Throwback Thursday

I used to love that Waterstones. Was a regular visitor to it from 1999 to 2007 as I worked nearby on Grafton Street. It was where I bought all my Star Trek books.

This week we are going back twenty years to 1996. KD 160 is seen at Heuston Station. Although the front of the bus shows "Ballyfermot" the side number probably shows its true intent. Route 91 ran as required between the City Centre and Heuston, working inbound via Dame Street. It was designed to provide extra capacity on route 90 when required. With the extension of the 145 to Heuston a few years ago, route 91 silently faded away and no longer runs. Visible through the front door is the old magnetic strip ticket validator. These too are also now gone, replaced by tag-on machines. 18/08/1996

Throwback Thursday (33) by Cathal O'Brien, on Flickr

This week we are throwing back twenty-six years to 1990. D 513 is seen parked on O'Connell Street outside what is now Penneys. This bus is adorned in ads with a large McDonald's ad on the side. Last year ads of this size made a return to Dublin Bus, but now cover some windows. The ad of 1990 did not do that. The front of the bus also has an ad for pork sausages. Sadly buses today do not have ads on the front. This bus entered service in 1973 and was withdrawn less than a year later in June 1991. 01/09/1990

Throwback Thursday (35) by Cathal O'Brien, on Flickr

This week it is a trip back twenty-six years to 1990. RH 41 is seen on Burgh Quay with a 48A to Ballinteer. The bus was new at the time and was delivered in Wedding Bus livery. The Wedding Buses were meant to be used on special private hires to move wedding guests between locations. Now in 2016 Dublin Bus are phasing out the Wedding Bus concept with the buses being repainted into the standard yellow/blue livery. The route to Ballinteer was abolished a few years ago with the 14 and 61 replacing parts of it. The 48A fell victim to the success of the Luas Green Line. 15/091990

Throwback Thursday (37) by Cathal O'Brien, on Flickr

Currently in 2016 the centre of Dublin is being dug up as part of Luas Cross City. Work started just over a year ago and is now substantially complete. This week we are going back thirteen years to when the first Luas lines were being built. In this shot the Red Line can be seen under construction on Store Street as it makes its way from Abbey Street to Connolly Station, AV 117 is picking up passengers outside Bus Aras as it operates route 747 to Dublin Airport. At the time the destination was shown in a variety of languages. The route is still running today but by VG-class busses in a two-tone green livery. 21/09/2003

Throwback Thursday (38) by Cathal O'Brien, on Flickr

This week we are going back thirteen years to a time when Dublin Bus was trying to find a new image. After a number of years with the blue/orange/cream livery (as seen on the bus on the right-hand side of the photo), Dublin Bus decided it was time for a change. A number of ideas were tested on buses. AV 84 received two test liveries at the same time. As can be seen here, it is a minor variation of the then current livery, with a paler orange on a solid swoosh. However the other side had a light blue instead of the orange and this can be glimpsed on the front of the bus. In the end Dublin Bus did not adopt either livery and went for the third option which was tested on AV 76 and is still with us today - two-tone blue with yellow. AV 84 is seen in Parnell Square with a 2 from Sandymount. 27/09/2003

Throwback Thursday (39) by Cathal O'Brien, on Flickr

A short throwback this week to 2007. EV 7 is seen on O'Connell Street with route 3 from Larkhill to UCD Belfield. The bus was brand new at the time, and marked a change from the ALX 400 which Dublin Bus had ordered from 2000. This bus was allocated to Ringsend Garage and is still there today. The route however is not. Most of it became route 1 while on the northside the bit to Larkhill became the 44. The bus stop it is calling at lists many bus routes no longer with us, including: 1 (the original route to Pigeon House), 2, 3, 11A and 121. Note the bus stop is also in blue and an older style compared to the one their today. 12/10/2007

Throwback Thursday (41) by Cathal O'Brien, on Flickr

A trip back in time this week to 1987, a mere 29 years ago. KD 91 is seen at the 33 terminus in Balbriggan, after arriving from Dublin. It is still in CIE livery as Dublin Bus had only been created eight months previously. The terminus was the most northerly in the Dublin Bus network. At the time it was outside the cinema on Dublin Street. The bus route used to do a triangle in Balbriggan. It arrived at the terminus via Old Market Green and departed via The Square and Hampton Street. The bus stop at the terminus was also used by the Bus Eireann service from Dublin to Drogheda/Dundalk. At the time this stretch of road was also the main road to Belfast from Dublin. Having a bus parked here would not help the traffic, having one parked and another stopping certainly did not. Today the 33 terminates outside the Church in Balbriggan, which is further south along Dublin Street. it doesn't have a triangular route either, arriving and departing the terminus the same way. Balbriggan is also now by-passed with the M1 motorway. The Bus Eireann route 101 still serves the stop in this photograph though. 26/10/1987

Throwback Thursday (43) by Cathal O'Brien, on Flickr

Slightly different Throwback Thursday this week as we are commemorating the end of a route. On Friday 11th November 2016 the 8 will run for the final time as part of changes to bus routes in the Dun Laoghaire. This is not the first time Dublin Bus has tried to get rid of the 8. An attempt was made in 2001 but thanks to a successful European Court case it returned in 2005. But this time in 2016 it will be the last run of the 8. The 8 also holds the distinction of being the last tram route to run in Dublin, back in 1949
RH 45 is seen at the Eden Quay terminus of the route 24 years ago. The bus is in an all-over ad for the First National Building Society. 22/11/1992

Throwback Thursday (45) by Cathal O'Brien, on Flickr

Fifty years ago this month a new type of bus took to the streets of Dublin. The Leyland Atlantean D Class was a bit different from the buses that had gone before it, in that it had a front door entrance, and a rear-engine. The class reached a total of 840 members, spread over two types. No subsequent class of bus has reached such high numbers, the AV/X coming closest with 648 members. Also the D Class operated in cities across Ireland, not just Dublin.
D 599 went into service in 1975 and was withdrawn in 1991. Although the first D Class had a nice navy/cream livery, they spent most of their lives in this tan livery, which did not weather well. D 599 is seen on O'Connell Street with a 19 to Glasnevin. 17/11/1987

Throwback Thursday (46) by Cathal O'Brien, on Flickr

Losty Dublin wrote: »

Good spot, man. Any special movements planned to make the Golden Jubilee?

I think there was something at the Transport Museum last Sunday.

In mid-November 2010, Dublin Bus introduced a new route through Network Direct, the 25B. This replaced the 151 as the bus route to Adamstown. Passengers from there now reached Dublin via Foxborough and the Lucan Road rather than via Clondalkin and the Crumlin Road. Interchange is possible between both routes at Foxborough.
Just over a week after the route started Dublin fell under a blanket of snow. AV 361 is seen in the snow at the 25B terminus in Merrion Square. 01/12/2010

Throwback Thursday (48) by Cathal O'Brien, on Flickr

Apologies, just realised I posted the above photo in the wrong thread. Normal service now resumes.

KD 338 is seen parked just off Abbey Street and off Strand Street in Dublin 1. This was a parking area used by buses of many routes. Examples in this shot include routes 67, 50 and 34A which KD 338 is on. This route operated from Middle Abbey Street to Finglas.
In the mid-1990s as the Celtic Tiger roared into life, most of the area around this location was redeveloped. In the early 2000s Dublin Bus moved out due to Luas Red Line construction. Over the years there have been notions and ideas about building a bus station here, but even now in 2016 the place is empty and derelict.
The ad on the side of the bus is worth noting through I admit to having no idea as to what it is for. 09/12/1988

Throwback Thursday (49) by Cathal O'Brien, on Flickr