Throwback Thursday

Csalem

This week we are going back twenty-five years to 1998 and RH 136 on Marlborough Street. The bus is laying over between duties on route 20B. This route started around 1980, initially between Ardlea Road and Bulfin Road. By 1988 it was only operating between Ardlea Road and the city centre, and in 2011 it was absorbed into a new cross-city route 14 under Network Direct.

RH 136 was new to Dublin Bus in 1992 and was withdrawn in 2005 and moved to a UK operator the following year.

The bus was also recently repainted into the new Dublin Bus livery when the picture was taken. Around 2003 Dublin Bus started experimenting with a new livery, before finally settling on a new blue / yellow one. That blue / yellow livery is currently being phased out, but is currently the Dublin Bus livery with most longevity.

Finally the bus is displaying the Irish for city centre - "An Lár". This was a very common destination for decades, but in early-2000s was replaced by a new translation - "Lár na Cathrach".  

28/06/1998

https://flic.kr/p/2oLjEVc

Csalem

This week we are going back a mere 16 years to 2007, and VL 4 in Dun Laoghaire on route 111. VL 4 was one of five buses delivered to Dublin Bus between 1997 and 1998. They were low-floor Volvo buses with Alexander bodies. Following on from the W-Class minibuses delivered in 1994, these were the next step in the evolution of the Dublin Bus fleet as it moved towards low-floor, accessible buses. Initially used on routes 1,2 and 3, departures in the timetable were highlighted in red so people could know when the low-floor buses would be operating. The buses were also delivered in a proposed livery that was not adopted fleet-wide. They were later repainted into the standard fleet livery, before ending their days in the yellow / blue livery. They also spent their final years on the local routes in Dun Laoghaire, as seen here. They were withdrawn in 2009, and VL 2 - 5 were sold on to an operator in Scotland.

Route 111 started in 1986 as one of the DART Feeder services, operating between Loughlinstown Park and Dun Laoghaire Station. It started off as relatively high-frequency service, but was cut back over the years. In 2009 it became peak-hour only, but in 2016 was completely revamped. Running hourly, seven days a week, it was extended at each end to Brides Glen and Dalkey. In 2018, Go-Ahead Ireland took over the operation of the route. 

05/07/2007

https://flic.kr/p/2oMR75y

Csalem

This week is a short hop back eight years to 2015 and to VG 17 on O'Connell Street. The bus is operating a service on route 140. This route started running in February 2008, initially between St. Margaret's Road in Finglas and Wilton Terrace. Whereas the traditional 40 routes went via the estates of Finglas and Drumcondra, the 140 went via the Finglas Road and Phibsboro, providing a more direct and quicker service. In October 2009 it was extended at its northern end to the new IKEA store. Under Network Direct in December 2011, it replaced the southside part of route 128, with its terminus being moved to Palmerston Park in Rathmines.

Like route 140, VG 17 was also new to Dublin Bus in 2008. It is still in service today.

The bus has an ad on its side for the fifth Mission : Impossible film, Rogue Nation. Currently the seventh film in the series is being shown in cinemas, Dead Reckoning Part One.  

14/07/2015

https://flic.kr/p/2oPoFWv

Csalem

This week we are going back twenty-five years to 1998, and to RH 139 on Marlborough Street. The bus is dressed for route 20A.  This route started running between the city centre and Donnycarney North in 1948, and was an off-shoot of route 20. These routes (along with the 20B) went via Fairview and the Malahide Road. In 1997 the 20A was cut back to just a handful of departures, becoming a derivative of the 20B in the process. The route finally ceased to operate in 1999, with the 20B lasting until 2011. A definitive history of the route can be found here: http://dublinbusstuff.com/Routes20.html

RH 139 was new to Dublin Bus in 1992. It was withdrawn in 2006 and sold on to an operator in the United Kingdom.

20/07/1998

https://flic.kr/p/2oQFkKv

Csalem

This week we are going back twenty-seven years to 1996 and RH 106 on Eden Quay. The bus is dressed for route 56A. This route started around started running between the city centre and Ballymount around 1982. By 1985 it had been extended to Fettercairn and reached The Square in Tallaght in 1990. 

RH 106 was new to Dublin Bus in 1991. It was finally withdrawn in 2006 and sold on to another operator in the United Kingdom. However, it eventually ended up doing open top tours in San Francisco. 

The bus is in an all-over ad for Chef Ketchup. It was repainted into this ad in 1996 and remained like this for a couple of years. The Chef brand was established in Ireland in 1921 and is now owned by Valeo Foods Group.  

27/07/1996

https://flic.kr/p/2oS2yD2

Csalem

This week we are going back twenty-two years to 1991 and KD 126 on O'Connell Street. The bus is operating a service on route 19A to McKee Road. This route started running between Rialto and Ballymun Avenue in 1940. In 1967 it was extended north to Cedarwood Road, and around 1989 was extended west to Bulfin Road in Inchicore. Around 1990 it's northern terminus was moved to McKee Road and by 1996 its southern terminus was pulled back to Kelly's Corner. 2001 saw the route changed to run from Jamestown Road to Limekiln Avenue, and remained as such until 2011 when the route was replaced by new route 9 under Network Direct. 

KD 126 was new to CIE in 1982. It was withdrawn by Dublin Bus in the late-1990s.

The bus is in an all-over ad for the Sunday World newspaper. This paper was first published in March 1973.

This part of O'Connell Street no longer has bus stops, and a number of fast-food restaurants have taken over the premises in the background. 

03/08/1991

https://flic.kr/p/2oTpX3F

BonnieSituation

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119590511#Comment_119590511

First store opened in the Jervis. And now it's all gone.

BonnieSituation

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119779618#Comment_119779618

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119839413#Comment_119839413

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119779654#Comment_119779654

I hated having to get the 78A growing up. But its regularity and reliability from Quarryvale meant I foolishly and frequently traipsed across Markievicz Park from the 79 stop on Decies Road to get it outside the De La Salle and then as it turned onto to Grattan Crescent, I always regretted my decision.

BonnieSituation

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120668366#Comment_120668366

That's some seriously considerate parking from that R5 driver. Jaysus.

Csalem

This week we are going back a decade to 2013 and AV 388 at the route 161 terminus at Rockbrook / Tibradden.

Route 161 started in 1999 as part of the changes that saw the removal of routes 47/A/B from the network. Initially it operated from Nutgrove Shopping Centre to Rockbrook via Whitechurch. In 2011 the terminus was moved from Nutgrove to interchange at the Luas stop in Dundrum. The 161 was not a very frequent route and when Go-Ahead Ireland took it over in 2019 it was only operating in the peak hours during the week. The Go-Ahead Ireland version of the route still only operates Monday - Friday, but operates throughout the day between 7am and 7pm (approximately). Dublin Bus used to operate the route down Tibradden Road to this point in the photograph near Marlay Park, but Go-Ahead only go as far as Rockbrook itself. 

AV 388 was new to Dublin Bus in 2004. It was withdrawn around 2018 and moved to another Irish operator in 2019.  

09/08/2013

https://flic.kr/p/2oUSoeo

BonnieSituation

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120250060#Comment_120250060

The 76 was a pig of route Growing up and wanting to venture to the fancy UCI in Tallaght in the years before Liffey Valley and Blanch, meant a lucky dip on it ever running. The 76A going over to Mulhuddart/Blanch SC wasn't much better tbf.

BonnieSituation

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120287771#Comment_120287771

I still to this day find the 17, like the 18 a fascinating route. While the 18 suited me and visiting the Nanny in Crumlin, matches at Lansdowne Road and the beach in Sandymount, I always wondered who the 17 was aimed at when I was younger.

Surely there's not that many regulars in the Bird Flanagan from the more salubrious suburbs? :)

BonnieSituation

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120500452#Comment_120500452

I've never understood why the 25 and its awful timetable was allowed to continue for so long. Surely there was merit in improving it somewhat?

I had mates in Dodsboro and I hated having head toward the village or dualer to get the bus when we inevitably missed the 25 or it didn't run.

Another of those routes like the 46A, 51B, 78A where the suffixed route became more regular or indeed continued to exist!

BonnieSituation

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120584400#Comment_120584400

That was a particularly nice livery.

Csalem

This week we are going back twelve years to two Olympians on Kildare Street. Dublin Bus RV 539 is seen on route 15 to Scholarstown Road, while RH 86 is on the Dublin Bus Hop-on, Hop-off open-top tour.

Route 15 started running between the city centre and Scholarstown Road in 1988. In December 2011 it became a cross-city route, running from Clongriffin to Stocking Avenue, though a year later the southern terminus was moved to Ballycullen Road. In January 2015, route 15 (along with other routes) was diverted away from Kildare Street and sent along South Great George's Street instead due to Luas Cross-City works. 

Like the 15, the Dublin Bus tour started in 1988, and today falls under the DoDublin brand. 

RV 539 was new to Dublin Bus in 1999 and was withdrawn in 2012. It was sold on to an operator in the UK. The RV was a Volvo Olympian, while RH 86 was a Leyland Olympian. It was an older bus, dating back to 1991. In 2000 it became part of the Dublin Bus driving school, and in 2003 it became a tour bus. It was withdrawn in 2014. 

Kildare Street 16/08/2011

https://flic.kr/p/2oWiHCE

Csalem

Another trip back twelve years this week to 2011 and to route 15. 

RV 478 is seen on Dawson Street with a service to Eden Quay. 

Route 15 started running between the city centre and Scholarstown Road in 1988. In December 2011 it merged with route 128, which happens to be the service behind RV 478 on Dawson Street. Route 128 ran between Clongriffin and Rathmines, and when the routes merged, the 15 became a cross-city route from Clongriffin to Stocking Avenue. The section of route 128 to Palmertson Park on the southside became part of route 140.  

In January 2015, route 15 (along with other routes) was diverted away from Dawson Street and sent along South Great George's Street instead due to Luas Cross-City works. Trams now travel up and down the road where the buses are in the photograph.

RV 478 was new to Dublin Bus in 1999. It was withdrawn around December 2011 and sold on to an operator in the United Kingdom in 2012.  

25/08/2011

https://flic.kr/p/2oXBzNJ

Csalem

This week we are going back thirty-seven years to 1986 and KC 195 at Sutton Station. The bus is operating a service on route 102. This route started running between Sutton Station and Malahide in 1986, and was one of the DART Feeder bus routes introduced around that time. These routes were designed to provide frequent connections into the new electrified train service in Dublin. In March 2008, the 102 was merged with route 230, and the new route 102 started running between Sutton Station and Dublin Airport, going via Malahide and Swords. In December 2018, Go-Ahead Ireland took over the operation of the route.

KC 195 was new to CIE in Dublin in 1986. It was withdrawn by Dublin Bus in the late-1990s and joined the Bus Eireann school fleet down in Tralee. It was withdrawn by 2006.

30/08/1986

https://flic.kr/p/2oZ6aBQ

Csalem

This week we are going back eleven years to 2012 and RV 602 on route 15B. This Volvo Olympian bus was new to Dublin Bus in 1999. It was withdrawn in October 2012 (a month after this photograph was taken), and sold on to an operator in the United Kingdom. 

Route 15B started running between the city centre and Templeogue in 1952. In 1978 it reached Ballyroan, and in 2007 it was extended to Whitechurch. Since 2011 it has terminated on Stocking Avenue, and at that time the city terminus moved to the Grand Canal Dock area too. However, in 2021 it was cut back to Merrion Square. 

The bus is seen exiting Church Lane onto College Green. The corridor from Dawson Street to College Green via Nassau Street, Suffolk Street and Church Lane was a major artery for cross-city bus routes for many decades. That ended in 2015, when Luas Cross-City works saw bus routes diverted away from Suffolk Street. Now no bus routes use Church Lane or Suffolk Street. 

05/09/2012

https://flic.kr/p/2p1z7FW

mikeybhoy

Madness that the VTs and AWs used to go up there.

Csalem

This week we are going back fourteen years to 2009, and to VT 33 in Skerries on route 33X. Route 33X was an Xpresso route that started operating between Skerries and Dublin city centre (later UCD) around 2000. It was not a long-lived route and ceased to operate in 2002. It then made a return in 2007, using the M1 motorway from Lissenhall (north of Swords) and the Dublin Port Tunnel. When it came back it was not a very frequent route, with one departure in each direction, Monday - Friday. That changed in August 2009, when part of the viaduct at Malahide Estuary collapsed, and the railway line into Dublin from Drogheda / Belfast was closed. An emergency timetable saw a 33X running nearly every ten minutes in the mornings and evenings, with some during the day too. When the railway line reopened in November 2009, the 33X retained a good service frequency and today in 2023 it has about five return trips eeach weekday. 2009 also saw the evening departures from the city operate to Balbriggan (as the buses went via Balbriggan from Skerries to access the motorway on their return trips to the garage). As part of the expansion in services during the railway line closure, nearly every Dublin Bus garage provided buses to operate these services. This is how a tri-axle VT that was normally found on the Blanchardstown / Lucan routes ended up in north County Dublin. VTs became very common on the 33X for a while. VT 33 in this pictures was actually working into Dublin and not to Skerries as the destination suggests.

VT 33 was new to Dublin Bus in 2007. Originally allocated to Phibsoro Garage, in 2010 VT 21 - 35 moved to Donnybrook Garage as part of Network Direct changes to routes 46A and 145. VT 33 was withdrawn from service around December 2021.

14/09/2009

https://flic.kr/p/2p2Y4jN

crosstownk

I've never been on a VT. I should fix that before they're gone.

Csalem

For our four-hundredth Throwback we are going back forty years to D 400 on Eden Quay. The bus is dressed for route 6. This route started operating between the city centre and Blackrock in 1949, terminating at Castlebyrne Park from 1966. In 1975 it was extended up the Link Road to Abbey Park. The route ceased to operate in 1989. However a new route 6 between the city centre and Howth (going via Shielmartin Road) started in 2021 as part of Bus Connects. 

D 400 was new to CIE in 1971. It was withdrawn by Dublin Bus at then end of 1987 and sold for scrap.

The ad on the front of the bus is for CDL coal distributors. These were taken over by Bord na Mona in 1995. 

18/02/1983

https://flic.kr/p/2p4mjLh

Csalem

This week we are going back twenty-two years to AD 35 at Dublin Airport on route 748.

This Alexander DAF bus was new to Dublin Bus in 1994, and was the first in a batch (AD 35-40 and 69/70) delivered to launch the new Airlink service. It came off the airport services around 2000 when double-deckers took over the route, and it joined the regular fleet. When the bus was withdrawn by Dublin Bus, it joined the Bus Eireann school fleet in Waterford around 2006/07. It was withdrawn by Bus Eireann around 2011/12. 

Route 748 started running between Heuston Station and Dublin Airport around 1998, although there had been unnumbered services between the two for many years. Route 747 was the designation for services between Bus Aras and Dublin Airport. However, in 2011 both routes were merged into a new route 747 that ran from Heuston Station to Dublin Airport. 

Dublin Express now operate from this bus stop at Dublin Airport, and the Airlink service was officially withdrawn in 2021. 

27/09/2001

https://flic.kr/p/2p5QZ8a

Csalem

This week we are going back fifteen years to RV 422 passing the main entrance to UCD Belfield with a service on route 7B to Dublin city centre.

This Volvo Olympian was new to Dublin Bus in 1998. It was withdrawn in 2009 and sold on to an operator in the United Kingdom. 

Route 7B started running between Shankill and the city centre in 2001. This was a weekday, peak-only route. Whereas the traditional route 7 reached the city centre by going along the Rock Road, this route and the 7D, which started around the same time, made use of the Stillorgan QBC. The route still runs today.

University College Dublin (UCD) started its move from the city centre to Belfield campus in 1964 when the Faculty of Science opened. Since then the campus has grown a lot, and the university is the largest in Ireland. 

06/10/2008

https://flic.kr/p/2p7mUC9

Csalem

This week we are going back eleven years to 2012, and to RV 584 at Liffey Valley Shopping Centre. On this day, October 13th, an enthusiast trip was organised by Dublin Bus to mark the end of the Volvo Olympian buses (as well as the end of the high-floor buses). RV 584 and RV 586 visited a number of locations around the city, following certain bus routes. Both buses had been delivered new to Dublin Bus in 1999 and within a week of the trip, both had been withdrawn. Both were sold on to other Irish operators. The actual last Olympian to run in passenger service was RV 560 on the 19th December 2012. 

In the background is AV 405 on route 40. This had been the terminus of the 40 since 2011, when the route had been merged with the 78 and 78A. It was cut back again in 2022 when route G2 started under Bus Connects. In 2023 this stop was remodelled to become just an intermediate stop as a new bus interchange opened at the front of the shopping centre. AV 405 was withdrawn around the start of 2019, and sold on to another Irish operator. In just over a decade, everything in this scene has changed. Even the bus livery is on the way out. 

13/10/2012  

https://flic.kr/p/2p8S1ij

Csalem

This week we are going back twenty-four years to 1999, to a bus that has featured here before, on the same route and in the same location. Except this time there is a better view of the bus. 99 D 73675 is seen in Ringsend and was a DAF Plaxton demonstrator built in 1997. Converted to run on liquified petroleum gas, it was trialled with a few operators in the United Kingdom (as P10 LPG) as well as Dublin Bus. After it returned to the United Kingdom, it was converted to diesel power and operated with Arriva until around 2013. 

The bus is operating a service on route 3 to Larkhill, although the destination blind is missing the "h". Route 3 started operating between Whitehall / Larkhill and Sandymount in 1940. For its final twenty years or so of operation, certain departures were extended to / from UCD Belfield. The route was partially replaced on the by new route 1 in 2012 which covered the southside leg through Ringsend and Sandymount. In 2021 this part of the routing was replaced by routes C1 and C2.  

Ringsend, 19/10/1999

https://flic.kr/p/2pajWoz

zell12

Was it an official tourism campaign? Is that second bus real with windows on ceiling? Metal signs from Temu in China

Csalem

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121268046#Comment_121268046

Yes the bus with windows in ceiling was real:

https://flic.kr/p/Fkm8ZZ

Csalem

This week we are going back fourteen years to 2009 and RV 479 on Eden Quay. The bus is dressed for route 15F. This route started running between the city centre and Kiltipper in 2001 (until 2003 the terminus was listed as Aylesbury and then Ellensborough). This was a peak-time only route that went via the Tallaght QBC and Rathmines, with one service in each direction a day. The route ceased to operate in December 2011 under Network Direct changes in the Rathmines area.

RV 479 was new to Dublin Bus in 1999. This Volvo Olympian was withdrawn in late-2011 and was sold on to another Irish operator.  27/10/2009

https://flic.kr/p/2pbKEw2

Csalem

2012 finds AV 374 arriving into the Blanchardstown Shopping Centre with a service on route 220 to Lady's Well Road. This route started running between Lady's Well Road / Ladywswell Road, in Mulhuddartl, and Finglas around 1989. In 1990 it was extended east to Ballymun. Although route 17A also connected Blanchardstown, Finglas and Ballymun, it went a more direct way than the 220 which also served Finglas South and Poppintree. In 2019 Go-Ahead Ireland took over the operation of the route, and it was extended to DCU. 

AV 374 was new to Dublin Bus in 2004. This ALX400 was withdrawn in 2017 and sold on to another Irish operator in 2018.  

02/11/2012

https://flic.kr/p/2pdBidD