How bendy is a bendy bus?
 

On Tue, 01 Nov 2005 19:29:29 +0000, Paul Corfield
wrote:

On Tue, 1 Nov 2005 11:28:01 -0000, "David B"
wrote:

A bit off topic but would a standard length double decker bus with 3 sets of
doors and 2 staircases be a good idea? Better than a bendibus? I was
following one in my coach and noticed they are sooooo slow around 90 degree
corners. Coventional vehicles are much faster and dont take the whole road.

Ah you seem to be referring to a Berlin design of double decker. I have
not used the brand new Neomans yet but I did not notice that the Berlin
deckers were that much faster with two staircases and three doors. It is
interesting to note that Berlin has restricted the old open boarding
concept although many people still board via the front and centre doors.

Back way back when, Bournemouth Corporation ran 6-wheel trolleybuses
with two staircases, and the front exit door operated by the driver
with a lever mechanism. It's almost 60 years since I last rode on one,
but they seemed to speed up time at stops.

The rear platform was open, of course.
--
Terry Harper
Website Coordinator, The Omnibus Society
http://www.omnibussoc.org

How bendy is a bendy bus?
 

David B ) gurgled happily, sounding
much like they were saying :

I will have a look at the Neomans later. I haven't driven an artic,
but I understand that compared with a normal bus, they are limited
round very tight corners. The Volvo type of artic only allows limited
engine power to be developed while turning sharply to avoid any
possible jack knifing.

Somebody mentioned here the other day about having seen a jack-knifed Bendi
- was it in an underpass?

That got me thinking - It's the rears that are driven, not the centre
wheels - so if grip was somehow lost at the centre axle, and power was not
reduced quickly enough, a jack-knife would be eminently possible.

With a sharp dip, it's not difficult to see how the centre axle can "go
light" - How much vertical articulation is there in the joint?

How bendy is a bendy bus?
 

In message . 170,
Adrian writes
That got me thinking - It's the rears that are driven, not the centre
wheels - so if grip was somehow lost at the centre axle, and power was
not reduced quickly enough, a jack-knife would be eminently possible.
I understood the engine to be in the back but drove the rear wheels of
the front unit through a cardan shaft to stop any chance of imbalance of
drive.
--
Clive

How bendy is a bendy bus?
 

Clive ) gurgled happily, sounding much like they
were saying :

That got me thinking - It's the rears that are driven, not the centre
wheels - so if grip was somehow lost at the centre axle, and power was
not reduced quickly enough, a jack-knife would be eminently possible.

I understood the engine to be in the back but drove the rear wheels of
the front unit through a cardan shaft to stop any chance of imbalance of
drive.

Makes sense - Merc's website confirms it's rear-engined, but just describes
the "rear axle" in the transmission specs - which could mean both rear and
centre axles are driven - which would give the same effect if the centre
lost grip.

I seem to recall reading that the MoD had similar problems with powered
trailers on 101 Forward Control Land-Rovers "pushing" too hard and rolling
the vehicle, so they dumped that idea.

How bendy is a bendy bus?
 

On Sun, 23 Oct 2005 00:01 +0100 (BST), (Colin
Rosenstiel) said:

Isn't the point on the 38 to replace large numbers of Routemasters with
a lot fewer bendies, as on the 73?

The service becoming less frequent, is, of course, a Good Thing, as is
the drastic reduction in the number of seats. Because everyone knows
that standing in the rain for longer and then having to stand in the
bus is what the customers want.

--
David Cantrell | http://www.cantrell.org.uk/david

How bendy is a bendy bus?
 

Clive wrote:
In message . 170,
Adrian writes
..
I understood the engine to be in the back but drove the rear wheels of
the front unit through a cardan shaft to stop any chance of imbalance of
drive.
--
Clive

That's not quite true, the engine indeed drives the rear wheels but the
centre axle is a trailing axle,i.e. it has no drive or is in no way
connected to the transmission system.

The artic section can bend to a PHYSICAL 54 degrees before the system
locks up.(The drive and transmission cuts out before the driver has
tied it in knots!). Prior to this of course the on-board computer will
warn the driver of any impending excessive bendyness.

Citaros are fitted with traction control and along with the ABS system
will prevent the center (and the front/rear) axle from loosing grip.
Again any traction loss or excessive wheel spin is flagged up on the
drivers display.

Bob