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Throwback Thursday this week is going back to 1985. KC 82 is seen sitting outside the station at Bray prior to working a route 85 to Shop River. When the local routes around Bray were reorganised in the 1990s, this became the 185 to Shop River (via Enniskerry). Later some 185 departures were introduced to just Palermo. 01/06/1985
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...
To mark the end of the year we are going back 29 years to 1991. KD 348 is seen on Parnell Square dressed for route 40A to Cappagh Hospital. Route 40A started running to Finglas in 1932, seven years after route 40 started. The 40A terminus was on Cappagh Road, whereas the 40 terminated on Plunkett Road. Up until the early-2000s a number of departures on the 40A were extended to / from Cappagh Hospital. In 2011 the 40A was taken off the bus network when it was merged with the 40 and 78A to become the new cross-city route 40.
The bus is in an all-over ad for Telecom Eireann Callcards. I am sure for a certain generation of people these must seem like a very arcane item, whereas other people may recall them with great fondness. Introduced in the late 1980s the cards were a way for people to make calls on public phones without having to carry a lot of loose change around with them. In some ways they served as the prototype to phone credit that people use on their mobile phones nowadays. The cards were very popular during the 1990s, and even became collectible items with their varied designs and denominations. However, with the arrival of the mobile phones in the late 1990s, the cards along with public pay-phones became a thing of the past. Telecom Eireann also became a thing of the past in 1999 when it was privatised and first rebranded as Eircom, and later as Eir.
KD 348 was one of 366 double-deckers delivered to CIE in the 1980s by Bombardier. It was delivered new in 1983 and was withdrawn around 1999. 31/12/1991
It is the first day of August 1999 and the 47B, along with the 47 and 47A, has only 6 weeks of existence left. RH 91 is seen at the terminus on Grange Road which the route shared with the 16. The 47 group of routes connected the City Centre with Whitechurch, Tibradden and Rockbrook, though not necessarily the most direct way. The 47B for example served Leinster Road and Zion Road in Rathmines and Rathgar. Eventually the routes were replaced by the 15C, 116 and 161 in the suburbs, though the 47 number did reappear in the early 2000s on a very different routing. The final day of the 47/A/B was the 11th September 1999. The 16 was also subsequently extended from this terminus along Grange Road to Kingtston in Ballinteer.
RH 91 was delivered new to Dublin Bus, appropriately, in 1991. It was withdrawn in 2006 and is currently preserved, in the livery as seen here, although the orange line above the top deck is complete.
The ad on the side of the bus by Aer Rianta states 'The spirit of Duty Free lives on". This was the first day of no Duty Free across the European Union, it having ended at midnight on the 30th June 1999. The concept of Duty Free had begun in Shannon Airport in 1947, and spread across the world. Its abolition was expected to lead to increased travel costs...
Grange Road 01/08/1999
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
It is February 1984 and C 160 only has a few days left in service. This Leyland Leopard with bodywork by Metal Sections Limited was delivered new to CIE in 1966. It was first allocated to Ballina (in County Mayo) when new in 1966. In November 1971 it transferred to Clontarf Garage in Dublin where it continued to work for the next 13 years. With the arrival of the new Bombardier KC Class in February 1984, the final C's were withdrawn and C 160 moved to Dundalk. It took up a new career there as a school-bus which it continued for over a decade before it was finally preserved. Over 50 years after it entered service, this bus is still with us today.
C 160 is seen on Lower Gardiner Street at the terminus for the 27. This route connected the City Centre with Coolock via Fairview and Bonnybrook. In 2011 the route was merged with the 77 become a long cross-city route from Clare Hall to Jobstown. 22/02/1984
For the 500th Throwback we are going back to 2016 (the year the series started) and to SG 161 in College Green, with a service on route 40 to Liffey Valley.
SG 161 was the first of the 110 members of the 2016 batch of the SG Class. It entered service in May of that year. The first member of the class (SG 1) was delivered new in 2014, and eventually Dublin Bus received 621 SGs in total - though did not have them all at once. In 2018 some of them transferred to Go-Ahead Ireland, but they also received 44 of them brand new, which means a total of 665 Wrights Gemini 3 buses have been delivered for city services in Dublin. The last of these buses were delivered new to Dublin Bus and Go-Ahead Ireland in 2020, and these were also the last pure-diesel buses delivered to Dublin. Following orders have either been hybrids or pure electric.
SG 161 is in the Dublin Bus "fleet standard" livery. This livery was introduced in 2003. However, when Go-Ahead Ireland started operations in 2018, Transport for Ireland introduced a new general livery for all public service obligation buses. However this initial TFI livery was not very well-received, and in 2021 a new green/yellow livery was introduced. by mid-2025 all the Go-Ahead Ireland buses had the new livery, and the vast majority of the Dublin Bus fleet also received the new livery. SG 161 was repainted in late-2024.
SG 161 is seen on route 40 to Liffey Valley shopping centre. Route 40 started running between Finglas and the city centre on the 14th September 1925. In 2011, under Network Direct, it was merged with routes 78 & 78A and was extended to Liffey Valley via Ballyfermot. In 2017 it was extended north to Charlestown. In 2022 it was cut back from Liffey Valley to the city centre under Bus Connects when the western part of the route was covered by new route G2. It is currently planned to replace the remaining part of route 40 in October 2025 with the F-Spine under Bus Connects.
Since Throwback Thursday has started, Dublin has said goodbye to routes 8, 13, 17, 17A, 18, 25, 25A, 25B, 29A, 31, 31A, 31B, 32, 46A, 61, 63, 66, 66A, 66B, 66E, 67, 75, 75A, 76, 76A, 79, 79A, 84, 84A, 90, 145, 155, 175, 184, 185, 239, 747, 748 and some other less-frequent routes. And in the same time the city has said hello to routes C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, E1 ,E2, G1, G2, H1, H2, H3, L1, L2, L3, L11, L12, L14, L15, L25, L26, L27, L51, L52, L53, L54, L58, L59, N2, N4, N6, S2, S4, S6, S8, W2, W4, W6, 6,19, 52, 60, 74, as well as some other less-frequent routes.
All-in-all, there has been quite a change to the bus scene in Dublin since Throwback Thursday started in January 2016.
17/06/2016
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!
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 1983 and KD 313 is at the northern extreme of the Dublin City Services network.At the time the bus was brand new, having been delivered to Summerhill Garage during 1983.
It is seen at the terminus of tne 33 in Balbriggan. This town in north County Dublin was the furthest north the buses of Dubiln City Services went. It is also still the furthest north Dublin Bus go, and by the end of the year the furthest north Go-Ahead will serve. The bus stop here is shared with the bus route between Drogheda and Dublin,providing a connection between the two services.
In 1983 the 33 terminus was outside the Bank of Ireland as seen here. Within a few years the bus terminated on the other side of the road. By the late-1990s/early-2000s the terminus had relocated further south along this road, outside Balbriggan Church where it still terminates today.
The Bank of Ireland is still in this location but has been completely rebuilt in the intervening years. 14/08/1983
This week we go back thirty-three years to 1988 and D 785 on O'Connell Street. The bus is in an all-over ad for Denny food that is celebrating Dublin's 1000th birthday. It received this late in 1987, or early 1988, and was the first Dublin Bus all over ad. Though not the first all over ad bus in Dublin, but all other previous examples had been in CIE days. In 1989 the ad was modified with the messaging changed to mark 160 years of Denny. In late 1990 the bus was repainted back into standard Dublin Bus livery.
D 785 was delivered new to CIE in 1976 and operated out of Donnybrook Garage. Around 1991 it moved to Ringsend Garage where it went on to be the last D Class to operate there. Its last trip in service was on route 15B on the 22nd April 1995.
Route 11 started in 1939 running between Ballymun Road and Clonskea. Over the years it was extended to Wadelai Park on the northside and Kilmacud on the southside. Under Network Direct in 2011 the southern terminus was relocated to Sandyford Business District.
The bus is stopped outside the BHS department store, though nowadays it is home to Pennys. Easons in the background is still there in 2021.
29/01/1988
This week we are going back thirty-eight years to 1988, and to D 426 parked on Eden Quay and dressed for route 7 to Sallynoggin.
The route current route 7 can be traced back to 1979 when the route started operating between the city centre and Ballybrack. In 1988 it was extended to Loughlinstown Park. Certain departures started serving Cherrywood in 2004, but in 2016 these services retained the route 7 number, while the Loughlinstown Park services became route 7A.
The bus is showing Salynoggin as a destination, This was the terminus for route 7A from 1950 to 1988, when it was extended to Mackintosh Park. That version of route 7A ended in 2011.
D 426 was new to CIE in 1972. It was withdrawn by Dublin Bus in 1990.
On the bridge behind the bus is an ad for "Abraxas" nightclub in Sackville Place, which may have become "The Asylum" nightclub.
12/02/1988
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 week we are going twenty-five years to RH 130 at the terminus of route 13A on Kildare Street. The first 13A started around 1977, and ran from Ballymun to Beechwood Avenue. In 1980 it moved terminus to Poppintree, and the route ceased around 1983/1984. It returned to the network in 1994, running between Poppintree and Kildare Street. In 1997 it moved its southern terminus to Merrion Square. In 2004 it moved its northern terminus to Harristown, and in 2009 it started serving Ikea (near Ballymun). The route ceased in October 2011, as part of the changes brought in under Network Direct.
RH 130 was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 1992. In 2006 it lost part of its roof and joined the Dublin Bus tour fleet. It was withdrawn in 2014 and sold for scrap. During its career it was one of the few RH Class members to receive CitySwift livery.
21/09/1996
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
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.
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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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.
This week we are going back twenty-eight years to 1994 and Dublin Bus AD 58 on Pearse Street. The bus is dressed for route 14A to Churchtown. This route started running between the Phoenix Park and Churchtown in 1965. In the late-1980s it was cut back from the Phoenix Park to the city centre and in 1995 it was extended to Ballinteer. From 2005 to 2011 it operated to Dundrum, but was subsumed into new route 14 under Network Direct,
AD 58 was one of seventy DAF / Alexander Setanta single-deckers delivered to Dublin Bus between 1994 and 1995. It was delivered in unbranded City Swift livery and initially operated out of Donnybrook Garage. Around 2006 it transferred to Bus Eireann along with a number of other AD buses that joined the school fleet, but it was withdrawn by 2011. It ended its days at Rosslare Harbour.
29/12/1994
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
December2024.Working service station in Lonoke, Arkansas along US-70.TMax400.Pentax645.smcPentax35mm.DDX1to4at8.5m.Scan:FujifilmXH1
It is April 1985 and KD 5 is seen on Marlborough Street (not Abbey Street as on the caption) in Dublin. It is seen after arriving with a working on the 31 from Howth. This route can trace its origins back to the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) and was absorbed into CIE Dublin bus network in 1958. It follows the railway line from Dublin to Howth through villages such as Raheny and Sutton. However in recent times, unlike the railway, it continues through Howth Village and terminate at Howth Summit. As a result, this is a very popular bus route with visitors.
KD 5 was delivered new to CIE in 1981. It survived in service with Dublin Bus to the mid-1990s, spending all its life at Clontarf Garage.
The block of buildings beside the bus are no longer standing on Marlborough Street having been demolished in the early-2000s. The road beneath the bus became the Luas tram line in 2017. 11/04/1985
It is a grey day in February 2010, and AV 217 is seen in Drumcondra. It is operating route 40A from Parnell Street to Charlestown via Finglas. The 40 family of routes are synonymous with Finglas, although the 40B is a bit of an outlier as it goes to Toberburr near St. Margarets. The 40A served some of the estates in Finglas off Cardiffsbridge Road before terminating in the village. In 2009 the route was extended to the new development at Charlestown. By the end of 2011 the 40A had been absorbed into the new cross-city 40 which ran from Finglas to Liffey Valley. The 40 itself was extended to Charlestown in 2017.
Whitworth Road in Drumcondra runs beside and above the railway line served by trains to Docklands Station. It is a busy bus route with the 40s all serving it. In the past the 13 to Ballymun also went this way. It is also heavily used by Bus Eireann. 12/02/2010
This week we are going thirty-nine years to 1984 and D 373 parked on Hawkins Street. The bus is dressed for route 62 to Kilmacud, via Ranelagh and Clonskeagh. This route started operating in 1936, being extended from Goatstown to Kilmacud in 1962, and to Beaufield Park (behind the Stillorgan Shopping Centre) in 1966. The route ceased to operate in 1999 when it was replaced by an extended route 11.
D 373 was new to CIE in 1970 and was withdrawn in 1986.
Beside the bus is the New Metropole cinema, which opened in 1972. In 1984 it became the Screen Cinema, but it closed for the final time in 2016. The site is currently being redeveloped.
24/05/1984
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
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
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!
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 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 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
It is 1985 and D 755 is seen on Eden Quay. The bus is on route 6 to Blackrock via Ballsbridge. The bus was nearly 10 years old at this point, having been delivered new in 1975. It lasted in service until 1994, ending its days with Dublin Bus.
Although the destination shows Blackrock, the route actually terminated near Abbey Park in Monkstown at a place referred to in the timetable as "New Link Road" although the actual road was unnamed at this time. The 6 in some ways served as a short working of the 7 and the 8 which went further south to Dun Laoghaire and Dalkey. There was also a 6A for a time which served Blackrock and Sandyford Industrial Estate. The last 6 ran in 1989.
The bus is in an all-over ad for Bailieboro Co-Op.
18/05/1985
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
Slightly unusual Throwback Thursday this week, and one I debated about posting. When I started this series in 2016 all public service obligation bus services in Dublin were operated by Dublin Bus, and prior to that it was CIE, from whom Dublin Bus was formed from in 1987. In 2015 the National Transport Authority sought expressions of interest to operate some of the routes around the city. During 2016 this became an official tender. Dublin Bus applied to retain and operate the routes, as did other bus companies. The winner which was announced in 2017 was Go-Ahead, a transport company that operates bus and rail services around the world. 23 routes transferred from Dublin Bus to Go-Ahead Ireland and one new route started, the 175.
The 175 commenced running on September 9th 2018. The route takes it from Citywest to UCD Belfield via Tallaght, Ballinteer and Dundrum, and back again. It provides some relief to the busy route 75 while also providing new connections between some of the southern suburbs in Dublin.
11572 is seen passing through the bus gate in Tallaght Village. This was one of 24 Wright Geminis bought specifically for the tendered routes, Another 49 members of the Dublin Bus SG class transferred over, as well as 12 GT class buses. In 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the need to provide extra services for school children, 7 AX buses also went to Go-Ahead Ireland.
So, the bus landscape has changed a bit in the four years since Throwback Thursday started. The Go-Ahead Ireland contract is for five years. With it starting in 2018, there is a chance another operator will be running this route in four years time. Of course, if Bus Connects happens, then none of the current bus routes could be around in four years. We live in interesting times...
10/09/2018