Double Decker Buses

[stuckinthe80's]

Re: Double Decker Buses

Certainly was the 724, now the 21

Pleased you've agreed with that! Thought I was loosing my mind! There was a 723 and a 722 to Newcastle but they ran through Ferryhill and missed out Spennymoor and went via Durham City. Can't remember where those 2 services started, could have been Darlington.

[Grosh62]

Re: Double Decker Buses

My school bus was an old double decker bus in the early 70s and we used to go up a really steep hill called Ossett Lane. It would charge up the hill with a good run up but a few times a year it would get stuck if it lost momentum because of traffic. The engine would start smoking and the bus would start rolling back down for another go unless a car was behind us then we would all have to get off and walk up the hill beside it so it could get up. We would all get back on at the top. It was always entertaining but we were simple folk.

[HG]

Re: Double Decker Buses

Certainly was the 724, now the 21

[stuckinthe80's]

Re: Double Decker Buses

The OK service from Bishop Auckland to Newcastle was defiantly the 724. I used to get it to work every day!

[Trickyvee]

Re: Double Decker Buses

The 300 is a Tyneside route but wasn't introduced until the mid-'80s. Went from Whitley Bay to Newcastle via the world (well that's what it felt like!). Run by Go-Ahead Northern (the red and white buses). It's still going now.

[Bristol RE]

Re: Double Decker Buses

You've got the memory cells going here.

stuck in the 80s: Think the OK Motor Services bus was the 700 to Newcastle. The 724 was the United one. I take it you mean from Bishop Auckland area.

Trickyvee: Don't remember the 300, but sounds like it was a number from within Tyneside.

[stuckinthe80's]

Re: Double Decker Buses

Wow Tricky, I remember those buses well! I loved those yellow buses. I thought they were so unusual when I was a kid. I used to get the OK bus no. 724 into Newcastle nearly every Saturday when I was a teenager. I loved Newcastle, especially at Christmas.

[Trickyvee]

Re: Double Decker Buses

This is the type of bus I remember from my early childhood. Before deregulation all the buses in Tyne and Wear were yellow and white like this. This one is one of the rare ones that had two sets of doors (how exciting to me then!). I remember most buses were designed with a sort of indented back then and naughty teenage boys would try to hang on to the ridge while the bus was moving.

[ratboy]

Re: Double Decker Buses

These are the kind of double deckers that used to operate in my area during the 70s and 80s:

Re: Double Decker Buses

Still got double deckers in Reading. For a time we had another bus company called Reading Mainline which was run by a group of former Reading Transport bus drivers who'd been made redundant; they bought up old Route Masters from London and repainted the middle strip a cream colour to go with the rest of the red. The company became a big hit as passengers liked the return of the old R.M. complete with separate driver and conductor, it became so profitable that Reading Transport owned by our local council bought it up lock stock and basically phased out the R.M.s sadly and carried on as Reading Buses....However, I've never really liked the top deck, I did recently travel on the top deck, not at the very front though....

And as a kid I always wondered what the periscope thing was as theres a screen at the right hand side on the front ledge isn't there....

[darren]

Re: Double Decker Buses

saly we have very few now where i live.

but i always loved going to the top of them.

yes great views for sure.

always stayed on the bottom though when it was very windy.

[Trickyvee]

Re: Double Decker Buses

I loved double deckers. Most of the buses around my way were double deckers but I rarely went on the top deck because it was for smokers and my parents didn't smoke. But when I was bit older and let loose on my own it was straight to the top deck and the front seat. I remember the first time me and my friend were allowed to go to Newcastle on our own. We were about 10 and set off to do Christmas shopping on the 300. If I remember we did our entire shop in Poundstretchers. Much Hi Karate and Tweed was bought along with some nasty perfume and prostitute red nail varnish for ourselves from the bargain bin.

[Austin Maxi]

Re: Double Decker Buses

As a kid, they were ALL double-deckers in East Kent. Not been back there for 14 years, so no idea what's they're running now. All little Hopper buses, I suspect. Always remember sitting right at the front upstairs, and they used to have this 'periscope' contraption which the driver used to see who was mucking about on the top deck. You could look through this glass window down onto the drivers' head.

There are still plenty of double deckers in East Kent, I don't use them much because I drive everywhere, but on the rare occasion I need to use one, I still go upstairs - better views.

[ratboy]

Re: Double Decker Buses

I used to love the old Routemasters and would always sit upstairs above the driver. I remember at the time there was a bus all painted up in zebra colours (must have been advertising something) and was dying to have a ride on it, God knows why!

[moonvisage]

Re: Double Decker Buses

I loved riding on the top of double deckers aswell.I spent most of my childhood forced to sit downstairs,so it was a glorious treat to get upstairs,especially to sit at the front.