 were both nicknamed 'Dusty Bin'.

 

[Planesandtrain]

At the London Bus Company we only really have one bus with a nickname:

RT3062- Sawdust, this bus is mechanically tip-top as it was used by London Transport as a trainer for many years, the drivers love it as it has really light steering, but the reason for this is that the bodywork hasn't been overhauled in years giving a rather knackered looking appearance. The joke between crews is that the woodworms are holding the bodywork together. But we all love that bus.

 

[Jordan Adam]

These days any Stagecoach driver who's on "the track" is doing a service 59 Northfield - Torry.

Some also call it the "racing track" which is pretty fitting given how fast some like to go along Westburn Road... There's also "Track And Jet" which refers to the city rotas.

 

[PG]

I recall, back before Stagecoach bought them, that Strathtay's 540 Leopard/Y-type was known as the combine as it had a worn air compressor which made a clattering noise rather like, er a combine harvester.

 

[Master Cutler]

Many years ago I recall my mother referring to the bus service between Meliden, Ffryth Beach and Prestatyn as the Toast Racks.
I believe these were operated by Crossville and single deck roofless Albion busses.

 

[trebor79]

That sounds like Leyland Lynxes - credit to photographer

Cityline Leyland Lynx LH1648 H648YHT

September 2nd 1993

www.flickr.com

Yes, definitely a Lynx and indeed they did go like the proverbial out of a trombone! Depot gossip had it that was possible to pull a ‘wheelie’ with one, though I never witnessed this or certainly never tried to attempt it.

Overtime was “grabbing” here as well.

Yep, those were the buses! Probably could pull a wheelie if you floored it at the top of Park Street or Black Boy Hill!

"Grabbing" I think is a fairly widespread thing in the west. When I managed part of a factory in Newark there was a guy from Shropshire who was always after overtime "I don't want you to think I'm a grabbing so and so Rob, but have you got any extra hours for me?".

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

an Aberdeen-based Northern driver who referred to city routes as "The Track".

Reminds me that Sheil Road Circulars in Liverpool are known "The Belt" as it feels like you're on a continuous conveyor belt.

 

[Ken H]

Yorkshire Traction was generally known as 'Tracky', and The Executors of Samuel Ledgard was known as 'Sammys'

 

[DunsBus]

The Van Hool McArdle-bodied Ailsas which were bought by Eastern Scottish at deregulation soon had various nicknames given to them by Edinburgh-area enthusiasts. Some which I can recall are "whistlers", "screamers", "growlers" and "the singing buses".

 

[delt1c]

When I worked for LT in 70's and 80's there were many slang terms
Overtime was called "Corn"
Following the bus in front at distance (so they picked up the passengers ) was "Measuring them off".
Not stopping at a compulsory stop was "Jumping a stop".
Deliberately loosing time was "Scratching" which ultimatley led to a "Turn" getting terminated at an earlier point.
If a bus brokedown it was a "Mechanical"

 

[mb88]

Believe it's "scratching" in London.

'Punching up' in the part of London I worked.

We also had 'docket chaser' for a driver who would deliberately run late in order to claim an overtime docket.

 

[broadwater]

London : bus-spotter = "crank"

 

[Taunton]

One of the most widely used nicknames is "Bendy" for an articulated vehicle. Sure the manufacturers never used this term. I even heard it in Australia.

 

[Steelwheels]

Reminds me that Sheil Road Circulars in Liverpool are known "The Belt" as it feels like you're on a continuous conveyor belt.

The former 92 route now the 62 in Liverpool was lovingly referred to as the wall of death, because you went around and around and around.........
And the 68's known as the magical mystery tour as it goes practically everywhere........

 

[Geordie driver]

Tea and biscuits on Tyneside = an attempted bollocking/ disciplinary from management.

 

[PG]

Tea and biscuits on Tyneside = an attempted bollocking/ disciplinary from management.

Surely that'd be - Tea, NO biscuits!

In North East Scotland been called upstairs was used for the same, since managements offices were never on the ground floor lest they have to get their hands dirty

 

[Geordie driver]

Surely that'd be - Tea, NO biscuits!

In North East Scotland been called upstairs was used for the same, since managements offices were never on the ground floor lest they have to get their hands dirty

There was no tea either.

I was an expert on stretching discussions out until my run had been cancelled, if they wanted to bollock me it was in their time, not mine.

 

[PG]

There was no tea either.

I was an expert on stretching discussions out until my run had been cancelled, if they wanted to bollock me it was in their time, not mine.

Ha ha

I remember one time I was invited upstairs to explain my actions. Company had used an out of area inspector to covertly travel on my bus, said guy duly presented his report which management tried to batter me with. Turned out I wasn't even driving that day, never mind that bus. I'd swapped my day off with my union rep who was upstairs sat next to me Due to the ***k up with the investigation they couldn't use it against him since it was me they were after - happy days

 

[341o2]

The original London trolleybuses - of which no 1 is preserved, were widely known as "Diddlers", most likely because passengers thought they were boarding a motorbus, only to hear electrical sounds.
London Country buses in the Oxted, Westerham and Edenbridge area were known as "the Puppy bus" or "the little bus", especially with regard to the GS and BL classes.
"Dragging the road" was used in respect of a driver who ran his bus so as to lose time (London).
London's "Shoplinker" service has been referred to as the Shoplifter service
In replacing London's bendybuses, by the Mayor of London, now our PM, alleging that they were dangerous to cyclists, proceeded to design an updated Routemaster, known as the "Borismaster"
There was a batch of trolleybuses in Walsall, Sunbeams, which were the first 30' long two axle vehicles in the country, known as "Goldfish bowls" due to the wraparound front windscreens.
I believe many Newcastle trolleybuses had nicknames such as "Gosforth buses", "Doodlebugs" and Q2's (as they were identical to LT class Q1)

 

[mb88]

When I worked for Metrobus out of their Orpington garage, a phrase often heard over the radio was 'debris in the road'. This was the controllers' subtle way of warning drivers of a police speed trap at a certain location, since they were not allowed to say there was a police speed trap. I was some months into my spell there when I was told what this meant, having spent a lot of time looking all over for this 'debris in the road'.

 

[TheManWho]

Strathclyde's later Ailsas delivered from 1981 onwards gained the nickname Alphas, derived from the A type-code used for them. Not sure if the nickname was ever applied to the examples delivered in the mid/late 70s (the AVs) during the GGPTE era.

More broadly, Volvo B7Ls gained the Toilet Box nickname due to the unusual layout of the cooling system into the passenger cabin that made them look like they were carting a toilet cubicle about. I think the nickname mainly applied to the single-deck saloons and not the small number of double-deck B7Ls built (am mainly thinking of the First Glasgow tri-axle Nordics here as I'm most familar with those, I know there are/were others), but am willing to be corrected on that last point.


The bolded nickname was also used for ex-London Northern Counties Dominators parachuted into the First Glasgow fleet in the early 2000s during the Overground era (as such, most were branded for the 41 between Drumchapel & Easterhouse). Being run into the ground before arriving and as such being regarded as inferior when compared to the native Volvo B10M Citybuses (the former AHs) no doubt led to them gaining that unenviable nickname. One wonders if it was used to refer to Dominators operating outwith Scotland.

We used to call the exact same Dominators "Detonators" before they left us to go to Glasgow. There was one (H251KVX) which couldn't be driven on the Motorway up to Glasgow as it wouldn't go fast enough

 

[Mikey C]

The London bendy bus Citaros got the nickname "Chariots of Fire" after a number of fires

 

[Steelwheels]

The MTL (Merseybus) Volvo B10B's were often referred to as the BLOBS by staff........

 

[PG]

Strathtay's breakdown team were nicknamed the Fast Action Response Team...