Another Leyland Olympian running day organised by Chris Martin, "The Thame Time Traveller", featuring seven different Olympians from Walters Coaches' fleet, running trips around Oxfordshire. TIL6571 was used on the first trip of the tour, picking up passengers from Thornhill Park & Ride and Oxford Train Station, via Eastern Bypass.
TIL6571 was originally registered as DD4385 in Hong Kong, new to Kowloon Motor Bus as 3BL50 in 1984. It had the 3-door and maximum standing area layout typical to KMB 12m buses in 1980's. Its wheelbase is 5434mm+1600mm, giving an overall length of 11.7m-11.8m, not a full 12m bus like those from 3BL62 onward. Twelve 3BLs were imported to UK by Brightbus in 2003 and converted to school bus. The second exit door is removed, while 3+2 seats are fitted in the standing area. After Brightbus ceased operation in 2017, three of their 3BLs were sold to Walters Coaches (TIL6571-73). They did not retain the original Gardner 6LXCT + Voith D851 powertrain, but received Cummins L10 + ZF Ecomat 4HP500 instead (coincidentally, all seven Olympians used on the day had similar powertrain).
I don't remember ever riding on a 3BL when they were still in service with KMB back in Hong Kong when I was small, so this is probably my first time. The blue interior made it look more like an ex-CMB bus, while the Cummins + ZF combination made it feel more modern than it really is. However, the suspension was unexpectedly hard. I have never experienced such a harsh ride from any other Olympian before (all three 3BLs on the day were similar though).
Thank you for watching!