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D40LFR 707 is now in service.

Had a ride aboard 312 on 22 Portage Express this AM. 334 also observed on the same route.

Add 692 to the list of confirmed refurbs.

688 and 695 are still in orange paint. Fewer and fewer non-refurb 94s remain.

For Peter, I observed 658 last night and 639 this morning, both in revenue service.

I am tracking these data offline including DATES of when changes are confirmed. I have also updated my post of 6-18 above.

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D40LFR 707 is now in service.

Had a ride aboard 312 on 22 Portage Express this AM. 334 also observed on the same route.

Add 692 to the list of confirmed refurbs.

688 and 695 are still in orange paint. Fewer and fewer non-refurb 94s remain.

For Peter, I observed 658 last night and 639 this morning, both in revenue service.

I am tracking these data offline including DATES of when changes are confirmed. I have also updated my post of 6-18 above.

Thanks for the info. As a Winnipeg spotter I take interest in your posts.

I wonder if we should be keeping track of the 1984 D901A fleet (101-107). As the oldest buses in the fleet they seem likely to disappear with the indroduction of the LFRs.

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Thanks for the feedback and recognition. Good to know you (and others?) appreciate my effort, as comments encourage me to keep posting. The last thing I want to do is post if there's no interest. I get enough of that when I ask for photos of things like Manitoba Apportioned Buses. :D

You make a good point about those 84s. In fact I saw 101 last night. Always a treat to see that one in revenue service.

Maybe it's safe to say that I should be reporting everything other than D40LF at this point? And then once all the LFRs have been delivered, I can ignore them too. Are you tracking the dates of my observations offline someplace or are you just enjoying the read? Tracking offline is good when you include the dates, as that info is good as a historical reference. I'm a strong believer in recording a date, along with an observation.

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Any trolley is "moving forward" from fossil fueled vehicles.

Transit fanning is going to be bleak in a few years. All there will be in Edmonton (and Winnipeg probably) is New Flyer low floors. (Our 2 Orions and 2 test hybrids will be the rarity if they don't get sold off. As will the artics.)

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That's one of the reasons I kind of like the Brampton Transit system. They've got Orion V, D40LF, Nova Bus LF, some fishbowls, some Orion Is and a few other misc bits. Neat from a transit fan perspective. I think they need to move forward with the purchase of some high floor trolley buses. That will keep us all happy. <_<

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Any trolley is "moving forward" from fossil fueled vehicles.

Transit fanning is going to be bleak in a few years. All there will be in Edmonton (and Winnipeg probably) is New Flyer low floors. (Our 2 Orions and 2 test hybrids will be the rarity if they don't get sold off. As will the artics.)

High floor is so 1980s!

Spotting in Winnipeg will indeed be getting bleak soon. If we are to get 144 new buses over 6 years then that could effectively wipe out everything pre 1994.

As a spotter I'm most interested in buses that exist in small quantities or under threat of extinction, ie 101-107, the 5 87 D40s, 863, 901-910, 991-993, and of course the new d40LFRs. I will start a spreadsheet to keep track of these, and also the classics d901s.

railbus: How did you find out which buses have been scrapped?

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That's one of the reasons I kind of like the Brampton Transit system. They've got Orion V, D40LF, Nova Bus LF, some fishbowls, some Orion Is and a few other misc bits. Neat from a transit fan perspective. I think they need to move forward with the purchase of some high floor trolley buses. That will keep us all happy. <_<

A link to the WIKI for Brampton Transit: http://cptdb.ca/wiki/index.php?title=Brampton_Transit - The Fishbowls are gone and to add, the Classics are gone as well and many Nova LFS on orer and some brand new ones entering service as we speak.

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WPG jets, can you email me offlist? I've already started that spreadsheet and would be happy to share it with you, rather than you have you redesign a whole new one. Mine has tabs for MCI, retirement dates (when known), D40 refurbs (dates confirmed when released as well as last observation date in prior config) and lastly, the first-seen dates for the D40LFRs. Basically everything that interests you.

As far as the retirements, some of the data came from good sources and some of them came from my own personal observations of scrap line and junk yard. But I'm questioning myself now, because 312 was reported retired earlier on and yet that's what I took to work this AM. Seems minds change with the wind around here. Last year, the MCIs seemed to have a good future, this year the frames have issues and 10 are slated to go. So as always there are no guarantees. My data represents the best effort from all sources. <_<

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observations 6-19 AM:

312, 334, 676 (refurb), 688 (still orange), 692 (refurb), 695 (still orange), 707 (first appearance in revenue service)

6-19 PM:

615, 302, 658, 180, 707, 345, 857, 639, 352, 375 (refurb), 853, 681 (refurb), 814, 303, 850 and 352.

This is only the oldest and newest (D40LFR only) stuff, as will be my format from now on unless otherwise requested.

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Based on what you indicated you wanted to read about, here is what I observed this morning:

638, 807, 856, 868, 151, 699 (still in orange), 824, 859, 871, 993, 697 (refurb), 816, 837, 345, 639, 330, 826.

706 was on Portage doing route 68 this morning.

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That was me 68-1 5:07 - 1247. Nice bus . I would love to have one of these on a regular basis but it probably is a 1 time thing as my run goes in at 19:00 so it gets anything as long as its a low floor as its a large lowfloor designate. I do have to wonder why all the "love" for the classics though. As an operator now for over 28 years these were never nice to drive. Underpowered and the ride was a poor version of the fishbowls, The only good thing about them was the drivers upper vents and the winter heat with was good but at a cost. The blowers are so loud they drove you nuts. A lot of use are glad to see them go.

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D40LFR introduction dates (based upon confirmed observation in revenue service):

701 6-20

703 6-20

705 6-16

706 6-17

707 6-19

Photo available on request.

638, 639 and 658 all observed in revenue service yesterday, along with numerous MCIs and D40 refurbs. The D40LFRs will kill a lot of these interesting types so this is definitely the time to get photos.

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That was me 68-1 5:07 - 1247. Nice bus . I would love to have one of these on a regular basis but it probably is a 1 time thing as my run goes in at 19:00 so it gets anything as long as its a low floor as its a large lowfloor designate. I do have to wonder why all the "love" for the classics though. As an operator now for over 28 years these were never nice to drive. Underpowered and the ride was a poor version of the fishbowls, The only good thing about them was the drivers upper vents and the winter heat with was good but at a cost. The blowers are so loud they drove you nuts. A lot of use are glad to see them go.

Neat that is was you driving that bus yesterday! I suppose there's no point in asking if you noticed a guy on a red bicycle. I used to ride the 68 every when it was all orions and 35 foot flyers.

It interesting to read your observations of the classics. I'd love to know your impressions of driving other models too.

As a frequent passenger I'm not a big fan of the classics either. I find the seating to be cramped. My knees are always jammed against the row in front. When boarding a classic I always look for a side-facing seat or a a seat at the back. As a bus enthusiast I will be sad to see them go, but I won't miss them as a passenger.

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Sorry don't recall red bike , hope I didn't crowd you : ) . I did see a young girl on Portage with a SLR style camera taking shots of buses though. As for the buses Ive driven over the years , of the ones most recently talked about here lately .

The 630's to 50' new flyers , First buses from New Flyer , Slow and very top heavy to drive. In the winter the "clam-shell " or pocket door style of door was a poor idea for Winnipeg as they kept of keep (as you know some are still in service) hitting the snow that builds up on the curb and bus stop area . Pretty neutral bus though not a favorite of anyone but not really hated either. The drivers front vent is very inadequate as it was put in after the fact after complaints to flyer about very hot drivers area in summer. The detroit 6v92's are a good strong engine and reliable all in all.

101 - 107 These were the ones that Chicago refused to take delivery of. Kind of ironic that some are still in service .First full size bus with power steering as the Orion 30 ft being the first overall for Winnipeg . These were good overall buses as are 108 and above witch were the first buses after the plant shutdown at old flyer when the " bad bus building " controversy from Chicago and others happened. They were great buses at the time and we were thrilled to get them. Very reliable good vents but the roof vents are a little week , small item . As said before here , still in service when many newer ones have been retired. The next year though was different. 601 - 630 were and are awful . Last buses from the old Flyer company before Den Oudsten took over. These have always been slow with very rough transmissions . You have to drive in 2nd and shift to D if you get over 60kmh to ovoid jerky up and down shifting.

I can post more later but running out of time for now .

bye

Quick note

Buses Ive driven over the years.

Fishbowls - many different years including the old White Ribbon bus line ones the city had . 35 and 40 ft

Flyer 600 800 and 900's bought in the 60s and later , the 600 being the first Transit buses built from flyer.

76 and 77 flyers number 401 to 430 and 431 to I cant remember : ) , 76 and 77 35ft Flyer's

78 flyer 500's first with synchronized smooth shifting transmission.

30 and 38 ft Orion 1's

84 ,5 6,Flyer 40ft . 87 New Flyer pocket door 40ft ,88 MCI classics, All n the high floor New Flyer d40's in the 800, 300 and 600 # range , 30 ft New Flyer low floor's 40 ft New Flyer low floor's from the old ones 991,2 and 3 till present 271 to 281. New look 706 and unfortunately the Invero's. I might of missed some in there and I have been a passenger on other types and years in other city's so I'm open to questions on my opinions for what there worth keeping in mind no 2 drivers would feel the same in a lot of cases. Rumour has it that there are actually drivers out there that like the Invero LOL : ).

Dan

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Nice! You've driven Canuck 600's? Those were sweet Highway Coaches! I only ever got to ride one or two Canuck 600's when they operated for Cascade Charter Service on Commuter runs in Greater Vancouver when I was a teen.

Unless you meant the Flyer D700's and D700A's of which Winnipeg had a couple hundred of those like this one (I noticed you didn'nt mention the 700's),

353.jpg

Buses Ive driven over the years.

Fishbowls - many different years including the old White Ribbon bus line ones the city had . 35 and 40 ft

Flyer 600 800 and 900's bought in the 60s and later , the 600 being the first Transit buses built from flyer.

76 and 77 flyers number 401 to 430 and 431 to I cant remember : ) , 76 and 77 35ft Flyer's

78 flyer 500's first with synchronized smooth shifting transmission.

30 and 38 ft Orion 1's

Dan

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No not the highway coach but the bus like the one you show there. I forgot about the d700 # in the 300s but yes that is the model. By 600 I meant the Winnipeg Transit #s . Bus 666 was we were told the Flyer demo unit , the first one for regular service. The 600 , 300 were just about the same as were the 800 and 900s. Some of the 9s had exterior ads on the roof " the winged wonders" These all were good buses in the winter with good heat and stable on the roads as opposed to the GM " fishbowls" wich liked to have the front slid to the curb (Brakes locked up ) . The summer was different though as the were prone to overheating in any weather over 28 degrees celsius. I remember one pm rush hot engine light on 3 buses before my shift was over. On the last one I had a full standing load and was just about 2 ks from my transfer point for the St Norbert feeder as the last st Norbert express had gone and I was a Kings Park . If I missed it they would have to wait 20 min or more and they were mad and groaning out loud when that buzzer came on so I drove it there with the buzzer on to avoid being hung up by the fan belt my an angry mob. :unsure:

Oh yes I almost forgot , I drove the ELF's as well as the Grumman and winnebago small motor home style bus . These I drove on the South Charleswood Feeder route . Quite unnerving to have you steering column go up and down with the bumps, don't think it was supposed to LOL. Some model of these buses had the Chrysler 440 in them and sounded awesome with power to burn. Also drove the old Thomas coach Handi Transit buses. These turned me of so much I opted out of driving Handi.

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Dan, do you see many transit fans when you are out and about? Some of your colleagues have given me/us a pretty rough time, though I will not provide names or dates. Most don't mind but there's this growing attitude or desire for personal affront when they ask me "Did you just take my picture?"....yeah that's why I was standing across the street focusing on every bus that goes by in a particular direction. With the amount of fans out there it amazes me the number of encounters we have with the public and in rare cases, drivers. Just wondering what your thoughts are on the whole thing. Surely you've had lunch-room talks with colleagues of yours who don't like us?

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Not really , sometimes one might mention it wondering whats going on but its pretty rare. With just short of 1000 drivers in WPG you get the full spectrum of personalities and some might fall into the paranoid category. The relationship with transit management here also has a general feeling of distrust and some could wonder if its related to them. I myself don't mind but I at onetime used to wonder why someone was taking my or another buses picture. Ive since learned that you "guys" are out there. Using guys as a general term, not meaning to exclude the girls :unsure: .

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I see. Do you ever wave at transit fans? One time I was taking shots and I thought it was a driver I knew, later I found out it wasn't him at all, making me wonder who that was? You of course can't see it in my photos on account tinted glass, sun visors, sunglasses, seating position etc. Glad you understand us and have joined us here. I just enjoy taking and having pictures for a historical record as we are in a perpetual state of flux it seems. New buses arriving, old ones departing. Summer is here, weather is great, time to enjoy. :unsure:

Here are a couple of random shots for Peter and anyone else who cares. First one shows our downtown with your beloved 301 passing in front. When I saw the cloud formations I couldn't resist. Second is my first revenue service photo of a 700. Not the best shots I realize but hopefully they are appreciated all the same.

301.jpg

701.jpg

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