If I close my eyes listening to this beautiful sound it takes me back to riding around Runcorn busway as a kid either to school or the local shopping centre
I've driven a few RE's over the years and I would just like to say your up and down shifts are absolutely exquisite 👌🏻 well done indeed, she sounds beautiful 👏🏻
Cheers. I spent a lot of years just riding around and observing how other people drive, so I soon learnt the rights and wrongs. I'm not perfect by any means though, it a bit to get used to the 680 powered VR I drove in another video.
Used to love riding these buses, you got to know what kind of bus you were getting before you could see it,although getting an RE on the journey to school was appreciated when normally you would be on a backed VR so 70 odd kids on a single decker was not always a pleasant experience. Thanks for keeping this one alive and kicking!👍
Wish I was on this bus !! …Fond memories from when I was a wee nipper from the best sounding single decker bus that was ever built 🥰 Tremendous driving my friend and ‘thank you’ sooo much for posting 👍 😄
I would love to drive this on the 108 Bishop Auckland to Willington or the 95/96 Barnard Castle to Middleton-in-Teesdale. The closest I've driven is a Routemaster, it would be fun to try a different semi-automatic bus. Than k you for the video. I especially like the bit at the end where you're following the National, it's like a trip back in time. Buses had such variety from the 50s to the 00s but everything since then is so alike and character less.
That 680 growl and Bristol Transmission howl makes the hairs on my neck stand up. I remember Cumberland's REs prowling the roads of West Cumbria. I've driven a VR, LH but never a RE. Maybe one day.
@@regan44017 Simple ,it is down to the SCG box specially designed for the RE when Bristol included a semi auto option to the then standard 5-speed manual box. That simple gorgeous screaming sound emanates from a set of one to one transfer gears, like a Mark One BMC Mini Cooper. Said transfer gears take drive from the box to the rear axle via a short prop shaft as both input and output shafts are side by side. The box mounted separately from the 680 ahead of the rear axle with a longer prop shaft taking drive to the left input shaft at rear of the box, right input shaft takes drive to the rear axle. Said arrangement endowing the RE with surprisingly good handling akin to a decent 60,s sports car.
@@scatmancraig1974 Think you misread my post, I know why you blip on the downchange, I passed my pcv in an Atlantean, always pause on the up change and blip on the down. 👍
@@scatmancraig1974 quite, and how we associated idents with particular programmes. ATV Midlands: Crossroads, Thames: The Sweeney/ Minder, Anglia: Tales of the Unexpected, and so on. Back to REs, are you likely to be driving something loud at the Lincoln running day in a few weeks time?
I'm not sure yet, I often get lumbered with Doncaster 122 which no one else likes. I haven't been to the LVVS for months now as I have been too busy trying to restore my own project, so I'm not high up in the list for being able to request what I drive. Having said that, I usually request UVL873M, not that I get it very often though...
RE's aren't particularly heavy, around 7.5 tones unladen compared with around 9 tonnes for a Leyland National. And the noise difference is down to the RE's exhaust system.
@@scatmancraig1974 What makes RE's alot lighter than Nationals? The bodywork? I know that some Alexander bodied buses used an all aluminium frame like the Citybus, B10M PS etc.
I drive buses how I like them to be driven. Most of these were hammered day in day out, so unless they are mechanically very fragile, they can be driven with a bit of enthusiasm with no issues.
Unfortunately in my country Singapore, the transport authority don't give any shit about preserving any single buses because they automatically assumed it as 'unsafe' after 17 years and they won't let us get hold of it even if we want to. They only allowed overseas third party buyer even if allowed. My country don't really appreciate older buses sadly.
Oh yes.You just can't beat the sound of a barking RE. I don't know if Bristol made the exhausts routes like that or jusa happy accident. They made one of the best sounding buses ever built if not the best. You always know when one is coming.
Not all RE's sound like this, some Leyland powered RE's had quiet exhausts. I think it was basically down to some operators specifying twin-silencers instead of the standard single silencer.
@@Letshaveafewbeers A series two RE has an exhaust tailpipe that exits roughly in the middle of the wheelbase on the offside. Earlier series 1's had a different system with a tailpipe on the offside rear corner. I think Hartlepool Transport modified theirs to a similar system to the earlier series 1's.
@@scatmancraig1974 Interesting when you say offside rear corner was that before the rear axle or after. Initially when I posted I thought it was a conventional exit at the rear but hidden underneath under the body where the engine was with a small silencer hence the noise.
I make no apology for using all revs available, I drive how I like to be driven. Unless they are known to be mechanically fragile, there's nothing that I do that they didn't see day in and day out in normal service.
Thirty odd years back now I could well remember TRY on the Newcastle Airport/Darras Hall run from Eldon Square, when it was in Busways Livery... Back then Eldon Square Bus Interchange was covered in and boy you could hear it pull away !
I'm sure TRY118H used to run for Blue Bus Services on the 82 and 83 in the early 90s; Heddon-on-the-Wall to Eldon Square. It was a novelty, as the other REs acquired all had standard double-curvature windscreen ECW bodies. It always looked awkward and ancient with its flat front.
I think it was on SWC25K, an ex-Colchester example, that I first chatted up a girl from Walbottle High after boarding at West Road Crem after chucking out time at St.Cuthbert's. We were at the back of the bus, obviously
I used to let all the familiar yellow Atlanteans roar uphill and wait for the OK Tigers and Blue Bus REs bounding up Denton Bank from the furthest outliers of the city boundaries; they always seemed more "county", distinctive and interesting. And so were their passengers.
there an even older Re which is a RE mk1 with a flat front but the windscreen was not as high as with this one which is a mk2, it was shorter and the driver side window the top front corner off if was rounded like on the MWs
TRY118H used to be on the Chantry 12 and 13 service when owned by Ipswich Borough Transport. Used to ride on this one regularly - so glad that it has been preserved. I would love to preserve a bus but sadly no where to store one.
When it comes to gearchanging, I do lose my patience sometimes. I think the extended version of this video has a slam change after I had to wait for what seemed like forever to get on to a roundabout. I drive as i like to be driven, so fairly briskly but with a little bit of respect to the vehicle.
I preferred the Gardner powered vehicles, much quieter and smoother. I cut my teeth on 32' and 36' Gardners with 5 speed crashboxes. The shorter models could reach about 75mph and the longer, about 65mph I found them to be much smoother and nicer to drive than the 32' 680 semis.. By the way, I hated the snatching on of the handbrake with no regard to ratchet wear. I was taught and always trained, to apply the handbrake with the button depressed until the last click to ensure that it was locked. Yanking the handbrake with the foot hard on the pedal causes unnecessary wear and stretching of components.
Er no the re manual box is synchromesh on second third fourth, and overdrive ,fifth, and the Gardners are okay if you want mogadon motoring, unless you get the Gardner the Mike Ede Treatment.
@@basiltaylor8910 You are wrong. Having driven them fo many years I do have a certain knowledge. The Southdown manual REs were constant mesh, not synchromesh. 100% guaranteed! I also drove the Bristol K type and Lodekkas. I also drove an R reg Seddon Pennine with a Perkins V8 and 5 speed cashbox. Also drove Seddon's with Gardner 180 6 speed synchro, and Chinese 5 speed. The Leopards were crash 1st and synchro 2nd, 3rd and top. Similar gearbox in PD3 (Queen Mary's) The Ford and AEC Reliance coaches were 6 speed synchro. I could go on explaining what PSVs I've driven since 1976. Having trained drivers on a wide range of vehicles from 1953 K type to 2017 Citaro bendis, I've picked up a little knowledge along the way.
@@stevesales4263 Tell that to Alan Townsin Author of the Bristol Story Part One !!!, he states that the RE manual box is sycnhromesh,. Southdown REs were built to special order with constant mesh gearboxes ,as Southdown,s fleet was all Leyland constant mesh, their drivers trained to use said gearboxes ,.Apart from the' Queen Mary PD3,s,oddly enough ,they were synchromesh,, know as I rode one as a seven year old over half a century ago, sounding a lot quieter than a constant mesh PD2,.
@@stevesales4263 Could you handle 'Daisy' A 1949 Bristol L5G LHT 911, 'Joan 'A 1966 Bristol FLF6B FHU 59D,both can reduce a driver to embarrassing tears. Stroud Depot had an S reg Seddon Alexander Y-Type as a driver trainer with a 4-speed ZF Synchromesh box twirled by a Gardner 6HLXB , know having asked a senior driver if the bus was a 6-speed, no ,a 4-speed he replied .
@@basiltaylor8910 I'm sure I could. I drove the Brighton & Hove K -type for functions. As a reward for trainees as their driving progressed, I also taught them to drive it. I drove Lodekkas on service, usually as weekend overtime at Conway Street, Hove. I would have loved the opportunity to try out Daisy, but sadly not. However, I found that patience was definitely a virtue with any crashbox. I drove an R reg Seddon coach, a front mounted Perkins 540, mated with a 5 speed crashbox. It was very noisy and a bit gutless. Also at the same period, a 10m Seddon Vanhool with a rear mounted Perkins 540 and synchro Chinese gearbox and a Seddon 12m mid-engine which if I remember rightly, had a Gardner 180. During my early time in the mid 70's to early 80's driving on service, much of it was 36' Leyland Leopards with a 4 speed box and Eton rear axle, or my favourites, the Bristol RE's, 32' and 36', all with 5 speed constant mesh boxes. When running about empty or nearly empty in the evenings or on Sundays, I spent many hours perfecting my techniques, for instance starting off in 1st low to 1st high to 2nd low and so on. With the RE's I would just work up and down the box, either using or ignoring the clutch. It was a matter of pride to achieve smooth, silent shifts.
Its a story my great grandad always said to me when I was young before he passed away, but he use to drive the Ipswich Busses and First Eastern Counties in the 1970s and 80s, so there may have been a possible chance he drove THIS very bus
I bet this bus is fitted with a plunjer pump instead of the CAV rotation pump. It is not sluggish at all. Over here in Holland, an extra so called “detonation” silencer about half the size of the original one was fitted right before the end of the exhaust pipe. This prevented too loud exhaust noise. Unlike the original set up, the exhaust pipe on Dutch Leylands was laid over the rear axle to the left side of the rear bumper. Without this extra silencer the exhaust noise was very loud, and I mean, VERY loud. Even louder than can be heard here.
As far as I know, this bus had the standard DPA rotary pump as all Leyland engined Bristol RE's had. The exhaust has been modified a bit, in other words it is pretty much unsilenced. Bristol RE's usually had a single silencer followed by a very long tailpipe, which created some magnificent sound effects. Some operators specified an extra silencer, which killed the exhaust noise stone dead.
Mike Ede,s Carmel KHW309E has some SERIOUS Competition, Trinny TRY118H has lotsa 'Attitude' Rorty 680 with screaming 4-speed SCG Box, nice slow crash box changes,as hot changing f--ks up the box.
After the Leyland Atlantean Monograph bought with WHSmith voucher during Cold Turkey week, 85/86. Sadly disappointing due to non-glossy finish. And no photos of yellow Tyneside Atlanteans. But Gavin Booth looked very avuncular and reassuring.
I love this engine the way it sounds is AWESOME!!!! it sounds like it has a TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF POWER!!! 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁. & It does when those two motorcyclists pull up & are put to shame by this bus. 😁
Nothing of the sort that sound was classic leyland and 25’s are in a different league but love the bark of a leyland 680 but would keep her barking rather than thrashing the pants off this
Has it got a glass screen behind the cab❓ So much less rattly than perspex on BOC. Totally forgot the signature Bristol brake squeak copied by my Grandma's mynah bird❤❤❤
At 3:08 and as a bus driver myself, I was expecting that. Always some silly car driver that has to get in front of the bus and to top it all, it's a rubbish Vauxhall. Lovely sounding RE.
I'm going to do another video in the next few weeks, hopefully with a Gardner powered RE. I'm tinkering it at the moment, which might take a while.... But when I do film it, I'll try and include the ATV ident.
I don't know where you live, other than somewhere near Brighton...! It was a bit of a short notice invite to drive this particular bus. The owner also deals in parts and the restoration of Leyland Nationals, and my original intention was to collect spares for my own bus. The drive of this Bristol RE was a very welcome bonus!
Sounds absolutely beautiful !!! If you know anyone who is looking for a brand new complete fully restored gear selectors with new gaskets fitted for the leopards and the Atlanteans I have 2 for sale just so know,, cheers
You sure, Joan is a rough old girl , mishandle the gears and she will bite at the first opportunity. I have on tape of FHU 59D in a really bad mood April 2003 At Stroud Bus Running Day, the embarrassing symphony from her crash gearbox unbelievable. Driver could not cope with her tantrums on account of his bad gear changes, just pulling out of Stroud,s old bus station the FLF crawled in a cannonade of crashing dog clutches towards the railway bridge making him cringe on every change. Joan calmed down a bit later in the trip to Chalford and back. Daisy LHT 911, a bit rough around the edges is no walk in the park, being earlier vintage built 1949 she too can be a right diva, combination of a slowing revving Gardner 5LW and 5 speed Bristol Crash Box, guaranteed to test the sanity of any one brave enough to drive her,. That B&H KS6G,after a spell with Daisy, be like driving Dads Ford Cortina, the question is can you tame both ?. ,Then come down to Stroud Vintage Engine Club,s Annual Steam Rally held late July early August at South Cerney Airfield not far from Cirencester and take a spin in Daisy on the shuttle to Cirencester.
Your driving is exceptional. You really have the feel of this bus and it’s transmission.
Just sounds fab. They’re lovely old buses to drive. Like the sweet, unhurried gear changes too.
If I close my eyes listening to this beautiful sound it takes me back to riding around Runcorn busway as a kid either to school or the local shopping centre
I've driven a few RE's over the years and I would just like to say your up and down shifts are absolutely exquisite 👌🏻 well done indeed, she sounds beautiful 👏🏻
Cheers. I spent a lot of years just riding around and observing how other people drive, so I soon learnt the rights and wrongs. I'm not perfect by any means though, it a bit to get used to the 680 powered VR I drove in another video.
Nicely driven and wonder wonderful harmony in that Lego and engine nice job 🙏@@scatmancraig1974
Lovely sound. Thanks for capturing this. Really enjoyed it 😊
I drove 1802 at Blue Bus they had quite a few old RE,s brings back memories watching this thank you.
Used to love riding these buses, you got to know what kind of bus you were getting before you could see it,although getting an RE on the journey to school was appreciated when normally you would be on a backed VR so 70 odd kids on a single decker was not always a pleasant experience. Thanks for keeping this one alive and kicking!👍
i love the harmonic tones and your driving skills. i have my music system on full volume. i really like old buses. thanks for the vidio
Sounds so good ..as a kid I’d always sit by the window where the exhaust was to watch the smoke and hear the noise 👌🏽
Wish I was on this bus !! …Fond memories from when I was a wee nipper from the best sounding single decker bus that was ever built 🥰 Tremendous driving my friend and ‘thank you’ sooo much for posting 👍 😄
i like the fact that back then stab proof sheilds werent a thing, everyone was just nice!
That LEYLAND engine simply ROARS BUT GENTLY aswell although it can sound aggressively if needed.either way it sounds AWESOME!!!
I would love to drive this on the 108 Bishop Auckland to Willington or the 95/96 Barnard Castle to Middleton-in-Teesdale. The closest I've driven is a Routemaster, it would be fun to try a different semi-automatic bus. Than k you for the video. I especially like the bit at the end where you're following the National, it's like a trip back in time. Buses had such variety from the 50s to the 00s but everything since then is so alike and character less.
That 680 growl and Bristol Transmission howl makes the hairs on my neck stand up.
I remember Cumberland's REs
prowling the roads of West Cumbria.
I've driven a VR, LH but never a RE.
Maybe one day.
Any idea why the transmission howls so much? I remember all the Bristol RE's that we had in New Zealand doing the same
@@regan44017 Simple ,it is down to the SCG box specially designed for the RE when Bristol included a semi auto option to the then standard 5-speed manual box. That simple gorgeous screaming sound emanates from a set of one to one transfer gears, like a Mark One BMC Mini Cooper. Said transfer gears take drive from the box to the rear axle via a short prop shaft as both input and output shafts are side by side. The box mounted separately from the 680 ahead of the rear axle with a longer prop shaft taking drive to the left input shaft at rear of the box, right input shaft takes drive to the rear axle. Said arrangement endowing the RE with surprisingly good handling akin to a decent 60,s sports car.
@@basiltaylor8910 Cheers for that explanation!
@@regan44017 You are most welcome.
Awesome, great sounding motor, can't beat a O.680 for rattling the windows and setting the odd car alarm off.
Sadly I didn't get any car alarm bonus points in this video, but I have driving another RE previously.
Great drive, lovely downchange blip, why can't we have vehicles that sound this good anymore?
They don't make them anymore, unfortunately.
Without no clutch, the downchange "blip" is a necessity to ensure that the gears engage smoothly. Without it, there would be a lot of lurching about.
@@scatmancraig1974 Think you misread my post, I know why you blip on the downchange, I passed my pcv in an Atlantean, always pause on the up change and blip on the down. 👍
Beautiful sound
Beautiful bus and beautiful noise too
Superb, thanks for the 12" extended play version, along with the Central Television ident music.
I wondered if anyone would spot the Central intro. I have I soft spot for the old ITV idents, sadly now a thing of the past.
@@scatmancraig1974 quite, and how we associated idents with particular programmes. ATV Midlands: Crossroads, Thames: The Sweeney/ Minder, Anglia: Tales of the Unexpected, and so on.
Back to REs, are you likely to be driving something loud at the Lincoln running day in a few weeks time?
I'm not sure yet, I often get lumbered with Doncaster 122 which no one else likes. I haven't been to the LVVS for months now as I have been too busy trying to restore my own project, so I'm not high up in the list for being able to request what I drive. Having said that, I usually request UVL873M, not that I get it very often though...
It's amazing how different Leyland 0.680 RE's sound to Atlanteans, Leopards, and mk2 National's that had the same engine. It certainly goes well.
RE's aren't particularly heavy, around 7.5 tones unladen compared with around 9 tonnes for a Leyland National. And the noise difference is down to the RE's exhaust system.
@@scatmancraig1974 What makes RE's alot lighter than Nationals? The bodywork? I know that some Alexander bodied buses used an all aluminium frame like the Citybus, B10M PS etc.
I thought Mk2 Nationals all had TL11s?
@@leylandlynxvlog A few had Gardner engines
Nice to see a preserved vehicle being”driven” rather than nursed...
I drive buses how I like them to be driven. Most of these were hammered day in day out, so unless they are mechanically very fragile, they can be driven with a bit of enthusiasm with no issues.
Unfortunately in my country Singapore, the transport authority don't give any shit about preserving any single buses because they automatically assumed it as 'unsafe' after 17 years and they won't let us get hold of it even if we want to. They only allowed overseas third party buyer even if allowed.
My country don't really appreciate older buses sadly.
@@garfieldandfriends1 That's sad. Singapore had some very unique buses.
Oh yes.You just can't beat the sound of a barking RE. I don't know if Bristol made the exhausts routes like that or jusa happy accident. They made one of the best sounding buses ever built if not the best. You always know when one is coming.
Where is the exhaust on the RE does it exit underneath? It's seems louder than a National
@@Letshaveafewbeers Yes, the one I help with, is underneath in the middle.
Not all RE's sound like this, some Leyland powered RE's had quiet exhausts. I think it was basically down to some operators specifying twin-silencers instead of the standard single silencer.
@@Letshaveafewbeers A series two RE has an exhaust tailpipe that exits roughly in the middle of the wheelbase on the offside. Earlier series 1's had a different system with a tailpipe on the offside rear corner. I think Hartlepool Transport modified theirs to a similar system to the earlier series 1's.
@@scatmancraig1974 Interesting when you say offside rear corner was that before the rear axle or after. Initially when I posted I thought it was a conventional exit at the rear but hidden underneath under the body where the engine was with a small silencer hence the noise.
Superb video Craig !! Excellent driving as well !
Excelet vid indeed but he over revving
I make no apology for using all revs available, I drive how I like to be driven. Unless they are known to be mechanically fragile, there's nothing that I do that they didn't see day in and day out in normal service.
Love the sign on the driver's door, "All asses must be shown when boarding"
someone's taken the P....
Thirty odd years back now I could well remember TRY on the Newcastle Airport/Darras Hall run from Eldon Square, when it was in Busways Livery... Back then Eldon Square Bus Interchange was covered in and boy you could hear it pull away !
I'm sure TRY118H used to run for Blue Bus Services on the 82 and 83 in the early 90s; Heddon-on-the-Wall to Eldon Square. It was a novelty, as the other REs acquired all had standard double-curvature windscreen ECW bodies. It always looked awkward and ancient with its flat front.
Looking at the moquette, yes it bloody did!
I think it was on SWC25K, an ex-Colchester example, that I first chatted up a girl from Walbottle High after boarding at West Road Crem after chucking out time at St.Cuthbert's. We were at the back of the bus, obviously
I used to let all the familiar yellow Atlanteans roar uphill and wait for the OK Tigers and Blue Bus REs bounding up Denton Bank from the furthest outliers of the city boundaries; they always seemed more "county", distinctive and interesting. And so were their passengers.
Busways 1802 was also on the 49 Throckley - Wallsend sometimes
there an even older Re which is a RE mk1 with a flat front but the windscreen was not as high as with this one which is a mk2, it was shorter and the driver side window the top front corner off if was rounded like on the MWs
Given that the opportunity & chance I would ABSOLUTELY LOVE!!! to drive this.
I was a very lucky man that day.
TRY118H used to be on the Chantry 12 and 13 service when owned by Ipswich Borough Transport. Used to ride on this one regularly - so glad that it has been preserved. I would love to preserve a bus but sadly no where to store one.
Pure Heaven. One day, when I win the lottery.........
Thanks for sharing.
Great driving and excellent gear changing. UFM53F is quite noisy but is very nice.
When it comes to gearchanging, I do lose my patience sometimes. I think the extended version of this video has a slam change after I had to wait for what seemed like forever to get on to a roundabout. I drive as i like to be driven, so fairly briskly but with a little bit of respect to the vehicle.
@@scatmancraig1974 A slam-through gear change can sound so nice though.
I preferred the Gardner powered vehicles, much quieter and smoother. I cut my teeth on 32' and 36' Gardners with 5 speed crashboxes. The shorter models could reach about 75mph and the longer, about 65mph I found them to be much smoother and nicer to drive than the 32' 680 semis..
By the way, I hated the snatching on of the handbrake with no regard to ratchet wear. I was taught and always trained, to apply the handbrake with the button depressed until the last click to ensure that it was locked. Yanking the handbrake with the foot hard on the pedal causes unnecessary wear and stretching of components.
Er no the re manual box is synchromesh on second third fourth, and overdrive ,fifth, and the Gardners are okay if you want mogadon motoring, unless you get the Gardner the Mike Ede Treatment.
@@basiltaylor8910 You are wrong. Having driven them fo many years I do have a certain knowledge. The Southdown manual REs were constant mesh, not synchromesh. 100% guaranteed!
I also drove the Bristol K type and Lodekkas. I also drove an R reg Seddon Pennine with a Perkins V8 and 5 speed cashbox. Also drove Seddon's with Gardner 180 6 speed synchro, and Chinese 5 speed. The Leopards were crash 1st and synchro 2nd, 3rd and top. Similar gearbox in PD3 (Queen Mary's) The Ford and AEC Reliance coaches were 6 speed synchro.
I could go on explaining what PSVs I've driven since 1976. Having trained drivers on a wide range of vehicles from 1953 K type to 2017 Citaro bendis, I've picked up a little knowledge along the way.
@@stevesales4263 Tell that to Alan Townsin Author of the Bristol Story Part One !!!, he states that the RE manual box is sycnhromesh,. Southdown REs were built to special order with constant mesh gearboxes ,as Southdown,s fleet was all Leyland constant mesh, their drivers trained to use said gearboxes ,.Apart from the' Queen Mary PD3,s,oddly enough ,they were synchromesh,, know as I rode one as a seven year old over half a century ago, sounding a lot quieter than a constant mesh PD2,.
@@stevesales4263 Could you handle 'Daisy' A 1949 Bristol L5G LHT 911, 'Joan 'A 1966 Bristol FLF6B FHU 59D,both can reduce a driver to embarrassing tears. Stroud Depot had an S reg Seddon Alexander Y-Type as a driver trainer with a 4-speed ZF Synchromesh box twirled by a Gardner 6HLXB , know having asked a senior driver if the bus was a 6-speed, no ,a 4-speed he replied .
@@basiltaylor8910 I'm sure I could. I drove the Brighton & Hove K -type for functions. As a reward for trainees as their driving progressed, I also taught them to drive it. I drove Lodekkas on service, usually as weekend overtime at Conway Street, Hove. I would have loved the opportunity to try out Daisy, but sadly not. However, I found that patience was definitely a virtue with any crashbox.
I drove an R reg Seddon coach, a front mounted Perkins 540, mated with a 5 speed crashbox. It was very noisy and a bit gutless. Also at the same period, a 10m Seddon Vanhool with a rear mounted Perkins 540 and synchro Chinese gearbox and a Seddon 12m mid-engine which if I remember rightly, had a Gardner 180.
During my early time in the mid 70's to early 80's driving on service, much of it was 36' Leyland Leopards with a 4 speed box and Eton rear axle, or my favourites, the Bristol RE's, 32' and 36', all with 5 speed constant mesh boxes. When running about empty or nearly empty in the evenings or on Sundays, I spent many hours perfecting my techniques, for instance starting off in 1st low to 1st high to 2nd low and so on. With the RE's I would just work up and down the box, either using or ignoring the clutch. It was a matter of pride to achieve smooth, silent shifts.
Gotta love these :D excellent driving !
I disagree with the driving - driving like a thing possessed.
Its a story my great grandad always said to me when I was young before he passed away, but he use to drive the Ipswich Busses and First Eastern Counties in the 1970s and 80s, so there may have been a possible chance he drove THIS very bus
A few Citybus and Ulsterbus RE's had crackling exhausts, 2362 and 2521 are a couple of examples that come to mind.
I own 2590, but all attempts at making it louder have failed so far. I'm still trying...
I bet this bus is fitted with a plunjer pump instead of the CAV rotation pump. It is not sluggish at all. Over here in Holland, an extra so called “detonation” silencer about half the size of the original one was fitted right before the end of the exhaust pipe. This prevented too loud exhaust noise. Unlike the original set up, the exhaust pipe on Dutch Leylands was laid over the rear axle to the left side of the rear bumper. Without this extra silencer the exhaust noise was very loud, and I mean, VERY loud. Even louder than can be heard here.
As far as I know, this bus had the standard DPA rotary pump as all Leyland engined Bristol RE's had. The exhaust has been modified a bit, in other words it is pretty much unsilenced. Bristol RE's usually had a single silencer followed by a very long tailpipe, which created some magnificent sound effects. Some operators specified an extra silencer, which killed the exhaust noise stone dead.
Good to see the old girl roaring through the Weald; a 1000 light years away from Geordieland
Even more light years away from Leicester, where it spent the first 11 years or so of its life.
I love how the Leyland National in front at the end of this video is farting out copious amounts of black smoke, just as in days of yore
It wouldn't have been a Mk1 National without the smoke trail. I own a Mk1 and it clags even better!
Sounds great
Classic RE sound, used to love it, but no good for post-school migraines!
RE mk2
Mike Ede,s Carmel KHW309E has some SERIOUS Competition, Trinny TRY118H has lotsa 'Attitude' Rorty 680 with screaming 4-speed SCG Box, nice slow crash box changes,as hot changing f--ks up the box.
watching your excellent vid has made me buy an RE book, 40 years of service by duncan roberts
I have Duncans RE book, as well as the earlier one by Martin Curtis and the Bus Monographs one too. All good reads.
@@scatmancraig1974 I got the Ian Allan Martin Curtis Bus Monograph RE edition for my 12th birthday. I was a happy laddie
After the Leyland Atlantean Monograph bought with WHSmith voucher during Cold Turkey week, 85/86. Sadly disappointing due to non-glossy finish. And no photos of yellow Tyneside Atlanteans. But Gavin Booth looked very avuncular and reassuring.
Leyland National Bus Monograph by Stephen Morris? Meh...a bit how those buses sound
I love this engine the way it sounds is AWESOME!!!! it sounds like it has a TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF POWER!!! 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁. & It does when those two motorcyclists pull up & are put to shame by this bus. 😁
A lot of people complain about setting off in 2nd and frankly we always said if its rolling its 2nd. To be honest they pull in 3rd at 10mph 🤣
I like that the driver shows who's BOSS against the two motorcyclist 😁😁😁😁😁😁 when it comes down to being LOUD!!!
haha I just watched that bit on the shorter version, it's funny
That RE showed those bikers who is BOSS at POWER!!!!! 😁😁😁😁😁😁 Those bikers sounded more like hairdryers than motorbikes 😁😁😁😁😁😁😄😃😆
This is MMMUUUUUSIIIIIC
😍😃😃😍😍😍😍😍😍🥰🥰🥰🥰
Basso profundo! Pure music!
sounded like a class 25 loco when it first started
Nothing of the sort that sound was classic leyland and 25’s are in a different league but love the bark of a leyland 680 but would keep her barking rather than thrashing the pants off this
Pretty sure I remember going on one of these run by Eastern Counties when I was a kid.. all looks very familiar
I'd love to have a drive of that bus.
I'd love to have another drive of it myself. It was sold to an unknown owner a few months after I drove it, and hasn't been seen in public since.
Can you record the sound exhaust of TRY118H
Never ran with Newcastle Busways. It was owned by Busways Travel Services and, as you say, spent time in the latter's Blue Bus and Economic fleets.
Has it got a glass screen behind the cab❓ So much less rattly than perspex on BOC. Totally forgot the signature Bristol brake squeak copied by my Grandma's mynah bird❤❤❤
At 3:08 and as a bus driver myself, I was expecting that. Always some silly car driver that has to get in front of the bus and to top it all, it's a rubbish Vauxhall. Lovely sounding RE.
normally, they then immediately stop to turn right.
Was that a National in front..couldn't see for the exhaust smoke lol
There is a lot of Nationals in the yard where the RE was kept, over 30 in various states of repair.
Heck yeah man please do more like this one this is what a real bus sounds like sounds mean by the way somebody say that lying LOL
I'm currently uploading a video of a very similar bus. Not as loud, but just as nice to drive!
I like the use of the Central TV ident theme at the beginning. Can you do one with the ATV ident, for comparison, please?
I'm going to do another video in the next few weeks, hopefully with a Gardner powered RE. I'm tinkering it at the moment, which might take a while.... But when I do film it, I'll try and include the ATV ident.
Part of the PCV driving test is performing a down hill start , you would be expected to move away in 2nd gear. 👍
you'll have to let me know when this is next happening chap, didnt realise it was so close to me :)
I don't know where you live, other than somewhere near Brighton...! It was a bit of a short notice invite to drive this particular bus. The owner also deals in parts and the restoration of Leyland Nationals, and my original intention was to collect spares for my own bus. The drive of this Bristol RE was a very welcome bonus!
El Leyland 680 suena su escape como el Fiat 619 o el Scania vabis
Is this a TL11 as I can hear a turbo?
No, just a 680. The whistling you can hear will be the fluid flywheel, which makes a similar noise to a turbo.
They were fitted also with the legendary Gardner 6lxb which in its own right sounded great.
i think london transport should have got these instead of the aec merlin/swifts! would have been more reliable!
and more fun
Muy bueno desde uruguay montevideo el bus leyland antes en América avian ase mucho tiempo
New to Leicester City Transport.
Sounds absolutely beautiful !!! If you know anyone who is looking for a brand new complete fully restored gear selectors with new gaskets fitted for the leopards and the Atlanteans I have 2 for sale just so know,, cheers
You sure, Joan is a rough old girl , mishandle the gears and she will bite at the first opportunity. I have on tape of FHU 59D in a really bad mood April 2003 At Stroud Bus Running Day, the embarrassing symphony from her crash gearbox unbelievable. Driver could not cope with her tantrums on account of his bad gear changes, just pulling out of Stroud,s old bus station the FLF crawled in a cannonade of crashing dog clutches towards the railway bridge making him cringe on every change. Joan calmed down a bit later in the trip to Chalford and back. Daisy LHT 911, a bit rough around the edges is no walk in the park, being earlier vintage built 1949 she too can be a right diva, combination of a slowing revving Gardner 5LW and 5 speed Bristol Crash Box, guaranteed to test the sanity of any one brave enough to drive her,. That B&H KS6G,after a spell with Daisy, be like driving Dads Ford Cortina, the question is can you tame both ?. ,Then come down to Stroud Vintage Engine Club,s Annual Steam Rally held late July early August at South Cerney Airfield not far from Cirencester and take a spin in Daisy on the shuttle to Cirencester.
10:30 is funny!
11.1 ltr engine 😮That's going to be very thirsty even on diesel.🙄 i don't think army tanks are that big 😁😁😁😁or maybe a very few 🙄
Bus wins against bike