Various 'open-top bus conversion' incidents, usually involving railway bridges

[whole diary]

[fatcontroller]

The irony being that First do not actually own this bus.
It was on loan from Volvo to cover for warranty work on the existing Volvo's!

[LiskeardRich]

The irony being that First do not actually own this bus.
It was on loan from Volvo to cover for warranty work on the existing Volvo's!

Surprised they use such an old vehicle as a loan vehicle! the bus involved was 1 1998 S registration!

[fatcontroller]

It was actually V registration - V124LGC if my memory serves me correctly.
It first entered service in 1999 with Go-Ahead London and has recently been replaced by newer vehicles.

A lot of similar vehicles have recently been rendered surplus from London and several dealers  / finance houses are struggling to shift them to other operators.

Makes sense for Volvo to use a couple.

[Ollie]

Ah well it's an extra double decker to do sightseeing tours now

[LiskeardRich]

It was actually V registration - V124LGC if my memory serves me correctly.
It first entered service in 1999 with Go-Ahead London and has recently been replaced by newer vehicles.

Yes thats right, i had it recorded as S124LGC, but it is V124LGC

[grahame]

http://travel.aol.co.uk/2012/09/06/double-decker-bus-roof-ripped-off-railway-bridge-crash-hampshire/?

A spokesman from First Bus told the paper: "The exact cause of the incident is not yet known. ...

Seems all too common an incident ...

[lordgoata]

It's been happening for years - happened on our bus on a school trip to somewhere (Birdworld I think!) 25+ years ago. The driver knew full well he wouldn't make it, stopped and checked, then decided to try anyway and caved the front of the top deck in

[LiskeardRich]

This incident thee driver has done quite a good job of taking it off cleanly!

[smokey]

This incident thee driver has done quite a good job of taking it off cleanly!

Knowing First Bus the EX-driver!

[Andrew1939 from West Oxon]

The bus looks amazingly similar to a scene in a James Bond film from many years. In the film the bus had been prepared by weakening the posts connecting the top deck to the lower deck. That bus must have been going at a good rate to remove the top deck completely.

Oxford railway bridge was always being hit by buses until it was rebuilt with a raised clearance some years ago.. Now that is rare and there is a warning light and sound flashed up if something too high approaches the bridge but a few commercial vehicles still seem to get caught.

[Gordon the Blue Engine]

The fast lines railway overbridge (which is a deck bridge, in contrast to the RL bridge which is a masonry arch) over the A329 just south of Pangbourne station had a VERY substantiable collison beam installed a few years ago, presumably after a risk asssesment by NR^» (Network Rail - home page).  It's paid off on at least one occasion - here's what happened when a lorry hit it.  The bridge itself, and the train service, were unaffected.

[broadgage]

I never use the upper deck of a double deck bus, if not on a bus route that regularly uses double deckers.
Regular doubler deck service, no problem ! if it went safely under the bridges yesterday, then it should still fit today.

Double decker bus on a rail replacement service, or a "one of" excursion, or scheduled route diverted for some reason, then downstairs only for me.

For similar reasons I avoid the end vehicles of trains under emergency or abnormal conditions.
Rail is normally a very safe mode of transport and normally I sit wherever convienient without regard to the minute risks.


If however single line working is in use, or engineering work taking place, or the weather is truly extreme, then I avoid the end vehicles.
A study of past railway accidents seems to suggest that accident is more likely when conditions are already abnormal as regards weather or other circumstances.

[bobm]

The irony is in at least two relatively recent accidents - Hatfield and Ufton Nervet - the most serious injuries have been in the buffet car. (And possibly Great Heck too.)  While at Southall and Ladbroke Grove it was Coach H - so I wouldn't be sure where to sit.

[JayMac]

Another conversion has occurred, this time in South Gloucestershire. What looks like a double decker owned by Wessex Connect has hit the railway bridge across Gypsy Patch Lane in Patchway. Interestingly this bridge is right next to a large bus depot and one would have thought that all drivers based there would be well aware that this bridge is too low for double deckers. I understand this happened yesterday evening. I've just seen this reported on BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Breakfast this morning and have yet to find an online report.

[Chris from Nailsea]

A variation on this theme, from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Colne Community School pupils tell of bus crash scare

An Essex schoolgirl has told how she heard a "big crash" and "scraping of metal" as the roof of her school bus was ripped open by a passing tractor.



Georgia Cowie was one of 45 pupils from Colne Community School who were on the double decker bus when it was hit by a tree trimmer in Wivenhoe on Thursday. Four children were treated for minor injuries following the crash.

Georgia said: "It took me until I got back to school until I realised that everything was OK."

Paramedics compared the cut to the bus to that of a "can opener".

Connah Dykes, who was sitting at the back of the bus, said he called the paramedics. "My dad's a fireman so I instantly thought that if someone was hurt we're going to need help," he said. "I'm quite proud but it's something anyone would do in those circumstances."

Judy Wakeling, vice principal of the school in Brightlingsea, said the crash was her "absolute worst nightmare". "We are truly thankful there weren't any more serious injuries," she said.

The Essex County Council-contracted bus was on its way to the Brightlingsea school when the accident happened. It is thought the tractor had its trimmer facing forwards and was moving towards the road when the accident happened. Essex Police said it was not investigating the accident.