Bus Éireann KR/KS class buses

BrianD3

Anyone know if these buses have been withdrawn from service? In recent years they have mainly been used as school buses but I haven't see any since the new term started.

If they are now gone then that marks the end of an era in Irish transport as these were the last of the Bombardier/GAC buses left in service. These vehicles did have their problems but were unique to Ireland so I think they'll be well remembered in years to come and hopefully a few will survive in preservation.

loyatemu

i had thought the Bombardier buses had been withdrawn a couple of years ago - I haven't seen one in ages.

They were wrecks almost from the moment they drove out of the factory (assembled in Limerick - the "Book of heroic failures" tells of the first bus, with minister for transport onboard, breaking down several times on its journey to Limerick city)

I hated them - noisy, smelly, unreliable.

murphaph

I can still remember the first time we got a Bombardier on our route (68 to Newcastle, Co Dublin). We were always amonst the last routs to be upgraded when a new model bus ame into service so I can still remember boarding the navy & cream coloured buses, similar to the famous London routemasters. They looked identical to anyone who wasn't a bus geek. Boarding at the rear was cool (no giggling at the back!). Ah, memories. But I still remember people being excited when the Bombardier was inroduced, 'twas so modern. People take a lot more impressing today (and rightly so of course!).

Anyway-you'll get a definitive answer from the guys on bustravel Ireland

John R

You can find almost anything on t'web these days...

Here is a pic of a KR in public service from a few weeks ago.

http://www.freewebs.com/busesaroundcork4/KS100.htm


One of the big problems with the K series buses was that they were very modern. They were designed by a bunch of Germans who tried out a number of new ideas that didn't stand up well to the rigours of Irish roads.
The KR was the last type to be built, by then the factory had been through several owners. They were of a more traditional design and were much more reliable than the previous builds.

BrianD3

Thanks for the info. <anorak alert> One thing that alwasy struck me about the KR was how small the wheels were. As can be seen in John Rs pic the wheels look tiny and barely bigger than those on a car. The wheels on the KE, KC and KD were bigger.

I for one always enjoyed travelling on the KDs, I do remember them as noisy, rattly, but fast (for a bus ) To most people all buses are the same but actually the KD was noticeably different to travel in than say an Atlantean AN68. The KDs were in service from around 1981 to 2000, AN68s from around 1976-1997 so there were plenty of opportuntities to compare them

Victor

They seem unnatural without the green on green colour scheme.

murphaph wrote:

I can still remember the first time we got a Bombardier on our route (68 to Newcastle, Co Dublin). We were always amonst the last routs to be upgraded when a new model bus ame into service so I can still remember boarding the navy & cream coloured buses

**And they wasted money on painting bus stops green!!!! :eek:

BrianD3

Victor wrote:

They seem unnatural without the green on green colour scheme.

Are you referring to the KR? The vast majority of these spent their lives painted red/cream. A small number were used by Dublin Bus and had the green livery. Most Dublin Bus single deckers were KCs. These were outwardly similar to the KR but had different engines, gearboxes, wheels, front panel, doors + seating, also one major difference was that the KC was a monocoque design whereas the KR had a separate chassis.

Anoraky enough?

Victor

BrianD3 wrote:

Are you referring to the KR?

Erm, just circa 1984 models, when we got them in Cork. It was nice to have **new** busses.