Bristol RE Thrash on Rail Replacement

Eastern National ECW rebody 819 XUP (VHK 177L) between Warrington Bank Quay and Manchester on 04/05/09.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Bristol
• RE
• 819XUP
• VHK177L
• Gardner
• Thrash
• Eastern
• National

[1100HondaCB]

@taxus750 I agree, Bedford were more suited to making vans and not really into the more heavier stuff, although they did give it a go, but never dominated that side of things like Leyland and Bristol etc.

[taxus750]

@critch1901 Having spent many hours on school buses in the 70s that were Duple Dominant I YRQs and YRTs (466 and non-turbo 500) you have a point - they were good for light or medium coach/ bus duties but not in the same league as REs or come to that Leopards and Nationals. But then despite oddities like the TM Bedford were never really all that well placed as heavy duty bus or lorry chassis makers, it just wasn't their forte - witness the number of TK/ TL chassis they sold vs the TM.

[1100HondaCB]

As the coach isn't on an age related registration, the passengers probably had little or no idea how old this beast was. If it was on its former registration, some might have the knowledge of age related plates to know this beast is nearly fourty years old! In 2007, I saw an old L reg mk1 National on rail replacement going to Chichester from Portsmouth.

[1100HondaCB]

@mrspivvy A former colleague use to drive Bristol VRs with a high ratio diff and he reckons they would be good for 75mph. The turbulance on a double decker at that speed must be huge, but then again a VR isn't really that much higher than a coach with a Duple body.

[mrspivvy]

@critch1901 Yes, I read about that too. Back in the day the AEC reliance was a flyer too if you had it specced right

[mrspivvy]

@taxus750 oh yes I remember it well...I used to drive with the sunroof open and back off going into tunnels then give it some boot. That wastegate whoop on changing gear was addictive! My 113 was taken off me when, with over a million on the clock it was using almost as much oil as diesel. They replaced it with a DAF 85, the swine!! 113/143 are getting very rare in the UK too although the big V8s do have a cult following on the preservation circuit

[1100HondaCB]

@taxus750 In September '92 I had just started secondary school and always caught the bus home. I remember on a bright afternoon waiting for the 13 bus in Portsmouth opposite what was Bunny's scrapyard in Fratton, when the number 117 stopped at the otherside of the road. It was a mk1 ex LT Leyland National and I loved the tickover of the 510 engine. Bearing in mind that was the first time I ever heard a mk1 National and since then, I've been hooked.

[taxus750]

@taxus750 if you like the noise of an RE try watch?v=j-SA09eBz_g

Turn the speakers up and give the kids earplugs :)

Sydney M-B O305 watch?v=xN9Tb0EqJ2s

[taxus750]

@taxus750 ... then travelled a lot on REs, LHs and VRs in Somerset. All of them had a distinct character and I could tell what bus I was getting well before it appeared. I moved to Oz 20+ years ago and though they looked weird knew some of the s/d buses in Sydney were Leopards just by the noise. The got phased out in favour of Merc-Benz O305s and sadly they're being sold off or scrapped too now - the last remaining Sydney buses that have any distinctive noise

[taxus750]

@1100HondaCB +1 on musical sounds and how almost all new kit sounds the same to me. I guess younger people today will think a Dennis Enviro sounds great in 30 years time, perhaps. I was lucky enough to be in my late teens and very early 20s when I cued into vehicle sounds and living in parts of Southdown and later WN territory. So I got used to Daimler Fleetlines, Nationals and VRs (Southdown) +/- Leopards & PD3s...