Bus Porn and a little more . . .

[usbusin]

We were blessed to be able to spend the month of September cruising/touring in the Mediterranean area, including Italy, Greece, Croatia, Turkey and our favorite, Israel.

I took as many bus pictures as my dear wife would allow!

Have fun and enjoy.

Here is the link:

https://picasaweb.google.com/106114546374594062410/BusesCarsEtc?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJ_qts6lgKPHbQ&feat=directlink

[pickpaul]

Well, now we know the source of the Greek/European debt crisis! They are bus nuts with a taste for expensive rides :-)

Maybe that's why the British are holding on ok, They're still riding in Routemasters :-) That or maybe that the Brits opted out of the Euro.

Cheers, Paul.

[usbusin]

Paul, these were all private sector buses making their money off the tourist trade, namely cruise ship tours.  We saw the public bus strikes in Athens.

[Iceni John]

Maybe that's why the British are holding on ok, They're still riding in Routemasters :-)

If only.   The venerable Routemaster is an endangered species now, only used for touristy and "heritage" services in London, and not much elsewhere.   As an example of brilliant industrial engineering it deserves to take its place next to Concorde and other ikons of good design.   I'll take a half-century old Routemaster anyday over the latest generically-identical disposabuses that have spread like a pox throughout most of the world.   I still like my ABCs  -  AEC, Bristol and Crown!

John

[Jeremy]

Funny you should liken Routemasters to aircraft...I have a large number of classic British bus magazines (not on the website yet, but will be in due course), and I happened across an advert in one from the time the last Routemasters were withdrawn from service. It was a full-page advert from the bus dealer who had been tasked with disposing of the last batch of Routemasters.

They had a set aside ten Routemasters which they were making available at a nominal cost (far below market value) to recognised and established bus preservation groups, who each had to apply to the company and make their case why they deserved one. When the ten groups were chosen they were all to be invited down to collect their buses on the same day, and were to decide amongst themselves which group got which bus.

The interesting thing was why the bus dealer said they were making this offer - because after WW2 dealers such as themselves had been heavily criticized and had their reputations damaged for years because of the hap-hazard way they had disposed of iconic aircraft such as Spitfires and Hurricanes, which led to almost all of them being sold for scrap or otherwise destroyed rather than being preserved. So, given the similarly iconic status of the Routemaster, they wanted to handle things better this time.


Jeremy

[morefire]

We were blessed to be able to spend the month of September cruising/touring in the Mediterranean area, including Italy, Greece, Croatia, Turkey and our favorite, Israel.

I took as many bus pictures as my dear wife would allow!

Have fun and enjoy.

Here is the link:

https://picasaweb.google.com/106114546374594062410/BusesCarsEtc?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJ_qts6lgKPHbQ&feat=directlink

That was Great, a real treat! My type of bus's
Thank you!! 

[Jeremy]

By the way, the photo labelled "Don't Know!!" is a MAN Noge Titanium. And spectacularly ugly they are too.

Jeremy

[morefire]

[usbusin]

Thanks, Jeremy I'll try to get the proper name on the picture.

I take it morefire that Neoplan is your favorite?

Interesting:

All the buses in Israel were automatics.  And, in Italy, Greece, Turkey and Croatia all that we rode in were manual transmission.

[morefire]

Thanks, Jeremy I'll try to get the proper name on the picture.

I take it morefire that Neoplan is your favorite?

Interesting:

All the buses in Israel were automatics.  And, in Italy, Greece, Turkey and Croatia all that we rode in were manual transmission.

Yes, LOVE the clean sleek look, LOVE the 1 piece large windshield, LOVE the headlights and Fog lights.

[artvonne]

- because after WW2 dealers such as themselves had been heavily criticized and had their reputations damaged for years because of the hap-hazard way they had disposed of iconic aircraft such as Spitfires and Hurricanes, which led to almost all of them being sold for scrap or otherwise destroyed rather than being preserved.

  At the end of the war, my Father witnessed, on many occasions, tanks and buldlozers being used to run over and flatten B-17's, P-38's, P-51's, F4-U Corsairs, B-29's, you name it. In other instances he saw engines sold off for almost nothing, like $100 for a whole airplane, lots of Allison/RR V-12's, some brand new in crates. Most of the aircraft were sold for less than the fuel in their tanks was worth.

  As sad as all that is, I believe a large part of it had to do with the Geneva Convention, and how much stuff they wanted various countries to stockpile. And then the fact that it was mostly obselete as we moved into the Jet age.

[RnMAdventures]

Great pics Gary, thanks for sharing.

[usbusin]

Great pics Gary, thanks for sharing.

Thanks, RnM I enjoyed taking them!  Also, had fun riding in them and enjoyed their skill with the manual transmission ones.  Also, their "kamikaze" driving skills on narrow, crowded, twisty roads!  The maneuverability of those buses was something else!  Going around hairpin turns; crowded and very narrow city streets was very interesting.  Do the modern North American buses have that much maneuverability?  Or are the European buses designed differently.  They seemed to have shorter wheelbases and more overhang.