Froggy55:
0Bernard was better known for their trucks, but did also produced a few coaches, like this one which is waiting for its passengers in Nevers in the late '30s.
Bernard also produced stationary engines,very robust engines they were/are too Froggy.
David
Thank-you for replying, Ray. Youâve certainly had a varied and, Iâm sure, interesting career that you obviously enjoyed and are now enjoying your memories in retirement.
You mention unrest at Ribble in around 1969. Would that have been to do with the introduction of pay as you enter buses? I seem to remember Ribble training up conductors to be drivers at that time, resulting in a few lady drivers which was something of a departure in those days.
Regarding Ernie, I was sad to learn of his passing from one of your posts a few months ago. I canât say I knew him well, but I knew of his family. His father (also Ernie) was a miner at Sutton Manor Colliery in St Helens and his mother Nellie kept a small shop near the Hare and Hounds in Billinge, at the end of a row of stone houses. The shop and houses were condemned and demolished around 1968 and the family moved onto the estate near the Running Horses. I think Ernie also had spells driving for Sankey Sugar and GKN if memory serves
Hi Ray interesting that you worked for Markland Scowcroft, my wifeâs auntie was a great friend of Mrs Rita Markland who also came from Maryport. She used to bake date loaf and send it down to Bolton for her. After her aunt died my wife kept in touch for a number of years when Mrs Markland lived in Jersey until her answering letters stopped and we presumed she had passed on. As the saying goes âits a small worldâ.
Cheers, Leyland 600
There doesnât seem to be much video of vehicles through the windows posted so, since there has been some comment on another thread, here is one of a Bristol KS5G from the front n/s seat. There is regretably some distraction from passengers talking however a good apprecitation can be had of driving a fully loaded underpowered vehicle with sliding mesh 1st and 2nd gears along a challenging route. The driver has got â â â â â â changes off to a T. Volume required.
cav551:
There doesnât seem to be much video of vehicles through the windows posted so, since there has been some comment on another thread, here is one of a Bristol KS5G from the front n/s seat. There is regretably some distraction from passengers talking however a good apprecitation can be had of driving a fully loaded underpowered vehicle with sliding mesh 1st and 2nd gears along a challenging route. The driver has got â â â â â â changes off to a T. Volume required.
If shifts are snatched it generally means left too late.
Whatâs happening at 2.20 - 3.00.
Is it an impossibly wide ratio box ?.
Or what looks like a brakes/hill to slow and gears to go approach at 2.35.
Iâd expect two downshifts there at 2.23 and 2.30 respectively at the latest.Providing the correct gears to slow for the junction and for the climb ahead.
Only one downshift there at 2.35 was late and seemed too high for for the climb that followed.
Then the upshift at 3.15 broke the rule use the same/lower gear to go down as the one youâd use to climb.So deffo wrong use of gears there too high for the descent.Especially with the hazards like the crossing pedestrians.
The downshift at 3.54 should have been made on the approach to the bend at 3.40 if not left in the lower gear all through the hazards of parked vehicles, bend and the narrowing road after that.
Then braked down at 4.14 to make a timely downshift instead of the unsympathetic and lucky panic measure at 4.33.
That certainly wasnât even the definition of a snatched shift.
Last but not least the approach to the right hand junction at 7.30 and the roundabout at 9.53.
The thing always seemed to be in at least one higher gear at most points than it should have been to me with a driver scared to downshift it properly if at all in the right places on the approach well in advance to provide the correct engine braking and the time to drop down enough gears for the job.
Compare the approach to the roundabouts for example and particularly the approach to the final junction at 2.10.Thatâs exactly how Iâve always driven trucks to cars.
youtube.com/watch?v=8hKKzOHRTPY
Kempston:
Some of London Brick old buses used to take the brickyard workers to and from work. Nmp8
London Transport AEC Regent7
London Transport AEC Regent6
City of Oxford AEC Regent5
London Transport AEC Regal4
City of Oxford AEC Regent3
City of Oxford AEC Regal2
City of Oxford AEC Regal1
City of Oxford AEC Regal0
South Wales AEC Regent
5thwheel:
Froggy55:
0Bernard was better known for their trucks, but did also produced a few coaches, like this one which is waiting for its passengers in Nevers in the late '30s.Bernard also produced stationary engines,very robust engines they were/are too Froggy.
David
Indeed. Some were used as generators by circuses. And do not forget that Bernard engines were initially Gardner 6 LW produced under licence, and then gradually rebored and upgraded to 13 litres and 185 bhp.
A single deck bus of âWarringtonsâ passing through Pemberton town centre on the A577.
Dont know much about this bus fleet, they have been operating some circular routes in
the Wigan area for the last few years. 16/3/2021.
Ray.
Ray Smyth:
A single deck bus of âWarringtonsâ passing through Pemberton town centre on the A577.
Dont know much about this bus fleet, they have been operating some circular routes in
the Wigan area for the last few years. 16/3/2021.Ray.
Are there many of these about ? Is it a standard chassis, because the ratio of front and rear overhangs to the wheelbase looks very odd to me.
Regards John.
old 67:
Ray Smyth:
A single deck bus of âWarringtonsâ passing through Pemberton town centre on the A577.
Dont know much about this bus fleet, they have been operating some circular routes in
the Wigan area for the last few years. 16/3/2021.Ray.
Are there many of these about ? Is it a standard chassis, because the ratio of front and rear overhangs to the wheelbase looks very odd to me.
Regards John.
I think itâs the short wheelbase Alexander Dennis Enviro200. Warrington have a few of them.
Dennis Javelin:
old 67:
Ray Smyth:
A single deck bus of âWarringtonsâ passing through Pemberton town centre on the A577.
Dont know much about this bus fleet, they have been operating some circular routes in
the Wigan area for the last few years. 16/3/2021.Ray.
Are there many of these about ? Is it a standard chassis, because the ratio of front and rear overhangs to the wheelbase looks very odd to me.
Regards John.
I think itâs the short wheelbase Alexander Dennis Enviro200. Warrington have a few of them.
Thanks for that. It just dosnât " stand well " to my eyes.
Regards John.
Carryfast:
If shifts are snatched it generally means left too late.
Whatâs happening at 2.20 - 3.00.
Is it an impossibly wide ratio box ?.
Or what looks like a brakes/hill to slow and gears to go approach at 2.35.
Iâd expect two downshifts there at 2.23 and 2.30 respectively at the latest.Providing the correct gears to slow for the junction and for the climb ahead.
Only one downshift there at 2.35 was late and seemed too high for for the climb that followed.
Then the upshift at 3.15 broke the rule use the same/lower gear to go down as the one youâd use to climb.So deffo wrong use of gears there too high for the descent.Especially with the hazards like the crossing pedestrians.
The downshift at 3.54 should have been made on the approach to the bend at 3.40 if not left in the lower gear all through the hazards of parked vehicles, bend and the narrowing road after that.
Then braked down at 4.14 to make a timely downshift instead of the unsympathetic and lucky panic measure at 4.33.
That certainly wasnât even the definition of a snatched shift.
Last but not least the approach to the right hand junction at 7.30 and the roundabout at 9.53.
The thing always seemed to be in at least one higher gear at most points than it should have been to me with a driver scared to downshift it properly if at all in the right places on the approach well in advance to provide the correct engine braking and the time to drop down enough gears for the job.Compare the approach to the roundabouts for example and particularly the approach to the final junction at 2.10.Thatâs exactly how Iâve always driven trucks to cars.
youtube.com/watch?v=8hKKzOHRTPY
Iâm inclined to agree with much of this: at 2:20 to 3:00, he leaves himself wide open to grinding to a halt unnecessarily. He neednât have braked at 4:14 but he could have gone down the box much earlier than ramming it through uncomfortably at 4:33. I was taught very simply, on a fully laden 32T Atkinson in the Lake District, in such a way that it has worked perfectly ever since:
a) learn the max speeds in each gear (I still know them, all 10!)
b) going up a hill, keep your right foot planted on the accelerator
c) as you lose pace on a climb, at 2mph above the max speed for the next gear down, keep your right foot hard down, dip the clutch, out of gear, dip clutch again and in it goes, so youâre always well on top of the torque curve and you have a perfectly smooth change.
I think that it isnât mastering the gearbox which is a skill gradually dying out, but more the skill of sympathetically coaxing a vehicle over difficult terrain, but with much less power and torque than modern vehicles. I had a similar experience riding on a beautiful Southdown Leyland PD3 about 10 years ago, on the hills outside Portsmouth. Very nice chap, the driver, but no how idea how to manage hills up or down.
According to my instructor, the requirement was: âhands of a midwife, feet of a ballerinaâ
old 67:
Dennis Javelin:
old 67:
Ray Smyth:
A single deck bus of âWarringtonsâ passing through Pemberton town centre on the A577.
Dont know much about this bus fleet, they have been operating some circular routes in
the Wigan area for the last few years. 16/3/2021.Ray.
Are there many of these about ? Is it a standard chassis, because the ratio of front and rear overhangs to the wheelbase looks very odd to me.
Regards John.
I think itâs the short wheelbase Alexander Dennis Enviro200. Warrington have a few of them.
Thanks for that. It just dosnât " stand well " to my eyes.
Regards John.
I would imagine that there would be a good deal of see-sawing when it goes over any speed bumps, given the overhangs front and rear, against that of a longer wheelbase. Should be able to turn on a dime though 
240 Gardner:
I think that it isnât mastering the gearbox which is a skill gradually dying out, but more the skill of sympathetically coaxing a vehicle over difficult terrain, but with much less power and torque than modern vehicles.According to my instructor, the requirement was: âhands of a midwife, feet of a ballerinaâ
Excellent post: spot on!
Ro
ERF-NGC-European:
240 Gardner:
I think that it isnât mastering the gearbox which is a skill gradually dying out, but more the skill of sympathetically coaxing a vehicle over difficult terrain, but with much less power and torque than modern vehicles.According to my instructor, the requirement was: âhands of a midwife, feet of a ballerinaâ
Excellent post: spot on!
Ro
Thank you!!
Unfortunately my computer sound has packed up so it is difficult to comment at the moment. However the Bristol K series 4 and 5 speed boxes have a reputation for being âdifficultâ, the saying goes that once you think you have mastered them you find out that you were wrong. I canât find the actual ratios anywhere but they are definitely wide ratio. 1st and 2nd are sliding mesh and have usually suffered from years of abuse and burred teeth. Iâm sure we can all relate to a bad Fuller example which just wonât change cleanly. I havenât driven a K5G but I have the more powerful K6A several times. However high an opinion of oneâs ability, a surreptitious few miles of pratice is in order before picking up critical passengers. Jumping straight in on a bus change over leaves you open to rather unwelcome close scrutiny. Things are not helped by the cramped cab and the pedals being virtually under the seat. There is a definite knack to selecting 1st and letting the engine virtually stop and then acting very fast is the solution to a quiet change, trying to anticipate and giving it a bootful of revs while it is still going resonably well in second just doesnât work.
5thwheel:
Froggy55:
0Bernard was better known for their trucks, but did also produced a few coaches, like this one which is waiting for its passengers in Nevers in the late '30s.Bernard also produced stationary engines,very robust engines they were/are too Froggy.
David
I have two in the garage, one is being restored at the present time.
Pete.
