Your favourite-sounding bus?

[65477]

How about a decent (trolley) bus?

I would second that.. trolleybuses have their own distinctive sound and it was the special sound of my childhood as a trip into control London always started with a trolleybus from Edmonton townhall to Manor House station with the. Ivy covered LT offices. Have not had the chance to try out a modern battery bus to how it compares but certainly no sparking from the poles.

 

[SteveyBee131]

I would second that.. trolleybuses have their own distinctive sound and it was the special sound of my childhood as a trip into control London always started with a trolleybus from Edmonton townhall to Manor House station with the. Ivy covered LT offices. Have not had the chance to try out a modern battery bus to how it compares but certainly no sparking from the poles.

Most definitely! In my youth I volunteered at a certain museum and absolutely love the things! One of those things where I wish I was from a different era Know which was my favourite one to work, but I'm not sure which one sounded best

 

[AM9]

Most definitely! In my youth I volunteered at a certain museum and absolutely love the things! One of those things where I wish I was from a different era Know which was my favourite one to work, but I'm not sure which one sounded best

For me, it was the route 691 which was serviced by the SA fleet (the batch of vehicles ordered by South Africa immediately before the start of the second war). They were instead sent to Ilford trolley depot to run the 691 & 693 routes. They were the only eight-foot wide trolleys in London, had cold leather seats and half tinted windows. Critically, they also didn't have any depot batteries which meant that when there was a dewirement, if it was too far from the wires to be reconnected using the bamboo pole, the breakdown truck had to attend. Entertaining for children, but chaotic for traffic.

 

[Strathclyder]

My goodness that takes me back. Almost certainly ridden that bus on the E6 back in my childhood. Amazing that it lasted into Busways and even Stagecoach Busways days.

Built to last, I'd surmise! All with a soundtrack that could wake the dead!

 

[TRAX]

Anything with a Scania engine. A pity they don’t work with Voith anymore.

 

[jonesy3001]

The Leyland atlantean, miss them going around Manchester with GM Buses.

8304 TE

Thanks to richard greenfell for the pics, been after 8304 for a long time

flic.kr

 

[Zakforbes4]

Has to be a Wright Axcess Floline

(not my video) but the whine on the engines were honestly just something else.

 

[route101]

Volvo Citybus , ones at Stathclyde then later First.
Alx 400s at First Glasgow sound somewhat similar.

Alexander Y type, throaty.

The Volvo Ailsas from the 70s, strange noise when they passed.

Has to be a Wright Axcess Floline

(not my video) but the whine on the engines were honestly just something else.

I used to think them Scanias at First Glasgow were the most boring buses ha in looks at least.

 

[TechDan2002]

Gotta be Euro 3 ZF boxed Dennis Trident Plaxton Presidents for me given they were the buses that contributed significantly towards sparking my interest in buses and are what I rode to college on the most. I will sorely miss them when the last one gets withdrawn from Cornwall by KERNOWs fleet.

Shameless plug to one of my own videos here:

 

[matchmaker]

Leopard with an O680. Or a Glasgow Corpy Titan PD2/24 with an O600 attacking University Avenue from the city side!

 

[Mikey C]

London Metrobuses, they were so distinctive! Closely followed by the original engined Routemaster.

Agreed, the London Metrobuses were really musical, especially when braking

It was amazing the difference the Voith gearbox made, as the London Ts had a similar Gardner engine but sounded so different

 

[Journeyman]

Agreed, the London Metrobuses were really musical, especially when braking

It was amazing the difference the Voith gearbox made, as the London Ts had a similar Gardner engine but sounded so different

Oh, yeah! I lived in a Metrobus stronghold in the Kingston area, and for a while we had Titans on route 131. You wouldn't think they had the same engines at all. It was a completely different experience riding on those.

 

[Busaholic]

Oh, yeah! I lived in a Metrobus stronghold in the Kingston area, and for a while we had Titans on route 131. You wouldn't think they had the same engines at all. It was a completely different experience riding on those.

Got to say I thought the Titan was a superior product to the Metrobus in so many ways, but good/bad 'noise' is a very subjective subject of course. In the Titan/Metrobus comparison trials at Sidcup garage the Titan was judged the superior overall, although I accept it was a pricier product.

 

[Journeyman]

Got to say I thought the Titan was a superior product to the Metrobus in so many ways, but good/bad 'noise' is a very subjective subject of course. In the Titan/Metrobus comparison trials at Sidcup garage the Titan was judged the superior overall, although I accept it was a pricier product.

Yeah - LT couldn't get as many Titans as they wanted, so had to buy Metrobuses to make up the shortfall.

 

[Fokx]

Has to be the whistles and whines of a Voith gearbox Dennis Dart SPD

(credit: the295 2a)

 

[Strathclyder]

Has to be the whistles and whines of a Voith gearbox Dennis Dart SPD

(credit: the295 2a)

Lothian's later SPDs made similar noises. It's a soundtrack I'm familiar with (video credit to The295 2A):

One of my favorite sounding variants of the Dart platform, no doubt.

 

[Zakforbes4]

Lothian's later SPDs made similar noises. It's a soundtrack I'm familiar with (video credit to The295 2A):

One of my favorite sounding variants of the Dart platform, no doubt.

Don't JMB have a few of them

 

[Strathclyder]

Don't JMB have a few of them

They are/were a noted operator of them for quite a few years, which is where my memories of the type come from. Not sure how many they still have, as a quite a number have been moved on again in favour of either brand-new E200s or ex-Stagecoach Pointers. Haven't been to Motherwell/Hamilton on a extended visit since Sep. 2019, so can't confirm off the top of my head how many (or any period) remain.

 

[Mikey C]

Lothian's later SPDs made similar noises. It's a soundtrack I'm familiar with (video credit to The295 2A):

One of my favorite sounding variants of the Dart platform, no doubt.

I mentioned the London M class Metrobuses earlier which also have Voith Gearboxes

What is it about Voith gearboxes that makes them so musical?

 

[Strathclyder]

I mentioned the London M class Metrobuses earlier which also have Voith Gearboxes

What is it about Voith gearboxes that makes them so musical?

Voiths have always been known for being tuneful, the ones fitted to Metrobuses (both Cummins & Gardner powered) being prime examples. There are other tuneful marques of gearbox (Allison & ZF being the standouts that come to mind), but Voiths really do seem to stand alone in this regard. I couldn't tell you why myself (the specifics at least), but I'm certain someone out there will be able to.

 

[baza585]

Anything with a Gardner engine; Guy Arab or Metrobus are the faves.

 

[Mag_seven]

One of these (a photo of a Daimler Fleetline operated by Western SMT, from Flickr, photographer David Devoy)

WESTERN SMT JR2138 JAG491F | JAG491F was a Daimler Fleetline… | Flickr

As a kid we lived on a couple of Western SMT routes and I remember these different sounding buses only used to operate that service on a Sunday for some reason.

 

[EnviroExplorer]

For modern buses it’s a Dennis Trident with a Voith gearbox, which has had many other mentions here!
For something a ‘little’ more classic it’s a Leyland Lynx (Cummins L10/ZF). Especially love the distinctive axle and wheel hub whines !

Linked is the beautiful preserved Lynx F622RTC

 

[Johnnie2Sheds]

Not a bus man but: reg no 559 PT belonging to a Leicestershire bus company circa 1975 Two stroke COMMER (?) engine. You could hear it and see the blue smoke a mile distant.
Also Howletts (Quorn) had a Volvo coach with I think a Plaxton (?) body that I cleared for 100mph between Loughborough and Quorn one evening reg:KUT or PUT 313M. (only passenger BTW).
Howletts used this vehicle on services because of some tax/insurance fiddle IIRC That Volvo engine sounded so sweet.

 

[PG]

Voiths have always been known for being tuneful, the ones fitted to Metrobuses (both Cummins & Gardner powered) being prime examples.

The ones that stood out for me were the batch that Bristol Omnibus received in 1980 IIRC, allocated to Bath numbers 6000-4, DAE510-4W. They had the somewhat rarer Rolls Royce Eagle 220 engine with I believe Voith transmission. Lovely sound but I can't seem to find any recordings of them - unless anyone knows different

 

[Strathclyder]

The ones that stood out for me were the batch that Bristol Omnibus received in 1980 IIRC, allocated to Bath numbers 6000-4, DAE510-4W. They had the somewhat rarer Rolls Royce Eagle 220 engine with I believe Voith transmission. Lovely sound but I can't seem to find any recordings of them - unless anyone knows different

Didn't South Yorkshire take on some RR Eagle-powered Metrobuses, or am I thinking of the Dominators? I don't know what a RR-powered Metro sounds like, but am keen to find out. If anyone has or knows of any recordings of them 'in the wild', please share them with us if you can.

 

[PG]

Didn't South Yorkshire take on some RR Eagle-powered Metrobuses, or am I thinking of the Dominators?

I think they had a few of both with RR Eagle engines though I never got to see them.

 

[bussikuski179]

For me it’d definitely be Volvo 8700LE on a B12BLE chassis with a ZF Ecomat gearbox, the sound is amazing. It’s pure ZF basically, though the engine noise on the outside is pretty good too. https://www.google.fi/url?sa=t&rct=...=Go45BVfvzjA&usg=AOvVaw1sF4owpf2YLxgg2C2giIWS
A video link so you all can enjoy the sound of this now sadly retired bus.

 

[prod_pep]

1. Volvo B7TL with Voith gearbox
A lovely, tuneful sound epitomised by Arriva Merseyside's brilliant examples formerly used on my local 86 route. The soundtrack to university, nights out and then commutes before they were deposed by a bland, tuneless crop of rough-riding Enviro400s.

2. Leyland/Volvo Olympian with Cummins L10 engine and ZF gearbox
A fine sound and a very nostalgic. My favourite exponents were MTL's high-spec Volvos used in Southport and on the Wirral but we've had many variants on Merseyside over the years.

3. DAF DB250 with Voith gearbox
We used to have about 60 ex-London DB250s with ALX400 bodies ('DLA') hereabouts and they both sounded and rode brilliantly. An alleged lack of 'oomph' drew ire from some enthusiasts but I miss these buses.

I'd also like to nominate a least favourite:

Volvo B7TL with ZF gearbox
One of my least favourite bus types Arriva ever operated around here were the ex-London 'VLW' class. A loud and miserable wall of tuneless noise not helped by the rotten refurbishment quality from which many of these suffered. As much as the Volvo engine suits Voith gearboxes, it sounds terrible coupled with a ZF!

 

[Busaholic]

For modern buses it’s a Dennis Trident with a Voith gearbox, which has had many other mentions here!
For something a ‘little’ more classic it’s a Leyland Lynx (Cummins L10/ZF). Especially love the distinctive axle and wheel hub whines !

Linked is the beautiful preserved Lynx F622RTC

The Lynx is a very underrated bus imo. It's a shame that the name of Leyland had been so degraded in the public mind by the time it was produced that, like its near contemporary the Titan, it never stood a chance of true analysis in bus engineering circles because, as we know, it's not the engineers that have the final (or, indeed, any) say but 'management' which at the time was bound up with political placemen in many cases.