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This week we are going back eleven years to VG 21 at UCD Belfield with a service on route 39B. The 39B has had two existences. The first version ran for a decade, ending around 1993 when the CitySwift operation began on route 39. This original 39B operated between the city centre and (at various times) Clonsilla, Sheepmoor and Coolmine. The route was resurrected in 2001. Initially operating between Inglewood and UCD Belfield in the peaks, its western terminus moved to Clonsilla in 2003 and Ongar in 2004. There it remained util the route ceased again in October 2010 under Network Direct, though a lot of it was covered by new route 39A.
VG 21 was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 2008 and is still in service today. There is one noticeable aspect to it though. Previously, all buses delivered to Dublin Bus had their fleet number reflected in the last three digits of the registration plate. Dublin Bus used to block book sequences when they were registering new buses so this feature would occur, and it was certainly an handy way for bus enthusiasts to identify buses too. However, a premium had to be paid for this option with the registration authority and during the financial crisis Dublin Bus had to make savings. This was an easy one to make, so VG 20 was the last bus delivered where the registration matched the fleet number, and VG 21 was the first one to arrive with a general registration plate.
Finally, back in 2010 this part of UCD Belfield was only used by the peak-hour Xpresso bus routes but today it is the main bus terminus on the college campus, and used by the vast majority of bus routes that serve there.
21/10/2010
This week we are going back seventeen years to 2008, and to VT 13 on O'Connell Street with a service on route 46A to Dun Laoghaoire.
Route 46A started running between the city centre and Cabinteely in 1926. Certain departures were extended to Dun Laoghaire in 1929. In 1932 the primary destination was moved to Goatstown, and in 1936 it was extended to Dun Laoghaire full time. In 1999 the Stillorgan QBC opened, with the 46A becoming a high-frequency route. In 2010 it replaced route 10 on the northside when it was extended to the Phoenix Park via the North Circular Road under Network Direct. That change also saw all services on route 46A taken out of Stillorgan village, which this bus is going via. The route ceased to operate in January 2025 when it was partially replaced by route E2 under Bus Connects on the southside, and route 11 on the northside.
VT 13 was new to Dublin Bus in 2005, being one of twenty tri-axle double-deckers delivered that year. In 2007 Dublin Bus received fifty more. It was withdrawn in 2018 and sold on to an operator in the United Kingdom. The bus had just been repainted prior to this picture being taken, and unusually emerged with yellow above the front window and not black. Another member of the class also received this treatement, but it did not last long and both did eventually receive black paint there.
06/03/2008
July 1989 is much more grey than July 2018, but the former is probably a more typical Irish summer than the latter. D 822 does brighten things up a bit. It is seen passing the Bank of Ireland and Trinity College in College Green as it operates a 13 to Palmerston Park from Ballymun. The route commenced to Ballymun in the late 1970s, extended to Palmerston Park in the 1980s, and lasted until 2011. Under Network Direct the route was merged with the 51s and became a cross-city route from Ballymun to Grange Castle via Drumcondra, Inchicore and Clondalkin. The route now travels down Dame Street from College Green rather than Grafton Street as in this photo.
The bus is in an all-over ad for the The Irish Cancer Society. The bus is promoting their support services.
D 822 entered service in 1976 and was withdrawn in 1994 when it was sold for scrap. 27/07/1989
It is 1992 and RH 64 is seen parked between duties on Marlborough Street. The bus had been delivered new to Dublin Bus in 1991 and entered service at Clontarf Garage. It is in an all-over ad for Harp Lager. It is worth noting that at this point in time these ads were hand-painted onto the buses. This is unlike the situation in 2018 where ads are applied on vinyl wraps. In some ways these buses were mobile works of art. As a result the ads lasted longer on the buses than they do now. This one had a lifespan of about a year and was also applied to buses from other garages.
The 32B was part of the 32 group of routes that served Baldoyle/Portmarnock/Malahide. The 32B ran to Abbey Park in Baldoyle. This routing was later absorbed into the 32 services to Portmarnock. Network Direct removed Abbey Park (and the 32B) from the Dublin Bus network in November 2012, with just the 32 surviving and terminating at Malahide. Residents in Abbey Park had to walk to the main road to get a new extended 29A.
This layover on Marlborough Street became the Marlborough tram stop on the Luas Green Line in December 2017.
30/05/1992
Definitely one from the archives, it's been a awhile since the Ferrari Challenge, but I felt it was fitting seeing that I'll be going to Limerock tomorrow.
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A trip back ten years this week to 2009. RV 553 is seen heading north on O'Connell Street with a 140 to St. Margaret's Road. This route was one of a number of routes created in the early 2000s to cope with the expansion of Dublin due to the Celtic Tiger. The routes themselves, such as the 4, 128 and 140, more accurately started towards the end of the Celtic Tiger and the start of the economic crisis. The 140 commenced in 2008 connecting Wilton Terrace with Finglas, being a more direct route than the traditional 40. In late 2009 it was extended to Ikea near Ballymun and then in 2011 it was extended south to Rathmines as part of Network Direct. It replaced the 128 on the southside making the 128 a short-lived route of only 4 years. At one point consideration was given to merge the 140 with the 54A instead, which would have extended it beyond Tallaght to Kiltipper.
RV 553 was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 1999. When this picture was taken it was based in Harristown Garage but was subsequently transferred to Summerhill. It was withdrawn in 2012. 06/01/2009
This week we are going back twenty-six years to 1995 to see RH 148 trying out a new livery. At the time Dublin Bus was eight years old and was considering a new livery to replace the two-tone green and orange stripe. RH 147 received a blue/white livery with a yellow stripe, whereas RH 148 received a two-tone green livery with orange stripe. As can be seen in the photo, when compared to the buses around it, it was only really the lower green that was modified from the standard livery. Unsurprisingly, this livery was not adopted as the new fleet standard. Nor was the livery on RH 147. Instead a blue and cream livery with orange was introduced a few years later. In 2003 Dublin Bus adopted a blue and yellow livery, and now in 2021 a new TFI livery is being rolled out across Ireland.
Route 45 ran between Dublin City Centre and Bray, with termini in the latter either at Oldcourt or Esplanade. It was removed from the network in 2012, but the 45A continues on today between Dun Laoghaire and Kilmacanogue via Bray.
RH 148 was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 1992 and was withdrawn in 2006. It was then sold on to an operator in Scunthorpe in the United Kingdom. It was subsequently withdrawn at some point after 2013. D'Olier Street, 01/04/1995
It is 1992 and RH 120 is seen heading north on O'Connell Street with cross-city route 10 from UCD Belfield to Phoenix Park. Until its withdrawal in 2010, this was one of the more famous bus routes in Dublin with most people's experiences of it either being to take them to college in UCD or the Zoo in the Phoenix Park. Under Network Direct, the northern half of the route was taken over by the 46A, and the southern half by the 39A.
The bus is in an all-over ad for the "Travel Ten" ticket. This was an initiative by Dublin Bus where one prepaid ticket offered ten journeys. This ticket later morphed into the "2 Eazy" ticket, which then evolved into the current smartcard "Leap".
RH 120 was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 1991. It was withdrawn in the early-2000s and went to operate with Veolia in the United Kingdom. 14/03/1992
A partnership with the Fuller Fabric Company in 1952 led DeGrazia to produce many small-scale and full-sized watercolor designs for printed textiles. Happy Throwback Thursday!
Time to pull out some from the photo albums....for the younger ones here, "photo albums" are where we old dudes would store "paper based" photos after we spent all our hard earned money on 35mm film and processing with the option of "gloss or matte finish". (Yutes today......they just don't understand how expensive photography was in the 'olden days' for those of us with gray hairs).
Anyway, it's September 1991 as solo Soo SD60M 6058 is passing the Hartland WI cream city depot and ABS signal on the wrong main on account of track work two miles behind them. This train came complete with brown Soo caboose #3. Behind me, the crossover switch is lined for them to head back over to the eastbound main and onward to Milwaukee.
This week it is a trip back to 1991 and a short-lived shuttle bus. MW 7 was one of a number of mini buses delivered to Dublin Bus in 1990. It was used on local services in Tallaght, as well as a shuttle for Superquinn before taking up duties on this shuttle for the Irish Museum of Modern Art. It connected that institution in Kilmainham with the City Centre, but it did not last long. To show of its different status to normal buses it has "VIP" shown as a route number. Dawson Street 04/08/1991
This week we are going back twenty-four years to RV 403 on Marlborough Street on a short-lived route. Route 27C started in summer 1999, operating between Clare Hall and the City Centre, operating a more direct route than the normal route 27, going straight down the Malahide Road. It is possible returning services only operated to Darndale Roundabout and no known timetable was produced. It also didn't last very long and was cancelled around autumn 1999. Its short existence may explain why it had a paper route number in the windscreen.
A 27C reappeared around 2001, as a peak-hour service between Clare Hall and Leeson Street Bridge. It ceased in 2009. The 27C lives on today as short workings on the regular cross-city route 27 that terminate in the city centre.
RV 403 was new to Dublin Bus in 1998 and withdrawn in 2008, before being sold on to an operator in the United Kingdom. 15/06/1999
Even though it's Wednesday still a throwback. I elected, on a whim, to try my old hairstyle. I do like the shorter one better!
It is 1994. The bus stops (and most buses) are green, the trains are orange and some buses are advertising the trains. RH 41 is seen on Hawkins Street at the 48A terminus. The bus is in an all-over ad for Irish Rail. The national railway company was going through an era of growth and rebranding with new trains and a new logo. This is reflected in the design on the bus.There was a second bus done up for Irish Rail at this time too focusing on its Fast Track delivery service. Sadly that is no longer with us, and the trains are no longer orange.
The 48A connected the City Centre with Ballinteer via Milltown and Dundrum. With the arrival of the Luas in the early 2000s, patronage on the route dropped. Under Network Direct in 2011 the route was dropped, replaced by the 61 for the most part.
RH 41 was delivered new in 1990 to Donnybrook Garage as a Wedding Bus. Following the end of its career in Dublin it moved to Cork where it operated an open-top tour for Cronin's. Hawkins Street, 21/08/1994
It is 2001 and RV 592 is seen at the bus terminus in UCD Belfield. It is waiting to depart with a 50X to Killinarden in Tallaght. the 50X had a lifespan of just under 20 years, starting in 1990 as part of the CitySpeed brand and ending in April 2009 during the review of the network and the removal of low usage routes. Although as the crow flies the distance between Tallaght and UCD is not great, the bus route operated via the City Centre, which added to its route length. Although route 50 was operated by Ringsend Garage, the 50X was one of the extra duties operated by Broadstone Garage.
The terminus at UCD Belfield has now been relocated and this location is now a lake and green area. The bus was withdrawn in 2011. 09/10/2001
A trip back this week to 2003. DT 4 is seen on O'Connell Street with a service on route 19 from Jamestown Road to Bulfin Road. DT 4 was one of the ten Dennis Tridents delivered to Dublin Bus in 2003. Since 2000 Dublin Bus had received buses from Alexander which later became Alexander Dennis. The buses were delivered with ALX 400 bodies but with Volvo chasis/engines (AV/AX Class). The DT represented a complete package from Alexander Dennis. Although these were a more powerful bus than the standard AV Dublin Bus only received these 10, whereas they received 648 Vovo versions over six years. Now in 2017 the DT Class is about to be withdrawn and replaced with new SG types from Wrights. Today the class can normally be found on peak-time extras and operate out of Harristown Garage.
21/09/2003
It's a trip back to 1995 (and not 1997 as the label says) this week and to another experimental livery. This time Dublin Bus decided to try something different than two-tone green and went with blue and white with a yellow stripe. The livery was quite attractive but was not adopted by Dublin Bus, and only this bus was painted in the livery.
RH 147 was based in Donnybrook and is seen here at the 45 terminus on Eden Quay. This route ran to Oldcourt in Bray until 2012 when it was abolished under Network Direct. 22/04/1995
A trip back twenty-one years this week to 1998. KD 128 is seen on Middle Abbey Street at the terminus of route 25. This route, like a lot of lot of Dublin bus routes, can trace its origins back to the era of the tram. The tram route connected Lucan village with the city centre at Bachelor's Walk, going via Chapelizod. With the demise of the tram in the middle of the Twentieth Century the bus took over. The route was subsequently extended to the Dodsboro to the west of Lucan village. The 25 route has decreased in importance over the years. In 1996 the 25A, which served the newer housing developments in Lucan, became a CitySwift route with a high frequency of services provided. One of the new single-deckers bought for this conversion can be seen behind KD 128. Today the 25, along with the 25A and 25B, terminate on the southside in Merrion Square.
KD 128 was delivered new to Dublin around 1981/1982. This bus withdrawn by mid-1999 and the last KD was withdrawn in 2000.
Neither Chapters Music Store, nor the book store that was across the road, are still on Abbey Street. Rather a combined shop is on Parnell Street. In front of the bus is a Telecom Eireann van, a year before the company was privatised. 22/08/1998
I cannot think of a more appropriate way to mark the 150th Throwback Thursday than with a photograph of AV 150 on route 150.
The bus is seen at the terminus of the route on Fleet Street. The route connects the City Centre with Rossmore via Crumlin. The route began in 1994 under the City Imp brand, replacing route 50. In 2011 it was rerouted slightly to replace route 121 in the Liberties. The current 150 terminus is on Hawkins Street.
AV 150 was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 2000. It was initially allocated to Donnybrook Garage where it spent most of its career. It moved to Ringsend Garage to finish out its career. By 2016 it had crossed the sea to Scotland to take up work with McColls.
Fleet Street, 05/06/2015
Following a regional tradition of building a chapel or shrine in thanks, DeGrazia’s goal was an adobe mission built from the ground up at the foot of the Santa Catalina Mountains. Marion DeGrazia said, “The desert was all his as far as the eye could see. There it was beautiful. It was quiet. He did not disturb the desert. He became a part of it.” Happy Throwback Thursday!
This photo was taken on June 14th, 1972 of then Penn Central employee Frank Burman working on putting new banners on the switchstand at St. John, Indiana along the former NYC Egyptian Line at MP 15.20. This view is looking north near Joliet street (in distance) with the northbound signal for the L&N (nee-Monon) crossing in the far distance. The industry at left I believe was a lumber company and in this general vicinity was once a turntable and roundhouse.
Photo by Phil Boldman.
This week we go back twenty-five years to 1996 and RH 132 on Marlborough Street. The bus is dressed for route 20A. The was the first of two derivatives to route 20. The 20 started in 1939 and connected Donnycarney with Bulfin Road. The 20A started in 1948 and ran from Donnycarney North (Killester Avenue) to the city centre via Malahide Road and Fairview. The 20B started in 1980 and ran from Beaumont (Ardlea Road) to ythe city centre. This latter route outlived the other two routes. The 20A started to be merged into the 20B around 1997. Departures were reduced on the 20A and certain departures on the 20B operated via the 20A route. In June 1999 the 20A was finally withdrawn when the 42A was rerouted along Collins Avenue to replace the 20A. The 20A outlasted the 20 by 9 years, and the 20B kept going until it was absorbed into the 14 in 2011. In 1970 the 20A gained one notable footnote in the timetable when one departure in the morning ran from Donnycarney to North Wall for dock workers. There was however no return working.
RH 132 was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 1992. It was one of twenty-eight Olympians delivered that year. In 1997 it was painted into CitySwift livery, though did not receive the same interior as the new CitySwift Olympians. In 2005 it was withdrawn from the regular fleet and joined the driving school. The following year in 2006 it was sold to Dualway Coaches and became an open-top tour bus. However the bus was destroyed in a fire in the Dualway garage in 2011.
11/02/1996
I went through my photos and found a lot I want to upload/reupload with different edits. they're all nice and I guess I just overlooked them at the time.
this one was taken on my way to montgomery in december. it was cold and rainy and foggy and I loved the whole ride.
This week we are going back fifteen years to 2010 and to AV 372 on a snowy O'Connell Street with a service on route 121 to Ratoath Road.
Route 121 started operating between the city centre and Drimnagh Road in 1997. It was a City Imp route, and replaced previous route 22A. In 1998 the route was extended north to Cabra, initially terminating on Faussagh Road, before being extended to Ratoath Road in 1999. The route ceased to operate in 2011 under Network Direct changes. Part of the route on southside was replaced by route 150, but other roads lost their bus service when the route ended.
AV 372 was new to Dublin Bus in 2004. It was withdrawn around 2018 and sold on to another Irish operator.
09/01/2010
Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS) throwback space battle between the Enterprise and a Klingon Cruiser, made in Blender. Just starting to learn Blender, pretty cool.
It is 1989 and KD 22 has just completed a journey on route 31 from Howth Summit. This route can trace its origins back to the bus service operated by Great Northern Railway (Ireland), even through they also ran a parallel rail service to Howth village. In 1959 the GNR(I) was absorbed into CIE and the 31 joined the Dublin City Services. Traditionally the 31 terminated on Marlborough Street and started on Lower Abbey Street but in 2014 the terminus moved to Talbot Street as this part of Marlborough Street was taken over by Luas Cross City works. This exact location is now the Marlborough tram stop on the Green Line. The bus stop it is parked at is actually the set-down stop for the 33, 33B, 41, 41A, 41B, 41C and 60. These were all Swords Road routes that terminated on Eden Quay.
KD 22 was delivered new to CIE in 1981 and remained in service until the late 1990s. It spent most (if not all) of its working life in Clontarf Garage.
The ad on the side of the bus is advertising the power of ... advertising on a bus. The pub in the background does not seem to be lacking in advertising on its frontage.
Finally it is worth noting that because it is a dual-door bus, the front doors have stickers saying "Entry Only" while the middle doors have signs saying "Exit Only". The Olympians in 1999 were the last dual-door buses delivered (apart from 15 AVs for Airlink in 2000) until the GT Class arrived in 2012. Since then, all double-decker buses delivered to Dublin B us have been dual-door.
16/01/1989
This week we are only going back to 1998, but we are at the western extremes of the Dublin Bus network. RA 312 is seen in Maynooth (Co.Kildare) at the 67A terminus. The main 67 route ran between Dublin and Celbridge with a few extensions west to Maynooth, which operated as the 67A. Under Network Direct in November 2010, the 67 and 67A were combined and all departures on the 67 ran to Maynooth via Celbridge. Maynooth is also served by route 66 which had services to the town of Kilcock, further west than Maynooth. However Network Direct in 2010 also removed those workings and both the 66 and 67 now terminate in Maynooth.
RA 312 was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 1996. It was withdrawn by Dublin Bus in 2008 and then bought by Warrington Borough Transport. It remained in service with them until at least 2014.
The ad on the side is for Eircell, which was Eircom's mobile phone network. It was subsequently sold to Vodafone. Maynooth, 07/09/1998
For my first post of 2026, I thought I’d take a look back to one year ago today at the Tanfield Railway’s Whistle Off, which kick-started the Railway 200 celebrations.
More images from the event can be found here >> www.mattditch.photography/rail#/tanfield-railway-railway2...