View allAll Photos Tagged throwback
Built mid-August 2013, when I first discovered Gravity Falls this bust was merely a WIP and was later dismantled for pieces.
As I recall, back than there were no Mixel printed eyes which would have suited him very nicely.
Might try to rebuild this and finish it up one day, I think that shaping is quite good.
I found this pic now, among couple of others, and decided to upload it.
More info on this character (beware spoilers)
This week we are sort of doing a sequel to Throwback Thursday (204) as we revisit D 756 a month after we last saw it. For December 1988 it was repainted as the Dublin Zoo Santa Bus but it finished its duties on that before the end of the month (and year). After returning very briefly to regular duties it was sent off again to receive a new all-over ad. This time for Pelican House, the Irish blood donation service. D 756 was delivered new to Dublin in 1975 and was withdrawn four years after this photograph was taken, in 1993.
The bus is making its way down O'Connell Street and is passing the Savoy Cinema. On this day it was showing "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" a film that was initially released in the United States in the Summer of 1988. Unlike nowadays, major American releases could take a while to get to these shores. The Savoy is also showing "Cocktail" starring Tom Cruise, another Summer 1988 release.
Beside the cinema is Pizzaland, a chain of restaurants that first opened here in 1976, but closed in the 1990s. 02/01/1989
Some pretty girls I should pay more attention to
Here are 3 Steffi Love I washed today, I'm not the biggest fan of this girl, especially the new one but I do have a lot of them in my collection as they are easier to find than Barbies, as they are cheaper and in the 90's she used to do almost everything Barbie was doing ^^
I'm sure I'm probably wrong for their clothes, it's definitely not their originals clothes but it's almost impossible to ID a Steffi as they never changed her face and makeup, I just gave them some clothes which were for Steffi ^^
It's the year 2000 and the days of the Bombardier KDs are coming to an end. 365 KDs were built between 1980 and 1983, with most of them based in Dublin. The fleet was fully withdrawn from public service by December 2000, with a farewell run taking place in January 2001. The year 2000 was also the year Dublin Bus received their first delivery of low-floor double-decker buses. The AVs and AXs were delivered consistently over a number of years with the last of the 648 buses arriving in 2006. In 2012 the last step-entrance bus was withdrawn by Dublin Bus.
KD 145 is seen at Heuston Station with a 91 to the City Centre. the 90 was the main route connecting Connolly and Heuston stations but the 91 was used to supplement this service when needed. The area beside the bus underwent a great change when the Luas Red Line was built. This resulted in the tram connecting the two stations. The 90 went from an all-day service to morning peak only, and the 91 was eventually removed from the network. 03/05/2000
Phil Boldman was in charge of keeping Conrails Danville secondary clear of snow between Schneider, Indiana and Danville, Illinois. Fortunately, he took shots along the way.
This photo is looking south at Kentland, Indiana on January 15th, 1982. This was the area where I took most of my photos as a kid. At left is the house track which for some reason is full of cars. Straight ahead is the signal, US route 24 crossing, the TP&W diamond, Goss street and Allen street. At far right is the old wood bridge over the ditch for the interchange track. The slight bend in the alignment here was always a pain in my ass while watching for the nightly northbound.
Snowplowing CR's Danville secondary, formerly NYC's Egyptian Line
January 15th, 1982
Looking south at Kentland, Indiana, MP 61.8
It is 2013 and Grafton Street is still home to a bus stop. AX 639 is seen at the terminus of the 84X prior to departing for Newcastle in County Wicklow. The route was introduced in May 1996, and unlike other Xpresso's, it was an all-day service. It was designed to provide a quicker journey time between Kilcoole / Newcastle and the city centre compared to the more traditional 84. That latter route took a more meandering way to the city going via Bray, Donnybrook and Ballsbridge. In 2012 the 84X terminus was moved from Eden Quay / D'Olier Street to this bus stop on Grafton Street outside Trinity College. This stop was also served by the 11. When Luas Cross City works reached here in January 2014 the 84X relocated it terminus to Hawkins Street.
AX 639 was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 2006 and was allocated to Donnybrook Garage where it remains to this day. 12/12/2013
Bit of a cross over this week for Throwback Thursday. As mentioned in February this is the thirtieth anniversary of Dublin Bus. During those three decades the company has had a number of liveries for its core fleet. A selection of those, and same that came before Dublin Bus when it was still CIE, can be seen here in this shot taken at the Dublin Port Rally, 28/09/2014.
From left to right, we have KD 353 and D 839 in two-tone green for Dublin Bus, D 464 in tan for CIE and D 44 in white/navy blue also for CIE. In the distance is an SG in the current blue/yellow livery for Dublin Bus.
For a bit more history on the Dublin Bus core liveries of the last thirty years, check out this blog post on the Graphic Mint website:
It is 1998 and KD 318 is on Aston Quay with a 51B. This bus was delivered new to Conyngham Road in 1983 where it spent the rest of its career with Dublin Bus. At this time the bus was coming close to the end of its career after 15 years in service.
The 51B was part of the 51 group of routes (apart from the 51A) that connected Clondalkin with the City Centre. The year this photo was taken the 51B was added to the new CitySwift network, so this bus was a bit out of place on the route. In later years the 51B was extended to Grange Castle until 2011 when it was merged with the 13. It then became a cross-city route connecting Grange Castle with Harristown via the City Centre. Instead of using Aston Quay, the 13 uses Dame Street. 10/01/1998
It's 1988 and KD 74 is seen in the north County Dublin town of Skerries. It is operating route 33 to Babriggan, the most northerly place on the Dublin Bus network, and where Dublin Bus remeets Bus Eireann. The 33 can trace its roots back to the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) and the bus services it operated in conjunction with its railway operations. When the company was absorbed into CIE (and the UTA in Northern Ireland) in 1958 the bus routes became part of the Dublin city network. The route still operates today, and is supplemented by the 33A which operates between Swords and Skerries/Balbriggan. This latter route is due to be operated by Go-Ahead while the 33 stays with Dublin Bus. In the past Skerries used to have short workings between its railway station and the main street, which was not a very long journey.
KD 74 entered service around 1981/82 and has gained a Dublin Millennium logo in the rear downstairs window, to mark a thousand years of Dublin city in 1988. It is in the Dublin Bus livery which was about a year old at this point, although the bus stop is still CIE. 21/02/1988
It is 1998 and RA 280 is seen on Burgh Quay. The bus is dressed for the 44B but more likely on the 44C. The destination shows Ballyogan and that is where the 44C went to. It was effectively a short working of the 44. In contrast the 44B went to Glencullen and not a route that can take double-decker buses all the way.
One thing that can be said for certain is that neither bus route was a CitySwift one. The main CitySwift example operated by Donnybrook Garage was the 46A, which was a very frequent route. By 1998 though the CitySwift brand had become diluted as some branded routes did not match the standards set by earlier routes. Furthermore CitySwift buses started straying onto non-CitySwift routes. Dublin Bus responded by adding branding for the key corridors. "Stillorgan Flyer" was the name given to the 46A route. The branding did not restore the damage done to the CitySwift brand and within a few years both were gone.
The bus was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 1996. Most RAs were withdrawn by 2008. Burgh Quay is no longer a Dublin Bus terminus but rather used by long-distance private operator coaches. 11/04/1998
This week we are going back thirty-two years to 1992 and to D 703 parked on Marlborough Street. The bus is dressed for route 20A to Donnycarney North.
Route 20A started running between the city centre and Donnycarney North in 1948, going via Fairview and Malahide Road. It ceased to operate in 1999 when it was partially replaced by route 42A. In its final years the route was very infrequent.
D 703 was new to CIE in 1975 and was initially based in Cork (as seen here: flic.kr/p/2nkSMqk). It migrated to Dublin in 1988 and was withdrawn in 1994.
This part of Marlborough Street is now the Marlborough tram stop on the Luas Green Line.
Sadolin Varnish is still being sold.
30/05/1992
Another week and another hop back a decade to 2010. Dublin Bus AX 522 is seen departing Hawkins Street with a service on route 51B to Grange Castle. Although the 51 was synonymous with Clondalkin since 1927, the 51B only came into being in 1981. Originally the terminus was Bawnogue but in the 1990s it moved to Dunawley. In 1997 it became a CitySwift route, replacing the 51 as the main bus route to Clondalkin. The business park at Grange Castle became its terminus and remained so until the route was absorbed into the new, cross-city route 13 in October 2011 under the Network Direct revisions.
AX 522 was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 2006. Originally it operated out of Conyngham Road garage, before moving to Ringsend. In 2013 it moved to Donnybrook and it is still there today.
The background has changed substantially over the last three years or so. The Screen Cinema was demolished in 2019, along with College House beside it. Demolition of Hawkins House, which dominates the background, began in 2020. Hawkins Street is also now home to the tram tracks of the Luas Green Line.
05/11/2010
A trip back to the mid-1990s this week. RH 80 is seen turning off Ormond Quay and onto Grattan Bridge. It is operating route 69 from Rathcoole into the City Centre. This is one of the more longer bus routes in Dublin and can trace its origins back to pre-DUTC days. Not only does this route serve Rathcoole but it is only one of the bus routes to Clondalkin village.
RH 100 was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 1991. Once it's career was over with Dublin Bus it went on to work with Swanbrook in Cheltenham.
2018 also saw the hotel behind the bus on Ormond Quay demolished. 06/11/1995
Edit: Although the caption says RH 100 further analysis suggests it might be RH 80. RH 100 was not a Conyngham Road bus.
Train splitting and joining used to be a common practice all over Germany and while it still happens todays modern DMUs make the process alot less interesting if far more efficient. The ALEX operations to Lindau and Oberstdorf are a wonderful exception. We have arrived from Lindau aboard a Munich bound train and in quick order the inbound train from Oberstdorf is shunted onto the back and in a few minutes the combined train will be off to Munich. Meanwhile the train to Lindau will soon arrive and set out the last 3 coaches which will head to Oberstdorf.
Gleich als in der Vergangenheit
Zugtrennen auf lokzuggen war in vorbei üblich, aber heute es ist fast gesichte in Deutscheland. Ein tolles Ausnahmen ist der Zugen von ALEX zwischen Muenchen-Lindau und Oberstdorf. Wir haben gerade in Immenstadt von Lindau erreichen und schnelligkeit der Oberstdorf teil ist am unser Zug rangiert. In kurze moment der Zug werdet weiter zu Muenchen fahren und der gegen zug von Muenchen werdet einfahred. Es werdet der hinterer drei wagonen hier lassen fuer der Fahrt nach Oberstdorf.
It is 1986 and D 485 is seen on College Street, partially dressed for the 56A. The route was a derivative of the 56 and connected the city centre with the areas of Crumlin and Walkinstown. In the early 1980s both routes shared a terminus on Middle Abbey Street but by 1984 it had been relocated to Aston Quay. D 485 seems a bit lost here. While the 56 terminated on Walkinstown Avenue, the 56A (which started in 1981) continued on to Ballymount Road, serving the industrial estate area there. In 1985, one of the peculiarities that often happened in Dublin occurred - the 56 was withdrawn and the 56A was extended to Fettercairn. The derivative outlived the original route. After The Square in Tallaght was opened, the 56A was further extended there, and it continues to run there to this day. On a side note, the 56A is the only bus route to pass the Go-Ahead Ireland garage in Ballymount.
D 485 entered service with CIE in Limerick in 1973. It moved to Ringsend Garage in Dublin 1985 and was withdrawn in late-1986.
College House which dominates the skyline in the background was built in 1974 and demolished in 2019. The location of the bus stops is now a tram stop on the Luas Green Line. 23/04/1986
RA 177 is seen on Eden Quay, twenty-years ago in 1997. The bus is on route 84 which operated from the City Centre to Kilcoole and Newcastle in County Wicklow. This was one of the more longer routes operated by Dublin Bus, and what added even more to the journey was that it reached the Stillorgan Road in Donnybrook via Ballsbridge. In 2010 as part of Network Direct the City Centre terminus was moved to the UCD campus in Belfield, before it was moved further south again in 2012 to Blackrock. A City Centre connection is maintained through the day with route 84X which has limited stops, and thus a faster journey time. It also doesn't go via Ballsbridge.
The bus is in an All-Over Ad for Nitelink. This was the name given to the late night services operated by Dublin Bus, and which started in the mid-1990s. In the early 2000s the service was radically increased before being heavily scaled back. In 2017 there is an 84N but it only goes to Greystones.
RA 177 was delivered in 1994 and was the second of the RA Class which followed the RH Class. The bus had a longer life than most of the other members of the class as it became a part of the Dublin Bus driving school. It was finally withdrawn in 2015, at the age of 21. Eden Quay, 18/11/1997
It is 1988 and a certain bus route only has five months to go. D 476 is seen on Burgh Quay. It is displaying route 54 to Cherryfield Drive, via Connolly Station. This route was a cross-city route that connected Donnycarney/Killester on the northside with Harold's Cross and Walkinstown on the southside. The route was operated out of Summerhill Garage, and ran in conjunction with the 54A. The latter route was cut back from the northside in 1988 and in November 1988 the 54 was cut back from the northside. While the 54A continues on today, the remaining 54 did not make it out of the 1990s. The 54A is also now operated by Donnybrook Garage.
D 476 had a similar fate as it was delivered new to Summerhill in 1972 and withdrawn in 1990. The bus is gone, the route is gone but McDonald's is still with us. 08/06/1988
Here is a photo of a C&EI passenger train stopped at Momence, Illinois depot, circa 1920. Willard H. Slater is at left with the cigar. I have always wished more was in this shot, but it's a great old photo for sure!
Willard H. Slater and unidentified man at Momence depot, Momence, Illinois
Chicago & Eastern Illinois
C&EIHS collection, Danville Chapter
Photographer unknown
It is 1996 and another all-over ad of a train on a bus. RH 90 is seen at the terminus of the 8 on Burgh Quay. The bus is in an all-over ad for Fastrack. This was the express parcel service initially operated by CIE and later Iarnrod Eireann The bus was painted to mark the 21st anniversary of the express parcel service in 1995. The concept was simple - the express passenger trains had guard vans which could had empty space that could transport items from one part of the country to another. However with the arrival of railcars in 2007 the number of guard vans on the network reduced until only the Cork and Belfast line remained. In 2009 the service was finally ended, after 35 years.
RH 90 was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 1991 and worked from Donnybrook Garage. After withdrawal it eventually ended up with the Crann Support Group in Meath.
Route 8 connected Dalkey with Dublin City Centre until November 2016 when the route was withdrawn.
Finally beside the bus can be seen Lafayette Photography, known to many for college graduation photographs, and behind the bus is The Irish Press.
14/09/1996
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
It is 1996 and RA 176 is showing off its European patriotism. During the second-half of the year Ireland hosted the Presidency of the European Union. This was the fifth time the country had done this since it joined the EU in 1973. With the increase in size of the EU (despite Brexit) Ireland has only hosted the presidency twice since then, and the next time will be in 2026. The bus received this special all-over livery to mark the occasion.
RA 176 was the first member of the RA class, following on from the broadly similar RH class. While the RHs were Leyland Olympians, the RAs started the Volvo Olympian era, although were Cummins powered. The RAs ranged from 176 to 325, with the first RV starting at 326. In total 640 Olympians were delivered to Dublin Bus. The last Olympian was withdrawn in 2012, the last RA in 2008 and RA 176 in 2006. Some continued on in the Driver School and City Tours but as of 2018 all are withdrawn by Dublin Bus.
The 45 has appeared recently on Throwback Thursday. It connected the City Centre with Bray, terminating on the southern part of that town in Oldcourt. Like the bus, the route is no longer active in Dublin Bus, but the 45A keeps the legacy going. Nassau Street, 24/05/1996
A trip this week to Dublin Airport in 1994 and AD 35 on the Airlink. AD 35 was the first of 6 ADs specially delivered to Dublin Bus in April 1994 as part of the relaunch of the Airport coach service. It was that May that the Airlink brand was launched, along with this new yellow / green / grey livery. With the new Airlink brand the number of services to Heuston Station was also increased, though most still terminated at Bus Aras. By 2020 the main Airlink route (the 747) runs all services from Heuston Station to Dublin Airport via Bus Aras.
In total Dublin Bus received 70 members of the AD class between 1994 and 1995. Most were used on CitySwift routes across routes, with AD 35-40 and 69/70 dedicated to the Airlink routes. They lasted on those routes until around 2000 when they were started to be phased out first by RV double-deckers in 1999 and then AV double-deckers in 2000. The bus ended its days on school duties with Bus Eireann in the Wexford area.
This location in Dublin Airport was subsequently used by Aircoach and, from March 2020, Dublin Express.
02/07/1994
In 2015 AV 390 winds its way through the Luas Cross City works on Nassau Street as it operates a 46A to Dun Laoghaire. Behind the bus is Suffolk Street. This was once one of the main bus corridors in the city, with buses coming down Dawson Street, turning left into Nassau Street and on into Suffolk Street and College Green, before continuing north across the city. The Luas Cross City works brought an end to that with the tram line being extended from St. Stephens Green, down Dawson Street and into Nassau Street, Grafton Street and College Green before heading across the River Liffey. Bus routes were diverted, with some like the 14, 15/A/B and 140 using George's Street in both directions, and others like the 39/A, 46A, 145 being sent via Westland Row and Pearse Street when heading northbound. (These are just some of the routes diverted - there are far too many to list here). When the Luas works were completed, and prior to the trams starting, the 11, 38's and 46's were allowed to use Nassau Street and Grafton Street in both directions again from October 2017. Suffolk Street has effectively become pedestrianised, with an official trial for such commencing in early 2019.
AV 390 was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 2004. It was withdrawn in late-2018 and sold to James's Coaches in Celbridge.
03/07/2015
This week it is a short hop back to 2012, when things were changing on Dublin Bus. On this day I went out to photograph as many RVs as possible in operation as their days were numbered. The new GT class had started to arrive, and indeed I saw GT 3 in Donnybrook Garage that day. These were the first new buses bought since 2009. The RVs would last for just another four months.
However, on that day another interesting thing was happening. Three months earlier route 44 from Enniskerry to the City Centre had been extended north to Larkhill, replacing route 3. Usually it was operated by double-deckers, but on this day one of the midi-buses operated the 13:30 departure from Larkhill to Enniskerry. Thanks to a tip-off I was able to travel on WV 50 from Ranelagh to Dundrum, where it is seen as it continues on its journey south. This bus survived in service until 2016. The route now is usually operated by GT or SG class double deckers. WVs are still common in Dundrum as they operate the 44B, but are due to be replaced soon. 31/08/2012
@shimokitamom is asking: Who on #instagram have you #met #IRL? I've met @suziehippy ( and later @syana206 too ) on her first visit to SG and I sometimes meet her when I happen to be in JP ^^
I have also met @jamiest , her ( husband @kedkin ) and @puppychun we actually first met online through Flickr many moons ago then we all switched over to IG xD we met IRL when they came back to visit SG on separate trips xD
I also met @shimokitamom last month in Shimokitazawa (of course!) For the first time :)
I also got to meet @feli_cia who saw my IG post and came to visit on of my flea market booths xD so honoured!
And not forgetting, I met @karissagoh @yehhua @elloeunice @nettetten when they came to pick up their #hamsters from #hesedetanghamstery xD
In the near future I am also hoping to meet @kookysheltie for the very first time when I finally do visit the @nekojam office xD
This has been a serious brain exercise! xD I do apologise if I've left anyone out xD
This #photo is a #throwback to when #horlickstheham and #milodinosaurtheham were still #tiny and slept in piles xD xD
#hamster #ハムスター #hamstagram #petsmagazinesg #pet #pets #hamstar #cute #clubpets #friendsofnekojam
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
It is 1994 and KD 235 is seen on Lower Gardiner Street in Dublin 1. It is at the 42 terminus in the city center with a departure to Seamount in Malahide. The bus is in an all-over ad for Heineken. It used to be quite common in the 1990s for all-over ads on buses to be for alcohol companies, but in more recent times this has become much less common.
The 42 is the main bus route to Malahide, travelling along the Malahide Road. The bus here is showing Balgriffin as the via point but nowadays that has dropped down the scale of importance with the housing area of Seabury taking over. Also the 42 now has Portmarnock as destination. Coincidentally, the main route to Portmarnock is the 32 but it has Malahide as a destination. This situation with the 32 and 42 is brought about by the large amount of local traffic between Portmarnock and Malahide.
Finally, today in 2017, no buses stop along this part of Lower Gardiner Street even though over the years it has been a terminus for both Dublin Bus and Bus Eireann. 29/10/1994
With just twenty-days to Christmas in 1988 (and 2019) D 756 is getting in the festive spirit on Westmoreland Street. Launched just two days previously, the bus was used on a special shuttle service between the city centre and Dublin Zoo. The interior was also decorated with Christmas lights hanging from the roof both upstairs and downstairs. Passengers paid a special fare which also included a visit to Santa at the zoo. The shuttle service ran for just under three weeks before finishing on December 21st.
D 756 was delivered new to Dublin in 1975 and was withdrawn in 1993. It had a colourful career, literally, as to prior to being repainted into the "Dublin Zoo Santa Bus" livery it was in an all-over ad for Philips Philishave. Early in 1989 it was repainted into an all-over ad looking for blood donors.
It is interesting to note the bus in the background emerging from Fleet Street onto Westmoreland Street. This part of Fleet Street used to be home to a number of routes and was two-way. Now in 2019 it is one of the more busier parts of Temple Bar and although traffic can still access the street, they can only do so one-way, from Westmoreland Street. No bus routes serve here anymore.
Finally D 756 is parked outside what was one of the landmarks of Dublin - Bewley's Cafe. Their first presence on the street was in 1896 but the company contracted in the early-2000s and this branch closed down. It then became a Starbucks and is currently a TGI Friday's. There has been a lot of change in the last thirty-one years. 05/12/1988
A trip to 2012 this week to see VT 35 on the 116. This is one of the routes that only operates in the peaks, Monday to Friday. Currently the route runs from Whitechurch to Parnell Square, going via Dundrum, Sandyford and Stillorgan. Interestingly, the return journey starts on Leeson Street in the afternoon as it is aimed at returning school children home.
The route was introduced in May 1999 and over the years it has had a number of variations. For example, back in its early days it separate departures started in Whitechurch, Ballinteer, Clonskea and Sandyford. Three of these operated to Parnell Square (East or West), while two continued onto the northside to Dublin City University. There were five return workings from the city centre, two of which were in the morning after 9am. But by 2012 it was down to the two departures a day as mentioned before.
VT 35 was part of the second batch of Enviro 500s delivered to Dublin in 2007. 50 members of the class came that year following an initial delivery of 20 in 2005. VT 35 was originally allocated to Broadstone garage . but when the 145 was extended to Heuston Station in 2010, VT 21 to VT 35 moved to Donnybrook to join VT 1 to VT 20 there. Dublin is one of the few cities in the world where the Enviro 500 operates.
Westmoreland Street, 26/09/2012