Hino 2011 - PNR'S LAST BUS

Manila Railroad, and subsequently, the Philippine National Railways, once had a large fleet of buses to supplement their railway operations and serving areas without a railway station.
By August 1988 the fleet had reduced to:

First Class A/C Deluxe

7 (Non Operational)
8 (Dilapidated/Derelict)

Hino Tourist

12 (Dilapidated/Derelict)

Third Class Economy

5 (non Operational)

2 (On Service)
17 (Dilapidated/Derelict)

Toyota Mini Bus

2 (Dilapidated / In Storage)

Eleven years later, it seems that all but one had been disposed of, presumably by scrapping rather than onselling to other companies.
In August 1988, bus #2011 was listed as being in Naga and missing it's engine, battery, starter and right hand wiper. It was, however, considered to be still in fair condition.
  Despite this gloomy report, in 1999 I was to find her sitting in Caloocan workshops, still looking in a relatively good condition and possibly operational.

In 2004, a workshop inspection found her moved off into a grassed area nearer the smaller workshop building.

However, she was yet to have a greater claim to fame than being the last bus of the 'Philippine National Railways'. Local television company ABS-CBN used her in part of one of their action series.
Alas, this television appearance did little to help her condition and, by the time I was to return in 2007, she had passed the point where preserving this hugely important part of history would likely be feasible.

My next return was to be 2009 in what was thought to be the turning point for railway preservation in the country. We had set up a group there and museum locations were being discussed.

Again, thoughts turned to the possible saving of the historic 2011 as a long term restoration project.

Just in case though, I thought it would be a good idea to give it more photographic coverage than previously.

She was quite a mess, but I have seen worse restored and, as such, I included her in my recommendations for important railway items to be preserved.
Given the important part that the MRR/PNR bus fleet played in the nations transport operations, and that she was the last of these, it was only natural that she be included in the planned museum.

Sadly it was not to be.
A mass scrapping in 2010 saw many classes of rollingstock rendered extinct, including some I had identified for preservation, and poor old 2011 found herself included.

I finally accepted that preservation of PNR's last bus was now well beyond possible, the steering wheel being the only recognisable part of it still left on site.

RIP - Philippine National Railways

Bus Fleet.

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Below is a photo of similar 2005 (SCB986) from an unknown photographer.

Please let me know if it is your shot.

BONI STATION - EDSA

A selection of December 2018 images from this very busy location.

2017.1 PT2

Kumusta, and welcome to the second part of our series on Manila in 2017.
Given that six years had elapsed between trips to the Philippines, I found myself catching up on both the situation there and the lack of photos over the years.
I also got to catch up with a number of old friends and met new ones at the same time. Some of these people will be seen in future instalments of this series.

Living along EDSA for a week is a dream come true for any bus fan.
No matter what time of day, EDSA is chock full of them, coming from parts of southern Manila, or further afield out in the provinces.
While I have long believed the provincial buses should not enter so far into Manila itself, preferring the idea of a bus/rail intermodal hub at Calamba, they do make for a busy couple of hours for one's camera.

Pasig River view from the GO Hotel.
Alas the ferries do not currently ply the route, however their return

 is regularly discussed.

MRT spotting near Boni station. 

Chaos, as only EDSA can deliver.
Boni Station (MRT3)

Stay tuned for Part 3.
Another exciting installment in the series.

2017 .1

Over the next few months, I am going to catch up with images from all three Philippine trips in 2017.

I have been holding off as there was the prospect of a fourth visit before the new year, but this now seems quite unlikely.
To start off with we shall look at March, a short one week visit that saw us stay along EDSA in Mandaluyong, an extremely busy location (where in Manila isn't?), but paradise for the transport fan. Request the right room and you can drool over all the road and rail action 24/7.
Our choice of accommodation was the GO Hotel, a reasonably priced hotel that provides for little other than the bed, A/C and shower. No fridge is supplied, in fact, your not supposed to consume anything in your room. Quite a laughable rule in a country that has the biggest eaters in the world :-)
However, besides the abundance of transport (I guess that is not as appealing to others as it is for me), it is situated next to a Robinsons Mall (these are always run down but handy) and, on certain nights, a huge street food setup is 

right behind the hotel.
Totally recommended, though their online booking is the dog's bollocks and you will normally find yourself needing to ring.

Photos are in no particular order.

The Philippine Jeepney.
Smoke producing, traffic causing, gas guzzlers. Who could not love them?
Well, apparently lots don't and there appears to be a constant push to rid them from the streets.
It would be a sad day should they ever be successful.

Awaiting the next Alabang train at Pasay Road.

Pasay Road is a major station on the metro railway south to Alabang. Not only a passenger station but also the location of some railway offices. There were recent rumours of it being closed, but given the distance between the two nearest stations, it would seem unlikely.
U15C #922 is seen arriving with a morning service to Alabang. These big General Electric locomotives see the bulk of passenger work on the PNR, although railcars and smaller GE hauled trains do regularly see use.

U15C #917 and one of the train crew at the main terminal of Tutuban.
Thats one of the train crew on the loco and the main railways head office behind.

DMR-11 picked a fight with a Coke truck many years back. :-(

Now we warp backwards in time to when we sat at Sydney Airport awaiting our Cebu Pathetic flight to Manila. These weird, bug looking, double ended buses haul passengers around the airport.

Vietnam Airlines VN-A864 has been pushed out and will soon be taxiing 

down to the Bay Runway.

The latest version of the QANTAS livery is being towed to the terminal.
A few planes now carry this.

The MRT3, and it's Sydney Harbour Bridge like structure, make for some
great shots at Mandaluyong.
These were all taken quite early in the morning and the lighting was still quite difficult.

If your cup of tea is buses, then a day on EDSA should fill the biggest of SD card.
More metro and provincial operators/buses than you can poke a stick at.

In more recent years the Philippine Railway Historical Society has been branching out into other transport areas like buses. We have a growing group here should you be interested.