anymore non-air con Mercedes double deck around
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14 years ago i saw some photos of an O 305 in chassi-form suspect with Jockeere single deck body with air-con in SBS colour scheme. Believe that photo was taken in Singapore in some SBS depot. No license plate i recall.
I think @ the time that photo was taken (possibly years before i saw the photo) TIBS was just starting out !Originally posted by muziq bus:Haha...maybe if dere was da MB 0305 AC version, SMRT would be interested in purchasing it...really missed the bus..the last time i boarded it was sumwhere in 1999 on 165 SBS 7111 T....took it for granted... -
There are still single deck O305s in Perth as well as O305Gs. They still look to me in good condition.Originally posted by hseochin:Scrapping a fine class model like O 305 is a stupid waste, if so.
It's too advanced a product to be written off so soon.
If they can keep using a relatively inferior pile of junk like the Volvo B7F somewhere in Ireland (i believe) then no good reason to scrap the O 305 !!
As a PSV, the B7F is a flop with the sort of (spring only while O 305 uses air suspension as standard feature !) suspension ride comfort more suited to transport goods than people ! Also the B7F's dashboard's light years behind time in design ergnomics & aesthetics of vintage era even !! The O 305 much more advanced dashboard still carries on to the O 405 & in some direct way, even to the current model the Citaro.
Re-deployment thus more sensible as i'll even say 25 to 30 years service life for an O 305 is viable. -
What you mean ramped ??
I've sat in the O 305's here with Alexander body found the rear similar to the Alexander body on the Leyland Atantean of that time. Maybe the Willowbrooke body was different up there but i didn't notice the difference apart from the real O 305-like front body design with vertical round headlamp & Vulcan seats were used.Originally posted by iveco:As a matter of fact, I've travelled many times in the SBS O305s but have yet to sit at the rear of the upper deck. Is it really ramped, as photographed by Anthony Lui? You can find the pix here. -
HI all.. i have a newspaper clipping, LianHe ZaoBao, dated 14th August 1997. Its about a Magic Ark Bus, lets students used computers on board, by SBS, it shows a Mercedes NAC DD, registration no. is SBS 2569 P. is this the mercedes 0305? if so, looks like the 0305 has broken up rego sequences, like the volvo mk4 Striders
CAN ANYONE verify if the pic is the MB0305? thanks -
What bodywork those O 305 & O 305G in Australia use ?
I don't think it's the original M-B body with double vertical headlamps &
split portion bumpers ?
What's the mileages ?
To what age are PSV's used to in Australia ?Originally posted by iveco:There are still single deck O305s in Perth as well as O305Gs. They still look to me in good condition. -
hseochin,
The B7Fs are known as B57s, but they have been withdrawn from service in Ireland since 2003. They were not inferior at all to any of the single deck buses offered at the time. Leyland and Albion Vikings had tiny motors (400ci) and were manual, and the Mercedes OF1312 and 1413s were also very slow and lacked power. The OF1417, which was introduced after the B57 had power and was automatic (same gearbox as the B57) as well, but did not have air suspension. Obviously other companies saw more worth in the B57s, since they all got sold, very few were scrapped. Vikings are very cheap to maintain, and many are in Fiji. Of the single deck buses at that time, the B57, OF1417 and Leyland Victory were Kings of the road. The Atlantean AN68s were built before the O.305. M.A.Ns come close to a Mercedes only because they use Mercedes components... essentially a poor man's mercedes! The floor ramped slightly at the back on the top deck, but not noticeably. They also served on the 22 in their later years, and on the 153. The 2 axle Leyland Olympians did not have much radiator noise at all. Fleet ages vary across different states in Australia. Sydney and Adelaide also have large O.305 fleets still running. The single deck a/c vehicle you mention is by Jonkheere. It is not known where the vehicle is now, or what happened to it after running in Singapore. -
Why the B7F known as B57 ?? What does the digit 5 mean then ?
The nomemclarature doesn't appear consistent to me then.
In the area of suspension ride comfort, having personally riden on those B7F/B57 many times (@ all seating locations on the bus) i found it simply among the worst if not THE worse in these area, which i consider of supreme importance because it's supposed to be a PSV, not a goods vehicle like a van or truck, where comfort may be secondary !!
The M-B's of the time like the O 302, O 306, OF 1417, OF 1413 i found all these top class in suspension ride comfort (among spring category, not comparing with air-suspended models) even when seated @ the extreme rear end !!
The B7F/B57 i have to place it down @ the bottom end, with the British makes somewhere in between in this area of evaluation. Don't think there was any OF 1312 but even in the case of the LO 1113 the ride comfort was slightly inferior to the OF models (not surprising since 1113 was more truck based than the OF series) but still nowhere as bad as this Volvo's !
The only positive thing about that Volvo i consider is the engine, being turbocharged with reasonable output for it's capacity & lower noise levels from the engine as such compared to the OF 1417 say, which was particulary noisy, especially with exhaust brake in use !
Same automatic gearbox ?? Didin't seem so to me because the OF 1417 here used the zig-zag slotted (M-B style type) of selector with round knob while this Volvo used a more conventional T-bar type of selector, similar to that used in the OF 1413's later converted to automatic.
Leyland Victory i'll say quite victorious for its time due to it's quite potent big capacity 11 litre engine compared to the rest here then. The short finger operated gearshifter seem easy to use & quite smooth in gear changes though not as smooth as the full automatics the others used. But engine also very noisy & suspension not as comfortable as the M-B O & OF's.
MAN i'll consider as a 'compromised' M-B i.e. take an M-B cut some corners somewhere then you get a MAN. Like Tata of India, which looks so Mercedes like ! Mercedes is very well imitated everywhere i observe, not surprising given that they are the world's oldest & largest bus & coach maker.
The Leyland Atlantean didn't have the noisy radiator fan noise but the Leyland Olympian which came since 1987 did have this noisy fan @ the front. Don't know whether it's Cummins or Leyland themselves who had this noisy fan idea since the 1st Olympians here used Cummings turbocharged engines. Maybe there's few which used Leyland (turbocharged ?) engines & these might not have such noisy fans ?
So the O 305 with single-deck air-con Jonckeere body was ever deployed in Singapore ? I would have liked to try it !! I expect far better performance to weight ratio than with the double-decker bodies.Originally posted by Windy_hates_B10TLs:hseochin,
The B7Fs are known as B57s, but they have been withdrawn from service in Ireland since 2003. They were not inferior at all to any of the single deck buses offered at the time. Leyland and Albion Vikings had tiny motors (400ci) and were manual, and the Mercedes OF1312 and 1413s were also very slow and lacked power. The OF1417, which was introduced after the B57 had power and was automatic (same gearbox as the B57) as well, but did not have air suspension. Obviously other companies saw more worth in the B57s, since they all got sold, very few were scrapped. Vikings are very cheap to maintain, and many are in Fiji. Of the single deck buses at that time, the B57, OF1417 and Leyland Victory were Kings of the road. The Atlantean AN68s were built before the O.305. M.A.Ns come close to a Mercedes only because they use Mercedes components... essentially a poor man's mercedes! The floor ramped slightly at the back on the top deck, but not noticeably. They also served on the 22 in their later years, and on the 153. The 2 axle Leyland Olympians did not have much radiator noise at all. Fleet ages vary across different states in Australia. Sydney and Adelaide also have large O.305 fleets still running. The single deck a/c vehicle you mention is by Jonkheere. It is not known where the vehicle is now, or what happened to it after running in Singapore. -
Yes. I could recall clearly because I am a svc 30 regular and most of the svc 30 fleet was leyland DD. One of the svc 30 0305 rego is 7069. However I don't remember any 0305 for svc 196.Originally posted by Airbus330Captain:Sorry to say this but there are never O305 buses on svc 30 , I have monitored svc 30's fleet everyday and havent seen one on svc 30 before. In addition when Jurong interchange existed , I remembered 196 had O305 for a period of time before LO 2 axles came in when 196 was rerouted to Boon Lay as the jurong interchange was closed.
During those days, Svc 143, Svc 146 (Toa Payoh to Cle) also had a few 0305. (e.g 7046 is one of them) In addition, Svc 78 (JE to Cle) had a few 0305 with rego 7110 to 7112. All these buses were from penjuru depot. -
Yes I svc 30 regular. the impression is very clear as most of the svc 30 fleet was leyland DD. One of the svc 30 0305 rego is 7069. However I don't remember any 0305 for svc 196.Originally posted by Airbus330Captain:Sorry to say this but there are never O305 buses on svc 30 , I have monitored svc 30's fleet everyday and havent seen one on svc 30 before. In addition when Jurong interchange existed , I remembered 196 had O305 for a period of time before LO 2 axles came in when 196 was rerouted to Boon Lay as the jurong interchange was closed.
During those days, Svc 143, Svc 146 (Toa Payoh to Cle) also had a few 0305. (e.g 7046 is one of them) In addition, Svc 76 (JE to Cle) had a few 0305 with rego 7110 to 7112. All these buses were from penjuru depot. -
SBS 7111 T eventually settled down on 165
Can any1 verify if my pic above is the MB 0305 mentioned here? -
i waited for SBS 7111 T for about 30 minutes last time at clementiOriginally posted by muziq bus:Haha...maybe if dere was da MB 0305 AC version, SMRT would be interested in purchasing it...really missed the bus..the last time i boarded it was sumwhere in 1999 on 165 SBS 7111 T....took it for granted...
(no, i didnt know they were going) cos i didnt want to take VO2x and i like the jerky ride! -
Service 30 did not have O305 DDs.Originally posted by IsIsTRD:Yes I svc 30 regular. the impression is very clear as most of the svc 30 fleet was leyland DD. One of the svc 30 0305 rego is 7069. However I don't remember any 0305 for svc 196.
During those days, Svc 143, Svc 146 (Toa Payoh to Cle) also had a few 0305. (e.g 7046 is one of them) In addition, Svc 78 (JE to Cle) had a few 0305 with rego 7110 to 7112. All these buses were from penjuru depot.
I didn't know service 146 had DDs!
I had only seen LO2x but not O305s on service 78 since the deployment of DDs from Nov 1998. -
Well..it is the MB0305 but the rego is very blur.Originally posted by 105090:HI all.. i have a newspaper clipping, LianHe ZaoBao, dated 14th August 1997. Its about a Magic Ark Bus, lets students used computers on board, by SBS, it shows a Mercedes NAC DD, registration no. is SBS 2569 P. is this the mercedes 0305? if so, looks like the 0305 has broken up rego sequences, like the volvo mk4 Striders
CAN ANYONE verify if the pic is the MB0305? thanks -
the pic is taken from a photo, which is from a photoOriginally posted by Volvo Olympian:Well..it is the MB0305 but the rego is very blur.. i photographed from a newspaper.. -
Its an 0305 awright....... has a MB badge.Originally posted by 105090:HI all.. i have a newspaper clipping, LianHe ZaoBao, dated 14th August 1997. Its about a Magic Ark Bus, lets students used computers on board, by SBS, it shows a Mercedes NAC DD, registration no. is SBS 2569 P. is this the mercedes 0305? if so, looks like the 0305 has broken up rego sequences, like the volvo mk4 Striders
CAN ANYONE verify if the pic is the MB0305? thanks -
25 had VO3X bf they were replaced by VSOs. Much like svc 72. I have seen mkIV dms on this svc and striders.Originally posted by iveco:25 had Volvo DD or SD fleet? I've not seen B10Ms on this service, only O405s. But VO3Xes dominated 25 for a long time, though. -
I can remember 7069 ever served on 147 for a period of time. As for 143, this service was dominated by LO2Xes, with the occasional LA. Same for Svc 30. The LO2Xes didn't last long on 146 as it was withdrawn shortly after DDs were introduced. Svc 78 didn't get DDs until late 1998. By then, most of the O305s had settled down in HGDEP, with a minority in AMDEP.Originally posted by IsIsTRD:Yes. I could recall clearly because I am a svc 30 regular and most of the svc 30 fleet was leyland DD. One of the svc 30 0305 rego is 7069. However I don't remember any 0305 for svc 196.
During those days, Svc 143, Svc 146 (Toa Payoh to Cle) also had a few 0305. (e.g 7046 is one of them) In addition, Svc 78 (JE to Cle) had a few 0305 with rego 7110 to 7112. All these buses were from penjuru depot. -
There is 0305 for sv196,i still rem sitting in the front seat near the entrance, can't rem the rego though...Originally posted by IsIsTRD:Yes I svc 30 regular. the impression is very clear as most of the svc 30 fleet was leyland DD. One of the svc 30 0305 rego is 7069. However I don't remember any 0305 for svc 196.
During those days, Svc 143, Svc 146 (Toa Payoh to Cle) also had a few 0305. (e.g 7046 is one of them) In addition, Svc 78 (JE to Cle) had a few 0305 with rego 7110 to 7112. All these buses were from penjuru depot. -
Speaking of that, I vaguely remember Svc 10 having Merc DDs when I was very young.Originally posted by Acx1688:There is 0305 for sv196,i still rem sitting in the front seat near the entrance, can't rem the rego though...
Also, what was the rego of the O305 with Willowbrooke body and which service did it ply on? -
VO3X: SBS9628G, SBS9666, SBS9605, SBS9606, SBS9607Originally posted by SBS3624G:25 had VO3X bf they were replaced by VSOs. Much like svc 72. I have seen mkIV dms on this svc and striders. -
Besides the logo, there's the standard hub-ring on the front wheels & the windscreen used by Alexander is different compared to the Leylands.Originally posted by SBS3624G:Its an 0305 awright....... has a MB badge.
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THe LO2Xes used a different windscreen from the O305s and LAs. Anyway, if we had a LA and an O305, both without badges, we can't tell them apart if we look at the front since both have silver trimming for the windscreen. At least the LO2X has a distinctive front grill in addition to the black trimming on the windscreen.Originally posted by hseochin:Besides the logo, there's the standard hub-ring on the front wheels & the windscreen used by Alexander is different compared to the Leylands. -
Can someone backed him up whether bus 30 has O305 bus ? As far as my memory served , there is no O305 on svc 30. As for svc 143 , yes there is cameo O305 , I saw a few times on the service .Originally posted by IsIsTRD:Yes. I could recall clearly because I am a svc 30 regular and most of the svc 30 fleet was leyland DD. One of the svc 30 0305 rego is 7069. However I don't remember any 0305 for svc 196.
During those days, Svc 143, Svc 146 (Toa Payoh to Cle) also had a few 0305. (e.g 7046 is one of them) In addition, Svc 78 (JE to Cle) had a few 0305 with rego 7110 to 7112. All these buses were from penjuru depot. -
Was there any 0305 at AMDEP bef it retired?
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The 2-axle Leyland Olympian were the last true Leyland buses to be built. All used a Leyland TL11 engine and Leyland Hydracyclic automatic transmission. The exception, perhaps, was SBS 3554A which may have used a Cummins engine and an Allison gearbox. Whether Cummins or TL11, all have that loud radiator whine which, to me, is the personality of the Olympian chassis.Originally posted by hseochin:The Leyland Atlantean didn't have the noisy radiator fan noise but the Leyland Olympian which came since 1987 did have this noisy fan @ the front. Don't know whether it's Cummins or Leyland themselves who had this noisy fan idea since the 1st Olympians here used Cummings turbocharged engines. Maybe there's few which used Leyland (turbocharged ?) engines & these might not have such noisy fans ?
I particularly love the Leyland transmission because of the short pause in between gears. In Singapore, only the Leyland Atlanteans and Olympians did this which makes them unique. That's because, the Hydracyclic, just like the Pneumocyclic, can be configured as a semi-auto or a full auto. All the Olympians is Singapore were configured in the full auto mode but the gearbox still functions as if it was in a semi-auto mode. Hence, the short pause but without the need for the driver to switch gears.