[FSY] M718/9 VET (Halfway Depot) (Read 1,681 times)

[admin]

These buses have now moved to halfway depot and on saturday i caught m718 vet from woodhouse to sheffield city centre seem in good condition these were swapped again from olive grove to send buses g633/4 nwa back to olive grove.

Have not seen m719 vet yet so will keep an eye out for that now.

olive grove now have these buses from m724 to m740 vet, rotherham depot have m716/7 and m720/1/2/3 vet.

[manontheinside]

Although i thought i had seen both in service, i understand that either or both of the 'M' B10Ms transferred to Halfway are/is having a new engine fitted. So if you haven't seen '719', that may be why.

[admin]

thanks for that mate, to be honest they are my favourite b10m buses these i love the way the engines sound on these buses when they first set off sounds really good, seats would be better if leik n reg ones if they was individual but we cant have everything perfect lol, and they seem a better ride aswell.

[manontheinside]

Although its a personal view, my preference in order are N, G, M, H, J/K. Hate the '691-715' batch primarily because of the cream/beige interior which didn't work, and H - i suppose - because they are looking tatty. Maybe when new that wouldn't be the case.

The different sound of the 'M' batch is largely down to the gearbox and transmission. The M batch (partly because they were tagged onto a Stagecoach order - back when they had 20% of Mainline) had ZF boxes whereas the standard SYPTE/SYT/Mainline had been the Voith box. Mainline returned to Voith for the 1996 batch (ironically part funded by FirstBus).

Further irony there is that (at least as far as i know) the standard First product has ZF specification.

In terms of seating, i have to agree. I know a lot of people who reckon the Callow and Maddox 7 seating used in N reg B10Ms, Silver Service B10Ms, R-WKW B10BLEs and the R-BOU B10BLEs transferred from Bath are the best seat we have used. Strong, comfortable and good back support. Horses for courses though as i bet i could find a lot of people who would complement the old seating used in early B10Ms and Dominators/MCWs.

[Tom B]

Personally I like the G / H ones, they are a bit tatty but nothing a lick of paint couldnt' correct. I swear I saw a H---THL reg one on the X78 with original Yellow/Blue/Red on a grey backing moquette the other week!

[donnytom]

Is it my imagination, or were there also a few Scanias with the Alexander PS body at one point, too?

Nothing wrong with Dominator seating, particularly the squishy vinyl ones upstairs.

[tango2]

The B10 is by far the best of all buses from my point of view as a driver.
I find them easy to manouver,very responsive (when in good order) and have by far the best driving position of any bus currently on the road today.

The distinctive Engine sound is their trademark and ouses the sound of power on accelloration.

Forget all the Gemini rubbish and the shoddy Eclipse and Renown,,the B10 is the king of the Road and will be for many years to come.

[manontheinside]

Can't agree, i think the B10BLE / Renown is probably the classiest bus around, albeit that if it was a step entry bus the B10M wins hands down.

No such thing as a Scania / Alexander in the Mainline / First fleet, the only ones i know of (excepting Derby and Newcastle) operate for Yorkshire Traction (270-4 H-THL).

[tango2]

manontheinside said:

Can't agree, i think the B10BLE / Renown is probably the classiest bus around, albeit that if it was a step entry bus the B10M wins hands down.

No such thing as a Scania / Alexander in the Mainline / First fleet, the only ones i know of (excepting Derby and Newcastle) operate for Yorkshire Traction (270-4 H-THL).

Nahhhh man the renown and the distinctive wine of the engine and clunky gear change,coupled with the constant rattle of the callipers and poor driving position makes this the skoda of the volvo world,,,,,pmsl

[lapike]

i also think the volvo b10 is a great bus, will miss them more than the dominators when they finally start leaving service life.

[manontheinside]

Skoda of the Volvo world? Is that old Skoda or new Skoda!?

Not a bit of it. B6 is a rat, B6LE little better, B6BLE slightly better still. B7L is a load a' garbage, B7TL a good bus fundamentally but underpowered, B7LA (who knows!). B10M and B10BLE great. Whines and gear shifts are the fault of ZF, not the bus itself!

For me Volvo hit perfection with the B10M, closely followed by the Olympian and B10BLE.

[tango2]

Dont get me started on the B6,,spit spit spit the vehicle is a total traversty and should not be allowed out in daylight hours.
Come to think not at all,these buses are a total embarrassment to drive and I would sooner drive a Skoda Rapide as my main family car than these bits of junk.40425 i think springs to mind although this is one of the quicker ones and can boast a top speed up hill of a mac busting 8-9 mph,,,yes as fast as that.


They are Slow,susspension is shoddy and the genaral asthetics is rubbish.

[Tom B]

Went out down the shops earlier - out on a spud, back on a B10M. Can tell you which one I'd take anyday!

[manontheinside]

Yes, had the 'pleasure' of 40454 on the 85 at the weekend and i came off laughing! Not at the sheer pleasure, but at the very idea that any sane car user could be persuaded to use a bus like that!

I never remember them being that bad, but then again, aside from the odd venture off route, my last experience was about 1996 on 70/71/711 and 601/2s and i'm sure they've aged a bit.
None the less, i think we are wandering somewhat off topic here!

PS Tom - i'm sure you don't need to tell us the answer. One less member of the SPD fan club! That said, last time i travelled on a Doncaster B10M (643 i think) i have to say it was a bit of a disgrace.

[ytcbarnsley2006]

manontheinside said:

Not a bit of it. B6 is a rat, B6LE little better, B6BLE slightly better still. B7L is a load a' garbage, B7TL a good bus fundamentally but underpowered, B7LA (who knows!). B10M and B10BLE great. Whines and gear shifts are the fault of ZF, not the bus itself!

For me Volvo hit perfection with the B10M, closely followed by the Olympian and B10BLE.

Got to agree (god damn it) with you again Mr M, though I personally would put Volvo Olympians above B10Ms, but I've never really spent much time on B10Ms to appreciate them fully. That said, the 4 E reg B10M deckers at Tracky are storming machines, if you've ever had the experience of one at full pelt up the M1 you'll know what I mean.

Agree with the general comments on the B6s, though I do have to say the standard of them varies a lot, even in the same batch. A couple of the original Yorkshire Terrier ones still in Sheffield are excellent vehicles - M122 UET is one that springs to mind. Others are complete dogs, especially the ex Nottingham ones at Ecclesfield (the L-OAL). One of the best has got to be P101 NDT, the unique B6 chassis converted to be a low floor (it is not a B6LE / BLE - it's a modified standard B6 chassis).

B10BLEs are good workhorses, and from a passanger point of view the Wright Renown bodywork is comfortable and roomy. Don't like B7Ls at all, the 'toilet cubicle' at the back makes the inside look dark and dingy in my opinion.

B7TL are ok, but underpowered. The two at Barnsley that were used on the X32 could not keep to time on the M1 at all and were often passed by Reliant Robins. Nowhere near as good as the B10M deckers for pace on the motorways.

However, I must admit to being more of a Scania fan than a Volvo. True, they aren't the greatest for ride comfort, but for power and driving experience in my opinion they are streets ahead of Volvo. The 10 Scania L113CRLs in the "Tracky" fleet are still very powerful despite being M reg. The 7 Omnidekkas are widely regarded as being far better vehicles than the B7TLs, and the two Coachlink Metroliner deckers have both had new Scania units fitted in the last two years and absolutely fly now.

But to witness Scania power at it's finest, get yourself to Doncaster and hunt down 207 (M 56 AWW) - the chassis for this is a Scania coach chassis, but the coach bodywork was gutted by fire. Tracky bought the chassis and had it re-bodied by East Lancs. Given it's coach pedegree, to say it moves is an understatement. It has been known to frighten drivers if they attempt to use it on local work in 'D' - they have to keep it locked down in 2nd gear or it can be too powerful for estate roads !