Nostalgia on buses (Part II)
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I think the bus model is a Leyland VictoryOriginally posted by Urroh:
The first photo above is a Albion Viking EVK55CL / Soon Chow.
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If I am not mistaken, the desto looks like 28 (Tampines to New Bridge Rd)Originally posted by ZYX2005:k lets reason this out
cant be 23 coz 23 din have N113CRB permers. its obviuosly a 2x service. that leaves 27 at the tampines and 29 at the tampines int to decide on.
i daresay its a 29 coz 29 used in the very early beginning NAC scanias. may be 27 also
scratch head
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Ah , those photo 's were taken from LTA website if im not mistakenOriginally posted by Urroh:
The first photo above is a Albion Viking EVK55CL / Soon Chow.
The second photo i not sure.. it is the first aircon bus in SG? I vaguely remember this bus. Can anyone shed light on this?
the 2nd pic looks like a MB 0302 (SBS1Z to SBS8E) -
Originally posted by Urroh:
The first picture shows a Soon Chow bodied Guy Victory. The Victory is easily recognised by the small window just before the entrance door. The entrance was put back a bit because of its large engine and high radiator position. The Albion Viking EVK55CL was a short wheelbase bus. Its side profile was entrance- 2 windows -exit- 2 windows. The longer wheelbase version was the EVK 55CUL. UL = Ultra Long.
The first photo above is a Albion Viking EVK55CL / Soon Chow.
The second photo i not sure.. it is the first aircon bus in SG? I vaguely remember this bus. Can anyone shed light on this? [/b]
The second picture is actually an OF1413 chassis with a bodywork style which was similar to that of the O302. The buses were originally with Singapore Airport Bus Services (SABS). Although some 20 years too late to be Singapore's first air-conditioned buses (STC introduced 2 Isuzu air-con buses in the 1960s), they were the first air-conditioned buses purchased by SBS. The first air-con service was Air-Con 168, introduced in 1984. It was a clone of the then service 168, except that its timings were restricted and there was no operation on Sundays & Public Holidays. With the withdrawal of Air-Con 168 (the NAC 168 continued running for some time before it was withdrawn too), the buses were reportedly used for Air-Con 118. Personally, I rode this bus only once back in 1992. It appeared surprisingly on 100. -
SBST buses have gone a long way.............
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Yeah ....Originally posted by XTransbus:SBST buses have gone a long way.............
BTW , any Info's abt the old Hino TIBS Buses etc? -
TIBS started out in 1983 with the Hino RK176. http://suhirman.fotopic.net/p9081330.html These buses were fully assembled by Hino using their own bodywork. They had a 7-litre Hino engine and an Allison gearbox. A year later, came the HT228KA, also fully assembled by Hino. http://suhirman.fotopic.net/p8791793.html These have a larger 11-litre engine, horizontally mounted at the rear, and a ZF gearbox. An improved version, the HT238K, were introduced around 1986. These have a sliding door for the exit. http://suhirman.fotopic.net/p9174665.html. An air-conditioned version of the HT238K were introduced with the launch of TIBS's first FAC service, 950.
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Hmm , Thanks for the Info there
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Hmm , anyone know which Service does the MB 0302 (SBS1Z to SBS8E) first went to? Is it the old Sv 168? Not sure...
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SBS 1-8 were not O302s. They were OF 1413s, the same type as the NAC buses which were so numerous and widespread in Singapore at that time. The buses started off as coaches for the Singapore Airport Bus Services before joining the SBS fleet as their first AC buses and put on their first AC service, Aircon 168.
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On which service did the First SBS double decker was first operated on?
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Old sv 86 (Tampines Way-Shenton Way)Originally posted by Urroh:On which service did the First SBS double decker was first operated on? -
Was the 4*** code used for BNDEP?Originally posted by The_Bus_Guide:The Guy Victory Mk II were introduced from 1975-78. There were 145 buses altogether. 20 of which (1977-7
were bodied by BACo and the rest by Soon Chow. The Victory had a Leyland O.680 engine, the same one as the Atlanteans, and a Leyland Pneumocyclic 4-speed semi-automatic gearbox. They had an overall length of 12.1 metres while seating arrangements varied from 41, 49 or 51 seats. All of the buses were based at Toa Payoh Depot (now BRAM). Hence, they received regos beginning with SBS 6XXX, as 6 was the code for Toa Payoh Depot.
One of my favourite buses of all, the Victory was quick, powerful and robust but it lacked considerably as far as passenger comfort was concerned. I loved watching the driver flicking the gears with one hand and holding on to the wheel with the other. Most drivers would 'flatchange', ie. changing gears without pausing, causing to bus to jerk and rattle violently as it gains speed. A heavyweight supremo, it certainly was a class above the lightweights Albions and Mercedes buses of that time.
In the mid-1980s, while SBS was experimenting with a few air-conditioned bus models, there was a project to convert the existing buses to become air-conditioned. The Leyland Victory was chosen because of its robustness and its high power output meant that it could deal with the added weight of an air-conditioner at the rear. I don't know how many buses were converted but the buses received an all new bodywork, built by Soon Chow from a Duple coach design. They rolled out in March 1989 on service 76 and it was known that services 3 and 390 had also used them at some point in time. By this time also, the Guy Victory were slowly being phased out and eventually the remainders were left to work on the Toa Payoh feeder services. The Victory were completely withdrawn by the mid-1990s.
Here is a picture of SBS 6668K.
http://suhirman.fotopic.net/p8700121.html
I believe 1*** buses were meant for BBDEP, as the LAs from this depot had 16** regoes.
The Guy Victories were completely superceded by the NAC Scanias IIRC. The Leyland Vikings were replaced by the Volvo B57 before the Mk IIs took over from the latter. Ditto for the Merc OF1413 >> OF1417 >> O405. -
1 was actually for Alexandra Depot. Maybe when Alexandra Depot closed down, it was replaced by Bukit Batok and so the latter inherited the prefix.
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Hmm , Where does the depot located?Originally posted by The_Bus_Guide:1 was actually for Alexandra Depot. Maybe when Alexandra Depot closed down, it was replaced by Bukit Batok and so the latter inherited the prefix. -
Alexandra Depot was located along Alexandra Rd, opposite to Princess House and next to the Citroen showroom. Originally owned by Hock Lee Amalgamated Bus Co., it was the scene of one of the bloodiest strike cum riot in Singapore's history. The depot was closed down in the early 1980s. I remember when I took bus number 13 from Ghim Moh with my grandmother, it will sometimes stop at the depot to refuel. We would all wait inside while the driver and conductor went down to man the pump. When done, both men would hop back on and we resume our journey.
Here's a picture of the depot taken in the 1960s.
http://suhirman.fotopic.net/p11415345.html -
Did Malayan Motors take over the Alexandra Depot site?Originally posted by The_Bus_Guide:1 was actually for Alexandra Depot. Maybe when Alexandra Depot closed down, it was replaced by Bukit Batok and so the latter inherited the prefix.
As for 4***, it seems to be used for BNDEP. The B57s and LAs from this depot had 48** and 49** regoes.
Anyway, I suspect 3*** might have been used by ARBP, which supposedly replaced Alexandra Depot. -
The site mentioned that it was now being occupied by the current Cycle & Carriage showroom, is it near Jurong?
Here's a picture of the depot taken in the 1960s.
http://suhirman.fotopic.net/p11415345.html[/b] -
Anyone knows the route of the Old Sv 118? Thanks
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Originally posted by Volvo Olympian:Anyone knows the route of the Old Sv 118? Thanks
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No, it's at Alexandra Road.Originally posted by Scania N113CRB luver:The site mentioned that it was now being occupied by the current Cycle & Carriage showroom, is it near Jurong? -
Malayan Motors was at Leng Kee Rd, not Alexandra Rd.Originally posted by iveco:Did Malayan Motors take over the Alexandra Depot site?
As for 4***, it seems to be used for BNDEP. The B57s and LAs from this depot had 48** and 49** regoes.
Anyway, I suspect 3*** might have been used by ARBP, which supposedly replaced Alexandra Depot.
There were supposedly 2 depots at Bedok. One is Bedok North (4***) and the other is simply Bedok (2***). It might be possible, although unconfirmed, that the latter was probably the depot for Katong-Bedok Bus Service. Located at 638 Bedok Rd (I have no idea where this is), Katong-Bedok became part of the Associated Bus Service before the formation of SBS, of which it eventually became a part of.
3*** belonged to Bukit Timah Depot. This depot was located at 35 King Albert Park, and its site is now occupied by the McDonalds drive-thru (Macdonald Place). It was the office for Green Bus Company, which became part of United Bus Service and eventually SBS. 3*** was later used for Woodlands Depot, which was located where Kranji MRT now stands.
The use of prefixes makes it easier to record which buses belong to which depot during the chaotic and messy deployments of the early-SBS era. For example, SBS 1001 means bus #1 from Alexandra Depot. However, problems arose when the time comes for depot transfer. Therefore, SBS dropped this system in favour of a specific rego range for a particular model. One depot was not mentioned here and that is Jurong Depot. What was its prefix, if it ever had one? Was it 7***? -
I always thought 2*** was for HGDEP, considering many of the O305s were based there.
Also, many LO2Xes had 69** prefix. Were these BRAM ones? -
Does anyone know the route of former services84,864,865,866?
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Sv 84 got 2 versions if im not mistakenOriginally posted by choww:Does anyone know the route of former services84,864,865,866?
1st is from Hougang Central to WTC
2nd is Punggol Int to Punggol East (loop)