Buses: Throwback Thursday

[Csalem]

For this week we are going back to 2008 and a route that had a short life with Dublin Bus. Route 74 commenced in May 2007 and ran from Stocking Avenue to City Centre via Templeogue and Rathmines. Initially the City Centre terminus was Eden Quay but within a few months it moved to Macken Street down in Dublin's docks. In 2009 it moved again to Britain Quay. The route lasted until December 2011 when it was replaced by the 15B under the Network Direct changes.
This 74 was not the first route 74 to operate in Dublin. The previous one to this was introduced with the opening of The Square Shopping Centre in Tallaght. That route connected the centre with Lucan and was not very successful, lasting less than a year.
AV 317 was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 2003 and withdrawn around 2017 when it was sold to a private operator in Galway.
Finally Suffolk Street was once one of the more busier streets in Dublin for buses but when Luas Cross-City works arrived in the area in January 2015, buses were diverted away and now it is pedestrianised. 01/10/2008

Throwback Thursday (247) by Cathal O'Brien, on Flickr

[Suzieq]

Apart from Throwback Thursday I also do a Provincial Past where I post old pictures from around the rest of Ireland. But this week has a Bus Eireann bus in Dublin so thought I would share it here too.

1987 sees Bus Eireann's KR 2 at the Janelle Shopping Centre in Finglas. The shopping centre was converted from an old factory and opened in 1987. The anchor tenant was Super Crazy Prices, a division of Quinnsworth. Both were taken over by Tesco in the 1990s. Bus Eireann won the contract to provide a shuttle bus service from Cabra and Blanchardstown to the centre. KR 2 and KR 219 were allocated to the service and received this special livery / all-over ad for it. The service ran until the 1990s (the shopping centre itself was later replaced by Clearwater Centre in the late 1990s / early 2000s), and thus it was one of the rare bus services (albeit contacted) that ran in Dublin city and was operated by Bus Eireann.
KR 143 also provided a similar service in a similar livery in Wexford town.
KR 2 was second member of the 226 strong KR class built by GAC Bombardier. It entered service in 1986.
Finglas, 01/09/1987

Provincial Past (31) by Cathal O'Brien, on Flickr

Love this thread, keep up the good work. I Deffo remember crazy prices. My mam shopped there if there were some good deals on.

[kellier]

This week we are going back a few short seven years to 2013, with AX 638 passing through Stillorgan village. The Old Dublin Road in Stillorgan, as the name suggests, was once the main road from the south-east into the city. Therefore Stillorgan village was very well served by buses on this busy corridor. In the 1970s the Stillorgan Bypass was opened but the buses still turned off the new road to serve the village. This included routes like the high-frequency 46A. By the late 1990s this was having an impact on the services. Buses would have stop at traffic lights to get off and back on the Stillorgan dual-carriageway in order to the serve the village. This was also undoing the good-work the Quality Bus Corridors had done to speed up the bus services on this corridor. From around 2000/2001 on some services did not serve the village in peak times. Within a decade no 46A served the village, nor did the 145 to Bray. Today, the 47 is the only all-day route to use this road, about once an hour in each direction. The 75 also serves Stillorgan, but uses the Kilmacud Road. This road has probably seen one of the largest drops in bus services over the years in Dublin city.
In the background is Stillorgan Shopping Centre. The first shopping centre in Dublin opened here in 1966. In more recent years it has received a renovation.
The 47 has had a slightly complicated history. It has no connection to the route that served Tibradden up until the 1990s. This route started in 2008, initially between Belarmine and Donnybrook and provided a connection to the Luas tram at Sandyford. It was later extended into the city centre in 2010, going via Nutley Lane and Mount Street instead of Donnybrook. In 2012 it was rerouted again to go via Nutley Lane, Sandymount and Ringsend to the City Centre (partially as a replacement for the withdrawn route 3.
AX 638 was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 2006 and is still in service today. It has spent all its working life in Donnybrook Garage. 03/09/2013

Throwback Thursday (243) by Cathal O'Brien, on Flickr

I lived near there back in the day, it was well served by bus's. There was 46A, 63, 84 and around the corner was the terminus for the 64, 64A, & 62. The No5 also passed through the area.

[Csalem]

This week we are going back seven years to a city terminus that had a relatively short life. GT 101 is seen at the 15A terminus in Dublin's docklands. The destination and the timetable called it Grand Canal Dock. On the destination in brackets, it clarifies the location as Benson Street. However this is not quite accurate. The location is actually Britain Quay. The 15A and the 15B started coming down here in December 2011 following the Network Direct changes. Prior to that it was the terminus of the 74 and 74A from January 2009. Benson Street was meant to be the terminus for the 15A/B, and bus bays were marked out on the road there. However, the last twenty years has seen the docklands area as one large, continuous building site as old dockyard buildings are replaced by modern, multi-storey offices. Benson Street was the location for one of these construction sites for an extended period, thus not making it practical for the buses to go down that far. In fact, the area around Britain Quay became a building site in 2016 and the 15A and 15B moved to a temporary terminus on the Ringsend Road in November 2016. A terminus that was so temporary that both routes still operate from there today. Now no bus route serves this part of Dublin's south quays.
Route 15A started in 1949, running between the city centre and Whitehall Road. It was later extended to Limekiln Farm in the 1970s and still runs there today.
GT 101 was one of eight Wright Geminis delivered new to Dublin Bus in the second half of 2013. It is still in operation with Dublin Bus today. 05/10/2013

Throwback Thursday (248) by Cathal O'Brien, on Flickr

[Csalem]

This week we are going back 36 years to D 394 in 1984. The bus is seen on route 7 at the terminus on Eden Quay. The original 7 was part of the tram network in Dublin, with the first bus route 7 starting in 1949. It only lasted until 1951 and was peak-hour only services between Dun Laoghaire and the city centre. The main route on the corridor at that time was the 8 to Dalkey. A 7A started in 1950 between Sallynoggin and the city centre, but the 7 itself did not return to the network until 1980. From then to 1988 its southern terminus was Ballybrack (Wyatville Road), but it was then extended to Loughlinstown Park. Today the 7 runs to Cherrywood and the 7A to Loughlinstown Park.
D 394 was delivered new to Dublin in December 1970. In 1987 it transferred to Irish Rail where it became the staff bus in Inchicore. It was sold for scrap in 1990 and went to the scrapyard in the CIE tan-livery as seen here. 15/10/1984

Throwback Thursday (249) by Cathal O'Brien, on Flickr

[Csalem]

For our 250th Throwback Thursday we are going back 11 years to AV 210 on Fleet Street with a service on route 50. The original route 50 was introduced by the DUTC (Dublin United Tramway Company) in 1925 and operated between the city centre and Crumlin. In 1945 the route passed to the Dublin City Services of CIE, and then to Dublin Bus in 1987. From 1962 until 1994 it's terminus was near the junction of Whitehall Road / Whitehall Road West. 1994 saw it undergo a bit of a substantial change when the route effectively became City Imp route 150 to Rossmore. At the same time a new route 50 was created that ran from the city centre to Killinarden in Tallaght. In 1998 the route was extended again to the new development at Citywest. In 2006 the city centre terminus was moved to Ringsend Garage. The end of the 50 came in 2011 during the Network Direct review of bus services. With these changes, Mayberry Road in Kilnamanagh lost its bus service after having one for thirty years.
Route 50 made history in 1937 when the first double-decker bus went into service on the route, R1 of the DUTC. Fellow double-decker AV 210 entered service with Dublin Bus in 2001. It was withdrawn in 2015 and moved to Swanbrook's in the UK.
The building in the background is the old Irish Times building being renovated for new use after the newspaper moved to new offices on Tara Street in 2006. 22/10/2009

Throwback Thursday (250) by Cathal O'Brien, on Flickr

[Vico2]

For our 250th Throwback Thursday we are going back 11 years to AV 210 on Fleet Street with a service on route 50. The original route 50 was introduced by the DUTC (Dublin United Tramway Company) in 1925 and operated between the city centre and Crumlin. In 1945 the route passed to the Dublin City Services of CIE, and then to Dublin Bus in 1987. From 1962 until 1994 it's terminus was near the junction of Whitehall Road / Whitehall Road West. 1994 saw it undergo a bit of a substantial change when the route effectively became City Imp route 150 to Rossmore. At the same time a new route 50 was created that ran from the city centre to Killinarden in Tallaght. In 1998 the route was extended again to the new development at Citywest. In 2006 the city centre terminus was moved to Ringsend Garage. The end of the 50 came in 2011 during the Network Direct review of bus services. With these changes, Mayberry Road in Kilnamanagh lost its bus service after having one for thirty years.
Route 50 made history in 1937 when the first double-decker bus went into service on the route, R1 of the DUTC. Fellow double-decker AV 210 entered service with Dublin Bus in 2001. It was withdrawn in 2015 and moved to Swanbrook's in the UK.
The building in the background is the old Irish Times building being renovated for new use after the newspaper moved to new offices on Tara Street in 2006. 22/10/2009

Throwback Thursday (250) by Cathal O'Brien, on Flickr

Very interesting Csalem, thanks

[Csalem]

This week we are going back ten years to the last day of a relatively short-lived bus route. AV 177 is seen at the bus terminus within UCD Belfield with a service on route 70B from New Ongar Road.
The 70B started operating in December 2006 and was one of the few Xpresso routes not to use the X suffix (The 70X had started in 2001 from Dunboyne to UCD Belfield). The route ran from New Ongar Road through Ongar and Littlepace before joining the N3 for its run to the city. It started with one inbound trip in the morning and one outbound trip in the evening. The route lasted less than four years. It's official last day was 30th October 2010 when the Network Direct changes reached the Blanchardstown corridor on the 31st October. However, as this was a weekday-only bus route, and the 30th October was a Saturday, its actual last day was Friday 29th October. And AV 177 did the final inbound morning trip, as seen here.
AV 177 itself was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 2000 and withdrawn in 2015. It was sold to the UK where it became a school bus in the Corby area.
The terminus at UCD Belfield has seen many bus routes over the years and used by thousands of people who worked and studied there. In 2012 the bus stops were relocated within the campus and this area was transformed into a lake. 29/10/2010

Throwback Thursday (251) by Cathal O'Brien, on Flickr

[Csalem]

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

Throwback Thursday (252) by Cathal O'Brien, on Flickr

[Csalem]

This week we are going back to 1988 and to D 720 on Aston Quay with a 79 to Ballyfermot.Route 79 to Ballyfermot began in 1949. The original terminus was on Kylemore Road before being extended to Cherry Orchard Avenue in 1985. In the early 1990s it was then extended to Spiddal Park where it still terminates today. The early 2000s saw it share a lot of its routing with the 79A which operates to Parkwest.
D 720 was delivered new to Limerick in 1975. It moved to Dublin in 1986 and operated out of Conyngham Road Garage until 1993, when it was withdrawn. It was sold for scrap in 1994.
11/11/1988

Throwback Thursday (253) by Cathal O'Brien, on Flickr

[bojangles]

3EF597A7-B1F2-4606-B70B-01EBC87DBEE3.jpg

Saw this on Facebook today , so nostalgic.

[Csalem]

This week we are going back to 1985, and to KD 157 on route 48A. The 48A initially started in 1928 and operated between the city centre and Goatstown. In 1933 it switched terminus to Ballinteer where it replaced some of the services on route 48 that ran there. The bus route ran via Ranelagh, Milltown and Dundrum, and lasted until August 2011.Under Network Direct the 14 became the main bus route between Dundrum and the Ballinteer, along with the 75. Milltown was served by a new route 61 which terminated in Whitechurch. The former 48A terminus in Ballinteer at Broadford just became a regular stop. The 48A did outlast route 48, which ceased operating in 1966.
KD 157 was delivered new to Dublin in 1982. It operated out of Donnybrook Garage and was withdrawn from regular duties around 1996. It then joined the driving school and remained there until at least 2000.
The bus is seen parked on Burgh Quay at the junction with Hawkins Street. Dublin Bus no longer terminate routes along the quay here, but some private operators do The memorial beside it has been relocated to behind the camera in more recent times due to the Luas Cross City tramline which crosses over from Marlborough Street on the north side of the River Liffey at this point. The first phase of the Luas Green Line was also a factor in the demise of the 48A.
19/11/1985

Throwback Thursday (254) by Cathal O'Brien, on Flickr

[Vico2]

This week we are going back to 1985, and to KD 157 on route 48A. The 48A initially started in 1928 and operated between the city centre and Goatstown. In 1933 it switched terminus to Ballinteer where it replaced some of the services on route 48 that ran there. The bus route ran via Ranelagh, Milltown and Dundrum, and lasted until August 2011.Under Network Direct the 14 became the main bus route between Dundrum and the Ballinteer, along with the 75. Milltown was served by a new route 61 which terminated in Whitechurch. The former 48A terminus in Ballinteer at Broadford just became a regular stop. The 48A did outlast route 48, which ceased operating in 1966.
KD 157 was delivered new to Dublin in 1982. It operated out of Donnybrook Garage and was withdrawn from regular duties around 1996. It then joined the driving school and remained there until at least 2000.
The bus is seen parked on Burgh Quay at the junction with Hawkins Street. Dublin Bus no longer terminate routes along the quay here, but some private operators do The memorial beside it has been relocated to behind the camera in more recent times due to the Luas Cross City tramline which crosses over from Marlborough Street on the north side of the River Liffey at this point. The first phase of the Luas Green Line was also a factor in the demise of the 48A.
19/11/1985

Throwback Thursday (254) by Cathal O'Brien, on Flickr

Brings back memories of when I lived in Ballinteer. In the seventies the 48A was a dreadful bus service. If you missed one, you would be hours waiting for another one.

[rasher]

To Csalem or anyone else who would know , what year did the 83 bus start going to Crumlin and what route did it take

[Vico2]

To Csalem or anyone else who would know , what year did the 83 bus start going to Crumlin and what route did it take

Sorry Rasher, no idea