Platinums

[Wumpty]

yeah, good description that, get the engine into the power band as it were, i've never got into that practice even though it makes sense to at busy islands junctions etc, i just trudge along and wait for the blast of the horn and gestures 
on hill starts need to start to remember which ones wont hold on pull away, i get caught out on small brook queensway 1st to city, that delay when pressing gas pedal and movement is an eternity, jokes

Some of the Leyland Nationals were just as temperamental. Some you could pop into 2nd, hold revs and release the handbrake, others would bounce all over the place like a kangaroo!

[spacecowboy150]

You do realise they are automatic transmission?

The driver cannot 'rev it a lot in First gear'

I know but it doesn't matter. point is they rev a lot more in first gear compared to the 66 reg ones

[2900]

An issue i've noticed on WB platinums is the corrosion of aluminum panels, no amount of hard wearing paint going to stop that if its poorly done in the first place.

[Jack]

An issue i've noticed on WB platinums is the corrosion of aluminum panels, no amount of hard wearing paint going to stop that if its poorly done in the first place.

They look tatty 6701-6758 do. Far from looking good as someone else said they are a mess.

[Westy]

They look tatty 6701-6758 do. Far from looking good as someone else said they are a mess.

As I've said before elsewhere, even the 'skirts' on some of Walsall's single deck Crimsons are looking a little tatty, let's say.

How long is a paint job supposed to last on average?

[2900]

Most  double deck buses look ok above lower saloon window level, may be better off focusing on the lower areas its these areas that most draws your attention, back in the day Metrobuses use to have a sticker in  cab when next repaint was due every 5 years 

[2900]

Platinum 7508 apparently torched last night on the 33 service, photo i have seen same level of fire damage as WB6988 so no chance of repair either 

[Tony]

Platinum 7508 apparently torched last night on the 33 service, photo i have seen same level of fire damage as WB6988 so no chance of repair either

Not as bad as 6988, ADL coming tomorrow to give a quote.

[2900]

we use see a lot of engine fires, then fire suppression kits were added to engine bays, may be time for for fire suppression kits for saloons too. Public buildings its legal requirement, may be should be for buses to.

[Ronnoc]

Within 8 years we've already lost 3 (potentially 4 now) E400 MMCs to fires. Hopefully the perpetrator is caught and harshly dealt with.

[markcf83]

Agreed. But the individual concerned will plead poverty......

Within 8 years we've already lost 3 (potentially 4 now) E400 MMCs to fires. Hopefully the perpetrator is caught and harshly dealt with.

[MW]

Within 8 years we've already lost 3 (potentially 4 now) E400 MMCs to fires. Hopefully the perpetrator is caught and harshly dealt with.

Have they all been arson? 

What services were they on, and when were these fires?

[Tony]

Have they all been arson?

What services were they on, and when were these fires?

6137 on the 11 at Yardley
6766 on the 529 at Willenhall
6899 on the 50 in the City Centre (repaired)
6988 on the 74 in Handsworth
7508 on the 33 in Kingstanding
so no obvious common link

all Arson

[CL]

we use see a lot of engine fires, then fire suppression kits were added to engine bays, may be time for for fire suppression kits for saloons too. Public buildings its legal requirement, may be should be for buses to.

The fire suppression system in the engine bays work by displacing the oxygen in the atmosphere - with pressurised gas denser than air; eliminating one element of the combustion triangle (oxygen, heat, and a fuel source)

This type of fire suppression wouldn't be so practical in a saloon, as the density of the gas could lead to suffocation (for instance, if the vehicle wasn't evacuated in time). A sprinkler system may be more practical than this type of fore suppression, although it wouldn't do the internal electrics much good either.

[don]

I would imagine the arsonists usually operate at the back of buses, possibly the upper deck - so providing some sort of suppression system in that area would suffice as a risk reduction. I guess the electrics could be better protected in those areas but the weight of carrying extra fluid or material for suppression might be an issue.

At some point the costs of and impact on performance/weight of extra risk reduction measures against the risk of loss of or damage to a vehicle (and, although it hasn't happened, thankfully, injury or death to staff or passengers) would need to be assessed.