Aaron Donohoe

I haven’t the time, nor motivation lately to make daily blog posts – quite simply I’m out the door with work, school and trying to maintain sanity around the yard! I know I like to give a concise update bi-weekly, but lately I haven’t even been able to do that!

With the good weather we’re having at present, I’m lapping it all up in my stride, as knowing the Irish weather’s traits I know it won’t last for long! Over these past few days I’ve been found anywhere there’s sun, but unfortunately, my Irish skin isn’t used to the sun…so I just burn and then give out about how I’m “Burnt to Fuck” for the next week or so!

And with the improvement in weather, I acquired myself yet another bus – why? Because I wanted to! Plain and simple, I used to travel to school on it when I was a younger youngster, and always liked it. I seen it most mornings until recently, so I went in search and came across it – looking sorry for itself.

So after some carefully practised blagging, it was mine. Even got loads of spares, glass and a tank of diesel for my efforts! So last week, it made its maiden run to our yard in Wicklow where I set to cleaning and fixing it – it had a timing problem from the injector pump, and a ropey steering wheel, all since have been fixed.

As you all know, I’ve owned other in the past (still own half of them), but this one will be something for me to mess around with. My others have been ‘show vehicles’ meaning they have to be finished to the highest of standards in minimal time, whereas this although it will be finished to a high standard, I will be taking my time to learn as I go along – something I couldn’t do to my other vehicles.

The above photo was taken whilst out and about in Wicklow on Sunday. The weather was superb, so the opportunity was seized to remove the Dublin Bus logos and take it for a 50 mile road run into Arklow and back as well as around a few other seaside spots around.

While we’re on the subject of photos, I have to admit my stupidity on Saturday, of myself drowning my camera with Club Lemon. I wasn’t looking while I was opening my ‘refreshment’, and with Steve’s driving it caused an eruption of Lemon all over my camera – which soon became rather sticky!

Although I managed to clean it all off when I go home, I feel that it was the final blow for my long suffering Olympus, it’s been dropped several times, soaked with diesel, been in unbearable cold and hot weather, had the lens shot with steel shavings from an angle grinder, it’s been nearly crushed multiple times and thrown at something when I’ve been pissed off. It’s had a hard life, so maybe it will be time to retire the old girl to a reserve camera. I’ve been thinking of a Fujifilm SLR, maybe S9600, or perhaps a secondhand Canon 30D? It will indefinitely be a pity, as it takes great photos! See below.

A bridge over the former Dublin reservoir, near Vartry, Co. Wicklow

Unintentional closeup of greenery with VW ‘Type 2′ in the background.

The new DELL has finally arrived, I settled for the Inspiron 531 – AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5600+, 2048MB Dual Channel RAM , 320GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 16MB DataBurst cache, 128MB ATI Radeon HD 2400 Pro graphics card, 16x DVD +/- RW Drive, and 19″ DELL Widescreen monitor (yes I just copied and pasted from the website… )

The only thing, is DELL in their moment of wisdom never sent the Keyboard and Mouse we ordered as an additional purchase (even though it was supposed to come with one) – not a big deal, I’ve tons of them here at home.

EDIT: The sent it out

I told you’s I write about where I was on Saturday, well I’m sure you’ve guessed right I was arsing around with my usual shenanigans ‘On the Buses’.

Steve left it tight – tight as a nuns c**t as he’d say, and contacted me at 9:30 on the Saturday morning telling me he’s on his way. He generously left me an hour and a half to get up, have breakfast, have a shower, and batton down the hatches. Made it with minutes to spare.

We set sail for Navan around 12:00 with all crew on board. Where we arrived around 1:00, to pick up RIB 4407, a 1987 Beford Plaxton Paramount which was owned by an operator in the area. We left their yard at 1:30, making good time.

The first major encounter was at a fuel station near Dunshaughlin. We blocked it for a good 15 minutes. Taking up an entire lane, and blocking the entrance. Wasn’t our entire fault, some blame was laid on a eegit Brennans Bread delivery man. I spent the entire break trying to fix the boot door, who’s latch was ‘fooked’ (as they say in Navin!). Although it was later discovered that the hinges were very stiff so the likelyhood of it swinging open during driving was slim.

We decided to head straight for the ‘storage location’ in Cavan, up the arsehole of Cavan for that matter. Two hours of trundling along at 40mp/h we got to the place where we were to meet the owner of the land – a guy with a fierce stammer: Think ‘Open All Hours‘! I know it’s terrible to laugh at someones misfortune, but once we rang him (on the handsfree) I just broke down in a fit of uncontrolable laughter.

He eventually arrived, but then his Jeep broke down, so he was bunking on board with us, and this was torture for me! Having to spend ages in the car with a man stinking of cow shite, who took 20 minutes to get a sentence out. I kept my cool – barely!

We got to the ‘yard’, which was inadequet for the storage of buses – not even scrap! The yard at first was inaccessable. We had to drive futher up, turn around and approach it from another angle. We later had many problems with:

1. The bus couldn’t get the traction to make it up the small incline. Due to the soft muck, it kept wheel spinning. Quick solution was gravel and stones.
2. It couldn’t make the sharp turn into the ‘yard’, which in fact was an over grown farmers store! We tried, but the eegit who owned the yard, nearly got the bus grounded on a rock!
3. The sheds weren’t really sheds! They were 3/4 covered open front hay storage sheds – that still had hay in them! We’d barely get 1/2 the bus in

So in the end, while ‘stutter’ went off to obtain a chainsaw to cut down trees so we could make it into the ‘yard’, we got the bus out and ‘leggedit’. Needless to say, when he found out he wasn’t impressed – although it took him 5 minutes to get that across

So in the end, we had to drive it all the way to Dublin – a big inconvience! Considering we had nowhere in Dublin to keep it, and we didn’t want to push it going to Wicklow. It ended up spending the night outside Steves house!

Pretty much boring, but I thought I should atleast tell you what prevented me posting most of the weekend – even if it doesn’t interest you in the slightest!

Finally, I’m back! It’s good to be home, first thing I did when I got into the door was grub up and then have a shower – you’re both filthy and stinking from just one day with KTM!

We were delayed by 2 hours coming home, due to a woman who was struct by the train before us while on the tracks at the level crossing, we ended up being static on the track for over an hour and a half, doing nothing – I just slept for most of it…or wrecked Steve’s head (as usual he returned the favour!)

While we were waiting, we grubbed up – sorry I – grubbed up with an Iarnród Éireann Ham and Melted Cheese roll. It was eddible…unlike anything else from Iarnród Éireann’s dining car!

A total of 5-long-bloody (literally!)-hours stuck on the train!

But back on the topic of Cork, it wasn’t a bad DAY! I only went down for two days, but minus commuting time it worked out around 1 day of work.

Such as scrapping KR181, well I didn’t do it, but Ross and Kenny did instead – it was a learning curve. But they’ve learnt from this one, routes and methods to half the usual scrapping time of Bombardier/GAC vehicles (the very last Irish built buses!)

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The remains of KR181 – Wont be long now before it’s turned into Tin-Cans!

We moved 76-C-248, which went behind the office, for use as a stores bus until the sheds and adequet stores facilities become available (well…when ever we get off our arses to build them!)

It started without too much of a problem, it had a fuel problem with the tank being so low to the ground, and not full (until we put 20litres into it), and the lift pump wasn’t prioviding enough suction to drag the fuel upto where it wants to go! We solved it eventually!

In place – I don’t know why…but we washed it!Â

Finally, today we focused on the ERF Towcar, 86-C-4682, it’s a beast to drive – without having a clutch and the handbrake seized on. But, if she’s driven like a crash box it can be driven without a clutch (only on short distances!)

We moved here, cleaned her up, got all the beacons working, along with the electric passenger side window, and interior cab reading lights.

She’s a nice machine, and I cannot wait until it’s all sorted. It will take a lot of work to get it 100% – i.e. Repaint, lots of bodywork, service, new clutch replacement, handbrake issue resolved, foot valve air-leak tended to, new exhaust system, hydrolic boom ram needs new seals as well as greasing and it’s then good to go!

In the upper yard looking well!

Okay, I’ve just realised that a large proportion of the blog is comprised of my addiction/affair with buses – I tend to siblimianally be attracted to buses. It’s not my fault, I’ve had it exposed to me for long time and I need my fix every now and again…usually solved after a weekend in Cork – I hate buses after that for a few weeks!

So Today, myself and ‘Stephen Payne in the Arse’ paid a visit to Lough Swilly Bus Co. in Letterkenny, on behalf of a ‘client’ whom had purchased some buses from their withdrawn fleet and wanted us to inspect them to see if they can make the journey South – and survive!

We were well greeted by the staff, we were quite taken aback as usually bus companies treat preservationalists/enthusiasts like a piece of shite they’ve just scrapped off their shoe onto the curb.

We were left to our own vices, and we gave around 7/8 buses a good going over with the checklist we had compiled. The lads were welcoming, and very informative, and even brought us to the other outbased depot of Letterkenny, approx. 20 minutes away for a look at a futher 8 buses (not very good at all!)

We can go from this!

To this…and all you need is a digger, and some fire!

But all things considering, with a large fleet such as this you cannot save everything! You have to let some go to the scrapper, preferably the shitty ones. But with some luck, the ones we gave the once over may pass into preservation and will join my baby on the rally circuit (Bus Rallies…we just park up and say how great each others buses are!)

Don’t worry guys, I’ll stop blogging about buses. Just the fact that this week I’ve had nothing else to do bar arse about with buses – apparently I’m off to Cork in the morning for two days, then upto Belfast to inspect another bus to accompany my one in the paddock.

I’m quite BUSy lately

I was dragged out of bed at 6am this morning, to go on a training day at Mondello (National Course), for some reason my Dad had booked it for 8am! I suppose that’s right to do, as there were very few people there ‘when’ we arrived!

I say ‘when’ as we got rather lost, not because we have a shite sense of direction (well I do anyway…), but because nothing was signposted!

If you’ve ever gone to Mondello park, from Dublin, you know to take the exit for Naas, continue into Naas, Head towards Carragh, once you reach Carragh it’s straight all the way to Mondello park.

But, the M50 exit (exit 10 I think), had no signpost, so we passed it. And didn’t realise until we reached Tallaght – we tried to go via the Belgard Road, but ended up chasing our tails. Back onto the M50, seen the exit for N7 Cork/Limerick – seen a signpost for Mondello, took it…and it brought us into Naas Village? So we knew our way from there…and were only a bit late for the briefing!

After the brief you get 4 laps as a passenger, as the intstructor takes you around in the Saloon (1.8 Rover 25), you then get 6 laps to yourself, then it’s chequered flag – time for a briefing for the Single seaters.

These beasts, are only 1.3, but as they’ve feck all bodywork, it’s just tubular steel, and light fibreglass paneling – and have a mind of their own as all the weight is in the rear, if you’re not careful you’ll easily write yourself off! There was only one crash in one, but the guy hit the tyre wall and it wasn’t too bad – damagewise…I’m sure he shit himself!

Below are some photos of the day – it’s well worth the money…just for the adreneline!

Car 6, coming in after instructor tutorial

Awaiting release!

Skidding around the hairpin

Either getting strapped in…or getting felt up while being given a lapdance!

Leading…of course!

See the Flickr set

No it isn’t a play on words…we literally went rallying in a double decker bus – well you need’d thing that I’d let anybody ever think about that to my pride and joy now would you?

Johnnie, got a 1978 shit heap off Express Facilities, that will eventually be turned into a static workshop – static in that it will never move again – so we’re going to have some fun with it before we lay it to rest!!

She’s not too bad – Rough, but not TOO bad!

‘Stephen Payne in the Arse‘ spotted it on the M50 last night while on the phone to me (he has a hands-free people don’t worry!), and we were pondering for a while to where it was destined – but we got a shock when we arrived into the Yard to find her sitting there – perspex front windscreen and all!

She started on the button, no fuss – not the normal for a Gardner, a bit smokey, needs new filters and a good service, but is a fine runner. Bodywork is lets say shite! But give two weeks, some new panels, rivet gun and a lick of paint and she’ll be perfect(ish).

But anyway, we got her moved, took a spin – sorry rally. We confronted with tinkers, chased them out, kept going…we nearly overturned it more than once, throwing everyone about, two young lads my age had their first goes in driving a bus – ever. And did very well, both clipped something. One clipped a sign, the other a tyre – no worries though…beats reversing into walls and I’ve been learning for over a year!

Parked it up for a while, did some extreme Volkswagen Golf GTI parking…

One ‘Careful’ Lady Owner!

Got an old Supreme going, took it for a spin – suddenly losts all air pressure, and stopped selecting gears – turned out to be an air leak at the seals in the ram for the door – clipped them got her back to the yard – all grand(ish!), lined the three buses up for a photoshoot!

Suzie, Johnnies Bus, and ‘The Teams’ Supreme

Parked Suzie, and the Supreme together, and put the decker into it’s final resting place. Although tomorrow we’ll probably take her out for a quick spin, we intend on fixing that upper window! Whoever thought of that was on some ammount of drugs – as it’s not fixed on the lower end of it…and flaps about and rattles!

Right, well I’m off for a shower, I’m filthy, stinking, and only in from a hard days work! I’m then gonna have a bit to eat, then hit that hay -I’m up at 6 tomorrow, for a few laps of Mondello, then a day working on the buses – most people tend to spend their Sundays lazing around the house in slippers!

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Ulsterbus Leopards, originally uploaded by madringo.

Ulsterbus Leyland Leopard 337 (accompanied in the photo with 326, 338, & Tiger 385), photographed at ‘Granny Height’, or ‘Granny Perspective’ – at the base of Kells Transport Museum, based near Glanmire, Cork, Ireland.

Pictured at my most recent ‘Kells Transport Museum Working Weekend‘, in which I often frequent, usually the first weekend of the month.

KTM, got the final batch of Leyland Leopards build for and withdrawn by Ulsterbus, and received delivery thoughout April and May 2007. KTM, intends on purchasing a number of N-Type Tigers, of some historical signifigance within the not too distant future as the class slowly becomes phased out (and scrapped! only a small ammount will enter preservation inorder to keep working examples surviving for future generations).

Well it appears my old cameras (Finepix A700 & S3000) are well and truely fooked, even though my A700 is less than 3 months old – I have to admit I do work cameras pretty hard, so far it’s clocked up approx 2000-3000 images, mainly as it goes everywhere with me and I’m a bugger for taking photos of everything!

Well it’s giving up it’s battle, I don’t think it was designed for the punishment I put my cameras through, they’re in my pocket all the time – I’m constantly under my Morris Minor or else dossing about with the buses, it get’s thrown onto the desk when I get home, I get’s dropped, it’s been soaked (thanks to Steve with the poxy Fire Engine!), it’s almost black, it’s covered in scratches, oh and it’s fallen into a load of muck (down in Cork).

It’s almost given up the ghost, but I revived it for a few more weeks the other day. Took some parts off it, cleaned it, gave the lens a wipe, sprayed some compressed air into the little bits to get dirt out – there was a piece of fluff preventing the lens cap opening fully – now it’s back operational. I’m sure I’ve voided my warrenty by opening it up…but TBH, I think I voided my warrenty a long time ago!

As for the S3000, I’ve had it a few months, and have used it rarely. I thought it’d be a good idea to buy and cheap, secondhand Bridge SLR – Wrong! It worked fine for the first two months, when the battery power became dreadful (getting 3/4 images from 4 Duracell) – the image quality was going downhill also.

Here’s some Photos taken by the cameras:

Above – Taken with the A700: Not bad quality, but that was before most of the above ‘accidents’ happened! A lot of images taken since Cork were blurred, low quality and had glare. It seems to be fixed now though – for a while though.

Above – Taken with the S3000: That’s taken on it’s highest setting, zoomed 3x while standing at the platform of Dún Laoghaire last week. Not great, and it died just after that!

Now, it’s the case of picking a new camera, I’ve been hounding the net looking for a good, cheap, entry level SLR. Luckily, a few weeks ago, Fujifilm announced their new entry level SLR – the Finepix S5700.

It’s perfect for me, containing everything I need – as long as it’s quick to start up and snap I’m not fussy – at present my other camera’s take upwards of 3 seconds to start up – a lifetime when it’s a passing shot!

It’s also 7.1MP, with 10x optical zoom, intellegent flash, and electronic stabalizer. And it’s budget priced, around €300 – ain’t bad. Although I could get it on eBay cheaper – I’d prefer to go into the likes of Pixels or Dublin Camera Exchange and get a try before I buy demo…

Well I made it back from Cork in one piece…well barely anyway!

This working weekend plus two futher working days didn’t entirely go accordingly to plan. We departed and arrived on time, in the infamous ‘Ransit’ loaded to the bollocks with tools and other sundries.

We surveyed the yard, and got the Lothian Towcar going – first turn and off she went no bother. Let her idle for 10 or so minutes. Arrival of Michael Grimes, and Colm Lydon. Met in the office for a briefing – where Colm became a ‘menace’ to the selving…

We continued on out to the yard, making an inventory of vehicles to get, started, moved, and if possible cleaned. That was grand – “I don’t believe it…Isn’t that a cute trick?”…

Don’t mind my last statement, it’s an inside joke…more than likely you won’t get it until I tell you what it’s all about and what not…

Michael departed, we dawned the overalls and set to work getting Leopard 319 going after it ran out of diesel the week previous and was left at the gate. We only wanted to move it as it was obstructing the way.

Two hours of attempting to bleed it, jumping it, and ‘easy starting’ it, we decided to cut our losses and free roll it down to the lower yard so we could work on other vehicles except a stubbord Leyland 0.680. So down she went and we parked it.

Back into the towcar, down to the lower yard and attempted to start an Atlantean…latterly discovering the Liftpump being bollocksed, found another one and put the job on the list as it was getting late and dark.

Off for Din-Dins to the McDonalds in Douglas – Mega Mac meal is the best invention since the internal combustion engine

Came back, got Michael Butlers tiger going, attempted to change it’s wheel as it had gone down so much the tyre had come off the bead. So we cut our losses and I was sent up to the lower yard in the ‘Ransit’ – 2nd gear all the way!

I don’t remember much after that, but it involved the towcar doing a ‘Thelma & Louise” – Fucking many a plan up!

Colm went home on the Saturday, we got new batteries for the Foden, filled the Jerry Cans, got the P.J. Digan Ford motoring, got KCS157 back, took Ford and Leopard 337 for a spin upto the turn-point. Where I broke down in 337 – batteries started smoking – just tapped the connection back on with the handle of the T-Key.

Called it a day for then anyway, went to Glanmire (best rolls in Cork!), got some supplies (mainly Lucozade, Biscuits, and Waffles…not forgetting the cans of Bulmers), then settled into the office and watched ‘Intermission’ – and retired to bed at 2am.

Sunday it pissed all day, we moved MD182 20 foot forward, tried to get KC35 motoring – we got as far as putting 40 litres of diesel into her before Michael called it a day. We just dossed about for the day as it was too wet to do anything.

Tried to sort out KC157, someone badly messed up the electrics – and she only wants to start one a day from cold without a blast of easy start into the turbo. There was a scroll (wrong size) absolutly beaten into her – so much that it severed some wires and broke the destination lighting.

Monday, we had Stephen Lynch with us, tried KC35 again – nearly had it. Parked the Ford up, recovered the Lothian, towed M8 and KR11 down to the yard, paid a visit to Kearneys depot, grabbed something to eat and he sauntered off. We latterly towed BM86 down from the entrance.

Everything went well in the towing of BM86, until the incline into the lower yard when BM86 went one way and the towcar the other. Luckily I released the clutch and she went back into control. Parked it beside the Dodge, and tried to SS’s at the entrance – neither would budge. Called it an evening at that – we were to go out again but Steve had left his keys in Stephen Lynch’s van…

Next morning we tried to tow the SS’s again, discovered SS782′s brakes were locked as were SS788′s. Tried to tow KC35, the tow-eye snapped and the destroyed the sussy, tried to tow a Nottingham Atlantean and she wouldn’t budge. Michael arrived, gave input, we tried to get the Foden going – no luck.

Myself and Steve then left around 3pm Tuesday afternoon, had a minor brake down on the Gorey bypass – with fan belt trouble. Got going again, I was dropped off at Bray DART station 19:00 – and missed a DART and had to wait 28 minutes. Eventually got home at 9:30.

Got home, into the shower, had some proper food, checked emails, and went to bed. Lemme tell ya – Best nights sleep in months! As soon as my head hit the pillow I was out for the count!