The UK's premier poo-powered bus, the "Bus Hound," has broken the land speed record for a regular service bus. The bus, which is operated by Reading Buses, hit a confirmed top speed of 76.785 mph (123.5 kph) around the Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire.
The bus, which is powered by biomethane derived from cow manure, would usually be limited to 56 mph. Reading Buses performed some "minor tweaks" to allow for the higher top speed (presumably some suspension tweaks and removal of the speed limiter), but otherwise it's a standard bus that would normally putter around the streets of Reading. The bus is painted black and white in a pattern that is reminiscent of the Friesian cows used for milk production in the UK.
"It was an impressive sight as it swept by on the track," Reading Buses' chief engineer John Bickerton told the BBC. "It sounded like a Vulcan bomber—the aerodynamics aren't designed for going 80 mph."
http://arstechnica.co.uk/business/2015/05/british-poo-powered-bus-sets-speed-record/
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 24 2015, @05:20AM
Manure <- Cow <- Grass <- Sun
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Sunday May 24 2015, @05:52AM
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday May 24 2015, @06:00AM
Sorry, I just don't quite buy the claim that buses haven't been recorded driving faster than ~80 mph. Regular service bus? Does Greyhound qualify as "regular service"? Granted, MOST Greyhounds run pretty slow, often failing to keep to their time schedules. More, most Greyhound drivers observe the law more strictly than in times past. But, I have witnessed those buses rolling in excess of 80 mph, closer to 90, truth be told. I don't believe I've ever seen one doing 100 mph, but I have little doubt that they are capable of doing so.
Greyhound buses were once legendary among truck drivers. If a trucker could keep up with the Greyhound, he had a damned fast truck.
Of course, Greyhound uses traditional diesel engines - nothing techy about the buses.
Maybe this land speed record has something to do with United Kingdom miles, as opposed to US miles? Reading bus didn't diddle with the numbers, did they?
(Score: 2) by RedGreen on Sunday May 24 2015, @06:31AM
Huh? The miles are the same it is the trade good measures like for instance gallons that the Americans messed with to restrict the trading between the two that are different.
"I modded down, down, down, and the flames went higher." -- Sven Olsen
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday May 24 2015, @07:06AM
Hence, my final question: "Reading bus didn't diddle with the numbers, did they?"
For information, I ride a rather ancient motorcycle, a Honda GL 500 Interstate. That twisted twin engine is somewhat famous among motorcycle riders, partly for the sweet sound it produces, partly for it's relatively high power (relative to similarly sized engines at the time of production), and partly for it's reliability and longevity. It never was considered a real speed bike, it occupies a niche.
Only two years ago, a sister bike set a new land speed record at Bonneville. Modified, yes, but still, it's not a really fast machine. Many production bikes today approach 200 mph top speeds, and some exceed 200.
So, one has to examine the claim of a land speed record carefully to see exactly what the claim is.
First, all of these CX/GL Twisted Twins have run in the 500 cc pushrod classes. Second, there are classes within the 500 cc pushrod class - changing the fairing puts you into a different class, among other things. Changing the air flow can put you into a different class. And, of course, a turbo puts you into yet another class.
http://home.earthlink.net/~leinfam/id2.html [earthlink.net]
http://cx500forum.com/forum/cx500-cx650-turbo-forum/19954-cx500-turbo-bonneville-salt-flats.html [cx500forum.com]
http://cx500forum.com/forum/cx-customization-modifications/4510-prepping-bonneville-speed-week-2011-a.html [cx500forum.com]
So, if you read my post again, you should see that I am questioning what the claim is. I specifically mentioned "regular service bus", and questioned whether Greyhound qualifies as "regular service".
And, finally, the miles may NOT be the same after all. Maybe Reading Bus uses it's own specialized speedometers for some reason? Yes - I'm being facetious.
Bottom line, the article isn't specific enough. All we know is that Reading claims a land speed record, based on some criteria which was not made clear in the article.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Dr Spin on Sunday May 24 2015, @07:12AM
A Greyhound is what we call a coach. It is designed for long distance travel - and in the UK would probably be licensed to go at 60MPH. I am
sure that they are designed to be capable of exceeding 70MPH, although the fuel consumption at that speed might be scary when you
pay $12 a gallon for diesel (which is about what it costs here).
A Bus is designed to operate in urban areas with a 30MPH speed limit. Sure they can do 56MPH, like an HGV, but the chances of
most of them even doing 40 MPH in their entire operating life is close to zero. Quite a few designs appear to be incapable of exceeding 40MPH.
Warning: Opening your mouth may invalidate your brain!
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday May 24 2015, @07:33AM
Good answer - thanks!
(Score: 2) by Nuke on Sunday May 24 2015, @12:25PM
So it is a "record" for something that normally goes slower, even though this "record" is slower than things that normally go faster.
Right.
(Score: 2) by Nuke on Sunday May 24 2015, @12:36PM
I must say I was disappointed when I followed the link.
I live in the UK, and the vast majority of buses on urban services here are full cuboid double-deckers. That is what is meant by "bus" in general usage. 76mph would have been impressive for one of those. The link however shows what looks like a single decker, or possibly a one-and-a-half decker and is what people here would tend on sight to call a "coach". You see "coaches" like that on motorways doing high speeds every day - they certainly used to do up to ~90mph before most they got speed limiters (by law I think) a few years ago.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday May 24 2015, @01:42PM
Ah-ha. Those famous red double deckers. Yep - following one of those at 90 mph would be awfully impressive. Scary, actually. I think you've nailed it - Reading is comparing Red Delicious apples to Granny Smith apples. They're all apples, so no one questions why one is big, plump, and red, while the other is smaller, harder, and green.
On this side of the pond, we use the term "bus" to describe almost anything that rolls on wheels, and carries 20 or more passengers. School bus, Greyhound coaches, city buses, prisoner transport, whatever.
(Score: 2) by rts008 on Sunday May 24 2015, @06:16AM
I wonder if California will be the first state to implement Emission Standards and regulations on Bovine Bio-gas Producers(the cows)? The producers are mobile, and hard to track down in some terrain for periodic regulatory testing and inspection, not to mention some of them are not overly cooperative. And if they are fitted with gas collection gear, I imagine the reports of space aliens to jump dramatically.
I know the article was talking about the UK, but that has never stopped California(and other wacky states) previously enacting wasted laws. Oklahoma enacted laws preventing Sharia laws being used in courts despite the fact there is no significant Muslim population here. WTF? Oh yeah, I forgot ISIL cavalry(mounted on Ebola) was over-running the Texas-Mexico border, and invading a theater near you. As we speak.
Oh, and Jade Helm, The US is invading the US in Chuck Norris' back yard while ISIL is invading. This sounds like it will be an entertainingly wacky summer in Texas.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 24 2015, @07:15AM
I saw an item the other week that mentioned that the last airworthy example will be grounded by the end of this year.
2015: Final flying season for last Vulcan bomber [wikipedia.org]
Announced 2015/05/15.
-- gewg_
(Score: 2) by That_Dude on Sunday May 24 2015, @10:02AM
I'm more curious about the quality of the biomethane. Anaerobic digester output is typically 60% to 70% methane with the rest mostly being carbon dioxide. Unless the Bus Hound's engine is designed to cope with the dirty gas, the biomethane had to have been processed.
I looked at the Reading Bus site and found no mention of biomethane production or usage. The about us environment page seems a bit vague and the FAQ's are lacking in that area as well. I want to be able to analyze the full picture. The happy "green" rhetoric just doesn't exactly roll my socks up and down.
(Score: 2) by martyb on Sunday May 24 2015, @12:19PM
Saw this in one of the comments to the Ars Technica article:
NOTE: I tried using an <img> tag, but it is not allowed here.
Wit is intellect, dancing.
(Score: 2) by bugamn on Monday May 25 2015, @02:57AM
This shit is fast.