Weren't the West Midlands ones built with MB bodies? UVG were supposed to finish them off but they went bust so MB did the trimming etc themselves in the UK?
I remember they were good machines - based mainly in Birmingham originally but also in West Brom where they ran the 404 to Walsall; in later years, think they appeared elsewhere in the Black Country. During the lost years where NXWM weren't that great, they weren't as well presented as they might have been.
Travel West Midlands did have a substantial batch of O405Ns, 193 from new in fact (a few of which had bodywork finished by UVG before that company went bust; the rest being finished by Mercedes themselves at Tankersley). They also acquired an ex-demostrator (S343 MOJ, which became 1743) after the loss of native S623 VUK (1623) in a fire at West Bromwich garage in March 2001; 343 had been on loan to TWM at that time to cover for warranty/modification work on their own O405Ns.
Indeed. I'd say the Ailsa is more underrated south of the border - barring Black Prince, the famous West Midlands PTE examples, the South Yorkshire Van-Hools and the London A-SUU trio - as they were far more popular in Scotland. Glasgow/Strathclyde and Dundee in particular were both meccas for the type.
I was quite impressed with one of those when I travelled on one of Carousel's, on a route to High Wycombe.
A number operated in Coventry including the "bendy" version, see here:
I should've remembered them and the bendis especially as I used to see them regularly when I worked near the RicohA number operated in Coventry including the "bendy" version, see here:
A pair of MAN 18.220s (X83 AAK/2006 & YN03 XXS/2007) with this style of body operated with McColls of Balloch on SPT-subsidized services in/around the Vale of Leven, Helensburgh, Luss & Balmaha (numbered 305/306/309) for a time in the late 2000s, carrying SPT's Carmine/Cream livery to that effect. Looked rather fetching in those colors I thought (linked image copyright of Flickr's 1276-busstop) despite being among the most unusual vehicles to carry the livery.Another bus that impressed me but only sold in low numbers to independent operators, the Ikarus Polaris 489 bodied DAF SB220..
I've done a few trips across Lancashire with the above example and although the passenger seats could have done with a bit more padding it felt pretty solid. This bus as well as it's sister spent 6 or 7 years constantly ploughing across the A59 without many issues.
Blue Bus of Penwortham also had a few in their fleet which eventually went to Arriva in Yorkshire. Aztecbird used to have one or two as well that ran to Leeds Bradford Airport. Along with the two Tyrer Bus had I think that's all they sold in the UK. Don't think there's any left now, although an ex-Arriva one has gone back to Hungary for preservation.
Think it gets my none prestigious meaningless award for the best looking bus of it's time too.
www.flickr.com
Don't think you can call the worlds best-selling bus at approx 60,000 as under-rated to be honest.
The ones fitted with the 6 cylinder Cummins engines have no shortage of power either. I've found the Solo SRs to be quite well built with few rattles. People give them lots of hate but it is a design that has proven reliable and has stood the test of time. Ones built prior to 04 plate with the older Allison gearbox are known to be very tuneful.Going out on a limb here, but here goes..... the Optare Solo!
Yes, really!
They seem to get flak from all directions, but they were actually a superb bit of design concept and were about the only even vaguely convincing low floor minibus package that anyone has managed to produce so far. Refinement was lacking, but they were a hell of a step forwards from the Merc breadvans that they replaced. I always found them interesting and pleasant things to drive!
I think Liverpool had them along with the Neoplan N4009, Arriva North West seemed to like rarities, I don't think there was much wrong with the Neoplans either, maybe the reason they were so under rated was that it was such a small sub fleet that it was hard to get bits for them if anything went wrrong.Another bus that impressed me but only sold in low numbers to independent operators, the Ikarus Polaris 489 bodied DAF SB220..
I've done a few trips across Lancashire with the above example and although the passenger seats could have done with a bit more padding it felt pretty solid. This bus as well as it's sister spent 6 or 7 years constantly ploughing across the A59 without many issues.
Blue Bus of Penwortham also had a few in their fleet which eventually went to Arriva in Yorkshire. Aztecbird used to have one or two as well that ran to Leeds Bradford Airport. Along with the two Tyrer Bus had I think that's all they sold in the UK. Don't think there's any left now, although an ex-Arriva one has gone back to Hungary for preservation.
Think it gets my none prestigious meaningless award for the best looking bus of it's time too.
What stick did they receive back in the day? I’ve never heard a bad word about the Trident. In fact I think they’re a bit overrated.
I've always thought they were regarded as a bit inferior to the Volvo B7 alternative. Thought of as a bit of a Dart-esque lightweight, perhaps?
Yes, they were the one, I swear I remember a Leyland logo, maybe I was thinking of something else very similar. Also maybe in my part of the world (Solent to Bath/Bristol, broadly) there were not so many examples.
Yes, that's the one. They were widely used on Southampton services in the 90s, originally they ran on the 52 to Petersfield (which was Citybus operated for a while) but in perhaps the mid-90s started being used (mixed with Atlantean(?) double-deckers) on a wide range of city routes. Still used in the early 00s on the 8/8A which featured quite a range of types on various diagrams: Atlanteans(?) on some journeys and the smaller 'Eco-Bus' single-decker on others.As for the Lynx, Southampton one also pictured below!
(Neither are my own pics!)
For the size of vehicle the capacity is very poor, a standard Panther of the same size offers around 15 more seats and a toilet. They're also underpowered and struggle with the hills on the M90, ideally they should've been built on the B11RLE chassis instead of the B8RLE.
It was a bus far in advance of its time with technological innovations, etc. The trouble was that few operators outside the big cities required (or thought they required) these advances, or were willing to pay for them. Anti-London bias also probably played a part, but the Park Royal workforce didn't help matters exactly. When London Transport pitted Titan v Metrobus at Sidcup garage the Titan was the winner by a country mile in most respects!
Yup, they were indeed a Leyland (and later Volvo!) product
Solent Blue Line had a good few, picture below! So'ton City Bus soldiered on with their Atlanteans into Firstgroup ownership and they never really bought the next generation of deckers, First eventually replacing the Atlanteans with their standard Volvo low floor single deckers.Cardiff Bus had a load of them. They flew up Penylan Hill as if it were level ground. Likewise the hills on the 49 and 50 to Llanrumney. A few of the second series were sold to a company near Shrewsbury in 2008. They turned up on rail replacements from Shrewsbury towards Aberystwyth a few times.
Cardiff Bus had 36 of them and bought a few more second hand. They are the longest serving fleet to date running from 1982 to 2007. The low floor Dennis Darts almost caught up (1997 to 2022) although no individual vehicle came close. The S reg Darts went a few years ago.
IIRC they gained the Frydent moniker due to a number of fires. I remember a mechanic commenting that they drank engine oil when I queried the bus getting a daily top-up of almost 10 litres!
They even became as good as the standard double-deck for Merseybus once withdrawals from London got underway.
I’m quite a fan of the Citaro. They can have a bit of a wierd seating layout, but they have a much smoother ride than a lot of the light-weight rubbish that is sadly popular with operators in the UK. It doesn’t feel like it’s going to fall apart when it goes along a bumpy road or when the engine is idling.
