Southwest photos

Coaches & Buses in West Cork and Kerry in July 2008, including Bus Eireann, private operators, rural transport scheme and island operations. All photos by Gabriel Conway

VC116 parked in scenic surroundings on the Beara peninsula

The Beara peninsula is one of the lesser-known treasures of Ireland, just as pretty but far less spoilt than the nearby Ring of Kerry. The Cork/Kerry border runs along the middle of the peninsula, with the western end being wholly in West Cork.

For such a remote area, it is well served by public transport, with Bus Eireann services on both sides of the peninsula, a long established private operator on the Cork side, and a well-developed network of rural transport services that reach right to the end, and even out to the largest island off Castletownbere.

The photo above, taken on the southern side, on the road from Glengarriff to Castletownbere, shows Bus Eireann VC116 parked around 4-5km west of Glengarriff. There is often a schoolbus parked at this location, though I suspect that VC116 has been working a regular service.

In the background can be seen Bantry Bay and the Sheeps Head.

VC116 a few miles south of Glengarriff

A closer view of VC116 – the VCs are the mainstay of many services in the area, though they are being slowly cascaded to schools work now.

New SC235 departs Killarney Bus Station on the 270 to Kenmare

Over the many years that I have visited Kenmare, I have seen generations of buses come and go on the Kenmare/Killarney service (these days numbered 270).

In the mid 70s Leyland Leopard E14 was the main bus, with E69 sometimes doing duty as a backup. In the late 70s and early 80s, C27 was the only bus on this service for a long time, until replaced by new KR97 in 1985. This was to be the last new bus that the route received for many a year, as a succession of midlife coaches followed when the KR was eventually relegated to schools. There was a PL for a while in the late 90s, and then VC60 became a regular, up until about a year ago, following which a variety of VCs have been used, with VC109 appearing often.

SC235 is the first brand new vehicle I’ve seen on the route since 1985, and is seen here departing from Killarney Bus Station for Kenmare (irish: Nedin) on an early morning journey.

VC86 waits at Killarney

Also at Killarney, VC86 waits to take up duty on the 040 express service linking Tralee and Killarney with Cork and Waterford.

Spot the door - SP104 parked at Killarney

Also fairly new, SP104 is seen here at the part of Killarney Bus Station closest to the Outlet Centre. These coaches are very sleek looking, and have the most flush fitting doors of any I have seen.

SP108 in the coach parking area near Killarney Station

Sister vehicle SP108 seen in the coach parking area near the bus station.

Bernard Kavanagh's 06-KK-2534 in Brendan Tours livery

A variety of independent operators coaches can be seen at Killarney throughout the year, and there is almost always several varieties of Kavanaghs on display!

Galvins VanHool 05-C-7085 heads into Killarney town centre

Galvins of Dunmanway are often seen around Killarney on tour work.

VC28 at The Square in Castletownbere, about to work to Kenmare

Back to the Beara peninsula, and VC28 is seen at The Square in Castletownbere, ready for the 1100 departure to Kenmare on route 282. This is a magnificant trip, which involves crossing the mountains to the nothern side of the peninsula and into Co. Kerry, with some spectacular scenery and narrow roads. In the summer, two round trips a day are operated Monday to Saturday, while in winter months a shorter version runs once a week from Ardgroom to Kenmare.

VC28 arrives at Kenmare where VC109 is about to head for Killarney

An hour an a half later, VC28 has arrived in Kenmare and dropped off its passengers, some of whom will continue on to Killarney on VC109 on the 270.

The buses are seen at the top of the main street in Kenmare, where a dedicated Bus Eireann stop is in place. CIE and Bus Eireann buses have used the main street as a stopping point for almost 50 years, however a local politician has launched a campaign to have the bus stop moved to a different part of town, in order to make 5 further car parking spaces available in the main street.  This despite the fact that the new location would involve considerable disruption for the bus services, forcing them to navigate the one-way system twice for some departures, and would be less convienient for the passengers.

VC109 at the disputed stop in Main Street, Kenmare

During the summer, two buses are needed for the 270, so VC109 is working the service as well as SC235 – it will be interesting to see which one is retained for the one-bus winter timetable!

The early afternoon departure that the VC is about to work takes connecting passengers from both the 282 Castletownbere service, and the West Cork 252 route, formerly the 044 expressway.

VP331 arrives at Kenmare on the West Cork 252 service

Since the late 1970s there has been a summer-only service from Cork through Bantry and Glengarriff to Kenmare, until this year always running on to Killarney.

Originally an Expressway service, recently numbered 044, it has this year been downgraded to a stage service, numbered 252, and does not run beyond Kenmare.

When started in the 70s, the route used to take the scenic Molls Gap road to Killarney, though in recent years it has used the quicker Kilgarvan routing. It remains one of the few services in Ireland to operate through a hand-carved mountain tunnell, between Glengarriff and Kenmare.

Buckleys 06-KY-3289 at Kenmare

Buckleys is an operation connected with Kerry Coaches of Killarney. One of their luxury minicoaches is seen here at the triangle in Kenmare.

78-KY-676 a well-preserved Leyland conversion

Here is an interesting and very well-preserved import to these shores. Possibly a former postbus from the UK, this Leyland vehicle now seems to be used as a private camper van, and was in Kenmare for the fleadh weekend at the end of july.

SP18 overnights at Kenmare

SP18 seems to be a regular overnight visitor to Kenmare, on CIE touring work.

A pair of minibuses belonging to O'Donoghues of Castletownbere

Back to Castletownbere, and here we see the very long established private operator O’Donoghues, who operate bus services from Castletownbere to Bantry and Cork. Their base is right in the centre of the town, at the main square.

The ferry to Bere Island

A few miles off Castletownbere in Bantry Bay lies Bere Island, which is connected to the mainland by two car-ferry services, one of which leaves from the centre of town.

The ferries are very small, and have room for just six cars. The trip out to the island is well worth the time, although reversing down the slipway and up the ramp onto the ferry can be nerve-wracking, particularly when it is at an angle as seen here!

There Bere Island ferry can carry 6 cars - or 1 truck!

Trucks are also carried to and from the island, though only one at a time. And buses too, as I was to find out when I arrived out on Bere Island . .

Rural Transport Scheme bus at Bere Island harbour.

A Ford Transit minibus of the Bantry Rural Transport scheme is seen at the harbour on Bere Island. Because of the way it was parked against a wall, the only possible front shot was this one, from the ferry slipway with zoom lens!

Bantry Rural Transport provide services on and from the island.

The minibus provides transport both on and off the island, with regular services being operated to and from Castletownbere via the ferry, and a twice-weekly evening service to Bantry. This is just one of a network of buses operated by West Cork Rural Transport, with government funding, covering the areas of the Beara and Sheeps Head peninsulas that Bus Eireann do not reach.

Bere Island itself is delightful, with few cars, quiet roads, and a huge amount to see. The size of Manhatten island, it is somewhat less densely populated, though you will find two pubs, a great coffee shop and a resturant as well as other facilities alongside the quiet hill walks and miles of empty laneways.

New Volvos for Rover

Rover's new Volvo B7R / Sunsudegui (photo by Volvo Bus)

FROM THE VOLVO DELIVERY FILES

Irish operator, Rover Coaches, has just taken delivery of two new Volvos – a 9700 Prestige Plus and a B7R Sunsundegui Sideral 10. Whilst Rover Coaches has been a Volvo customer for a number of years, these coaches are both ‘firsts’ for the Mullingar based operator.

“We’ve admired the 9700 since its launch and were particularly keen on the fact that it is 100% Volvo throughout,” explained John Farrell of Rover Coaches. “We were planning to buy one in any case but when the exchange rate between Euro and Sterling made this kind of luxury such excellent value, we just had to invest.”

Specified with Volvo’s DH12E 12 litre engine – rated at 420hp – coupled to the I-Shift gearbox, the 12.2 metre Volvo 9700 Prestige Plus certainly provides luxury. The vehicle’s theatre-style, gently sloping floor and large tinted windows provide excellent viewing for all 49 passengers. And with full climate control, toilet, servery and Volvo’s Sound and Vision entertainment package – which includes first class monitors and high quality sound system, every comfort for luxury travel is guaranteed.

The vehicle will be used for corporate work throughout Ireland as well as incoming tours on behalf of a number of holiday operators.

In contrast with this full size coach, Rover Coaches’ new B7R Sideral 10 will deliver the same Volvo quality in a midi coach format. At 10.3m, the exclusively Sunsundegui bodied coach has been designed for applications where a full-sized coach is not required.

Specified with Volvo’s 290hp 7 litre engine featuring common rail technology and metered fuel injection coupled to a ZF six speed automatic gearbox, the driveline combination offers excellent fuel economy and driveability.

The restyled Sideral 2000 body boasts full climate control, 43 seats – all with three point belts, a multimedia system, incorporating 15” LCD monitor, GPS navigation system and MP3, RDS radio, CD/DVD player and Bluetooth hands free mobile phone installation, and an ergonomic, comfortable driver’s environment
Rover Coaches will use the vehicle mainly for conference and corporate work, in addition to some touring. John explained, “Because of the amount of corporate work we handle, there is always a place for a midi coach in our fleet, so when we heard about the B7R Sideral 10, we were immediately interested.

“It’s a high specification coach, the build quality is excellent and the rear engine design gives us plenty of luggage capacity. Add to this the fact that we’ve always enjoyed a good relationship with Volvo and excellent service from Irish Commercials, and it means that we have every confidence that both new vehicles will prove valuable additions to our fleet.”

Volvo’s Regional Sales Manager, James Hyde added, “We’re delighted by Rover’s continued loyalty. By providing two very different vehicles, as we have done on this occasion, we have once again demonstrated our ability to listen to a customer’s requirements and provide the solution from our extensive range of high quality products.”

Translink orders new Wright Solar Rural

The new Wright Solar Rural (photo by Wrightbus)

FROM THE PRESS RELEASE FILES

Wrightbus have won an order to supply 45 new concept single deck buses to Translink, which will be used exclusively for their Ulsterbus services.

Northern Ireland’s rural areas are set to benefit from new buses – Solar Rural vehicles – specifically designed to make travelling by public transport more accessible to all.  Built on a modified Scania K230 chassis, Wrightbus and Translink have worked closely throughout the product development process in order to design these new state of the art vehicles.

The Wrightbus Solar Rural design remains a 12 metre long low-entry vehicle incorporating an elevated floor area to the rear.  The seating configuration chosen by Translink comprises two-plus-two seating at the front of the vehicle and two-plus-three seating at the rear. All seats are either forward or rear facing and are fitted with three-point integral seatbelts.

Translink Acting General Manager, Bus Services, Frank Clegg explained, “These modern new easy access buses will mark another milestone in the transformation of bus services in Northern Ireland.  The unique design will maximise the seating available.  Also the wide low floor ramped access door will mean easy boarding for our customers particularly those with prams and buggies while passengers requiring wheelchair access will be able to board via a dedicated side door. In addition, a modern fully colour contrasted interior has been applied.

“These new high specification buses will add to the recent enhancements made to Ulsterbus services and offer improvements in comfort, quality, safety and accessibility for all our passengers including commuters, shoppers and in particular school children travelling during the peak school run.  We hope they will help to attract even more people to use our services.”

Passengers will have the benefit of bonded double glazing throughout, interior luggage racks and electronic destination equipment. The buses will also feature an anti-bandit signal unit, PA system and an eight camera CCTV system.

Sam McLaren, Wrightbus Commercial Director added, “We pride ourselves in listening to our customers’ requests to provide the right vehicle for the particular operation. We have worked intently with Translink, from concept to development, and the result is the Solar Rural which we are confident will meet their requirements for rural bus services in Northern Ireland.”

The first of the new vehicles is due for trialling on rural routes this month, and delivery of the remainder is planned by the end of the year.

AV file

A trawl through my photo archive for some oddities and interesting shots of the 2000-2003 batches of AVs in Dublin. (The AVs are Volvo B7TL with Alexander ALX400 bodywork)

NOTE: With the exception of the above shot, where the original is of poor quality, clicking on any picture in this article will bring you to a full-size version.

The above is included despite the poor quality because it illustrated my very first encounter with the AV class, when the first couple of buses had just arrived at Phibsboro Garage in July/August 2000.

AV1 is seen over the pits at Phibsboro, beside one of the remaining fleet of Bombardier KDs which would shortly be replaced by the new buses. Over the next couple of days AV3 could be seen out on the streets driver training, but it was not until September 1st 2000 that the first AV entered service – AV6 at Ringsend, the first trip being on the 65.

AV1-5 were “additional” buses for fleet expansion, allocated to Broadstone, and so stayed off the road pending the introduction of service improvements later in the year.

Above: AV1 has been a bit of a wanderer, and following a spell on euro duties at Broadstone it was moved across to Clontarf, where it mingled with other AVs on most of that depot’s routes.

This photo, taken on April 21st 2002 shows it in Abbey Street about to depart for Malahide. If you look closely in the picture, you can see that AV1 has a small digital display unit at the front of the upper deck, visible through the front windows. AV1 later moved to Ringsend, to tidy up the numbers, and give Ringsend a complete run of AV1-21.

Above: Phibsboro’s AV50 loading up on festival shuttle duty, in the days when the shuttles used to leave from O’Connell Street. The picture is taken in summer 2001, and the festival was Witnness (these days known as Oxegen).

Above: AV108 was an out of sequence allocation to Donnybrook, seen here in 2001 in Dun Laoghaire. It left Donnybrook after a fairly short stay, and is now based at Harristown.

Above: anyone remember The Christmas Bus? Few AVs have been in allover advert colours, and this one only lasted a month, as a “Happy Christmas” greeting from Dublin Bus to its customers. AV136 is seen in December 2003 at Ranelagh.

AV173 was another odd allocation, later tidied up. Seen here at the old 46A terminus in Fleet Street, being overtaken by RA222, also in City Swift livery.

Above: this more modern shot is included to illustrate AV178, the first of the type to be lost by fire. This picture in O’Connell Street was taken just 3 months before its unfortunate demise.

AV185 brings us to the end of the 2000 order, and is seen here brand new at Broadstone, in storage pending the introduction of extra service on the Blanchardstown corridor.

Above: I guess you could call this the arse-end of O’Connell Street (!).

The 2001 batch of AVs was very small compared to the 2000 order, comprising AV186-229 – a mere 44 buses (there was an additional 12 WVs also). A slightly revised body style was introduced, with slanted window and overhang, introduced at the request of drivers, who found the large vertical window on the original AVs too prone to internal reflections at night, particularly when driving in less well-lit areas.

As a workaround on the first 185 AVs, they were sometimes driven at night with nearside interior lighting switched off.

The picture shows AV193, new into service in the tail end of 2001.

Above: new AV222, close to Christmas 2001, entered service without a Dublin Bus logo on the front, and looked slightly odd as a result. In the background, one of the VanHool D tourbuses can be seen – these survived in service until spring 2002.

Above: not an oddity, but a first day in service, and so worthy of inclusion. Clontarf received the first of the 2002 batch of AVs in April 2002, mostly for the 27, though they strayed a lot to other routes. AV236 is gleaming and perfect at Talbot Street.

Above: summer 2003 saw an interesting oddity, with route 123 converted to fully double-deck operation for a couple of weeks to release the WV single-decks to act as shuttle buses for the Special Olympics.

The buses used were brand new AVs being delivered at the time, which went to Broadstone and worked the 123 prior to going to their intended depots. AV292 would become a Conyngham Road bus, which was fitting in a way, as Conyngham Road had operated the predecessor route 23 back in its double-deck heyday. This shot is taken on the 22nd of June 2003, at the Bulfin Road junction.

Above: a little while later on the same day, and one of my favourite shots, as brand new AV301 works the 123 at Suir Road. The landscape here with houses and railings had changed little since the days when I used to pass this way regularly in the 1970s, on my way to and from a summer holiday job. In those days blue & cream double-decks on the 23, either D281-288 or often RA class halfcabs, would always be encountered at this stretch of road. Seeing a blue & cream double-deck again at that spot really brought back the memories.

After a couple of weeks, AV301 moved to Phibsboro and the 123 reverted to WV operation.

More from the AV files in the future!

Bernard Kavanagh takes two B12Bs

Photo by Volvo Bus

FROM THE VOLVO DELIVERY FILES

Irish operator, Bernard Kavanagh & Sons has just taken delivery of two Volvo B12Bs with Jonckheere bodywork. Both coaches will be used for touring Ireland and the UK on behalf of holiday operator, Brendan Tours.

Specified with Volvo’s DH12E engine – rated at 420hp – coupled to the I-Shift gearbox, both are configured with just 49 seats and provide every comfort for touring holidays. Passengers also have the benefit of full climate control, toilet, CD/DVD player and hot and cold drinks facilities.

They are not the first B12Bs to join the fleet. “We purchased a B12B Jonckheere a couple of years ago for touring work and have been really pleased with its performance,” explained Bernard Kavanagh.

“The fuel consumption is good, we like the long warranty you get with Volvo and we enjoy great customer service from them – all excellent reasons for going back to Volvo when new vehicles were needed for this contract.”

“We’re delighted to be doing business with Bernard Kavanagh again,” added Volvo’s Regional Sales Manager, James Hyde. “We’re delighted his last purchase proved such a good performer and are confident that the latest additions to the fleet will match up to the high standards we have set!”

Based in Urlingford, Co Kilkenny, Bernard Kavanagh & Sons was established in 1945. Now with a fleet of 65 luxury touring coaches, the company serves nine major tour operators and provide bus and coach chartering within Ireland, to the U.K. and the European mainland.