Advice about identifying bus types

[Cymroglan]

I’m finding myself increasingly interested in the bus activity local to me in Dorset & Hants. I have purchased two books which help me understand what I’m looking at :
2022 Go Ahead Bus Handbook (British Bus Publishing) and
Major Bus Operators, South West England & Wales (MAP group)

I also buy occasional copies of Buses magazine.

However, what I really need is a beginner’s guide to identifying the many different buses I see. Manufacturers, model or type etc. So far I’m pretty good at establishing which ones are double deckers, but not much else! I have had a good look around t’Internet but haven’t yet found the sort of thing I’m looking for. Would prefer to buy a book, but an online resource would obvs be much better than nothing!

If anyone can point me in the right direction, I would be delighted! Thanks.

 

[Tetchytyke]

If you have the fleet lists then searching Flickr for that fleet number or registration number is often a good start. You’ll start to see what one type of bus looks like, and you can take it from there.

A mooch on the map on bustimes.org will do similar, there’s often a link to a Flickr picture of the bus.

 

[scosutsut]

A few ideas none sadly matching your exact criteria:

https://bustimes.org/ - search an operator then go into the vehicles tab, it holds largely.accurate data on fleetlists, and then has a Flickr link for each vehicle.

Otherwise worth looking at the manufacturers websites - Alexander Dennis, Plaxton, MCV, Wrightbus, Switch Mobility etc (sorry not got links, worth looking up on your favourite search engine)

Single decker products I can think of that have sold in the UK recently:

Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 MMC
Wright Hawk GB
Wright Streetlite (might be discontinued, not sure)
Volvo B8RLE (usually with MCV Evora bodywork)
Scania Fencer

Not sure if Mercedes are still in play?

Looking back a bit for vehicles no longer sold but still in service will be a bit more difficult.

The scene was far more mixed than it is now.

A few off the top of my head:

Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 (predecessor to the MMC model listed above)
Alexander Dennis Enviro 300
Dennis Dart SLF (usually with Plaxton Pointer bodywork but a few other options)
Volvo B7RLE (usually Wright Eclipse but there were others)
Various Scanias and MANs that I'd struggle to identify!
Mercedes Citaros of various generations
Optare Metrocity (company now goes by Switch Mobility)

Final recommendation would be to again search t'interweb for used bus sales UK - some of the dealers do a half decent job of listing vehicles so again you'll be able to get some insight there.

 

[cnjb8]

https://www.buslistsontheweb.co.uk/ is a good site where you can type in a reg plate and it will tell you lots of details about the vehicle. It also has lists of buses belonging to a particular chassis or body type.
I would also suggest Wikipedia for learning the basics about bus types.

 

[Cymroglan]

This is really amazing! Three such helpful posts. I’m so very grateful to you for taking the time to share your knowledge. I will chase up all these ideas and hopefully will be able to correctly identify buses in the wild soon! Thanks again. Much appreciated.

 

[Beemax]

Of course, if you really want to achieve super-anorak status you need to be able to identify different chassis using the same body. For example, the Alexander ALX400 double decker body could be found on Dennis, Volvo or Daf chassis and all of these would look identical to the untrained eye. It’s details such as whether the rear radiator grill is on the left or right hand side that you have to look out for. You can also distinguish them by the sound they make, particularly on a Volvo.

 

[GusB]

Of course, if you really want to achieve super-anorak status you need to be able to identify different chassis using the same body. For example, the Alexander ALX400 double decker body could be found on Dennis, Volvo or Daf chassis and all of these would look identical to the untrained eye. It’s details such as whether the rear radiator grill is on the left or right hand side that you have to look out for. You can also distinguish them by the sound they make, particularly on a Volvo.

It's just as well we're no longer in the era of the once-ubiquitous Alexander Y-type!

 

[Cymroglan]

I will have to work hard to achieve the anorak status, so the super anorak May have to wait a week or two! As for the body/cassis combos, well it’s good to challenge the brain with new stuff. I had no idea about this, but, annoyingly my lady love pointed out that the recent repeat of the documentary about building a battery powered double decker had a chassis from China and a body from UK!

 

[K4016td]

As a continental freak I use phototrans.eu a lot - their database may not be the most up to date when it comes to UK or if there are no users responsible for a local area, but generally lists all possible chassis/body combinations even for the most obscure buses Even though the website is focused around Central and Eastern Europe (not that it doesn't have pics from around the world), the interface is built in English so it's really easy to find what you're looking for - if of course only someone added the vehicles to their database.

As an example - here's a screenshot from the searchbox listing all the types for Optare Solo.

Once you search for it it will generally show you all buses of this type in the database along with the pics, this can help you to identify which is which even if the bus is in a different livery or a different operator.

 

[Fleetmaster]

The Codes -> Body Codes section of buslistsontheweb is pretty standard notation you may come across in your travels, although it doesn't treat the midibus as a separate type.

Ian's Bus Stop (countrybus.org) gives a surprising amount of entry level detail (such as the history of the midibus) empire diving into anorak stuff, but alas it appears it is offline.

Rummaging around in second hand books stores, museums and enthusiast stalls will always be worthwhile for even beginners.

 

[GusB]

I will have to work hard to achieve the anorak status, so the super anorak May have to wait a week or two! As for the body/cassis combos, well it’s good to challenge the brain with new stuff. I had no idea about this, but, annoyingly my lady love pointed out that the recent repeat of the documentary about building a battery powered double decker had a chassis from China and a body from UK!

I'm assuming that was Inside the Factory, which featured the Chinese BYD chassis and the Alexander Dennis (AD/L) body.

Ian's Bus Stop (countrybus.org) gives a surprising amount of entry level detail (such as the history of the midibus) empire diving into anorak stuff, but alas it appears it is offline.

It works for me, but my browser did throw a bit of a hissy fit because the site is "insecure". I'm not generally interested in London stuff, but it's a good resource for anyone who is.

 

[Cymroglan]

Wow, lots more good stuff to chase up here. Many thanks again for all the pointers. I already know rather more than I did when I posted the original question!
I am planning on attending a few bus rallies and museums and will make a point of picking up some books and other resources as suggested.
You’re right about the tv programme, it was Inside the Factory.

 

[Eyersey468]

You may have noticed in your books there are seating codes as well, eg B39F, here is a not exhaustive list of the most common

B single deck bus
C Coach
H Double deck bus
L Lowbridge double deck bus with sunken gangway upstairs
M Minibus

The numbers refer to the number of seats with double deckers having the upper deck capacity listed first then lower deck eg H45/29F

F Front entrance
C Centre entrance
R Rear entrance

In the case of coaches, t after the entrance means it has a toilet on board with L meaning a wheelchair lift.

Hope this helps

 

[Cymroglan]

You may have noticed in your books there are seating codes as well, eg B39F, here is a not exhaustive list of the most common

B single deck bus
C Coach
H Double deck bus
L Lowbridge double deck bus with sunken gangway upstairs
M Minibus

The numbers refer to the number of seats with double deckers having the upper deck capacity listed first then lower deck eg H45/29F

F Front entrance
C Centre entrance
R Rear entrance

In the case of coaches, t after the entrance means it has a toilet on board with L meaning a wheelchair lift.

Hope this helps

This helps massively! Really helps me as I start to engage with the whole new world of buses (although I have been travelling on them since my toddler years in the late 1950s!).

 

[Eyersey468]

This helps massively! Really helps me as I start to engage with the whole new world of buses (although I have been travelling on them since my toddler years in the late 1950s!).

No problem glad it was of help, if there is anything you are unsure about feel free to PM me

 

[Cymroglan]

No problem glad it was of help, if there is anything you are unsure about feel free to PM me

Much appreciated!