Throwback Thursday

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 All three were withdrawn around May 2009.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 However, after the railway reopened the three buses were soon withdrawn again and all three were sold to various operators in the United Kingdom.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 It was withdrawn by Dublin Bus in 1994.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 It was withdrawn towards the end of 2010 and was sold on to an operator in the United Kingdom.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