29 Dec 2015, 3:06 pm
#517
(29 Dec 2015, 2:42 pm)Dan Enthusiasts tend to like older buses/coaches - that's no secret. I'd guess that most 'normal' customers, like Jimmi, would much prefer the newer coaches, as they're a lot more comfortable.
7093 has been in a reserve capacity since the withdrawal of the seasonal Skegness 663 service. I'd imagine that it will be transferred to the Driver Training school or Hexham (for scholars contracts) when the remainder of the new coaches arrive in 2016, as one of these could presumably take 7093's place in the reserve fleet.
Its been 7 years since I drove in the Coaching Unit, but i remember dearly 7092/3 being delivered 10 years ago. With their 12 litre engines coupled to the Volvo i-shift, these vehicles produced 420 b.h.p. Speaking from a purely personal point of view, but i am certain that other drivers will agree, that these vehicles were far superior to anything that had come before. In Devon, the A38 Haldon Hill and A380 Telegraph Hill, both notoriously long, steep hills were climbed effortlessly, as was Saddleworth Moor on the M62 betweenYorkshire and Greater Manchester. Even the best B10M could not touch them.
But as has been mentioned this was in the past and i suppose smoke emission control and fuel economy has took over. And after 10 yrs, the seats will be probably worn out and due an interior refurb.
