TWPTE 750, Tyne Bridge, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1980

            Heading out of Newcastle, Tyne & Wear, Metropolitan 750  crosses the iconic Tyne Bridge, the bus bound for Allerdene to the South of Gateshead. In the backdrop the spire of All Saint's Church pierces the skyline.

New in May 1976, 750 was one of the 140 Metro-Cammell-Weymann / Scania BR111DH 'Metropolitan' buses purchased by Tyne & Wear PTE between 1975 and 1977. The MCW Metropolitan was of a chassis-less monocoque build using Scania running gear. Instantly recognisable by its asymmetric windscreens, the bus was ergonomically designed for comfort and ease of use, quickly becoming a favourite with drivers and passengers. The Metropolitan also featured air-suspension, a torque-converter driveline powered by a rear-mounted turbocharged Scania D11 engine giving it a smooth, fast ride.  

Unfortunately for the Metropolitan, it's mainly steel body and steel underside sub-framing became its Achilles heel. Many of these buses suffered from extensive structural corrosion, no doubt accelerated by the salty North Sea air. In addition to this the Metropolitan had a high fuel consumption and also suffered mechanical issues, so from an engineering and operational perspective were a poor investment. As a consequence, most of the Tyne & Wear PTE Metropolitans went to the breaker's yards before their intended time. It is unfortunate that this underrated, but futuristic bus that had combined so many principles for future bus development is largely forgotten. 

As for 750 that was withdrawn from use by May 1985, but was more fortunate than its sisters being exported to Argos Bus of Hong Kong for further use.  Argos acquired five second-hand Metropolitans in 1985. Three of these were ex London Transport examples; - MD66, MD83 & MD138. These became  Argos No's 36, 40 and 33 respectively. Additionally, two ex Tyne & Wear PTE Metropolitans were also acquired by Argos in 1985, one being 750 which was renumbered 44, the other being 675 (JVK675P) which became No43. The Argos base livery was allover yellow, so the Tyne & Wear buses would have looked quite at home in that colour.

Preservation
Two ex Tyne & Wear Metropolitans survive in preservation; 769 (OCU769R) & 772 (OCU772R), but both require extensive work to bring them back to running condition. In addition to these, 499 (RCU499S) was retained in running order for a time by Tyne & Wear's successor; Newcastle Busways. Despite a repaint and being rallied around the country, it was eventually sold for scrap in the 1990s due to corrosion issues. 

Photo - 750 in the early weeks of 1980.

Scanned from the original colour negative - TWPTE-750 LBB750P-TyneBridge-Newcastle-1980

Taken on: June 11, 2024

Tags:

TWPTE

Metropolian

LBB750P

Tyne Bridge

Newcastle upon Tyne

1980

MCW

Allerdene

service

route

tyne & wear

PTE

Argos

hong kong

scania

BR111DH

North East

1980s

All Saint's Church

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Sets appears in: • Britain in the 1980s • North East England

Camera: Plustek OpticFilm 7600i (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Plustek OpticFilm 7600i
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Pixelmator 3.5.1
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