Throwback Thursday

This week we are going back thirty-eight years to KD 237 at Dublin Airport on route 41 to Dublin city centre. Route 41 started operating between Dublin and Swords in 1926, and still does so today in 2021. It has had a number of different terminus in Swords over the years, but the most recent one at Swords Manor has been in use since 1998. The route has also continuously served Dublin Airport since the 1940s. In December 2019 the 41 and the 15 became the first two Dublin Bus routes to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

KD 237 was delivered new to CIE in 1982. It remained in service right up to 2000 when the last Bombardiers were withdrawn in Dublin. It spent all its working life in Summerhill Garage. 

Buses no longer serve this upper ramp in Dublin Airport, instead the 41 serves a bus stop that is roughly where the trees by the church are in the background.

01/10/1983

For our 300th Throwback Thursday I thought I would go back to the start. The very first picture in this series was posted in 2016 and showed a bus in Bray Station, so here is a photograph of Dublin Bus GT 87 at Bray Station in 2016. Route 185 started in 1995, and was a direct replacement for route 85. It mostly operated between Bray and Enniskerry (Shop River). The change to 185 coincided with a reorganisation of local routes in Bray and the introduction of minibuses onto those routes. Around 2004 the 185 started serving the Palermo estate in Bray too. In 2018 Go-Ahead Ireland took over the 185 and it became two routes: Bray - Palermo and Bray to Shop River via Palermo. The route also switched from double-decker buses to single-deckers. Under Bus Connects, the 185 will be replaced by the L14 and L15.

GT 87 was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 2013. It is still with Dublin Bus, however it is now in the new Transport for Ireland (TFI) green and yellow livery. The TFI logo on the side of GT 87 has since been updated to a new style one. GT 87 was built by Wrights (on a Volvo chassis) in Ballymena and back in 2016 Dublin Bus was still receiving buses from that company, but of the SG class. The last SG was delivered in 2020, after Wrights were brought out of administration. However, starting in 2021, Dublin Bus have been receiving new hybrid buses from Alexander Dennis, the SG being the last fully diesel bus to be bought by TFI.   

A lot has changed in the five years since this picture was taken, and since Throwback Thursday has started. Who knows what the next five years will bring? Thanks as always for looking at my photographs. 22/10/2016

This week we pop back twelve years to 2009 and AV 242 and VG 34 at the terminus for routes 33 and 33X in Skerries. AV 242 is on route 33X to Tara Street station in Dublin, via the Port Tunnel. This route has had two existences. It first ran for around three to four years, ending in 2002, operating between Skerries and UCD Belfield. It returned in 2007, but only operated as far as St. Stephen's Green. It was a limited service, mostly operating once a day in each direction during the weekday peaks. However, that changed in August 2009 when part of the railway viaduct over the Broadmeadow Estuary in Malahide collapsed. With the railway line into Dublin cut in two for over three months, Dublin Bus had to rapidly step in and increase the number of buses on the corridor, predominately with the 33X. After the railway line reopened in November 2009, the 33X was cut back but still maintains a number of departures (far more than one) in each direction during the peaks to this day. 

VG 34 is on route 33. This route can trace its origins back to the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) and passed to CIE in 1958, when it became the 33. Certain departures on this route are extended to / from Balbriggan. Whereas the 33X uses the M1 motorway and Port Tunnel after Lusk to access the city, the 33 takes the longer and slower route via Swords and Santry.

AV 242 was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 2002. It was withdrawn around 2016/2017 when it moved the United Kingdom and entered service with Walton's Coaches of Preston. While in Dublin it spent all its working life in Clontarf Garage. It ended up on the 33X as all garages needed to pitch in during the viaduct collapse to provide buses and run services on the route, as Summerhill Garage could not cover them all.

VG 34 was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 2009. In 2015 it joined the Airlink fleet and repainted into the livery for that service. In 2020 the Airlink service was suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic, and in 2021 Dublin Bus announced that the service was not going to return.  

16/10/2009

This week we are going back seven years to VT 7 on Leeson Street. The bus is operating a service on route 46A from Dun Laoghaire to Phoenix Park via the city centre. The 46A started operating in 1926 between Dublin city centre and Cabinteely. In 1936 it reached Dun Laoghaire.In the late 1990s the route became 'super charged' when it joined the CitySwift network and the Stillorgan Road Quality Bus Corridor became operational. The route started the new millennium as one of the most frequent in the city. In 2010 it became a cross city route when its northern terminus became the Phoenix Park, after it absorbed the northern half of route 10 under Network Direct. 

VT 7 was one of twenty Enviro 500 tri-axle buses delivered to Dublin Bus in 2005. When these buses arrived their presence on the streets were certainly noticeable as this was a class of bus more associated with Hong Kong than with Europe. These buses were initially allocated to just the 46A (and some of the other 46 family of routes) but in 2007 another fifty arrived and the class started to appear on some of the busiest routes around the city. VT 7, along with the rest of the other first twenty VT buses, was withdrawn in 2018. It was sold to the UK and is now used on school services by Sussex Coaches. 28/10/2014

Going back twelve years this week to a trio of RV Class buses enjoying the sun rising over Barnageeragh in north County Dublin. RV 481, RV 506 and RV 507 are seen parked along the road before they head to Skerries to start their journeys on Xpresso route 33X to Dublin city centre. This route was seriously ramped up in frequency three months earlier, following the partial collapse of Malahide viaduct and the severing of the Dublin to Drogheda (and Belfast) railway line. The bus had to take the strain in order to get people from the commuter towns into and out of work every day in the city centre. However, the day this picture was taken was the day the railway line was being reopened and the 33X was about to be reduced in frequency again. However the timetable was kept more frequent than it had been before the viaduct collapsed.

RV 481, RV 506 and RV 507 were all delivered new to Dublin Bus in 1999. All three were withdrawn around May 2009. However, as many extra buses were needed for the 33X that August, all three were returned to service to help out. However, after the railway reopened the three buses were soon withdrawn again and all three were sold to various operators in the United Kingdom.  Barnageeragh, 12/11/2009

This week we are going back to 1985 and D 723 on Marlborough Street. This VanHool McArdle AN68 bus was delivered new to CIE in 1974. It was withdrawn by Dublin Bus in 1994.

Route 28 started operating between the city centre and Edenmore in 1965. Another version of the route operated between 1938 and 1963, terminating in the Fairview / Clontarf area. The Edenmore route stopped in 1996 when it was replaced by routes 42A and 42B.

The Dolphin's Discs shop is beside the bus. This music shop had a number of outlets around the city, including two of them just around the corner on Talbot Street. The final shop closed in 2012.

This part of Marlborough Street is now home to the tram tracks of the Luas Green Line.  

26/11/1985

A two-in-one this week.

First up, I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and all the best for 2022. I would also like to thank everyone for taking time to look at my pictures this year.

Secondly, this is also Throwback Thursday (310). Eleven years ago sees Dublin Bus WV 38 loading up on O'Connell Street with a service on route 123. 

This bus was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 2000, originally in City imp livery. It was withdrawn towards the end of 2010 and was sold on to an operator in the United Kingdom.

Route 123 started in the early 1990s. This City Imp route replaced former routes 23 and 24, and operated between Marino and Drimnagh Road. In 2006 the southern terminus was moved to Kilnamanagh Road. 

09/01/2010

This week we are throwing back thirty years to 1991 and KD 156 on O'Connell Street. The bus is operating a service on route 11B to UCD Belfield. This route started operating southbound from the city centre around 1970. In the 1980s it was extended north, first to Griffith Avenue and then to Wadelai Park. The route ceased to operate in 2011, under Network Direct changes. This route had its own terminus within the college complex at Belfield, being located on the Clonskeagh side near the sports center. Currently it is being used by route 142.

KD 156 was delivered new to CIE in 1982. It was withdrawn by March 1996 and went on to join the Dublin Bus driving school. It was withdrawn in the early-200s but was not scrapped until around 2019.

The bus is an all-over ad for Skips by KP Snacks. The bus was painted into this ad in 1991 and remained in it until 1994. Skips were first made in 1974 and still on sale today.

31/12/1991

This week we are throwing back twenty-one years to 2001 and the end of Bombardier buses in Dublin. On the 13th January 2001, Dublin Bus ran a farewell trip for the Bombarder buses. KD 114 and KD 353, the latter seen here, represented the double-deckers, while KC 100 represented the single-deckers. The tour ended in Donnybrook Garage, where KD 353 and KC 100 were handed over to the National Transport Museum based in Howth.

KD 353 is seen here at the terminus for route 8 in Dalkey. The first KD to enter service was KD 2 on the the 28th May 1981 and did so on route 8. KD 353 entered service in June 1983. The last proper KD in service had been on route 16 in December 2000, but on the day of the farewell run, the final fare-paying passenger was picked up while the tour was operating along route 11 to Clonskeagh. Bombardier buses remained in service with Bus Eireann around the country for a few more years.

Route 8 started operating between the city centre and Dalkey as a bus route in 1949 (replacing the trams). It stopped briefly between 2001 and 2005, but ended completely in 2016. Under Bus Connects, it is proposed to use the route number on a new route between the city centre and Beaumont Hospital via Clontarf. 

13/01/2001

This week we are going back ten years to 2012 and EV 78 on Abbey Street. The bus is operating a service on route 32B to Portmarnock. This route started in 1967, operating between the city centre and Baldoyle. From 1975 its terminus in Baldoyle moved to Abbey Park. Around 1999 it was extended to Portmarnock, but still operated via Abbey Park. In November 2012 the route ceased to operate under the Network Direct changes. Route 32 itself ended in 2021 when it became the H2 under Bus Connects. 

EV 78 was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 2008. Although members of the EV Class started to be withdrawn in 2021, EV 78 is still in service in 2022. It was also the first member of the EV Class to be repainted into the TFI green / yellow livery. 

02/02/2012

This week we are going back thirty-one years to D 787 at The Square, Tallaght. The bus is operating a service on the short-lived route 74. The Square shopping centre opened in 1990 and a number of new routes started, while others in Tallaght were rerouted, to serve it. The 74 and 74A started on the 22nd October 1990. Route 74 ran from Arthur Griffith Park in Lucan to Tallaght, via Neilstown and Clondalkin. However, neither it nor the 74A were very popular, and both routes last ran on the 27th April 1991 (just over two months after this picture was taken). The number 74 was next used on a bus route in 2007 and that one lasted a little longer before it was merged into the 15B in 2011. Bus Connects are proposing to use the number on a new route to Whitechurch at some point.

D 787 was delivered new to CIE in 1976. It was withdrawn by Dublin Bus in 1994 and sold for scrap. 16/02/1991

This week we are going back 25 years to RA 289 dressed for route 77A on Eden Quay. Not only are we going back 25 years, but the 77A was 25 years old in 1997, having started in 1972. The route ran between the city centre and Tallaght. It's original terminus in the Tallaght area was at St. Maelruen's Park. Over the following twenty-years or so it moved to Bawnville Road, Bolbrook, Old Bawn Road and The Square. Under Network Direct in 2011 it was extended to Citywest and still operates to there to this day.

RA 239 is in CitySwift livery. The 77A was not a CitySwift route but the 77 to Jobstown was, though that only started in July 1997. RA 239 was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 1996. It was withdrawn in 2007 and sold on to an operator in the United Kingdom. 

22/02/1997

This week we are going back thirteen years to 2009 and RV 356 on Nassau Street. The bus is dressed for route 172 to Dunard. This route started on 15th December 1998, running between Middle Abbey Street and the Dunard Estate. In August 1999 the route was rebranded Museumlink and moved its city centre terminus to Kildare Street. It provided a connection between a number of museums in the city, and received a specially-branded minibus to operate the service. When the minibuses were withdrawn the Olympian double-deckers too over. The route was never very busy and when the recession hit, it was an obvious one to cut to save money. The route ceased to operate on the 25th April 2009.

RV 356 was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 1997. Like the 172, it was also withdrawn in April 2009, after operating the route on the last day. 

05/03/2009

This week we are only going back eight years to AV 364 on route 120 to Ashtown Station. The bus is seen crossing Reilly's Bridge over the Royal Canal. This bridge dates to the 1790s, and provided bit of a bottle-neck on the Ratoath Road in more recent times. Not only was this a narrow hump-bridge, but behind the bus was a level crossing over the Dublin to Sligo railway line. In 2013 construction started on a new, wider, bridge that went over the railway line and canal, just to the east of this location. When it opened in 2015, the level crossing and the 18th Century bridge closed to traffic, and the 120 used the new bridge.

Route 120 itself started in 1993 as a City Imp route to Ratoath Road, using mini-buses. In 2004 it was extended to Ashtown Station (the actual stop being a small distance from the station), and around this time double-decker buses started to replace the minibuses on the route. In 2011, certain morning and evening departures were extended to Ballsbridge. 

AV 364 was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 2004. It was withdrawn in 2018, and sold on to an operator in the UK. 

24/03/2014