12.2.05 Oslo

MAN NG313 #723 parked for lunch break opposite of Oslo Busterminal with Raddisson SAS Royal Plaza Hotel in the background.

New MAN NL263 on line 55

Marc Weidman took this picture of one of the brand new MAN NL263 buses of October 2004 as it approaches Storo on line 55 from Nydalen to Kjelsås. From November, line 55 will be replaced by a tram car line. The last part of the line from Disen to Kjelsås was in so bad condition that it was abandonded and replaced by bus - line 55 was born. Tram car enthusiasts protested, and millions were spent to put the tracks back in order. Waste of money, if you ask me.

This is a '64 Leyland Worldmaster with body from Norwegian VBK. The bus belongs to Local Traffic Historical Museum in Oslo and has been operated by Oslo Sporveier (Tramcar company). I drove the bus to Kløfta som 50 kms Norh of Oslo for winter hybernation.

Scania CR113 at Kjelsås waiting for departure to Oslo downtown a Saturday night in October 2004.

December 7 2003: Joint bus at final destination of line 30, Bygdøy. Joint buses on this line is used in the summer months (due to the beaches at Bygdøy) and on Sundays in December since there are several Xmas activities attracking thousands of people. I had to report a 22 minutes delay due to traffic chaos.

December 6 2003: One of the 5 recent MAN NG313 (with internal # 632) joint buses registered October 2003, regulating at Grønland (Greenland!) bus terminal in Oslo downtown on a beautiful sunny winter day - after an extremely windy night resulting in detours due to fallen trees. This is line 37, the bus line with most traffic in Norway, 5 minutes intervals between each joint bus most of the day.

On October 19 2003 I tried this MAN Minibus HOCL with Norwegian built body from Arna, registered first time in 1996. Not too exiting, with small wheels and short wheelbase it differs negatively from a normal bus. Shaking and rattling adds to the negative feeling.l.

5.10.03: #994 MAN NG262 on line 55 Nydalen - Storo -Kjelsås. Picture taken without flash late night (that's why the skies seem blue) at destination Nydalen, a destination shared with line 30.

4.10.03: #897, yellow MAN NG312 on line 20. The bus belongs to a series of four used buses that have been leased from Germany. They come from Essen in Germany. They have German standard "driver interface" - instead of Scandinavian - which means that the door buttons are on the right and not on the left side of the driver. Confusing in the beginning.

Museum bus again, an old Volvo B10M-joint bus from the first series of joint buses that Oslo Sporveier (Oslo Tram Company) aquired in 1981.Belongs to Lokaltrafikkhistorisk forening. # 717, reg. nr. is KZ 29479. Powered by a 9.6 litres 242 hp engine.

27.9.03: #723, MAN NL263 on line 21 bound for destination Helsfyr. Latest generation of MAN solobuses. Much more computerized than NL262, reflected in frequent need for resetting and handling various more or less relevant error messages.

July 2003: #981, Man "Solobus" NL262 at destination Tveita awaiting departure for Lutvann on line 69. NL262 is basically the same type of bus as the NG313 above, but "L" stands for "Liniebuss", the first "2" for 260 hp.

August 2003: Sporveisbussenes' MAN articulated bus NG312 operating on line 20 between Skøyen and Galgeberg. Buses leave every 6-8 minutes most of the day, every 10 minutes on Saturdays and every 15 minutes at night and on Sundays. NG312 is the former generation of MAN buses. It has now been replaced by NG313. The N stands for "Niederfluhr" (low floor), the G stands for "Gelenkbus" (articulated bus"), the first 3-number for 310 hp and the last 3 for "generation".

September 2003: An evolution of the above CR111 represents this Scania CN113 # 838 owned by Sporveisbussene AS in Oslo. Shared opinions among the drivers, but I think it is a good bus provided all screws and plastic parts are tightened, otherwise rattling on bad roads may be stressful. Picture taken at the Nydalen final destination of line 30, just before departure for Bygdøy, a peninsula with a beatuiful scenery, beaches and museums.