This is the thread where members can, if they wish, post a little information about themselves for others to read.
You can post as much or as little as you like in your description, or not at all!
Aquavid
0 Kudo
Members Directory
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 Aquavid |
Members Directory |
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Posts: 2316 16/02/2004 10:08:25 Archivist |
This is the thread where members can, if they wish, post a little information about themselves for others to read. You can post as much or as little as you like in your description, or not at all! Aquavid |
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Aquavid |
Re: Members Directory | #1 | ||
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Posts: 2316 16/02/2004 10:20:19 Archivist |
So, to get the ball rolling:
NAME: Aquavid - Community Founder. 40 years old this year, I was born and grew up in Dublin to the age of 19. My fascination with buses started at age 12. In 1984 I left home and went to seek my fortune in London, staying in or near the UK for the next 16 years, finally returning home to Dublin for good in the summer of 2000. During my time in the UK, I worked in the computer industry, before persuing a career in radio journalism. I also spent a year working for Ensign Bus during a key phase of their expansion into the London tendered bus marker ( 88-89 ) first as a "pavement man" for their sightseeing tours, and later running the Traffic Office for their London bus routes - something I did disasterously badly!!! In 1996 I founded the "Irish Bus Site" which later changed its name to "Bustravel Ireland" on the advice of Dublin Bus's then PR guru Joe Collins. Since my return to Dublin in June 2000 I have worked again in the IT industry, but have kept my foot in the journalism door also. Apart from a lifelong interest in the vehicles themselves, I'm very committed to the concept of public transport - and of customer service! The Tourist section of BusTravel Ireland is my own small attempt to make a difference, by showing intending visitors to ireland that it is possible to have a great holiday here without renting a car. For myself, I have to say that I really love living back in Ireland - the enviroment is so much better than London, where sea and mountains were a long drive away. Apart from running this site and being an IT wage slave, I enjoy walking, photography, music, reading and history. Aquavid |
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stefan |
Re: Members Directory | #2 | ||
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Posts: 30 18/02/2004 22:28:54 |
Well, since I suppose I qualify as a "new user", I guess I should write a few words on myself.
Name: Stefan Baguette I'm 20 years old and currently a student of Tbingen University, studying English Literature and Modern History. I originally hail from Essen, in the Ruhrgebiet area, the centre of the largest conurbation in Germany. With lots of public transport in and around that place, I became interested in trams and buses at a very early age (there are some tales of me as a toddler watching in fascination as trams passed...) and it hasn't left me since. I've been taking photos since 1996 and between 1997 and 2002, I visited every major German town to take photos of trams and buses. Did a work experience with First Aberdeen in 1998 and have since been interested in buses on the British Isles. I visited Ireland for the first time last summer, spending a week in Dublin and then another one travelling around the country. While in Dublin, I was fortunate enough to invited to a tour of the LUAS Red Cow depot and to be taken on a ride up and down the section of the line used for testing. Did my best to take as many photos as possible throughout the trip (and used some of them in my German report on buses in Ireland, published at www.stadtbus.de/irland). I plan to spend a year of my studies abroad and hope to make it to either Trinity College or NUI Maynooth. I have some general interest in all things relating to Britain and Ireland, partly because I have (non-busspotting) friends in both countries. As for shameless self-promotion, I have a personal website at www.stefan-baguette.de, with links to sites I maintain. (There are some LUAS photos in the Eurotrams Pictures Archive.) |
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Unregistered(d) |
Re: Members Directory | #3 | ||
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Posts: 0 19/02/2004 00:22:23 |
Seeing as though Aquavid and Stefan have posted... I'll do the same!
Name: Mark Phipps, living in South Dublin, Ireland I have been interested in buses since I was a child (I am now 21) and in 2001 got into the forays of bus preservation and photography. Since then I have met the most interesting people, made alot of good friends and seen the country through my involvement with preservation. After a brief involvement with a particular preservation group and after 'differences' with its 'management' I decided to go my own way in January 2002 and to be quite honest it was the best thing I have ever done and I haven't looked back since. I began to seek out a bus that I would buy for preservation and I bought my first vehicle (a Leyland Leopard) 6 months later in June 2002 after careful planning and saving. Since then my collection of vehicles has been growing steadily, to a total of 6 vehicles - three Bristol RELL's and three Atlanteans (one of which is a solely spares vehicle and will be cannibalised shortly). The second vehicle I bought was ex-Ulsterbus Bristol RELL 2134 (MOI 2134) in October 2002 (hence the username 'MOI 2134') and after I sold the Leopard on to a fellow preservationist in July 2003 I bought four more vehicles between July and December 2003 - two more Bristol RELL's (BG37 & BG45) in July 2003 and two Leyland Atlanteans in December 2003, one of which is an open-topper. The other Atlantean will require massive restoration work, but is one of the most unique vehicles in preservation today and the story as to how it has passed into preservation against all odds will be a surprise to many people when the bus returns to the road once again. In February 2004 I bought another Atlantean for spares only (84-D-7903 ex-Manchester 4762) and intend to scrap this vehicle shortly. I could not have done any of this without the help and support of many people who are true friends - you know who you are. I am the editor of the website for the Transport Enthusiast's Club of Ireland (TEC) (www.preservedirishtransport.com) which was launched in April 2003 and has some of the best shots of buses from bygone years with content provided by Patrick Losty and the famed Jonathan McDonnell. There is also some photofeatures of ongoing and past restoration projects, not to mention various photofeatures of various rallies and runs that preserved buses have participated in. Alot of what we do is "behind the scenes" work and isn't generally in the public eye but whilst the scene is quiet at the present time there are some interesting times ahead, with almost 70 buses awaiting restoration between about 7 or 8 members. Between working for a living and on working on the buses in my spare time I enjoy surfing the web and building and maintaining websites, and posting to this messageboard. Usually the odd rant in the Planning Forum, most often to do with the conditions of some of the roads and bus services, and also the other ones in 'The Wider World' about tractors, never-ending road works & women drivers... (Updated 20th March 2004) Mark |
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Tony Cooney |
Members Directory | #4 | ||
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Posts: 636 19/02/2004 21:19:02 Professional Driver |
Name: Tony Cooney, living in West Dublin. Born in Drogheda and grew up in County Meath, I am in my 36th year! I come from a long line of family who work/have worked with CIE - my father is currently an Inspector with Bus Eireann, while my mother recently retired after 19 years as a school bus driver. I also have a brother working with Irish Rail while yet another brother is in management with London Underground. Stepping back a couple of generations, my grandfather worked on the railways ( GNR then CIE) while his brother and nephew worked as driver at Ringsend Garage. Another grand uncle worked as a conductor with London Transport. I reckon it's definitely in my blood!!! I've always had an interest in buses, although I didn't realise it when I was younger. I can vividly remember getting off an E class Leopard ( though I certainly didn't know what it was at the time! ) We had been on a trip to Dublin for the day and I recall noticing the side roof adverts that were on the E class in those days. I can even recollect sitting on the child seat of my grannys' bike as she took me home! After completing my Leaving Cert in 1986, I didn't have the option of going to college as I was the eldest of 6 and my father was the only earner in those days. Therefore, I followed in the family tradition, and joined CIE as a conductor based at Ringsend Garage. I remember my first day at collecting fares on board: After initial training at Phoibsboro Training School, I was dispatched down to Fleet Street one sunny June evening to meet up with my 'training crew'. Under the supervision of an elderly conductor called Tommy( can't remember his surname at moment), I attempted to collect fares on board D508 on route 15B. Collecting the money was the easy bit-the old 39 pence ticket machine(so called due to the maximum amount that could be issued on a single ticket) wasn't quite so easy a task with its complex dials for issuing tickets. As the max amount for one ticket was 39p, it was neccessary to issue at least 2 tickets per fare transaction. So, if a passenger wanted a 45p ticket then two tickets of 39p and 6p had to wound out-not such an easy task for the novice when trying to cover a fully loaded bus on its way to Rathmines! Still, with time and practice, it became an easy enough role. In Oct 1986, I went to visit some relatives in London. On a visit to a WH Smith bookstore in Chiswick, I was amazed to discover through the medium of BUSES magazine, that I wasn't the only bus enthusiast in the world!! My interest in buses, especially city fleets, tokk on a new and much more open perspective from then on........ I trained as a driver with Dublin Bus in 1989 and my first duty was on the 3 route on 16th March, fully equipped with a conductor. Incidently, I passed my test in D471 which I was to subsequently acquire for preservation some years later. One fond memory I have of my early days as a bus driver are the day I 'double jobbed': It was at a time when OPO was starting to take over as the main way of operating routes. However, some routes remained both OPO and TPO operated for a number of years. One particular day, I was asked if I could operate overtime as a CONDUCTOR on route 3 prior to my regular duty as a driver.It wasn't a problem and I duly worked an early duty as a conductor until we reached Parnell Square in the afternoon and were due to be relieved by an OPO crew. Guess who the OPO driver was.....yes, me !!! You can imagine the shock and surprise on the passengers as I got into the cab as a conductor and drove off as a driver!!!!!! As mentioned earlier, I acquired D471 for preservation. I also acquired C160,DF839 and KD236 over the years. VanHool bodied Atlantean- DF839, was the first to be preserved in 1995 and after a substantial restoration we brought it across to the UK where it was exhibited at Showbus. One particular highlight of that trip was driving DF839 along Oxford Street amongst the sea of red Routemasters. due to time constraints in recent years I've moved out of 'hands on' preservation and passed on my buses to equally enthusiastic preservationists thus ensuring that key pieces of our public transport heritage remain in safe hands for future generations to enjoy. Currently, I'm a bogey driver on route 10 from Broadstone Garage. I moved there in Sept 2003 after 5 years on route 11 at Donnybrook as my duties on the 10 enable me to spend more time attending college to further my studies in the Counselling/Psychology field. In addition, I also spend my time travelling as much as possible(day trips to UK bus companies/shows-especially London-being a particular favourite)with a 22 day trip to California planned and booked for July  , as well as reading,gardening and observing people!I could go on but perhaps all of the above are enough revealations for now! TC |
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griffin |
Members Directory | #5 | ||
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Posts: 550 20/02/2004 00:53:06 |
Name: Simon Lang, living in Rathcoole.
Resident in Dublin South West for all of my 31 years! My employment record had a very chequered start but I have worked in the Library Department of Trinity College for the past four years, great place to work and with access to a vast amount of books including several hundred on buses! My interest in buses started at an early age, our regular buses at the time were D224, 225 and 226, no I wasn't taking notes at that age! I found out this at a much later stage. The lack of a secondary school in Rathcoole meant children had to travel to Clondalkin and a service was provided between the two villages with RA's and later on D's. One of these RA's suffered a severe rear end shunt from a lorry crossing the dual carriageway from Clondalkin, I came across the scene travelling in my Uncles van, a sad end to a classic vehicle. I never got to the stage of recording the RA's that I travelled on but D's that I travelled to school on stick in my memory although they are not recorded on paper. D216, 218, 219, 221 -226, 281-288, 305, 306, 308-314 and 379-383 as well as all of the later Conyngham Road AN68's. When the KD era dawned it was almost impossible to get anything else and severe boredom and often jealousy set in! How come those kids get to travel home on D312 when we're stuck with yet another KD! There were moments of brightness though, one day when waiting on the usual KD home around the corner comes D288, I can still remember the pleasure of this journey home. A trip to the dentist at the age of 11 or 12 was taken on D350 on the 21A, we could have taken a 78 but I convinced my Grandmother who was accompanying me that D350 would be a smoother bus to travel on and less likely to upset my stomach!! A similar success was when on a trip to the RDS I convinced the same Gran that we should let the KD loading on Eden Quay go as it looked a bit on the full side and we should wait on the bus coming in behind, DF442! Pure luck got me on one of the last trips a standard D made to our side of Dublin when crew operated D570, the last of its type in Cony Road, turned up on the 51B, it transferred to Ringsend very soon after. Trips outside Dublin were almost always taken on an M class Leopard and I developed a deep liking for the type which I still have. Notable journeys were MG1 from Mullingar to Dublin, MG92 several times on Kildare and on a School Trip when I was about 9 years old and the driver tried explaining just what an MG was! The M coaches caused a bit of head scratching until I discovered their history. The C and the E were still much in evidence along with the WVH and school buses outside Dublin were the long lived SS. At the time private operators had Leylands, AEC's, Bedfords, Fords and the odd Bristol with their stylish Plaxton, Duple and various other bodies. Hardly a Volvo or Daf in sight. All of these belonged to an era now passed but one that I will never forget. While todays fleet offer new standards in various ways, for me they just don't offer the same interest as the classics I grew up with. I photographed AV1 on Camden Street when it was new, I haven't pointed my camera at another one since! The hobby developed for me through magazines and photos, I was amazed to find you could buy magazines about buses! My Mother brought home Buses Extra 28 one day having found it in a bargain bin in the local newsagent, I still have it and little did she know what it would lead to! I began to realise that there were other people with the same interest as me and during my teens the joys of going to rallies was discovered. Every bit of spare cash went on bus magazines and books, I now have a vast collection and still it grows! One day tickets were bought as often as possible, to sample the delights of the D's that still remained in service. Eventually I was gripped by the idea of preservation, owning a bus of my own as a lasting memory of a type or types that I grew up with. There were several false starts and dashed hopes, I made lots of mistakes and learned from them. Finally three years ago I bought my first realistic restoration project when MG209 became mine, soon after ex Ulsterbus Bedford BA6 (1868) came along, it was followed by M203 which has been passed on for further preservation, and MD127 which I often refer to as the "Achill Island M". I needed somewhere to store what was a growing collection so I acquired a cottage and a couple of acres in rural Co. Leitrim. A yard and a large shed have been installed, the shed is by now much too small and an extension is planned. I have never confined my interests purely to CIE vehicles and I still have a keen interest in the independent sector, mainly confined to the older vehicles that get scarcer by the day. I have a special liking for rural service buses and coaches of all operators and began to nominate various types that were unlikely to be represented in preservation in this country. As a result the collection began to grow as suitable candidates were sourced and acquired. At this stage I have stopped counting but I think I have 17 or 18 preserved buses and coaches with a few more being dismantled for spares. This requires a lot of committment, both financial and time and I would probably advise prospective preservationists not to do it on such a large scale! To help convince local councils and other jobsworths that they are actually preserved vehicles I have given the collection the title "North Midland transport Collection", because I live so far away from the vehicles I don't get to spend as much time there as I would like. In the end all the time and money will be worth it as I will have a lasting reminder of bus and coach types that I grew up with. If I could give a bit of advice to others in the hobby it would be that even though we all have our likes and dislikes as regards buses, one persons favourite is often anothers nightmare, we should appreciate the pride and affection that preservationists have for the bus / coach (S) they have chosen to preserve. Even if you don't like it remember that there are others that do so at least be diplomatic in your comments! Apart from buses I have an interest in most other historic vehicles including tractors, aircraft and shipping. I also have a deep interest in history in general. On a more relaxing level I like music especially from the 60's and 70's as well as watching television comedies of which I have a large video collection. For those who haven't worked it out I have a particular affection for buses ( as well as vans and lorries) of Bedford manufacture. The Bedford symbol is of course the Griffin, hence the user name! Simon |
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green atlantean |
Members Directory | #6 | ||
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Posts: 1168 22/02/2004 23:47:56 |
Name: Linda Southern .
Age 30 . occupation . co run Grape N Grain Home Wines & Beers with my Dad . we are a company that imports and delivers hombrew around the Dublin area . location : Dalkey Co. Dublin . for as long as i can remember i have always liked and been interested in buses . when i was about 7or 8 years old i can remember the change over from D's to KC's and KD's on the route 8 and C's to KC's on the route 59. i always prefared the atlanteans with the Dublin Bus livery ( could never stand the tan !) hence my nickname on this site Green Atlantean . when i was a kid there was a bingo night in the cula gaa club at the top of my road which if my memory does'nt fail me used to have 2 private hire standard D's service it . it was great on the summer evening to be able to play around the buses in the cula car park and get a good look at them . later on the buses changed from D's to KD's not that i knew there fleet types at the time i just loved lookling at them . it was there from talking to a driver that i learned the names of all the newer buses were bombardiers . the first time i ever got to see inside a bus engine was when sadly a car pilled into some cars on the roundabout in Dalkey villiage but the driver got such a fright the car was only stopped when it went around the roundabout into the back of a KD parked at the old 8 terminus . a mechanic came out with a replacement bus and i said i would help him sweep up the glass if he showed me the engine in the KD . he was a resonable guy and did so and i got 2 brushes from the shell garage a cross the road form the terminus and helpped him sweep up !!!!!! i was hopping it would be towed back to the garage but the bus went back under it's own power . fast forward then to 1998 . a cyber cafe opened across the road from the shop my dad and i ran in Ranelagh . i went on the internet for the first time to find a web site for my favourite band marillion and got hooked . i was looking up the words buses in Dublin on the yahoo search engine and came across the irish bus site i was able to learn about irish buses past and present and see pictures of them . some of which like the R900 specials i had not seen before . then in time . came bus travel ireland and the first version of it;s message board . after boring my parents silly about buses and my mom thinking i had something wrong in my head (!) it was great to be able to talk to others with an interest like mine and find out more information such as how to tell the fleet number of a bus from it;s reg plate . early 2001 i read about the last bombardier run on bustravel ireland message board . i was determined to go on it . well my mom was waiting on the results of a test to say wheather she had cancer or not so i brought her with me to try and take her mind off it (sadly my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer a few days after the KD run but made , thank God , a full recovery ). she and i both enjoyed the run around in KD 353 . it was also the first time i met Gabriel . when my mom saw enthusiasts over from the UK for the last bombardier run she reralised i am not quite the nutcase she first thought me to be .  it was great also to know that although i might be the only active female bus enthuiast that i am not the only one who likes looking at buses . i also went on the last 8 from town with gabriel , simon maher ian molloy and a couple of other people as well . as i live in Dalkey there is one subject that can really make me run my mouth off is the lack of buses around here . over the next few years i met people like mark phipps , stephen king , kevin horgan , des willis , and took part in various rallies and running days . i would love to own my own an68 atlantean but lack of somewhere to keep it and mechanical know how would prevent me from doing so for real . must see if i can get a model !!!!!!! as well as being an enthusiast i am also a keen photographer of buses . i used to be well known at the tour bus terminus outside 59 for snapping all the tour D's that were around . through speaking to the drivers i even got the odd free trip ( and also spent a fortune on going on the tour D;s ) but none of the drivers that knew me seem to work on the tours now . in actual fact one of the drivers i got to know still buys his homebrew off me so my love for atlanteans turned out to be good for my buisness too  i used to use a one hour development place on oconnell street for my pictures so i would always come home with at least one films worth of pictures the best time i had taking picutres was when i got permission from summerhill garage to take pictures of the atlantean tour fleet in 2001 . it was great to be able to look around the garage yard . even got to see inside the mechaics shed by standing outside and leaning my head around the wall the funniest thing was when i phoned them to ask permission no one knew what i was talking about when i mentioned the atlanteans . the knew them as the old tour buses heads turned when i walked into the office as i was the only female in the place . sadly i don;t take pictures now as i can't get into town anyhting like i used to be able to as we sold our shop 2 years ago and work from home now . at least i know a lot of people who do take bus pictures and if i ask nicely they will let me save them ( actually thats no longer true . in october 2004 i got a digital camera and am now back in the world of bus photogrpahy . check out my web site www.lindasbusphotos.fotopic.net ) my main interest are buses in Dublin . for some reason i never got the same degree of intrest in Bus Eireann as i have in Dublin Bus . i suppose it 's a case of you know what you like and you like what you know as i see Dublin's buses when i am out on the road doing my delivieries everyday . although since i opened my web site i am learning a bit about what Bus Eireann run . i like being the only female bus enthusiast in ireland . although since soph and stello have appeared i am loosing my unique status . however it is nice to see a couple more women posting around here aside from buses i love manchester united , listening to music ( marillion are my favourite band , fish my favourite singer ) playing with my computer and generally messing about . i also have a major passion for manchester united football club . ( my dad is mancunian so i have to keep the red flag flying as all my cousins in manchester are united fans as is my Dad !) cheers Linda   grow old but never grow up . |
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VWL 105 VOLVO |
Re: Members Directory | #7 | ||
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Posts: 845 23/02/2004 01:14:45 Banned User |
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Unregistered(d) |
Re: Members Directory | #8 | ||
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Posts: 0 23/02/2004 23:14:14 |
Name Mark Mulligan
Location Nth Dublin Age 29 (will be on 24th Feb) Occupation Facilities Assistance in a well known Travel agent Myself: well what can I say Shy quite(ish) guy, I've been interested in buses since earlier 80s when the KDs where around Cabra, I've always enjoyed travel on the buses in my early years Now-a-days when I get time I like surffing the net dinning out, I enjoy goig for long walks it's great to have this and various other boards keep up the good work. Regards Mark |
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SW Anthony |
Members Directory | #9 | ||
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Posts: 179 13/03/2004 22:36:18 |
My Name is Anthony Bird.
I'm coming up to my 44th birthday. I live in Downham, mid-way between Catford and Bromley in London. I work for London General at Stockwell Garage in London. Until recently i was on the main night bus rota, but have moved on to the staff-bus rota, this is on a 4 week cycle, basically 3 weeks on staff bus and 1 week on normal night buses. On the staff bus we can travel anywhere within the M25, so a good knowledge of London is a must. The staff bus generally operates between Midnight and 6am, the first half dropping staff home and afterwards doing the pick-up's. I was actually born in London and lived in Camberwell until 1963 when my family then moved to Crumlin, Dublin. I worked for CIE at Ringsend Garage between 1978 and 1984, i was mostly on the 65 after i was successful in getting temporarily 'marked in' on the route. I managed to stay on the 65's for over 3 years!! It was of course mostly Van-Hool worked at that time, but i did manage to get an RA(the original's) to Ballymore sometime in 1980 (i'm sure it was RA121). I moved back to London in 1984, joined LT as it then was and have worked out of New Cross and Catford before coming to Stockwell My interest in buses started when i was 4, i remember a conductor on the 23 jumping on the front of an 'R' to change the scroll and somehow this very much interested me. My favourite buses of all time are the P class Leyland Tigers. I well remember these on the 51A and 84 which we used regulary in those days. We used to go to Belfast a lot then and i loved those Trolleybuses up there as well. I have an interest in all forms of Transport, especially Airplanes. This interest has taken me to over 43 Countries so far!!. On a recent tour of Ireland i was amazed at the improvements in the road network, but all those roundabouts do my head in!!. |
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emcart |
Re: Members Directory | #10 | ||
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Posts: 1031 13/03/2004 23:28:41 Member. |
Anto - you want and try and use the Dungarvan by-pass - it has 7 roundabouts on it.
How are we fixed for Fin Park in July?. |
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luas |
just saying hello | #11 | ||
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Posts: 96 29/03/2004 16:57:41 |
hello
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luas |
im alex | #12 | ||
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Posts: 96 29/03/2004 17:10:14 |
i am 27 from dublin.
im a civil servant and a graduate. i love buses trains and the Luas. I have always wanted to join the railway Preservation Society or something similar and this is the nearest to it. Do you guys meet up or is it all web based. I can be emailed at dcucd@hotmail.com |
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Aquavid |
Re: im alex | #13 | ||
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Posts: 2316 29/03/2004 17:24:49 Archivist |
You are very welcome here Alex. We don't meet as such, but sometimes people from the board get together for little outings or whatever, and anytime a special run is organised, it's always advertised here. Btw, if you're interested in railways, can I reccomend the Irish Railway Record Society. Aquavid |
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wayne dublin 28 |
Re: im wayne | #14 | ||
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Posts: 312 01/06/2005 14:18:53 Full Member |
hi im wayne i live in dublin nth inner city age 29 i have like buses at a young age & still do but im new to this kind of thing
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Daz42C |
Re: im wayne | #15 | ||
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Posts: 1153 01/06/2005 16:10:10 Full Member |
Welcome to the group Wayne
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Daz42C |
Members Directory | #16 | ||
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Posts: 1153 07/06/2005 18:30:37 Full Member |
Well since the other posts are gone I will re-intoduce myself.
My name is Darren Johnson and have lived in Coolock for about 13 years. I am in secondray school at Belcamp College and will begin 6th Year in September.My interest in buses began when I was about 4 whilst I was living in Fairview. Every second evening my uncle would take me to Brian Boru Avenue (behind Clontarf Garage) and observe the buses for a while.When I was younger myblocal bus route were the 27, 42C and 101 now it's the 27, 27C, 27X, 42A. When I was around 5 or 6 years of age my room was full up of old timetables and leaflets and stuff like that but I was convinvced for some reason I was the only person in Dublin that liked buses. I still remember getting on the 8:00am departyre of the 27 on it's first day RA272 operated it. How wrong I was. Anyway after years of keeping records I got fed up of bring tormented over my love of buses and through it all out. Up untill recently about 4 years ago I pretended buses did'nt exist untill I found out my friend also secretly liked buses. From then on I began keeping records / timetables / leaflets etc.. Since joining this board I have came up with ideas, learned that some of my ideas are not so far fetched and that there are 100's of fellow bus enthusiasts in Dublin alone. I found this board by chance and I haven't looked back since. The reason I chose the name Daz42c was because Daz is short for Darren and the 42C in memory of the route that served my childhood. Darren Johnson |
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macallas |
Re: Members Directory | #17 | ||
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Posts: 51 16/06/2005 21:19:41 Full Member |
Hi, they call me George, for it is my name. I'm 37 (as of May 2005), and from Clondalkin.
I use the services of Dublin Bus almost every day. Always been sort of interested in buses and their comings and goings - the Dublin Bus ones in particular. I suppose that's because I've been hopping on and off them all my life and also because not being a car owner, the routings and standard of service directly affects my life as well! |
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65DONARD |
Re: Members Directory | #18 | ||
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Posts: 371 06/08/2005 15:14:23 Full Member |
Just to update my previous entry under "SW Anthony", I have now taken the new user name of "65DONARD" after a period of absence from the board. The 65 still remains my favourite all-time bus route, it was nearly 40 years ago (I was 5 at the time) when I first travelled to Blessington with the family on this route and I never get bored with it, the 3 years temporarily marked-in on this route in the early 80's are still the highlights of my bus-working career!!.
I have since moved the short distance from Downham to Ladywell and now (Jan 2007) moved again to a larger house in Catford, I Hate Moving, full of stress!!!!. I still work on the staff bus rota at Stockwell and will remain as long as it continues, plum job this, it's absolutly brillient to wander all over London and it's suburbs in the dead of night, London is best at night, at least you can get about with minimal problems. Imagine, you can do a Stockwell - Hounslow - Uxbridge - Harrow Weald - Stockwell circuit in just 1hr 35 mins, try that in the daytime on any day!!!!. I suppose the best thing that has ever happened to me was finding out I had a 19 year old daughter (I had known her since she was 2 years old!!) nearly 2 years ago (hence the absence's from the board, and the many trips to Dublin where she lives!!). It's the most amazing experience I've ever had, thank God for DNA tests!, although waiting for DNA results puts years on your life!!!. At the moment I'm busy writing a short history on Stockwell and it's bus and tram services (snippets which will appear in the London General in-house staff newsletter each month) which will also cover the buses/trams along Wandsworth Rd, through Clapham Common and Brixton. For anyone who knows the area my brief research has thrown up some surprises, for instance trams on Brixton Hill were once cable-hauled just like in San Francisco!!, or that originally the route 88 bus started out as a route 20, although I can't find an exact date when it was re-numbered but probably 1912, or when SW Garage opened in 1952 just 6 buses where allocated for the first few weeks, it's really only in recent times that the garage has been used to it's full capacity, a fair amount of space was once occupied by the engineers to carry out repairs and the driver training buses which where all cleared away when the route 11 RM's moved in from Waterloo base, today there are almost 200 buses allocated. My Country's visited total now amounts to 48 (Egypt, Lebonon, Syria, Mexico & Latvia are recent additions!!). My goal of 100 before I retire in 20 years (please God!!!) is looking shakey at the moment due to all the problems going on around the World, I had planned to travel to Iran this year based on info that tours were running a year ago, but all cancelled again. My ultimate aim is to get to the North Pole (yes, it's possible but expensive) I shall have to wait until my Go-Ahead(London General) share-save's matures!!!. Like Venice, Egypt and the pyamids are a must see sight, really awsome close-up, but hot. |
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Nigel |
Re: Members Directory | #19 | ||
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Posts: 1319 06/08/2005 22:23:44 Expert |
Looks like soon the North Pole will be the only safe place left in the world to visit! The North Pole won't really count as a country though, will it? Technically, it is the ocean! I believe the nights are bloody long and cold if you miss the last bus up there, though...
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65DONARD |
Re: Members Directory | #20 | ||
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Posts: 371 08/08/2005 00:53:32 Full Member |
No, not a Country, but it's a place I've always wanted to visit, basically because not many people have had the good fortune or chance to visit, but hopefully in the near future I will !!!!. I see that for the first time in my life I am going to have to fly in a helicoptor, and I will tell you now that I am NOT looking forward to that, I prefer something with wings on!!!.
Anthony. |
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