[Trolleybus[_2_]]

On Sun, 12 Jan 2020 02:03:24 -0000 (UTC), Recliner
wrote:

Marland wrote:
MissRiaElaine wrote:
On 11/01/2020 19:49, Marland wrote:
MissRiaElaine wrote:
On 11/01/2020 17:04, Recliner wrote:
MissRiaElaine wrote:

It's all academic as far as I'm concerned. I refuse to travel on these
monstrosities, they are an insult to the traditional Routemaster that
served London so well for so long.

Presumably it's not hard to avoid them, given that you live in Aberdeen?

I spend quite a lot of time in London actually, there are flights all
the time :-)



Not with Vickers Viscounts though, how do you force yourself on to
something more modern.

I'm not *that* old..!



British Airways were still operating a few Viscounts into the early 80’s ,
if you can remember Routemasters you should remember Viscounts.
Or are you younger than your writings make you appear and your stint on
London Transport came at the end of the Routemasters reign and the glory
days you remember are really based on the memories of older work colleagues
rather than you own though you would have loved to have been there
earlier.

Reminds me a bit of the writings on his railway career by Adrian Vaughan
who as a young person caught the end of the era of the old ways of workings
with much older colleagues and then has spent a good part of the rest of
his life giving the impression he was a little disappointed that things
moved on before he was able to emulate them .


I flew to Aberdeen by BEA Viscount in 1970, which is about the date Ria
wishes all technological progress had stopped, when she was 16.

MY first ever flight was on a Viscount operated by Southern Air (I
think as a wet-lease to DanAir) from Gatwick to Orly. This was in
1979. My first few business flights were on British Midland Viscounts
from LHR to Teeside not long after that. So they certainly flew into
the 1980s. My main memory of them is that the overhead luggage racks
had no doors, they were just open, like on a train.

ObRailway: I used Teeside Airport station for my onward journey to
Redcar.

[Recliner[_4_]]

Trolleybus wrote:
On Sun, 12 Jan 2020 02:03:24 -0000 (UTC), Recliner
wrote:

Marland wrote:
MissRiaElaine wrote:
On 11/01/2020 19:49, Marland wrote:
MissRiaElaine wrote:
On 11/01/2020 17:04, Recliner wrote:
MissRiaElaine wrote:

It's all academic as far as I'm concerned. I refuse to travel on these
monstrosities, they are an insult to the traditional Routemaster that
served London so well for so long.

Presumably it's not hard to avoid them, given that you live in Aberdeen?

I spend quite a lot of time in London actually, there are flights all
the time :-)



Not with Vickers Viscounts though, how do you force yourself on to
something more modern.

I'm not *that* old..!



British Airways were still operating a few Viscounts into the early 80Â’s ,
if you can remember Routemasters you should remember Viscounts.
Or are you younger than your writings make you appear and your stint on
London Transport came at the end of the Routemasters reign and the glory
days you remember are really based on the memories of older work colleagues
rather than you own though you would have loved to have been there
earlier.

Reminds me a bit of the writings on his railway career by Adrian Vaughan
who as a young person caught the end of the era of the old ways of workings
with much older colleagues and then has spent a good part of the rest of
his life giving the impression he was a little disappointed that things
moved on before he was able to emulate them .


I flew to Aberdeen by BEA Viscount in 1970, which is about the date Ria
wishes all technological progress had stopped, when she was 16.

MY first ever flight was on a Viscount operated by Southern Air (I
think as a wet-lease to DanAir) from Gatwick to Orly. This was in
1979. My first few business flights were on British Midland Viscounts
from LHR to Teeside not long after that. So they certainly flew into
the 1980s.

Yes, definitely, but not between London and Aberdeen, the route Ria nw
flies on a hated post-1970 mode of transport. I think it was Tridents by
then. I flew that route quite a lot in those days.


My main memory of them is that the overhead luggage racks
had no doors, they were just open, like on a train.

That was normal in that era. I think they were intended as hat racks.

[Sammi Gray-Jones]

On 12/01/2020 01:39, Marland wrote:

British Airways were still operating a few Viscounts into the early 80’s ,




I remember when I was working in Germany in the late 80s that the
airmails were delivered on a Viscount flown by British Air Ferries.
Years later I met one of the pilots who flew that 'plane, as it used to
wake me up in the morning when flying over my house.

[Marland]

Recliner wrote:
Marland wrote:
MissRiaElaine wrote:

Not with Vickers Viscounts though, how do you force yourself on to
something more modern.

I'm not *that* old..!



British Airways were still operating a few Viscounts into the early 80’s ,
if you can remember Routemasters you should remember Viscounts.
Or are you younger than your writings make you appear and your stint on


I flew to Aberdeen by BEA Viscount in 1970, which is about the date Ria
wishes all technological progress had stopped, when she was 16.


She is younger then than I would have thought from her writings, by 1970
London Transport was already running other buses of different designs such
as Daimler Fleetlines,AEC Swifts and Merlins and Leyland Nationals were
only few years away . So the London Transport of the 1970’s she appears to
have worked for had already lost much of its quality image with another
dent soon to come
when the cheap looking white roundel replaced the distinctive London
Transport fleet name in Gold coloured lettering.
I had thought she must have worked for them in the swinging sixties before
the individuality had started to ebb away.

GH

[tim...]

"Sammi Gray-Jones" wrote in message
...
On 12/01/2020 01:39, Marland wrote:

British Airways were still operating a few Viscounts into the early 80’s
,




I remember when I was working in Germany in the late 80s that the airmails
were delivered on a Viscount flown by British Air Ferries.
Years later I met one of the pilots who flew that 'plane, as it used to
wake me up in the morning when flying over my house.

did it fly a bit low that day then?

tim

[Sammi Gray-Jones]

On 12/01/2020 18:35, tim... wrote:


"Sammi Gray-Jones" wrote in message
...
On 12/01/2020 01:39, Marland wrote:

British Airways were still operating a few Viscounts into the early
80’s ,




I remember when I was working in Germany in the late 80s that the
airmails were delivered on a Viscount flown by British Air Ferries.
Years later I met one of the pilots who flew that 'plane, as it used
to wake me up in the morning when flying over my house.

did it fly a bit low that day then?

tim



Our house was only a few hundred yards from the end of the runway, and
when landing in that direction it was less than 100 feet off the deck.

[Peter Able[_2_]]

On 11/01/2020 17:51, Marland wrote:
MissRiaElaine wrote:

It's all academic as far as I'm concerned. I refuse to travel on these
monstrosities, they are an insult to the traditional Routemaster that
served London so well for so long.



As you live in Aberdeen its hardly a statement of sacrifice , if you lived
in London and really would prefer so to stand at a bus stop waiting for a
vehicle that your conscience would allow you to travel on
while Boris buses could have taken you earlier then apart from you who
cares, London is full of strange folk and one more wouldn’t be noticed.

We all have our favourite eras often driven by emotion rather than
practical considerations.
Although I was only small when it took place it took me a long time to
like the Routemaster as they had displaced the Trolleybuses I found
fascinating , to me they were just another motorbus though later I got to
learn about their construction being quite advanced.
We left London 6 months after the last Trolley though so it was a bit
academic, ISTR the overhead was removed quite quickly which dashed my young
and innocent hopes that they might change there minds. We left London a few
months later so it was all academic anyway.
On regular visits back they still were just a bus not that much different
on the outside from the AEC Regents seen in many provincial towns, it took
the introduction of the Red Arrow branded single deckers Merlins and
Swifts to provide a bit of excitement.


GH


Ironically, long after the wires came down in Twickenham and, yes, they
were taken down very quickly, the tram rails used to regularly reappear
every summer when the diaphanously thin tar laid over them near
Twickenham Junction used to peel off. Also the slot for the Junction
point lever was still there.

As a conductor at Fulwell Garage around 1970, I can state that the RMs
were far more popular with my colleagues than the RT/Regents. The latter
were not that well sprung by then whereas the conductor's position in
the RMs were so much better ride-wise - plus that that position was
recessed, so less passengers jumping onto your feet as they rushed out
off the lower deck. Fulwell still had poles, cobbles and tram tracks in
those days - but, just like at Twickenham Junction, the diaphanous
tarmac later applied was ripped up by the SMs that took over from both
RTs and RMs at that time.

PA

[Marland]

Peter Able wrote:
On 11/01/2020 17:51, Marland wrote:
MissRiaElaine wrote:

It's all academic as far as I'm concerned. I refuse to travel on these




We all have our favourite eras often driven by emotion rather than
practical considerations.
Although I was only small when it took place it took me a long time to
like the Routemaster as they had displaced the Trolleybuses I found
fascinating , to me they were just another motorbus though later I got to
learn about their construction being quite advanced.



Ironically, long after the wires came down in Twickenham and, yes, they
were taken down very quickly, the tram rails used to regularly reappear
every summer when the diaphanously thin tar laid over them near
Twickenham Junction used to peel off.

I wonder if it was Twickenham I saw some tram lines on my last London
Trolleybus ride.
My Grandad took me out for a last day of rides on the Trolleys just before
they ceased and we went to the end of the route 667 from Chiswick to
Hampton Court. Normally we never went outwards that our journeys always
being inwards so had not seen any remaining tram lines in the road before.
Though at that time the former Tram depot in between Chiswick and
Hammersmith at that time still had them visible as far as the gate. I think
they were still there when the fleet assigned to BEA link bus duties were
located there a bit later.


As a conductor at Fulwell Garage around 1970, I can state that the RMs
were far more popular with my colleagues than the RT/Regents. The latter
were not that well sprung by then whereas the conductor's position in
the RMs were so much better ride-wise - plus that that position was

I always forget the RT was part of the AEC line, I suppose I was was mainly
thinking about the later Regent Vs which to a pure layman did not look too
dissimilar at first glance especially rear entrance open platform ones
operated by some operators like Southampton.

GH

[[email protected]]

On 15 Jan 2020 20:17:18 GMT
Marland wrote:
Peter Able wrote:
On 11/01/2020 17:51, Marland wrote:
MissRiaElaine wrote:

It's all academic as far as I'm concerned. I refuse to travel on these




We all have our favourite eras often driven by emotion rather than
practical considerations.
Although I was only small when it took place it took me a long time to
like the Routemaster as they had displaced the Trolleybuses I found
fascinating , to me they were just another motorbus though later I got to
learn about their construction being quite advanced.



Ironically, long after the wires came down in Twickenham and, yes, they
were taken down very quickly, the tram rails used to regularly reappear
every summer when the diaphanously thin tar laid over them near
Twickenham Junction used to peel off.

I wonder if it was Twickenham I saw some tram lines on my last London
Trolleybus ride.
My Grandad took me out for a last day of rides on the Trolleys just before
they ceased and we went to the end of the route 667 from Chiswick to

I do sometimes wonder what - if anything - was going through the minds of
the people who authorised the destruction of tram and trolleybus systems
around the UK back then to replace them with diesel buses that in those days
were utterly filthy with thick blue-grey and even black smoke coming out of
the exhaust being the norm. I can't help thinking some brown envelopes were
involved at some point.

[Graeme Wall]

On 16/01/2020 10:20, wrote:
On 15 Jan 2020 20:17:18 GMT
Marland wrote:
Peter Able wrote:
On 11/01/2020 17:51, Marland wrote:
MissRiaElaine wrote:

It's all academic as far as I'm concerned. I refuse to travel on these




We all have our favourite eras often driven by emotion rather than
practical considerations.
Although I was only small when it took place it took me a long time to
like the Routemaster as they had displaced the Trolleybuses I found
fascinating , to me they were just another motorbus though later I got to
learn about their construction being quite advanced.



Ironically, long after the wires came down in Twickenham and, yes, they
were taken down very quickly, the tram rails used to regularly reappear
every summer when the diaphanously thin tar laid over them near
Twickenham Junction used to peel off.

I wonder if it was Twickenham I saw some tram lines on my last London
Trolleybus ride.
My Grandad took me out for a last day of rides on the Trolleys just before
they ceased and we went to the end of the route 667 from Chiswick to

I do sometimes wonder what - if anything - was going through the minds of
the people who authorised the destruction of tram and trolleybus systems
around the UK back then to replace them with diesel buses that in those days
were utterly filthy with thick blue-grey and even black smoke coming out of
the exhaust being the norm. I can't help thinking some brown envelopes were
involved at some point.



Cheap option, to replace and repair the time expired equipment after the
war would have been very expensive. Motor buses were plentiful and cheap
with the sudden drop in demand for military vehicles.

--
Graeme Wall
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