donnybrook garage based AD 60, a DAF SB 220 built with Alexander Setanta bodywork heads into enniskerry village having worked from its terminus a few meters uphill. the terminus is described as shop river, yet the irish version on the scroll is golden gates, just one of the imaginary dublin bus terminus creations.
route 185 is a replica of former route 85 from bray railway station, re numbered 185 during the area revamp when similar local feeder service 84A was re named 184.
both routes were formerly operated by MA class Mercedes class 709D with Alexander bodywork & then Leicester Carriage Builders bodywork, before the AD class gradually crept onto the routes as demand increased with the various housing developments in the bray/ wicklow area.
ad60 at the main stop at enniskerry village. route 185 offers a convenient connection to bray village & with its terminus at the railway station, a handy connection to the dart
( dublin rail ) network. the route operates more or less on an hourly basis seven days a week, with selected services serving fassaroe housing scheme. a few departures from bray station also operate to the beautiful grounds of powerscourt which is very popular tourist attraction.
interior view of ad60 enroute to enniskerry village. throughout this saturday afternoon trip, the service carried a healthy load, despite its mere hourly routing.
the ad class, like its similar P class Plaxton Verde interior has not been popular with passengers. the p class has already been completely withdrawn while the ad class has seen its type shrink by 20 buses in the past few months as the vehicles are passed to bus eireann for use as school buses.
the seating is extremely crampt & the suspension is very hard, especially on mountainous wicklow roads.
enniskerry village is also served by route 44 which operates directly from dublin city centre. this service runs every 30 minutes during the week, with a reduced frequency on sundays. the route offers spectacular views of the dublin & wicklow mountains especially on the return trip as its winds it way down to sandyford. volvo olympian rv 444 is seen above & just typically allocated to the route.
footnote:
since this feature was photographed, donnybrook has withdrawn its entire fleet of ad class setanta's, most passing to phibsboro garage for further service.
Route 44 from Dublin City Centre to Enniskerry Village
Route 185 from Bray DART Station to Enniskerry & Shop River
The end.....
Dublin Bus AD 55, from Phibsboro Garage departs from route 122's Ashington terminus in Cabra 30th June 2006 as the AD fleet was phased out of Dublin Bus
