Classic Bus Histories Episode 12: The MCW Metropolitan

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Hello and welcome to another episode of Classic Bus Histories. In this episode we look at the Scania Metropolitan out of which was born the MCW Metrobus.
This was also the bus that helped Scania show the UK bus market that they were a force to be reckoned with.
I must admit to only ever seeing one of these in the flesh but being strongly fixated on them as a kid. They just looked so well proportioned vehicles and I loved that distinctive windscreen.
Hope you enjoy the video, as I always say, there maybe things I've left out or not mentioned due to time constraints. If so I do apologise but feel free to let me know in the comments. Also let me know if you've done better than me and ridden on a Metropolitan or even driven one.
Don't forget to subscribe and like and share the video if you do enjoy it. Thanks for watching and please check out my other videos in this series.
#scania #mcw #classicbus #doubledecker #oldbus #metropolitan #londontransport #automobile #vintagebus #scaniabuses #busvideo #history

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1 окт 2024

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Комментарии : 75

@ViatronTumpington Месяц назад

Hi i'm viatron from Sheffield again, I still remember four M.C.W. METROPOLITAN integral double deck buses in S.Y.P.T.E. back in the mid-70s painted in the coffee & cream livery & that's the only four of them within the bus fleet. But on the other hand the new Rolls Royce Eagle diesel engine powered M.C.W. METROBUS MK.I & MK.II versions were very successful on the seven hills of Sheffield via being ordered in very large bulk to replacing more earlier Daimler Fleetline versions. But remembering to M.C.W. METROPOLITAN versions in service were a very rare breed in the golden age. Thanks you for this very forgotten classic bus history archive on the M.C.W. METROPOLITAN integral double deck bus subject from David Viatron Esquire of crookes in Sheffield.

@JakeSCOC Месяц назад

@@ViatronTumpington Thanks David. Glad it brought back some good memories.

@davidbrayshaw6162 Месяц назад

I also remember the Scania in Bradford. It felt like one day they were everywhere the next day - poof! Almost all gone OVERNIGHT! I remember 1 lasting well after all the others had gone. Sad really.

@DELTIC55007 Месяц назад

I rather like the Metropolitan 😊. Fantastic looking, sounding, and performing bus. So many happy childhood memories of riding on the MD's in London whilst out with my red bus rover. I took on MD 60 after it was stood outside on a farm for the best part of 25 years. Glad to say that after a lot of time, money, heartache, money, and all sorts of emotions and money, it paid off. Im so glad people appreciate it😊😊

@JakeSCOC Месяц назад

@@DELTIC55007 Good on you! I'm glad it paid off too. Without people like yourself, these buses would be lost for the future generations.

@christopherhunter2892 Месяц назад

Such a sophisticated bus compared to the offerings from Leyland.

@JakeSCOC Месяц назад

100% Christopher

@Froobyone Месяц назад

Coming back to Hull in the early 1980s, after spending my childhood in Sussex, the Scania Metros were like stepping into the future after the Atlanteans I'd been used to before I'd left. The MCW Metrobus variant, with the big black front grill, was the bus you hoped for every time. I've never stopped loving them and I'm not even a bus guy. I'm a train guy. Great video. Thank you.

@JakeSCOC Месяц назад

@@Froobyone Glad you liked the video. They certainly were a very futuristic design.

@georgemason4083 Месяц назад

Another excellent video Jake. Nice looking bus shame about the corrosion in the bodywork, rather strange MCW would have changed the process from previous body types.

@JakeSCOC Месяц назад

@@georgemason4083 Thanks George. In my experience with Metrobuses, MCW never did get the corrosion sorted out which is a shame as they made lovely motors.

@discogareth Месяц назад

Being a Birmingham boy, I’m a bit too young to have sampled the solitary example that WMPTE trialed. In fact I’ve never sampled any example from any operator. I’d love to one day.

@JakeSCOC Месяц назад

@@discogareth I've never been on one either. Been on my bucket list for a few years now though.

@Phil-oj5nr Месяц назад

Down under in NZ I drive various secondhand single deckers. One of our buses averages 35 to 40 km’s a day, and is thirty three years old. M.A.N. German chassis, you can’t beat them. Up until recently most buses in NZ are bodied here, but ADL and some CBU Chinese made vehicles are popping up. Electric single and double-deckers are common in Wellington and Auckland now, but it doesn’t work for smaller operators at the moment. All our fleet are secondhand, mostly from larger operators,and are all M.A.N’s, very rugged and one has a Voith three stage, the rest 3-stage ZF’s. Comment from the most northerly town in the South Island.

@NextSound170 5 дней назад

Always interested how do you scour parts for rebuilding older buses? Are the manufacturing parts or machine parts still around or is it a case of getting a company to build parts? Always interested but if it’s enthusiast secrets by all means!

@JakeSCOC 5 дней назад

@@NextSound170 I my experience a lot of the minor parts such as Air systems, fuel systems and cooling systems use standard parts which are still very much available. My Gardner engines have parts that are still available from Gardner in Canterbury. A lot of the bearings are out there and can be obtained too. Anything else we tend to make up ourselves or get made up by an engineering company

@timbounds7190 Месяц назад

I loved the Metropolitan as a youth - so much smoother and more comfortable than the Metrobus, and faster than a Fleetline or Atlantean! A couple of Reading's examples were fitted with coach seats and used on the X1 service to Southend, and I had a few rides on those. I certainly preferred them in the early days to Southend's crudgy coaches, but then Southend bought some Van Hool Astromegas which made Reading's Metropolitans look a bit primitive!

@JakeSCOC Месяц назад

@@timbounds7190 I bet that was a lovely ride over to Southend. And quick too!

@michaelkeen5010 Месяц назад

Great video, loved the Leicester 301 shots as I am now quite familiar with this bus, being a Leicester resident.

@JakeSCOC Месяц назад

@@michaelkeen5010 Hi Michael. Glad you liked it.

@davidbrayshaw6162 Месяц назад

I have a memory of one being used on the Liverbirds. A Merseyside scania bus in one episode was stolen and driven around the streets of Liverpool. I’m sure it’s was a metropolitan! I may be wrong. But that’s my memory,

@JakeSCOC Месяц назад

@@davidbrayshaw6162 I'll have to have a look for that David 👍🏼

@zebedep Месяц назад

Really interesting video, cheers!

@JakeSCOC Месяц назад

@@zebedep Glad you enjoyed it

@richardkeen6965 Месяц назад

Great video, my Dad was a bus driver and loved driving the MD out of New Cross on the 53 and 141 .. i went out with him a few times on them as a kid

@JakeSCOC Месяц назад

@@richardkeen6965 When I worked at Peckham in the late 1990's there were a few drivers there who'd worked on the MDs and they raved about them too.

@KellinoRail Месяц назад

Whippet's certainly enjoyed operating them, gearboxes and corrosion being the main issues. On one occasion two vehicles were bought from an Independent in Scotland just for a few weeks use until the schools broke up - only the chassis of one snapped in half on the way back! Obviously she never ran again. WKH426S was kept until about 2014 I think. Despite often being left unloved for years at a time she would always start first press of the button when required to be moved. She was mobile right up until the time she was sold despite the way she looked - no headlights and lots of parts missing. A friend at Reading Transport told me that someone put their foot through the floor of one of their Tyne & Wear purchases which never made it in to service. Also I understand that the 164 that were bought by LT were paid for by the government as a way of keeping people employed at MCW and stopping redundancies. Nice video, keep it up.

@JakeSCOC Месяц назад

@@KellinoRail That's really interesting. Thank you for sharing that. I can well believe that politics were involved with the orders for MCW.

@craigsibley8161 Месяц назад

Excellent video once again 👍👍👍

@JakeSCOC Месяц назад

@@craigsibley8161 Thanks Craig

@scoopjeff Месяц назад

Happy days riding around on Tyne and Wear PTE Metropolitan's, super fast from start, riding high at the front not very good in snow and ice and also the rot issues, still one of my favorite buses

@markcf83 Месяц назад

Very thirsty buses, but speedy and popular with operators including Tyne and Wear, Reading and LT. Their downfall was the notorious tin rot, however they morphed into the much more successful Metrobus and we all know how popular they were.

@jamesfrench7299 Месяц назад

Ironically the rectangle headlights age them as do the BMAC 759 tails. Interesting to see the same Scania cone shaped hubs used all the way back then. A nightmare to fit hubodometers to. A New Zealand company makes a four legged hubodometer bracket for them to counter their tendency to be knocked off centre. Even the brake noise emits the same note as 1990s Scanias such as the L113 series. They make an odd whine as they take off from a standing start.

@thedaddie Месяц назад

Another great video I can't wait for the next one❤

@JakeSCOC Месяц назад

@@thedaddie thank you. Glad to you liked it.

@WOLFIE-96B-UK Месяц назад

Another fascinating video! I remember coming home on leave from Germany in the '70s and seeing Tyne and Wear PTE Metropolitans for the first time. I thought they looked awesome!

@JakeSCOC Месяц назад

@@WOLFIE-96B-UK Glad you liked it Wolfie. Very modern looking buses when compared to a Bristol VR aren't they?

@petermostyneccleston2884 Месяц назад

The first Metropolitan that was owned by Reading Busses, was called Boris. When it was sold, it was bought by the Boris Owners Group, or BOG.

@JakeSCOC Месяц назад

@@petermostyneccleston2884 That's brilliant Peter. I'm glad I'm not the only one to name my buses.

@a11csc Месяц назад

nice motors Jake

@JakeSCOC Месяц назад

@@a11csc Thanks, yes they were.

@craigryan3069 Месяц назад

Loved the Metropolitan for WYPTE. Fond memories of them out accelerating cars at traffic lights!

@JakeSCOC Месяц назад

@@craigryan3069 Amazing speed on them.

@simonbean1264 Месяц назад

Yes my favourite buses at WYPTE they were quiet, comfortable and fast.

@williamcarrington61 Месяц назад

Happy memories of the Metro Bus, Ensign Bus Purfleet.

@peterwilliamallen1063 Месяц назад

@@williamcarrington61 The Metro Bus was not the Metropolitan two different Buses. The Metropolitan was a Bus with a Metrocamell Body built onto a Scannia Swedish Chassis, the Metrobus came after MCW stopped producing the Metropolitan and was redisighned to be built on a UK Chassis with either a Gardener or Rolls Royce Engine but were two different buses even though they looked simmiliar

@Andrew9687 Месяц назад

Great Video! Really enjoyed it. London Transport’s Metropolitan MD1 appeared in a Pop video with The Human League, Life on Your Own. Also I think MD1 is now preserved by Scania in their museum in Sweden.

@JakeSCOC Месяц назад

@@Andrew9687 Thanks Andrew. Yes you're right about MD1, I remember there's definitely one owned by Scania. It's nice they recognise it's significance. Didn't know about the Human League video. Thinking about it, one might have appeared in a toothpaste advert a few years ago....

@garrymartin6474 Месяц назад

Nice to see the Sheffield Transport Fleetline at the beginning at what looks like Sandtoft Trolleybus Museum (Well worth a visit) South Yorkshire PYE had a few (Scania's) that served the Doncaster area but I never had occasion to ride one .

@JakeSCOC Месяц назад

@@garrymartin6474 One museum I really must visit is Sandtoft. I hold South Yorkshire buses in high esteem. Best Atlantean I've ever driven was a South Yorkshire one with a Voith gearbox and Telma retarded on the dash. Perfect.

@robertmatthews8302 Месяц назад

Remember them well being used on route 36B speeding through Catford and Lewisham in 1977/78.

@JakeSCOC Месяц назад

@@robertmatthews8302 Sadly before my time. I'd have loved to experience that.

@marksinthehouse1968 Месяц назад

Ive seen that Tyne and Wear film it’s good ,yes I’ve come across a few like him,they are scratchers too 😊,the Tyne and Wear livery sits well on the bus as do LT and reading ,that prototype in globus gateway use to pass through Hammersmith every evening around 5ish I wonder if their base was nearby ,what was the exact corrosion was it rust or like on the metro two types of metal together ,looking forward to you doing the metrobus. If you want input from an experienced driver of the type I’m here to help All the best Mark 😊😊

@JakeSCOC Месяц назад

@@marksinthehouse1968 I believe it was just lack of treatment rather than electrolysis. Not sure if the Metrobus was the same. The ones I encountered which were ex London had steel framework, aluminum panels with brass screws holding the trim on at the back... what could possibly go wrong?

@marksinthehouse1968 Месяц назад

@@JakeSCOChehe a mad driver 😂

@JakeSCOC Месяц назад

@@marksinthehouse1968 🤣

@grahamcannell9692 Месяц назад

Anti-passenger drivers - Harlow is full of them

@NextSound170 Месяц назад

Yes why be a driver is beggars belief

@johnmontgomery9149 Месяц назад

I remember travelling to college on the Glasgow ones. Drivers were known to race sports cars off the lights.

@JakeSCOC Месяц назад

@@johnmontgomery9149 I bet after driving an Atlantean these must have felt like driving a rocket!

@Stevenspielburger Месяц назад

They lasted for years in Leicester. Drivers, and passengers, loved them here. Fast and a lovely wallowy ride

@JakeSCOC Месяц назад

@@Stevenspielburger It's strange how some companies made them last for years yet others didn't. Almost like the corrosion wasn't a universal issue. Although I wonder if Reading and Leicester being away from the coast helped?

@Stevenspielburger Месяц назад

@@JakeSCOC Could be. I had the thrill of riding a preserved one a few months ago. I was waiting for a preserved bus in Loughborough town centre, couldn't believe my eyes when it was a Metropolitan that came round the corner

@peterwilliamallen1063 Месяц назад

It was not The Scania Metropolitan, it may of been a Scannia Chassis but the bus was called a MCW Metropiltan as it was the body built by MCW the was called the Metropolitan as was it's next of kin the MCW Metrobus

@JakeSCOC Месяц назад

@@peterwilliamallen1063 Yes you are right. Bit of a brain fart unfortunately.

@peterwilliamallen1063 Месяц назад

@@JakeSCOC Why a Brain Fart !!!!!, so Simple " The MCW Metropolitan" as sold by Metro Cammel Weyman of Washwood Heath, Birmingham. It was never sold by Scannia they just supplied the Engine as Metro Cammels idea of producing their own Integgral Bus after years of just building Bodies onto Chassis but it never caught on until they produced the MCW Metrobus with either a ardner or Rolls Royce Engine which became a massive success where the Metropolitan did not

@JakeSCOC Месяц назад

@@peterwilliamallen1063 Certainly simple.

@JakeSCOC Месяц назад

@@peterwilliamallen1063 ps, the Metropolitan didn't have a chassis 😉

@peterwilliamallen1063 Месяц назад

@@JakeSCOC Every Vehical has a Chassis of some sort otherwise how do you bolt the body to and the Scannia Engine, thin air